Did you know that by skipping meals you could be starving yourself to fatness?

Do you miss breakfast and your morning snack, then have a small lunch but raid the kitchen at night? Can this really make you FAT? Sound CRAZY?? It's not! Here's why.

Your body is designed to store food in case of times of starvation. In fact, the average person has enough stored bodyfat to provide energy for basic body processes for around 60 or more days!

For people starting an exercise programme it can be tempting to skip meals and drastically cut calories. But as soon as you severely drop your caloric levels your body's metabolism shifts into low gear to conserve energy. The consequence is that you'll store bodyfat rather than burn it off. 

Your body is intelligent! After all, if your body starts receiving less calories there must be an impending famine around the corner...right?

Then come the nasty side effects to a low calorie diet. You start feeling lethargic, sleepy, hungry, grumpy, tired and confused. Not very appealing to say the least!

Surely there must be a better way to lose weight without having to starve ourselves? 

HERE'S THE SOLUTION!  

Eat 5 - 6 nutritionally balanced, smaller meals throughout the day! 

THE ADVANTAGES

1) Eating small and often makes it easier for your body to burn off your food as fuel for energy.

2) You'll have consistent energy levels throughout the day, therefore you'll be less likely to doze off in the afternoon!

3) Eating the right foods at the right times results in improved mental focus and concentration. Have you ever experienced 'brain fog?' It's a warning sign that your brain needs food! 

4) Less cravings for sweet or sugary type foods. When you snack on the right foods every 2-3 hours your blood sugar levels remain more stable.   

5) Eating smaller and more often fires up your metabolism so you can burn stored bodyfat.

If you're starving yourself, then by definition, you're on a DIET! What's the secret to losing to losing bodyfat and keeping it off longterm? 

NEVER GO ON A DIET!

In fact, statistics show that 95% of people who go on a diet regain their weight (and sometimes more) within 24 months or less. 

Unfortunately, the diet many people fall prey to is a 'low or no' carbohydrate diet and weight loss is usually very rapid. However rapid WEIGHT LOSS is not necessarily a good thing. That's because weight loss and fat loss are 2 entirely different things.

Fast weight loss is usually due to depleted water and glycogen levels in the body. The next stage is muscle tissue breakdown. However,muscle is your most important weapon when it comes to fatloss as it revs up the body's metabolism. For this reason, when you inevitably go off a diet and regain the weight, you can actually end up with an even HIGHER bodyfat percentage than when you started dieting!     

The answer is to provide the body with a balance of all the nutrients it needs such as fruit, vegetables, lean sources of protein & healthy fats. Not only does the consumption of these foods result in a leaner body, the 'side effect' is that you'll have a stronger immune system, higher energy levels plus a whole host of other amazing benefits! 

Conclusion

Not only is it undesirable to go on a low calorie diet, it's completely unnecessary! Rather than starving ourselves we should aim to eat 5-6 small meals everyday for optimum health. And remember, no matter how many hours you dedicate to your training programme you will not reach the results you want if you aren't eating correctly.