Thursday, April 29, 2010

Myth: Skipping meals is a good way to lose weight.

feet on bathroom scale
Answer: Busted!

It seems logical - skip a meal, eat less food and lose weight. Skipping meals makes your body think you are in a starvation mode, slows your metabolism, and makes you hungry. In fact, you may be so hungry that you overeat the next time you eat. You end up eating more calories than if you had just eaten the meal.

Skipping a meal and making up for it later can lead to eating more calories overall and work against your weight loss efforts. A better approach is to honor your hunger and eat smaller, more frequent healthy meals and snacks throughout the day. Choose foods that will fill you up and give you lasting energy, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein.

Contributor: Karen Sherbondy, RD, LD, Extension Associate, Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, University of Missouri Extension, sherbondyk@missouri.edu

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