The Harmful Effects of Skipping Meals for Weight loss

The Effects of Skipping Meals

Most people choose to skip meals in order to lose weight. Meal alternatives are safe for as long as you put something in your stomach but never go on a day without even eating a single meal ever! Skipping meals involves the famous yo-yo diet where people don't eat meals in order to lose weight. There are various harmful effects noted when you skip meals and it does cause rebound weight gain. Know the harmful effects of skipping meals before you it's too late for your health.

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The harmful effects of Yo-Yo dieting illustrated

Malnutrition like overweight and obesity are part of the current issues faced by the society today. The world has set a standard that the being skinny is more accepted and more beautiful. That is the reason why many people are dieting just to lose weight. Advertisements and endorsements make the yo-yo diet look so effective and easy. What the audience fail to see are the risks that accompanies the yo-yo diet. I have tried the famous yo-yo diet before; it gave me peptic ulcer disease and more weight gain. Here are some friendly reminders to avoid being a victim of this fad diet.

1. Skipping meals can cause diseases

People who do the yo-yo diet are not eating in a healthy way. Frequent skipping of meals will lead to diseases like ulcer formation, anemia, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa. Inadequate intake of nutritious food will likewise cause the cells to starve rendering the body vulnerable to infection and disease.

2. Starving yourself will increase your food intake.

The body needs food so that it can function well. The brain is responsible for detecting low glucose levels in the body. This is a normal mechanism of the body to prevent hypoglycemia. When the body is starving, the brain will send a signal to the stomach to release high amounts of Ghrelin, a hormone which initiates meal and increases appetite. Food intake will consequently increase due to the effect of the hormone.

3. Yo-yo diet brings a rebound effect.

Starvation will cause the cells to shrink, which will get bigger after food intake. It becomes a cycle of shrinking and enlarging of fat cells within the body. Research has proved that starvation will not eliminate or destroy fat cells. The problem with yo-yo diet is that the body will demand for more calories to compensate for the meals that were skipped. This will make the person gain more weight compared to what was lost.



There's nothing wrong with wanting to have a normal and healthy weight. But be sure that the weight loss method you choose is one that is effective and safe for your overall health.