If you’re struggling to make progress in the gym, under-eating might be the culprit! Not convinced? Here are 5 ways that under-eating may be holding you back from reaching your fitness goals.

If you’re not looking, performing, or feeling your best underrating may be the culprit! Chronically underrating can lead to poor workout performance, subpar biofeedback, and muscle loss. I know what you’re probably thinking… “But Carly, I want to lose body fat so surely I NEED to be eating in a caloric deficit!”

You’re not wrong that in order to lose body fat you must be eating in a caloric deficit but you can’t eat that way forever! Eventually your body will always adapt to what you’re giving it and you’ll reach a point where you simply can’t reduce calories anymore.

So much of the focus in the fitness industry is on dieting and losing weight but don't lose sight of the fact that food is fuel! Your body needs energy to look, feel, and perform its best! Dieting is stressful for your body and it’s necessary that you cycle through different phases of dieting, maintenance, and bulking to reach the physique of your dreams.

How Can Under-Eating hold me back?

1. Poor Workout Performance

If you're not fueling your body properly your energy levels during your workouts will be noticeably lower. This means that you may not be able to progressively overload your training each week, which will limit muscle growth

2. Poor Bio-Feedback

Low energy also likely means poor biofeedback responses and slow recovery. This means increased soreness, poor sleep, and jeopardized stress management. This cycle can lead to missing training days and further limit training intensity.

3. Inability to Maintain and Build Muscle

If you're not eating enough, it will drastically impact your bodies ability to both maintain and build new muscle. If you're consistently in a calorie deficit and protein isn't kept sufficiently high your body won't prioritize muscle protein synthesis. It may also engage in protein catabolism in which you break down existing muscle tissue so that amino acids can be used to create energy.

4. Fat Loss Plateau

Our bodies are great at achieving homeostasis! If you are chronically undereating, eventually you will experience metabolic adaptations in which your body will adapt to the amount of food that you're giving it. So even if you're eating well below your maintenance calories, eventually your fat loss will plateau.

5. Hindered Production of Non-Essential Amino Acids

Non-essential Amino Acids are those that the body can produce on its own (i.e. you don't need to consume them from food). But the production of these AA's requires energy; something that's in short supply when we're chronically undereating. If we're unable to produce these Amino Acids it can lead to nutrient deficiencies, impaired metabolic processes, and further promote protein catabolism.

If you’ve been eating in a caloric deficit for more than 6 months and are experiencing plateaus, lack of energy, poor sleep, and workout performance then it’s probably time for you to take a dieting break. Not sure how to navigate that process? Click the button below so that Moxie Barbell can help make sure that you’re fueling your body to look and feel your best!

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