Is Skipping Meals a Good Way to Lose Weight?

I remember a few years back when my husband and I took a vacation. It was wonderful to get away and enjoy the new sites and beauty of the land. But we found it was quite expensive. So we decided to buy only two meals a day instead of our usual three. Although we saved in the cost of dining, I found myself eating more at those two meals than I would if I had eaten my customary three and still feeling hungry between sittings.

Skipping meals has a way of backfiring, especially if you’re trying to lose weight. (tweet this)

Like I did, you may become over hungry and over eat. Skipping just one meal causes your blood-sugar levels to dive and without a new supply of calories, your system shifts into starvation mode in an effort to conserve energy. Your metabolism slows, so the food you do eventually take in isn’t burned off as efficiently.

You may want to eat several mini-meals of 400 calories (called grazing), instead of two meals of 1200 calories.

It may feel counter intuitive to eat all day, but grazing helps to increase your energy, it can add variety to your diet, and it’ll help you maintain your weight. Frequent snacking, as long as it’s healthy, keeps hunger at bay and helps control blood sugar. However, if you want to eat more often, be careful to keep your calories in check. Don’t eat too much. Avoid processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and sugary drinks. Instead, fuel up on protein and high-fiber carbs. For example, raw veggies with ¼ cup of hummus for dipping. Why not try grazing? Just watch the quality, calories, and portion sizes of your mini meals.