Not Eating Can Make You Fat

There are endless numbers of people who claim that they don't understand why they are overweight or even obese because they don't eat very much. Other people will roll their eyes at this comment, assuming that this person is either in denial or outright lying about their food consumption. How could someone be obese when they only eat one meal a day?

I am one of these people. On most days I will eat either nothing all day or sometimes a granola bar. Either Diet Coke or iced tea accompanies this. Dinner comes in around 6 pm and is a standard meal, nothing outrageous in calories or fat. Occasionally, I will have something salty or sweet for dessert. However, the calories simply do not add up to explain why I am so overweight. I am not alone in this.

We have heard it before that if you don't eat often, your body will go into starvation mode. However, the majority of people apply this to anorexics. No, it is true of overweight people as well. Really, that bowl of ice cream is going to go straight to my hips because my body is going to save it for energy because it doesn't know when it will get fed next. This ultimately slows down the metabolism. It is possible to eat minimal calories on any given day and gain weight.

There is a solution. The body and metabolism can be retrained. Many health professionals suggest eating five to six small meals every day to keep the metabolism active. This will also kick start the sluggish metabolism of those who do not eat enough. Once an overweight person begins to eat more and eat regularly, they must make the right food choices. Eating several meals a day doesn't mean eating an entire meal, but consists of much smaller portions. It can take weeks for the metabolism to speed up, so results will not be immediate. This is especially true if the body has been in starvation mode for a considerable length of time.