What Really Happens When You Skip a Meal…

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day – and you should keep it that way.

We’re all guilty of skipping a meal here and there because we simply don’t have time or we think it will help in our quest to shed a few pounds.

Although not recommended, skipping a meal here and there isn’t the route of the problem – it’s the way it causes you to binge eat afterwards that does the damage.

If you restrict sugar from your diet at one meal, and then eat your fill at the next, your body reacts to the excess sugar entering your bloodstream by storing it as fat. So by avoiding calories to keep your figure in check, you’re actually encouraging your body to store more fat.

The Ohio State University conducted a study on mice to see how changes in eating patterns would affect either weight loss or weight gain. One group of mice were placed on a fasting diet, while a control group ate at free will. The group of mice on the restricted diet initially lost weight by skipping meals, but quickly gained it back from over eating later. Both groups of mice weighed the same by the end of the study, but the mice on the restricted diet ended up having a higher risk for health problems like diabetes and heart disease.

This study could be considered a lesson that instead of skipping meals altogether, you are better off eating smaller portions throughout the day to keep your blood sugar stable. Food gives the body energy which helps you function throughout the day. It’s not eating food itself that causes us to gain weight , but rather our eating habits and the foods we choose to put into our bodies that make all the difference.

Are you guilty of skipping meals?

h/t: Prevention

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