Curious: Eating below RMR side effects?

[take.it.off]

Just out of curiosity, does anybody know the side effects of eating beneath your RMR? I mean, if your body doesn't have enough calories to carry out it's bodily functions at rest, I'm assuming lethargy for sure...but does anyone actually know?

This is just something I was thinking about lol.

[Miranda]

depends on duration.

look at anorexics. prolonged starvation causes fat loss, muscle loss and water retention due to increased cortisol levels. you'll become deficient in essential vitamins, minerals etc. it also tends to fuk with your head severely.

but a few days of eating little probably won't have much of an effect. people who do IF regularly eat 'under their RMR' if you would base it on a 24-hr period (since they fast up to 18 hours) and manage fine.

[take.it.off]

Yeah - after I posted I started thinking it would likely be similar to what anorexics feel (but I have no idea what that is haha)...

I just can't imagine how much internal damage it would do. Like, I wonder if you'd lose brain cells in the process etc....? hmm, I guess I was just having one of those "I wonder" moments.

[Emma-Leigh]

I just can't imagine how much internal damage it would do. Like, I wonder if you'd lose brain cells in the process etc....? hmm, I guess I was just having one of those "I wonder" moments.

^ yes, unfortunately, you eventually do lose 'brain cells'. Not only white matter (the fatty cells around the brain cells that help with nerve conduction), but also grey matter... <-- thought to be associated with the restricted higher executive functioning that is often seen in severe EDs.... And, unfortunately, a lot of this damage is irreversible.

[take.it.off]

^ yes, unfortunately, you eventually do lose 'brain cells'. Not only white matter (the fatty cells around the brain cells that help with nerve conduction), but also grey matter... <-- thought to be associated with the restricted higher executive functioning that is often seen in severe EDs.... And, unfortunately, a lot of this damage is irreversible.

Wow - that's scary, but I guess it makes sense if you think about it logically.

It makes me think of one of my girlfriends who just lost 50+lbs around the same time I did, but much faster. As she lost it, I noticed she was looking really 'flabby' so I sat down with her one day to ask what she was doing - thinking I could give her some pointers on maintaining and building muscle etc. Well it turned out she was eating 600 calories a day and running for 1-2 hours a day. She wants that "America's next top model" look and told me she was purposefully looking to lose all her muscle.

From that day on, I've worried about her. Especially since people do nothing but encourage her weight loss, because they don't know how she is really doing it. I don't really associate with her much anymore, but when I posted this thread I was thinking about what she must be doing to her insides...

I just don't understand it. I love food and I love muscle!