Understanding the Starved Brain: Why Your Body Fights Dieting and Restriction

Have you ever wondered why your body seems to fight you when you try to lose weight? Why dieting feels like an uphill battle—physically, mentally, and emotionally? If you’ve ever thought, “Why is this so hard?” or blamed yourself for “failing” at a diet, you’re not alone. And more importantly, it’s not your fault.

At Eat At Ease Counselling, we work with individuals who are navigating the complex world of eating disorders, disordered eating, chronic dieting, and recovery. One of the most helpful frameworks we offer clients is understanding what actually happens to the body and brain when it doesn’t get enough food. It’s not about willpower—it’s about survival.

This blog will take you on a deep dive into the concept of the “cave person brain”—a part of your brain that has one job: to keep you alive. When you understand how your body responds to starvation or restriction, you’ll see just how intelligent and protective it really is. It’s not working against you—it’s working for you.

Meet Your Cave Person Brain

Imagine your brain as having two distinct systems: the modern, rational, thinking part (the one that can do math, scroll social media, and make grocery lists), and the ancient, survival-focused part - the cave person brain.

This cave person brain doesn’t care about what you look like in a bathing suit or whether your jeans still fit. Its primary concern is: Are we safe? Do we have enough food? Can we survive another day?

It’s this part of the brain that manages your day-to-day physiological functions - heart rate, digestion, blood pressure, temperature regulation, and reproductive hormones. And when it senses that food is scarce (whether due to an eating disorder, a strict diet, or even a busy schedule that makes you skip meals), it goes into high alert.

Its interpretation? “We must be in a famine.”

This is where everything starts to change.

The Biological Response to Starvation

When your cave person brain believes food is scarce, it doesn’t take any chances. Its first order of business is to conserve energy, just like it would have done for your ancestors thousands of years ago during a harsh winter or a long drought.

Here’s what your body does:

• Slows your metabolic rate so fewer calories are burned.

• Reduces your heart rate and lowers your blood pressure.

• Slows digestion to conserve energy (often causing bloating, constipation, or nausea).

• Decreases circulation to extremities like your hands and feet to protect vital organs.

• Dulls your energy and motivation so you don’t waste calories moving too much.

This is not your body giving up—it’s your body protecting you.

People often misinterpret this slowdown as a sign that they’re “lazy” or “not trying hard enough.” But in reality, it’s a brilliant biological adaptation designed to keep you alive until food is available again.

What is Metabolism, Really?

Let’s pause here and clarify a commonly misunderstood concept: metabolism.

You may have heard people talk about having a “fast” or “slow” metabolism, usually in the context of how easily they gain or lose weight. But metabolism is much more than that. It refers to the total sum of all chemical processes your body uses to stay alive - things like keeping your heart beating, lungs breathing, body warm, and cells functioning.

Did you know that most of the calories you burn each day don’t come from exercise? They come from just existing. Keeping your body temperature at 36.6°C, powering your organs, and producing hormones all require energy. In fact, your body uses more calories to maintain its internal systems than you could ever burn on a treadmill.

When you restrict calories, your metabolism adjusts downward—because your body is trying to match its energy use to the new, limited energy supply. This is why people often feel fatigued, cold, or foggy when dieting.

Variability - Why Two People Can Eat the Same and React Differently

Here’s something that frustrates many of our clients: They eat the same as someone else, move similarly, and yet experience completely different outcomes.

This is because every person’s body reacts uniquely to energy restriction based on genetics, history, and environmental exposure. Some people may quickly develop medical issues from an eating disorder, while others seem to function “normally” for longer. But this doesn’t mean they’re not affected - it just means their genetic sensitivity is different.

For example, two people might drink heavily for years. One might experience liver failure at 35, while the other lives to 90. What’s the difference? Likely genetic susceptibility.

The same is true for eating disorders. Some individuals appear physically healthy for years, while others face serious complications early on. Both deserve care, compassion, and medical support.

Starvation and Hormonal Shutdown

Another major impact of starvation is hormonal. When the body is under stress from inadequate food, it makes a critical decision: Now is not a safe time to make a baby.And so, it shuts down sex hormone production.

This leads to a condition called hypothalamic hypogonadism, where the brain stops signaling the body to produce the hormones needed for reproduction. In females, this often results in missed or irregular periods and low estrogen levels. In males, it can cause low testosterone and related issues.

Beyond reproductive concerns, low sex hormone levels can contribute to:

• Loss of bone density (increasing the risk of fractures)

• Fatigue and mood changes

• Decreased libido and fertility

These are not “vanity” concerns—they’re signs that your body is operating in survival mode, prioritising the most urgent systems.

Starvation and the Brain—Anxiety, Obsession, and Hypervigilance

One of the most powerful (and often distressing) effects of starvation happens inside the brain.

When the cave person brain detects famine, it ramps up your anxiety and vigilance. You may feel constantly on edge, scanning your environment for threats. This is not a coincidence—it’s a survival mechanism. Think about a wild animal that hasn’t eaten for days: it becomes hyper-alert, jumpy, reactive. It’s on high alert because it needs to find food and avoid danger.

Humans in a state of starvation do the same. You might find yourself:

• Struggling to sleep, often waking with racing thoughts

• Obsessing over food - what you ate, what you’ll eat next

• Becoming rigid and fearful about changes in routine

• Feeling more emotional or irritable than usual

• Interpreting neutral situations as threatening

This kind of mental overdrive isn’t a sign you’re losing control—it’s your brain doing exactly what it was designed to do when it thinks your life is at risk. It’s saying, “Be careful. Stay alert. Something’s not right.”

Many of our clients say they feel like they’ve lost their sense of peace, that everything feels harder, scarier, or more overwhelming. But here’s the truth: it’s not who you are - it’s what your starved brain is doing to keep you alive.

The Misunderstood Obsession with Food

Have you ever noticed how people who are dieting - or deep in an eating disorder - can’t stop thinking about food?

This is not a character flaw or a lack of willpower. It’s biology.

One of the most famous studies in eating disorder science is the Minnesota Starvation Experiment (1944), in which healthy men voluntarily underwent a period of semi-starvation. By the end of the experiment, they were:

• Reading cookbooks obsessively

• Talking about food constantly

• Cutting meals into tiny pieces

• Having dreams and fantasies about eating

The conclusion? Food obsession is a normal response to starvation. It’s not a sign of weakness - it’s a sign that your brain is doing exactly what it must to survive.

In eating disorder recovery, this obsession often starts to fade only after the body is consistently nourished. Until then, it’s common and expected.

The Truth About Dieting and Fad Trends

Our modern world is full of diets disguised as wellness: “clean eating,” “detoxing,” “intermittent fasting,” “resetting,” and so on. While these may sound appealing or health-oriented, many of them are simply starvation in disguise.

Your cave person brain doesn’t care what the diet is called. It doesn’t recognize Instagram trends or wellness influencers. It recognizes one thing only: not enough food = danger.

So it reacts, the same way it has for thousands of years:

• Slows you down

• Reduces motivation

• Triggers obsessive thinking

• Lowers your immune function

• And prepares your body to hold on to energy - i.e., fat - as protection

  
  

Your body is not the enemy. It’s your most loyal protector.

Nutritional Rehabilitation - Rebuilding Trust

If starvation creates such profound changes in the body and brain, what does recovery look like?

The answer is nutritional rehabilitation - a structured, compassionate process of helping the body feel safe again by feeding it consistently, adequately, and without fear.

While the term “refeeding” is still used medically, many clinicians now prefer “nutritional rehabilitation” because it emphasizes respect and restoration, not just calories.

The process involves:

• Restoring regular meals and snacks

  
  
  
  

• Eating enough to cover both current needs and past deficits

• Supporting the client emotionally through the discomfort of early eating

• Monitoring for refeeding syndrome (a rare but serious complication)

• Teaching clients to respond to hunger and fullness cues again

During this phase, the body often enters a state of hypermetabolism, where it burns energy at a rapid rate in order to repair tissues, restore hormones, and rebuild trust.

Clients may feel unusually hungry - this is normal. It’s not “eating too much” - it’s catching up on what was missed.

Healing Isn’t Just Physical

While restoring nutrition is essential, eating disorder recovery also involves rebuilding emotional safety and psychological flexibility.

When someone has lived in a starved state, they often experience:

• Rigidity and resistance to change

• Black-and-white thinking

• Intense fear around food, weight, or uncertainty

• Shame and guilt about eating or needing help

Therapy is key here. At Eat At Ease Counselling, we integrate approaches like:

• Somatic work to help clients reconnect with their bodies

• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to challenge disordered thoughts

• Nutrition counselling to reduce fear and build practical skills

• Compassionate psychoeducation that reminds clients their bodies are on their side

Recovery isn’t about perfect eating. It’s about building a life where food is just food - and not a source of shame or fear.

Your Body Is Not Broken

So many of our clients come to us feeling betrayed by their bodies. They say things like:

“Why do I gain weight so easily?”

“Why can’t I just stop thinking about food?”

“I don’t trust my hunger.”

“I feel like my body is working against me.”

We want to say this loud and clear:

Your body is not broken. Your body is trying to save your life.

It’s responding to years of scarcity, fear, or trauma with resilience. It’s working exactly as it should. What we’re doing in recovery is rebuilding the trust between you and your body - slowly, patiently, and with care.

You Are Deserving of Nourishment

You don’t have to earn your food. You don’t have to hit a goal weight or complete a workout to deserve nourishment. You deserve to eat because you are alive.

At Eat At Ease Counselling, we believe that healing from disordered eating is not about “fixing” a broken system - it’s about unlearning the lies diet culture has told us and relearning how to care for ourselves with compassion, connection, and curiosity.

Your body has been fighting for you all along.