People often start exercising with the mantra, “Eat less, eat more.” We’re here to tell you that’s a very bad idea.
If you’re trying to lose weight, a small calorie deficit of 500 calories is more than enough. Anything more than that will propel your body into starvation mode, where it starts hogging fat instead of shedding it!
Meanwhile, if you’re trying to gain muscle in your workout, eating more food is even more important. Your body would rather shed muscle than fat, so good luck building more muscle than your body burns if you insist on eating less.
In conclusion, you should be eating the right number of calories to fuel your workout and your body throughout the day. If you’re not sure if you’re eating enough, here are the telltale signs that your body needs more calories for your workout!
1. Soreness for a Few Days
One of the telltale signs of needing to eat more is soreness that lasts a few days after workouts. While some degree of soreness is to be expected, it should not affect your movement a lot and should only last a few hours. This is called delayed onset muscle soreness.
Eating before and after a workout is important because your muscles go through a lot of trauma. As we push our muscles beyond their limit, microscopic tears happen. Your body uses the food not just to refuel but to repair these microscopic fibers. So, if you don’t eat enough, your muscles take longer to recover.
Muscle recovery is essential for building muscles. They make your muscles stronger to accommodate more physical exertion. If you don’t eat a lot, your body will start eating your muscles rather than fat.
2. Fatigue
If you’re lacking in calories, you’re going to experience it firsthand when you exercise. You’ll notice that you’re not working out as effectively as you should. For example, on a regular diet, you might be able to do 60 jumping jacks in a row before you need to take a breather. On a diet lacking in calories, then you might only do 25 before you need a break.
Taking a break once in a while is normal, but taking too many breaks is bad for your routine too. You won’t build endurance—and thus muscles—that way. It also won’t be as effective. Your heart isn’t going to get stronger because your heart rate doesn’t pick up for very long. Your lungs won’t expand to accommodate more air because you don’t need that extra oxygen. And your skin won’t be sweating because your body temperature won’t raise too high before cooling down again.
3. Illness and Injury
Because your mind isn’t 100% into your workout, you can easily get distracted. You’re focusing so much on fighting through the lack of calories that you end up spraining your ankle or pulling a muscle. Alternatively, you’re pushing your muscles too much despite the lack of energy that they end up giving up on you. If you feel like your knees are going to give out on you every time you work out, that’s a surefire sign you’re not getting enough nourishment.
Besides injuries, your body is also more prone to illnesses. Between using the dismal number of calories to power your workout and last you throughout the day, your body won’t have enough calories to support your immune system. Think of it this way—the toughest soldiers could have the bulkiest muscles but still be weak when running on low power.
4. Irregular Periods
Among women, a constant lack of calories combined with regular exercise eventually leads to hypothalamic amenorrhea. This is a condition where the body lacks estrogen, which is a crucial element of menstruation. The less estrogen you have, the fewer your periods will be. And even if you do get a period, the flow might not be as strong and steady.
While a weaker period may seem like a dream come true, you really shouldn’t be thinking about it. That’s because a lack of estrogen contributes to irreversible bone loss. Your bones and joints will be weaker, and you’ll be more prone to injuries. On top of that, it also makes you vulnerable to cardiovascular disease, leading to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and blood clots.
5. Dizziness
Going back to fatigue, a severe lack of calories when exercising will make you dizzy. Your body will barely have enough energy to stand up, let alone run on a treadmill! This is caused by dangerously low blood sugar levels.
This is precisely why dieticians generally do not recommend cutting carbohydrates irresponsibly out of your diet. High blood sugar levels are bad, yes, but so are low blood sugar levels! You need carbohydrates to support your bodily functions.
Instead of cutting carbohydrates completely, you should instead replace unhealthy carbohydrates like cakes and candy with healthy carbohydrates like fruits and vegetables.
Alternatively, you can do the ketogenic diet that’s low in carbohydrates but full of healthy fats. This forces your body into a ketogenic state where it burns fat instead of carbohydrates. However, it’s hard to follow a ketogenic diet properly—you need to stay consistent. We still recommend not villainizing carbohydrates, though.
Conclusion
All in all, eating healthily is key to losing weight and building muscle. Your body needs a well-balanced diet of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats to function well. Instead of eating less food, you should focus on eating food that’s good for the body. Furthermore, you should use a calorie counter to ensure you’re eating the right number of calories according to your needs and goals.
