You Need to Eat To Lose

I know it seems perfectly logical to think that the less you eat, the faster you'll lose weight. If you've tried this at home, kids, you may have come face to face with a seemingly inexplicable and whopping disappointment: the scale didn't budge and you may have even put on some weight.

You may be scratching your head or pulling out your hair wondering, "Where did I go wrong? " You were pressing play and only eating twice a day! Maybe next time you'll skip lunch, too, you figure. That will surely do the trick!

Uh, no!! Now, I want you to listen up, and listen up good!

YOU HAVE TO EAT 4-6 SMALL MEALS A DAY TO LOSE WEIGHT. THAT'S A FACT.

Skipping meals may work, but only momentarily. Once your body catches on that you're depriving it of essential calories, it's going to hold on to every little thing you put in your system. And once you start eating normally, you will see the numbers on the scale climb back up, possibly higher than before. By not consuming enough calories you are doing damage to your body...and besides, who wants to go through life hungry when it is completely unnecessary and unproductive!

If you want to lose weight, I repeat this for the hard-headed, you must eat and you must eat from 4 to 6 meals a day. Got it? Good!

Now read this!

Source:
UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE
DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND GERIATRIC MEDICINE
Written by Nancy Kuppersmith RD,MS,LD,CDE and Cynthia Kennedy MS,RD,LD
Edited and designed by Heather Dodds
Copyright © 2005 University of Louisville Research Foundation Inc.

The Perils of Skipping Meals

Whether we are busy, sleeping, or caught in
traffic, skipping meals is not good for weight
management or health.

When we don’t eat we:
· Get overhungry
and overeat,
not because we
lack “will power,” but because our bodies are
programmed to survive. When we get
overhungry
we eat like food is scarce!

· Make unhealthy choices because we become so
hungry that we can only think about getting food.
The food we crave is usually quick and easy like
soft drinks, fast food, and chips from our
cabinets, the gas station, or vending machines.
Skipping meals:

· Causes the body to lower its metabolism
(how much energy it needs to function)

· Causes us to burn less energy, fewer calories

· Can lead us to gain weight when we eat our
usual amount of food

· Leaves us with little energy because the body
has run out of the fuel we get from food

· Leaves us sluggish and tired

· Causes headaches or makes us feel weak and
shaky

Many people believe skipping meals or
eating less often helps us to lose weight.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

· We feel our best if we eat healthy foods about
every few hours while we are awake.

· Eating small frequent meals actually helps us to
lose weight.

Eating at regular times of the day can help us
control how many calories we take in, but running
errands can run into your meal times.

Follow these tips to avoid eating at a fast food restaurant or a
gas station, where we often chose foods that we
like instead of smart and moderate amounts of
food.

· Try to carry healthy food with you, in the car, or
stock up on food at work so that you can have
healthy food on hand.

· Always prebag snacks so you have the right
portion size.