Are You Eating Enough? And More Specifically… Are You Eating Enough Carbs?

Most of us were raised on some version of:

“Watch what you eat.”
“Eat less.”
“Be good.”
“Don’t overdo it.”
“Skip the bread.”

And honestly?

A lot of women are really, really good at eating less.

We’ve practiced it for decades.

We know how to make a sad little salad and call it lunch.
We know how to skip breakfast and pretend coffee counts.
We know how to cut carbs, avoid snacks, track every bite, white-knuckle our way through hunger, and convince ourselves that being under-fueled means we’re being disciplined...at least until 8pm.

But here’s the problem:

Eating less isn’t always the answer.

Especially if you are an active woman.

Especially if you lift weights.

Especially if you’re in perimenopause or menopause.

Especially if you’re trying to build muscle, lose fat, recover well, sleep well, support your hormones, and not feel like garbage by 3 p.m.

At some point, the question has to shift from:

“How little can I eat?”

to:

“Am I actually eating enough to support the body I’m asking so much from?”

Because that is a very different conversation.

Low Energy Availability: When Your Body Doesn’t Have Enough to Work With

There’s a term in sports nutrition called low energy availability, or LEA.

In plain English, this means:

The calories you’re eating are not enough to cover your workouts plus your body’s basic needs.

Your body still has to run your brain.
Regulate your hormones.
Support your immune system.
Maintain bone health.
Recover from training.
Build and repair muscle.
Keep your menstrual cycle functioning, if you still have one.
Keep your metabolism doing its job.

And then, on top of that, you’re asking it to lift heavy things, do cardio, walk 10,000 steps, take care of kids, run a business, work a full-time job, manage stress, and somehow be pleasant to other humans.

That requires energy.

Not vibes.

Not willpower.

Not another “clean eating” challenge.

ENERGY.

When your body does not have enough energy coming in, something eventually has to give.

Signs of low energy availability can include:

chronic fatigue
poor recovery
decreased performance
increased injuries
hormonal disruption
missed or irregular periods
decreased bone density
suppressed immune function
brain fog
muscle loss
feeling like your body is not responding to training the way it used to

And here’s where it gets tricky for women in midlife: A lot of those symptoms can look like “just perimenopause.”

And yes, hormones matter.

But sometimes the problem is not that your body is broken.

Sometimes the problem is that your body is under-fueled.

You Can Be Under-Eating Even If You’re Not Losing Weight

This is the part that messes with people’s heads.

A lot of women assume, “I can’t be under-eating because I’m not losing weight.”

But low energy availability does not always look like being thin.

You can be under-fueled and still have body fat you want to lose.

You can be under-fueled and still feel “stuck.”

You can be under-fueled and still gain weight over time because your body is adapting to what feels like a threat.

When you chronically under-eat, your body may respond by downshifting.

Your resting metabolic rate can decrease.
Your training output can drop.
Your hunger and cravings can increase.
Your recovery can suffer.
Your body may become more protective of stored energy...hello stubborn weight loss.

This is one of the reasons I talk so much about maintenance, reverse dieting, and eating enough before trying to eat less.

Because if your body is already stressed, under-recovered, under-muscled, and under-fueled, another fat loss phase may not be the magic bullet you want it to be.

It may just be more stress on an already stressed system.

And in midlife, that matters.

A lot.

Eating Enough Supports Muscle

If you care about changing your body composition, you need to care about muscle.

Muscle is not just about looking “toned.”

Muscle supports your metabolism.
Muscle supports insulin sensitivity.
Muscle supports strength, function, aging, and independence.
Muscle is one of the most important things we can build and preserve as we move through perimenopause and beyond.

But muscle is expensive. Your body needs enough energy to build it.

It needs enough protein.
It needs enough carbs.
It needs enough total calories.
It needs enough recovery.

You cannot consistently ask your body to train hard, recover well, build muscle, and thrive while giving it the nutritional equivalent of a toddler’s lunchbox.

I say that with love. And maybe a little side-eye.

And Now Let’s Talk About Carbs

Because this is where so many women panic.

Even women who are eating “enough” calories may still be under-eating carbohydrates. Protein's PR team deserves a raise. The carbs are still needing a little PR help.

Carbs matter.

Especially if you train.

Carbohydrates are your body’s preferred fuel source for higher-intensity exercise. That includes strength training, sprint intervals, conditioning, hard hikes, running, cycling, and anything that requires power, intensity, or repeated effort. Even your beloved pickleball.

Protein is important.

Fat is important.

But carbs are not optional if you want to train hard and recover well.

When carbohydrate intake is too low, you may notice:

low energy during workouts
poor performance
feeling flat or weak
poor recovery
increased cravings
disrupted sleep
mood changes
more soreness
feeling like your body is dragging through training
increased stress response

And for women, low carbohydrate availability may contribute to some of the same problems we see with low energy availability, including hormonal disruption, increased bone breakdown, and immune suppression.

So yes, calories matter.

But where those calories come from also matters.

You can technically eat enough calories and still not be giving your body the carbs it needs to support your training and hormones.

But Don’t Carbs Cause Weight Gain?

No.

Overeating total calories over time can lead to weight gain. Carbs themselves are not the villain.

What often happens is this:

A woman cuts carbs.
She loses water weight quickly.
She thinks, “Carbs were the problem.”
Then she adds carbs back in.
The scale goes up because glycogen and water return.
She panics and thinks, “See? Carbs make me gain weight.”

But that is not the same as fat gain.

Carbs are stored in your muscles and liver as glycogen. Glycogen holds water. That is normal. That is healthy. That is part of being well-fueled.

A well-fueled muscle is not a problem. It is literally the goal.

How Many Carbs Do Active Women Need?

This depends on your body, your training, your goals, and your current metabolic health, but many active women are eating far fewer carbs than they need.

General sports nutrition recommendations often range from about 5–10 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight per day, depending on training load and intensity.

For athletes and very active women, needs may be closer to the higher end of that range.

Now, before you grab your calculator and spiral, this does not mean every woman needs to start eating 500 grams of carbs tomorrow.

Context matters.

But it does mean this:

If you are lifting, doing high-intensity intervals, walking a lot, training for endurance events, or living a very active life, 100 grams of carbs per day may not be enough.

And I know that number sounds “normal” in diet culture.

But normal does not always mean optimal.

Especially for active women (that's you).

Especially for women in perimenopause.

Especially for women trying to build or maintain muscle.

Eat Earlier. Fuel Better.

One of the easiest ways women end up under-fueled is by accidentally backloading the day.

Coffee for breakfast.
Tiny lunch.
Maybe a protein bar.
Then by 4 p.m., they are standing in the pantry eating crackers like a feral raccoon.

Not because they lack discipline. Because they are hungry.

Your body is smart.

If you under-eat early in the day, your hunger often catches up with you later. Then you feel like you “blew it,” when really, you just didn’t fuel enough when your body needed it.

For many women, eating more earlier in the day helps stabilize energy, hunger, training performance, and cravings.

This does not have to be complicated.

Start with:

a real breakfast
25–40 grams of protein
a carb source
enough total food to feel satisfied

Not stuffed.

Not “perfect.”

Fueled.

What This Looks Like in Real Life

Eating enough does not mean eating everything in sight.

It does not mean ignoring your goals.

It does not mean you can never pursue fat loss.

It means you stop trying to build a strong, resilient, hormonally supported body on fumes.

It might look like:

Adding carbs around your workouts.

Eating breakfast instead of fasting until noon.

Increasing calories slowly after months or years of restriction.

Spending time at maintenance before entering another deficit.

Eating 3–4 solid meals instead of grazing on random snacks all day.

Pairing protein with carbs instead of eating protein alone and wondering why you still feel hungry.

Choosing the bigger lunch because you actually have a full day ahead of you.

Trusting that fueling your body is not the same as “letting yourself go.”

Because it’s not.

It’s taking care of yourself.

The Bottom Line

If you are an active woman, especially in perimenopause or menopause, your body needs energy.

Enough energy to train.
Enough energy to recover.
Enough energy to build muscle.
Enough energy to support your hormones.
Enough energy to keep your bones strong.
Enough energy to function like a human being who does not want to rage-text everyone by 3 p.m.

And yes, that includes carbs.

Carbs are not a moral failing.

They are fuel.

And sometimes the thing standing between you and the results you want is not more restriction.

It’s not another reset.

It’s not cutting more food.

It’s learning how to eat enough.

Because sometimes, you have to eat more before you eat less.

And sometimes, the most disciplined thing you can do is actually fuel the body you keep asking to perform.