Confessions of a college girl: yo-yo dieting

Admit it girls, we have all at one point in our lives skipped a couple meals to fit into that little black dress for a big party coming up, fooling ourselves into thinking we'd lose that extra belly fat. It does work, but at what cost?

fitsugar.com

What very few people know is that when someone starves themselves, they reset their metabolism and gains more fat in the long run. To understand why, let me explain a few facts on human metabolism first.


The body breaks down carbohydrates, fats, and protein in that order. We all have a pretty good understanding of what carbs and protein are, but what most people don't know is that fat is stored excess carbs the body cannot break down in one sitting. Fats are broken down as the second source of energy when carbs are not readily available to be metabolized. 


When a person is not eating consistently, the body automatically assumes he/she will not be eating for a very long time. As a survival mechanism, it stores what little food you do consume during your fast as fat and resets your metabolism to do so until you reestablish a consistent eating habit, which could take anywhere from 2 weeks-a month. 


To prevent this reset, eat small meals consistently throughout the day. This both prevents your metabolism from resetting and allows it to break down foods faster because you're eating more frequently so it resets it to a higher/faster pace. 


And for those still looking to lose those few excess pounds quickly, eat 3 small meals a day consisting of high protein (like lean meats or fish or eggs) with a small helping of rice. Since you are eating small meals consistently throughout the day, your metabolism does not reset to a smaller pace so it metabolizes these foods regularly. And because you’re eating such small amounts of carbs, your body automatically has to break down fat to provide yourself with enough energy for your day-to-day activities.

proteinrichfoods.com

Hopefully this information convinced you to not starve yourself anymore for the sake of a few pounds. I know that if I were risking a slower metabolism, I wouldn't dream of repeating this mistake twice.