I was struggling super hard with not eating enough calories! I’ve always heard the calories-in-calories-out mantra, and figured that the fewer calories I could eat, the quicker I’d be able to lose weight.

What I learned, though, is that when under-eating (for me eating less than about 1200-1400/calories a day), your body will have a harder time losing weight. This is partially due to the rapid slow-down in ones metabolism when they eat too few calories. Eating at the 800/calorie a day mark also tends to lead to more weight gain in the future because it just isn’t super sustainable long term!

Another side effect I experienced when eating too little was a lack of energy. I wasn’t eating enough to fuel my body, and thus I was super sluggish. When I made a conscious effort to eat more “good food” I had enough energy to make it to the gym after work, or to take my dogs an extra lap on their walk!

Hang in there, you are doing amazing things!