Are You Eating Enough?
The Weekly Fill: Are You Eating Enough? A Question That Could Change Everything
Are You Eating Enough?
We rarely ask this question in the health space. Historically, health advice has focused on one primary assumption: you’re eating too much.
And yes, for some, this might be true. Current research shows the average caloric intake today is around 4,000 calories daily, which is 1,000 calories more than 50–100 years ago.
While I’m still pondering where that data was derived…
With the majority of people I encounter, the opposite is actually true. On average, the people I work with (and arguably anyone living in the health space) consume half of what we did 100 years ago. Many consume far less than the minimum daily requirement of 1,600 calories for basic health.
Undereating creates significant problems, possibly more damaging than overeating.
I know the health space can feel like a lose-lose situation: eating too much or too little harms your body, making it seem impossible to manipulate caloric intake for positive change.
But here’s the good news: change doesn’t come from extremes. It comes from building a resourced body (and that requires so much more than focusing on calories alone).
The Minnesota Starvation Experiment
One study that highlights this is the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, one of the longest and most revealing studies done on low-energy diets. It examined the effects of prolonged semi-starvation on the body and mind.
During the experiment, the “semi-starved” phase meant consuming an average of 1,532 calories daily—half of what they consumed for proper metabolic health (3,200 calories daily) and yet still less than many people eat today.
NOTE: This wasn’t a normal or healthy range. It was classified as semi-starvation.
This study showed the biological effects of semi-starvation and its psychological, emotional, and behavioral impacts—many of which are common ‘symptoms’ today.
I bring this up because it’s easy to discount the problems that can begin to happen inside the human body when one doesn’t consume enough food resources. Most people who exist in the health and diet space consume even less than what was considered the semi-starvation phase of this experiment (based on the results, this should be alarming).
Why This Matters
The symptoms of undereating stem from metabolic adaptation. When the body doesn’t get enough resources, it compensates by slowing down, leading to fatigue, irritability, and stalled progress in health goals—which is really just the tip of the iceberg.
Other problems could be shown through these common symptoms.
This conversation is why I believe tracking—occasionally and non-restrictively—can be helpful, not for long-term ‘dieting’ or really dieting at all, but to identify gaps in your nutrition.
Yes, I know tracking can feel traumatic after years of restrictive diets. But when done without restriction, it’s a tool to understand where your body is under-resourced.
REMEMBER THIS:
Health doesn’t come from restriction. Health is about expansion. Health is about resourcing your body with the tools to expand its energy to get out and live.
You can’t change what you don’t know (another plug for tracking). And you can’t change without creating the capacity to change.
Before you make drastic shifts, start by making sure the basics of health are covered:
Are you drinking more water than other beverages?
Are you sleeping 7–9 hours a night and waking up energized?
Are you moving your body daily?
Are you eating at least three nourishing meals with all three macronutrients?
Are you connecting with others and finding time to rest?
Health isn’t complicated, even if we’ve made it so. Complexity is just a way to keep you stuck in the present (the one you desperately want to change) because it’s safe, even if it’s not healthy.
Complexity keeps you stuck.
Don’t let it win. Instead of jumping to fancy solutions, life overhauls, or endless supplements, start with simple nourishment. Build your foundation.
When you resource your body, you create the capacity to heal, thrive, and energize your life. You give it the ability to fully live.
Maybe for you, the most powerful change could happen with something as simple as eating a little more.
In the coming podcasts, we’ll discuss why eating enough or at least a balanced caloric intake is vital to overall health. We’re having the conversation everyone needs to know about metabolism.
For now, take a dive into last week's podcast on building capacity (CRITICALLY IMPORTANT) and this week's introduction to metabolic health (and why you might not be eating enough).
The SparkNotes for both are as follows: Health is the act of resourcing your body.
Health is nourishment.
Are you feeling overwhelmed?
I’m getting a sense that you might be feeling overwhelmed by information. It’s true. We do take in a lot of information. Too much information is not always beneficial, but it might keep you stuck.
You can know all of the things, but knowing does not always equate to doing.
Like food, information takes energy to digest (that’s why capacity is so important).
But equal to capacity is taking bits and pieces of information and learning how to implement them. You can’t just consume information; you must do something with it.
You have to be a creator of health, not just a consumer of it.
I want to help you do that by creating a personalized health plan that works for you (and helps you process what we’re learning).
Later this week, I’m going to open up enrollment to Health Made Simple. It’s a course that not only presents foundational health information but is a guide that helps you take action — to generate health inside of you.
THE GOOD NEWS: Paid subscribers get a special discount to join that pays for your entire year subscription.
THE BEST NEWS: Throughout this course I will host weekly live group Q&A sessions to build on your personal plan and create an environment to learn from others.
For now, I’d love to hear your thoughts or any questions you have about this! If you haven’t started the tracking challenge yet, try it for a couple of days—it can help you understand where you fall on the spectrum of caloric intake and make sure to join me over in the chat where we’re sharing what we’re learning.
