Wait a minute!! I feel like I’m starving myself, but I’m not losing any weight!! Has this ever happened to you while dieting? You are barely eating anything throughout the day, but you are still unable to lose that stubborn fat. How does this make any sense? If it were to come down to basic Nutrition 101, if you consumed you maintenance level in food, you would stay the same weight. If you consumed more than your maintenance level, you would gain weight. Wouldn’t the only logical answer for consuming less than your maintenance level mean losing weight? Not necessarily.

There is a very strong difference between lowering your caloric intake and starving your body. When a person practically starves themselves while dieting, the body goes into a self-defense mode. This is known as starvation mode. When your body reaches starvation mode, it doesn’t know when your next meal will be coming. This intelligent mechanism known as the “human body” has a defense method for this. It stores your body fat and burns away your hard earned muscle!! Ever get that uncomfortable, rumbling feeling of hunger in your stomach? That is your body warning you that it is about to go into starvation mode. How are you supposed to lose weight when your own body is fighting against you?!! Why can’t losing weight just be simple?

So how do you correct this and continue down your path to weight loss? You actually need to consume more calories in a given day. You do this by NOT having one, two, or three big meals a day, but instead you have five small meals. When you eat more frequently throughout the day, your body realizes that another meal will be coming shortly and burns fat as fuel instead of storing it. There aren’t too many excuses for having a slow metabolism. The more frequently you eat in a given day, the faster your metabolism becomes. Eating every 2.5 to 3 hours is the most efficient for ultimate fat loss results. It sounds counter-productive to eat more food to lose weight, but this is what’s necessary for many dieters to continue their journey for fat loss. Just don’t forget to be smart about healthy food choices and portion control!

-Tom