Whether you want to lose weight, build muscle, or stay healthy and strong as you get older, providing your body with the protein it needs is essential. As the building block for making everything from your hair, skin, bones, muscles, and cartilage, protein is vital to repairing and creating new cells. Consuming too little protein can adversely affect how you look and feel.

In this article, you’ll learn 5 warning signs that you may not be eating enough protein (and what you can do about it).