Many people think that weight loss is all about depriving your body of food. I too thought that for quite sometime till I got to know that if you deny your body the food it needs for maintenance and growth, then it will all be a waste of time, not to mention unhealthy. I have learned that by skipping meals, you’ll not only overeat when meal time finally comes around but also slower your weight loss. That means if you do not give your body fuel (necessary nutrients) it thinks you are starving it and will actually hold onto fat stores.
Let’s see what actually happens when you skipping meals or starve yourself:
“We think if we reduce calories, then our bodies must eat away at body fat. Then it makes sense that if we full on starve ourselves four hours or days, then our bodies will eat the extra fat at a much faster rate. Well unfortunately it doesn’t work that way, well not fully. In fact, something worse happens. Your body goes into what is called “starvation mode”. Instead of losing all fat, your body enters a fight or flight mode and tries to preserve the fat for back up energy. Instead your body pulls from other sources of energy first or foremost, such as lean mass muscle. Your body will “eat away” at about 50% from your lean muscle, 25% from body water weight, and only about 25% from body fat according to Tom Venuto, author of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle. So with every pound you lose starving yourself, half of that is lean muscle and only ¼ is fat…” – KnowMyBody.com
You won’t get the body you want by starving yourself. Food is not your enemy. It is the fuel you need to get you through your day.
If you really want to kick your weight loss problem for good, then I suggest you eat several small, healthy meals a day, drink at least 8 glasses of water a day and don’t forget to exercise.
(Photo courtesy of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)