The Undernourished

I need to talk about the all too common patient I see. The undernourished. From the outside you won't see the signs. Talking to them over coffee or a drink, you could never tell. They are at the gym on a regular basis. Putting everything they have into their workout. You wouldn't ever label them as undernourished. But they are. Their calorie intake is sometimes half of what their body needs just to function. They are starving themselves of essential energy usually from carbohydrates. They are burning off calories at the gym that their body needs to circulate blood, breathe, digest, think. They skip meals, say no thank you I can't eat that. Serve food to their family but not to themselves. 

But they are starving. 

Their metabolism has slowed for survival. For the body to be able to survive, metabolic function slows. The heart beats, the lungs breathe but other functions slow to preserve life. Calories go into storage as fat. Cognitive function is not as sharp as before. Energy levels drop. Immunity is depressed. 

"You have to eat more to lose weight". Every time I say this the response is the same. "Really? Ugh". 

It's hard to nourish ourselves sometimes. To consume more. We are used to depriving ourselves to reach our goals. When in fact we must do the opposite. We must nourish ourselves. We must fill our bodies with healthy, wholesome foods. And then our bodies will in turn work the way they were meant to work. To fuel our mind, our body and our spirit so that we perform at our best. If you are undernourished, slowly starting to add more healthy foods will increase metabolism and the weight will begin to come off. Sometimes it's hard to grasp this concept of eating more to lose weight. We are used to restricting ourselves. But you have to the trust the process. You will be amazed at how you feel when you nourish yourself. Annnd go 💪🏼💜