Have you ever felt tired, weak, or moody for no apparent reason? Surprisingly, the culprit may be as simple as not eating enough. With our hectic schedules, skipping meals or cutting down on food has now become normal to hit dieting goals. Sometimes, you forget to eat or don’t feel like eating because you are so busy (and stressed!).
But what happens when “I’ll eat later” becomes a consistent theme in your life? Not eating enough or constantly skimping on calories can cause serious physical and mental health problems. Initially, the signs can be subtle and unnoticeable, but these small signs can grow into real issues if they go unaddressed. Here are 14 signs that going hungry is affecting your health in unexpected ways. Spoiler alert: It’s not always as obvious as a rumbling tummy.
1. Constant Fatigue
If you are sleeping well but still feel fatigued and sluggish, it is a sign that you might not be taking in enough calories. When you don’t eat enough, your body doesn’t get the energy it needs to perform even basic tasks.
Without proper nutrition, even if you’re meeting your calorie needs, you might still lack the energy and vitality needed for daily life. Eating less food saps your energy and sets you up for a hard day.
2. Dizziness
Do you ever feel like the room is spinning? Feeling dizzy and lightheaded could mean you are running on empty. Skipping meals can cause your blood sugar to plummet, leading to hypoglycemia, which means your brain is not getting the glucose it needs to function properly.
These bothersome symptoms can pop up when you don’t fuel up with enough carbohydrates. Consistently low blood sugar from undereating eating can be dangerous. Severe hypoglycemia could even lead to fainting or seizures. So, if you’re feeling a bit woozy, it is important to consider when you last ate or if you ate enough to give your body the needed fuel.
3. Difficulty Concentrating
If you eat less, you might notice your attention span shrinking. A lack of calories can affect your brain, leading to brain fog and difficulty concentrating.
It is hard for the brain to function properly without enough energy. When your body gets enough calories, sufficient amounts are transferred to the brain to help in effective cognitive performance, which is important in decision-making.
4. Mood Swings and Irritability
Chronic under-eating can lead to frequent mood swings and irritability. When your body doesn’t receive enough nutrients, it can’t regulate hormones like serotonin and dopamine, which impacts mood and well-being.
Serotonin influences learning, memory, and happiness as well as regulating body temperature, sleep, and hunger. Dysregulation of your happy hormones increases the risk of depression, anxiety, mood swings, and other health conditions.
5. Trouble Sleeping
Without enough energy, staying awake and focused during the day can feel like an uphill battle, but getting a good night’s sleep can become an even greater challenge. When you fall asleep, your body uses energy and nutrients to repair itself and recover, and a lack of energy leads to restless nights and difficulty staying asleep.
Additionally, undereating can result in a deficiency of tryptophan, an essential amino acid mainly found in protein-rich foods. Tryptophan is a critical ingredient for the production of serotonin, which helps regulate sleep by converting it to melatonin—a hormone that regulates sleep cycles.
6. Feeling Cold All the Time
The body’s core temperature must stay at a certain level to work optimally. When your body is low on calories, it will not be able to keep warm, and your temperature will drop, making you feel chilly or even start shivering.
A lack of food can lower your metabolism, which means your body produces less heat, making you feel colder. Your body also relies on fat stores for energy. When you aren’t eating enough, you lose these fat stores.
7. Frequent Illness
Not eating enough can weaken your immune system, which helps you prevent sickness and diseases. You may miss the important vitamins and minerals that help keep your immune system strong to fight colds, infections, and other illnesses. Without nutrients like vitamin C, zinc, and iron, your body will have a harder time protecting itself from getting sick.
Malnutrition leaves undernourished individuals more vulnerable to infections and slows down recovery from illness. A weak immune system results in healing wounds slowly, and even heart function is affected, leading to a slower heart rate, lower blood pressure, and a lower body temperature. This can cause people to feel faint and weak.
8. Hair Loss and Brittle Nails
Your hair and nails need constant supplements of protein, vitamins, and minerals through your diet to grow strong and stay healthy. The initial signs of insufficient nutrients will often appear in your hair and nails.
Without enough protein, hair becomes thin, weak, and starts falling out. This is because hair is mostly made of protein. In the same way, nails also start to break easily, look dull, or even develop small cracks. So, if your body doesn’t have enough, it can’t keep your hair strong, and your nails stay hard and grow properly.
9. Muscle Weakness and Decreased Physical Performance
Everyday activities, like lifting things, climbing stairs, or running, feel much harder than usual. Muscles also need protein to grow and stay strong, so if you’re not getting enough, your body will start breaking down muscle tissue to get energy.
Without enough calories and nutrients, your body doesn’t have the power it needs to stay active and strong or decrease your stamina to keep doing physical activities, which can make it difficult to do the things you enjoy.
10. Digestive Issues
When you don’t eat enough food, your digestive system slows down, making your stomach uncomfortable. This means food moves more slowly through your digestive system, leading to problems like constipation, bloating, making your stomach feel full and swollen, and abdominal pain, which can be uncomfortable or even painful.
Your digestive system needs energy from the food you eat to work well. Eating enough healthy food helps your digestive system work smoothly and prevents these issues. It’s also important to get enough fiber, vitamins, and minerals, which are all needed to keep your stomach and intestines healthy.
11. Loss of Appetite
Ironically, you start losing your appetite when you don’t eat enough for a long time. this means you feel less hungry and may even forget to eat sometimes. This can make it even more challenging to recognize when you need to eat more.
Over time, your body gets used to having less food because you don’t feel the usual urge to eat. This can lead to more problems, like feeling tired, weak, or getting sick more easily, since your body isn’t getting what it needs to stay strong.
12. Preoccupation with Food and Eating
If you daydream about food all the time, like thinking about your last meal, planning the next, or spending a long time deciding menus, it’s a sign that you are not eating enough.
When your body doesn’t get enough nutrients, it becomes fixated on food. Not eating enough makes your mind focus on survival, with food at the center. This obsession can disrupt daily life, causing stress and taking up mental space.
13. Difficulty Getting Pregnant
Struggling to conceive? It might be time to check your plate. Undereating can also affect reproductive health, including your ability to conceive.
A lack of proper nutrition can throw off hormonal balance, which is essential for regular menstrual cycles and ovulation. Insufficient calorie intake can also lead to a condition known as hypothalamic amenorrhea, where your monthlies become irregular or stop altogether, reducing fertility.
14. Feeling Hungry all the Time
While a loss of appetite can signal undereating over a prolonged period, feeling hungry constantly is also a loud and clear sign that you are not eating enough.
Hunger is your body’s way of reminding you that it needs more fuel to keep going. Ignoring these signals can lead to intense cravings and the risk of overeating later, disrupting your eating habits and causing nutritional imbalances.
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Aqsa is a passionate writer who loves spending her free time jotting down her thoughts. But that’s not all. She is a devoted mom to two boys and a skilled pharmacist specializing in hematology. When she’s not running after her energetic kids, you can find her lost in a good book or writing beautiful words. A nature lover at heart, she enjoys exploring the outdoors, staying active, and always seeking ways to learn new things.
Aqsa is a passionate writer who loves spending her free time jotting down her thoughts. But that's not all. She is a devoted mom to two boys and a skilled pharmacist specializing in hematology. When she's not running after her energetic kids, you can find her lost in a good book or writing beautiful words. A nature lover at heart, she enjoys exploring the outdoors, staying active, and always seeking ways to learn new things.
