Is Skipping Meals Making You Fat?

What is the biggest mistake you can make when you are trying to lose weight? As strange as it may sound, it might be skipping meals.

The idea is that by skipping meals you can cut down your overall calorie intake.

And when you take in fewer calories you'll lose weight.

It's a great idea in theory. But in practice it usually does not work.

Don't starve yourself

When you skip meals you go into starvation mode. Your body thinks it will never eat again. And it starts to adjust your hormones in order to hold onto those calories.

Your body turns itself into a fat storing machine. You don't want that.

And what happens when it gets good at storing fat? It gets bad at breaking down fat.

You want it the other way. You want to be good at breaking down fat. And bad at storing it.

Muscle breakdown equals slower metabolism

See, when you skip a meal your body needs energy. And since you can't break down fat you have to get it somewhere. But where?

That's right. You break down your lean tissue. You break down your muscles and use them for food.

So you end up with less muscle, and less muscle means a slower metabolism. And you end up weaker, so you have a harder time exercising.

What about breakfast?

And the very worst meal to skip is breakfast. Why? Because you have already been without food for 8 hours or so. So you are already in starvation mode.

And on top of that you need to get ready for an active day. Any food you eat for breakfast will be put to work providing energy for your day. It won't get stored as fat. It will be used to power you through the day.

But instead if you skip breakfast you will get hungrier throughout the day. You will be behind on your calorie intake. So by night you will be starving.

Big dinner and late night snacks

You're going to be hungry by dinner time. Really hungry. So you eat a big dinner. And a bedtime snack, right?

And what is your body going to do with all that food and those snacks? It will store them as fat!

So how can you be successful? Well, here's where you start:

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