Many people believe that eating less throughout the day will help them lose weight. The question is, ist that a smart way to go about losing weight? QUESTION: If I eat one meal a day, and go walking 20-60 minute almost everyday of the week, can I loose weight. Could I loose a lot by this? It is what I've been doing for three days now, and I wanted to know if it will work? ANSWER: Your answer simply put is No. You may experience a brief initial weight loss of a few pounds, but during the long run you will not.
You will however force your body to change its natural functioning habits to accommodate you new life style. Decreasing the amount of times you eat each day begins to interfere with your body's natural internal functioning. You may lose a few pounds short term, but you are not necessarily losing fat, or becoming healthier. The first problem you have is your diet. Eating only one time, whether physically active or not will put your body into "starvation mode".
This happens when the body loses its regular energy source obtain through the diet and a new system is adopted with less frequency. When regular eating patterns are established the body will become accustomed to using all of the energy from meals as sources of energy. When people adopt a 1 or 2 meals per day diet, the body goes on the defensive. During this time the body does not know where its next meal is going to come from because of the few times its being fed. Just like humans when our natural resources run low, we begin to conserve those resources.
The body does that same thing. At this point instead of utilizing all of the carbohydrates, fats and proteins for necessary bodily functions, the body goes on starvation mode and decides to use some for energy, and save some for later. What this means is that you don't get the full benefit of your diet, no matter how great your diet may be. Considering that most people who eat only 1 or 2 times a day do not actively make sure that those meals are healthy, eating less really loses its benefits. Imagine consuming a bunch of grapes.
During starvation mode, your body will you use over half of that bunch for energy, but then store about a handful of grapes right on you hips (thighs, arms, rear, neck etc.) in the form of fat, as a reserved energy source until its next meal. In essence, eating only one meal a day can actually increase your body fat percentage. Your body may store more fat, and switch to other sources of energy like muscles (protein). Decreasing your amount of muscle will automatically increase your body fat percentage.
My advice to you is to adopt a regular diet. Try eating 3 meals and 3 snacks throughout the day. First, start with eating about 3-6 times per day, then focus on portion control, and finally content. Eating a regularly on a balanced diet will increase your metabolism. This happens the body has no reason to create reserved energy sources since it knows it will automatically be fed throughout the day. It can burn calories without regard for its next meal, and this is what helps you to loose body fat, which is more important than just pounds.
A larger amount of calories burned means, more fat lost, which means a leaner healthier you. Add this to your regular workout, and you have a great starting point for achieving your fitness goals.
Vacationbodies.com, an online resources for helping readers creates a health conscious lifestyle, and reach fitness goals. We want to be you personal trainer here at Vacation Bodies
