Don't Skip Meals To Lose Weight.

I know so many people who regularly skip at least one meal a day, usually breakfast because they do not want to gain weight, or they aren't much for eating, or they don't like it.  I've also seen at least one television medical person who says we should eat brunch and skip breakfast totally but for most of us, our work schedule doesn't allow for that recommendation.

The truth about skipping meals especially breakfast is fascinating and goes against some of our beliefs.  Science has shown that skipping meals in general is bad, no matter which meal is skipped.  Research has found that when a meal is skipped, your blood sugar decreases you begin feeling fatigued, irritated, and makes it harder to think.  It also causes your body to produce additional cortisol which increases our stress level, and hungry.  Furthermore, it causes your metabolism to slow down resulting in a weight gain.  In addition, your body switches to a survival mode causing you to crave food and you have to eat.  Unfortunately, this craving is a desire for unhealthy foods.

It is important to see what each meal does to see why you shouldn't skip any meal.  Breakfast provides the kickstart your body needs to function well.  When you eat it, your metabolism increases, supplies energy, and increases your focus for work or for school.  It energizes you and keeps you from dragging.

In addition, there are studies out there are studies that indicate eating breakfast improves health, memory and concentration, lower levels of bad cholesterol, and decreased chances of diabetes, heart disease, and gaining too much weight.  There are indications that when people skip breakfast, they overeat later.

There are other people who eat breakfast but skip lunch thinking that it won't create a problem but that is not correct.  When people eat lunch, it provides them with additional energy so they don't feel like sleeping, and raises blood sugar levels that make it easier to focus and keeps your metabolism going because if you don't eat for long periods of time, your metabolism slows down significantly.   It is like burning a fire without adding fuel to it. It eventually goes out.

There have been studies done that indicate people who skip meals tend to weight more than those who eat regular meals.  In addition, it is shown that when people skip meals, they tend to eat more and often eat foods that are higher in fats, sugars, and calories.  The same can be said about dinner.  If you skip dinner, you body has to go a very long time before it is fueled again.

I have seen suggestions regarding daily eating that suggestion people eat so they do not skip any meals.  The first suggestion is for people to take the amount of food they might normally eat all day and divide it into five smaller meals so you don't go longer than four hours between meals.  The second has been around for a lot longer.  In this train of thought, a person eats the big meal in the morning, a smaller meal at lunch and the smallest at night.

The logic behind the second train of thought is most people eat large dinners and end up consuming about half of their calories at dinner.  The body when it is at rest tends to burn less fat but there is not evidence you will gain weight when you eat a large dinner.

No matter what, all meals should be made of healthy food, have enough protein for our bodies, and are not filled with fat or sugar.  Think about what I've talked about here if you want to skip meals to loose weight.  Skipping meals makes it harder.  Let me know what you. think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.