If you’re like most people struggling with disordered eating, restriction is a key component of what’s going on.

When we think of restriction, we can think of both physical food restriction and mental food restriction.

Physical food restriction is when you are intentionally eating less than your body requires to function optimally. Usually this is done out of a desire to change one’s body shape or size, but can also be done for other reasons (such as to manage anxiety).

Mental food restriction, on the other hand, is when you have restricting thoughts about food, regardless of whether or not you are actually limiting your food intake.

👇 Examples of mental restriction might be:

• I shouldn’t go back for more at dinner because I shouldn’t eat this much (even though I’m genuinely hungry).
• I can’t have this brownie after lunch (even though I would genuinely like to enjoy one right now).
• If I eat more than I “planned,” I need to limit more later (regardless of my hunger signals as the day goes on).

In this post, I’m going to be highlighting 7 reasons why NOT to restrict. 💫

BUT FIRST, a side note. When I recommend you “not restrict,” that isn’t the same thing as me saying you should never say no to having a specific food or food quantity. That would be absurd.

The main difference is our motivation. 

Restriction is done from a disordered eating mindset. This is in contrast to what I refer to as  “healthy food boundary.” I highly recommend checking out my blog post on healthy food boundaries versus unhealthy restriction for more on this. This would be a good resource as a companion to today’s topic!

Now let’s get to why I think you should NOURISH your body properly and not deprive it of the nutrition it needs!! 🌟

7 Reasons Not to Restrict

It’s not helping you in the long run

Even if your goal is to lose weight or change your body shape/size, unhealthy restriction is NOT helping you, especially not in the long run. 😑

I’m not an eating disorder dietitian who is so black and white that I see no place ever for weight loss. (MANY NUANCES HERE…). If someone is genuinely not at a body size that is healthiest for her specific genetics and natural body size, by pursuing healthy behavior change, experiencing weight loss is likely a healthy side effect.

Note that I phrase this as pursuing healthy behavior change, not fixating on a specific number goal (which is not an outcome we can directly control and is not necessarily indicative of health).

Read more on what it looks like to pursue healthy nutrition and fitness goals here.

That being said, I’ve worked with a number of women who are so dissatisfied with their appearances and body sizes that their solution is to overly restrict intake to the point that this is all backfiring and making matters worse. Metabolism slows, hormones slow, digestion slows. 🤯

Sometimes someone will initially lose weight by overly restricting intake, convincing themselves that this “works” and I just need to “get back to what was working.”

BUT, the body is smart, and will generally prevent this self-induced semi-starvation state from happening again. In most cases, the body will protect against further weight loss and potentially even induce greater weight gain.

You are slowing down your metabolism

As alluded to above, when you restrict you are drastically slowing down your metabolism.

Rather than eating less, it’s actually generally ideal to be eating the MAX that your body / metabolism can handle! This keeps your metabolism firing on all cylinders. 💪🏼

When you feel physical hunger… eat! Don’t avoid eating, telling yourself you “shouldn’t be hungry.” This just slows down your metabolism and/or increases the likelihood of chaotic overeating later on. 

I take it as a good sign when I’m experiencing regular hunger signals every 2-4 hours. This means my body is efficiently processing what I’m eating, and I’m fueling well for my body’s needs. Not experiencing regular hunger signals is one sign that things are likely slowed… way… down… and not functioning efficiently.

You are negatively impacting your hormones

When you aren’t eating enough for your body’s needs, one of the things that suffers is your hormones.

Energy aka calories, especially DIETARY FAT / CHOLESTEROL, is needed for your body to produce the hormones it needs.

Again, even if you are genuinely at a weight that is higher than is healthy for your specific body, by restricting intake to the point of damaging your hormones and metabolism, you are doing more harm than “good.” 

We can think of our hormones, metabolisms, and digestive systems as the foundation of a house. When our foundation is a mess, the entire house crumbles. Similarly, when your “foundation” is not functioning optimally physiologically, experiencing your body’s healthiest size or state is not going to be achievable or sustainable.

All the more reason to eat and to eat ENOUGH! 🌟

You are more likely to experience chaotic eating

When you aren’t eating enough, you are much more likely to experience chaotic eating (potentially to the point of binge eating).

Undereating is one of the (if not the #1) biggest triggers for chaotic overeating.

Again, our bodies are smart, and try to do what they need to do to get their nutrition needs met. When you aren’t eating enough, your hunger is more likely to be experienced in a chaotic and out-of-control way, because your body is like “get me all the food now because I don’t know when and if I will have access to eating again any time soon!”

This extreme / chaotic hunger can be experienced on a more micro level (such as not having enough at breakfast one day) or a more macro level (such as not eating enough over time).

In my opinion, a much better approach is to eat enough. This might look like:

• Having a solid and balanced breakfast. One example might be eggs scrambled in butter, avocado toast, and fruit. 🍇🥑🍳
• Eating every 2-4 hours. Not only do we want to be eating enough quantity-wise, but also to be eating regularly.
• Having a few intentional snacks throughout the day. Instead of avoiding snacks altogether or grazing on a bag of chips, consider a more balanced snack such as chips w/ guacamole, yogurt w/ nut butter + granola, or dark chocolate w/ peanut butter.

Eating enough, including “getting ahead of your hunger” (aka eating enough earlier in the day in particular, before you get absolutely starving by afternoon), is KEY to feeling more calm and centered around food.

And… if you eat and are hungry an hour later… it likely means you didn’t eat enough before and should note to eat more in the future! (In addition to going to get a snack or meal in the moment).

You will have decreased energy

If you want to be strong, build muscle, and increase your fitness, you NEED to be eating enough. As in, NOT restricting.

If you’re not eating enough, your body won’t have what it needs to build muscle. In fact, it is probably breaking down your own muscle to use as energy. 😑

If you want to be strong and to improve your aerobic fitness, you need to eat enough (likely what might seem to you like quite a lot!!!) to have the energy to exercise and workout (if appropriate for your current health status).

If you aren’t in a place where it’s healthy for you to exercise / intentionally work on your fitness, it’s important just the same to be eating enough so you can get to a place where this can be healthy for you.

Exercise aside, by restricting you will also have decreased energy for things like school, work, taking care of kids, being present in relationships, and general daily life.

You will likely have a host of other physical symptoms

When you’re restricting and your body isn’t getting all the wonderful macronutrients (fat + carb + protein) and micronutrients (vitamins + minerals) that it needs, this leads to many other potential physical symptoms.

Possible side effects of restricting include:

• Hair loss
• Decreased stamina
• Irregular or missing menstrual cycle
• Increased acne
• Digestive disturbances
• Sleep disturbances
• Memory problems
• and more!

Not eating enough effects every system in the body — heart health, brain health, thyroid health, muscle health, and more. And the longer your restriction goes on, the more these body systems are going to be affected.

There is a much better way! 

My last reason for not restricting is that there is a much better way! 🙌

Often clients I work with are afraid that if they were to eat more / nourish their bodies more, they will spiral into endless unhealthy weight gain.

When we pursue HEALTH, along with the foundation of a HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP with food, we are likely to experience both the body that is healthiest for us as well as a peaceful and balanced relationship with food.

Pursuing health might look like:

• Eating enough to nourish your body
• Eating balanced meals and snacks
• Exercising in a way you enjoy
• Getting enough sleep

Pursuing a healthy relationship with food might look like:

• Making peace with food, instead of experiencing all sorts of mental noise over what you should or shouldn’t be eating
• Incorporating a variety of foods (i.e., plenty of nutritious foods but also “fun foods”)
• Listening to your hunger signals and not viewing hunger as a bad thing to be avoided

Restriction is misery.

Your body isn’t functioning well and is even breaking down if going on long enough.

You likely feel chaotic and overwhelmed by food.

You don’t have all the energy you need to pursue your dreams and goals in life.

What’s one step you can take today to choose nourishment over restriction?

If this is something that feels overwhelming, I encourage you to seek the support you need. This likely looks like finding a quality eating disorder dietitian and therapist to help you work through both the practicals of nutrition and the thoughts and feelings you are experiencing regarding food and your body.

It can feel easy and comfortable to continue on with restriction.

But what if the healthy, abundant, adventurous, and freeing life you desire is on the other side of leaning into your fears and learning to truly nourish your body?

You don’t need to stay stuck! Courage is a choice, and if you choose, freedom and true health can be your future. 💜

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