THE CONSEQUENCE OF SKIPPING MEALS AND NOT EATING ENOUGH

Today, I want to help you understand the problems associated with skipping meals or not eating enough at mealtime, and how this can negatively affect your weight loss. You see, skipping meals (or not eating enough at meals) can trigger your body’s biochemistry into increasing your food intake later and slowing down your metabolism to conserve energy. It’s what your body does when placed in starvation mode.

Eating low-calorie negatively affects your health, your mental capabilities, your mood and your energy intake - which can trigger fatigue, anxiety, depression, a preoccupation with eating, and place your body into starvation mode.

So, what exactly is “starvation mode?” It is a term given to the impact that chronic dieting and over-exercising have on your metabolism, hunger levels and body weight.

According to health and fitness expert, Dr. Axe, it is believed that your cells are able to detect low levels of something called ATP when you aren’t eating enough. ATP is the chemical energy that powers your cells. It is formed from a combination of carbohydrates (meaning veggies and fruit), proteins and fats that you eat. Together these nutrients get converted into one universal energy unit called ATP, which keeps the body functioning normally.

When you support your metabolism by eating enough food and getting enough rest, your body will burn a combination of your protein, vegetables, fruit and fat from your diet, along with some stored body fat. After your body uses up the calories you’ve eaten and stored within your digestive tract or converted to glycogen in your muscle and liver cells, it will then go to your fat stores for more energy. This is what happens in a normal “fed” state.

But once your body begins to detect it is in starvation mode due to low-calorie intake, it goes to lean tissue and muscle to be broken down into glucose as an energy source, instead of stored fat or glycogen. In an attempt to make sure you have enough fuel to survive, your body will sacrifice protein from your muscle tissue and leave you with a slower metabolism, making it harder to keep weight off long-term.

Your appetite can also go through the roof when you go into starvation mode, leading to strong cravings – including sugar addiction, as your body seeks more carbohydrate-dense foods as it desperately tries to acquire more glucose to survive.

Your body’s control center in the brain, called the hypothalamus, decides if you are getting enough energy and rest based on how much you are eating. It then sends signals to your body to either increase or decrease hunger, food intake and even how much energy it will allow you to expend.

You have to fuel your metabolism and break out of starvation mode. For most people, this means focusing on nutrient density – meaning eating foods with a high nutritional value and not counting calories, macronutrients or calories burned from working out.

Lastly, we have to remember to look at our new lifestyle as a journey. It’s not about perfection, but rather it’s about progress. Then, show yourself some love by feeding your body with good nutrition and feeding your mind with motivating information to keep you headed in the right direction.