The Diet Myth: Skip A Meal to Get Leaner

Have you ever been so tied up with work that you have already forgotten that it’s time for lunch or dinner? Alas! For workaholics, this is something you should watch out for. And for those who skip lunch because they’re on “diet”, you’re not doing yourselves any good.

Food, food, andmore food! That’s all we could think about when we’re already hungry. You probably thought that skipping meals could tone your weight or wait till you’re hungry and then eat. That is not the trick. In fact, that is the opposite of what you are supposed to do.

A Golden Rule

For starters, you are not supposed to skip a meal. It gets you hungrier, and it makes you crave for more food later to compensate the skip you made earlier. If you’re on a “strict diet”, you should never ever miss lunch or dinner- intentionally. Instead, eat a little bit, even if it is not time for lunch or dinner. This improves the metabolism and at the same time it makes you less hungry during lunch time or dinner. With that, you eat less.

And of course, variety is encouraged; however, you should limit the amount of courses you have each meal. The more courses, the more calories you get unless you add courses low in calorie such as a salad or a vegetable broth.

Skipping a meal is a myth. Do not do that. There will be consequences.

Too Hungry?

When you accidentally skipped a meal, lunch, for example, your hunger is doubled during dinner time. All you have in mind is compensating the skipped meal. And when dinner is served, you dig in like there’s no tomorrow.

First, do not dig in like you’re running out of food. You begin with a good, hot soup- make sure it is low calorie, like the vegetable broth mentioned before.  Eating meals immediately without the help of the soup can upset your stomach later, especially if you choose to consume a large amount of food, which is not encouraged, especially if you’re too hungry.

Second, try eating slowly. It takes 5 to 10 minutes for us to realize that we are already stuffed. If we eat fast, there’s a risk of eating much and regretting later because you have eaten more than your usual meal consumption. You do not want that to happen.

Choose the Food You Eat

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. To keep the appetite away, you only need a grapefruit or an orange a day. These are fruits low in calories but high in soluble fiber, a component that helps us feel fuller.

Aside from grapefruits and oranges, you also have to consume food high in fiber, like whole grains, beans, vegetables, and other fruits. They also help us feel fuller even if we are not. Our appetite, therefore, decreases.

All About You

If you noticed, all those advices do not necessarily focus on food per se; they focus on your approach toward food- your self-discipline. It starts with you. There are no fairy godmothers to perform overnight transformation of self, health, and lifestyle. The change starts with you.

*Photo Credit to the Owner