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Miriam E. Nelson, Ph.D Responds:
Miriam E. Nelson, PhD, of Tufts University and the best-selling author of the Strong Women book series, responds: Maintaining your current body weight is a relatively simple equation of energy balance: calories (food) in, and calories (metabolism and exercise) out. If you're trying to lose weight, the same principle applies—except that you need to eat fewer calories than you're expending.
To some, the idea of skipping meals might seem like a good strategy for cutting calories, and thereby encouraging weight loss. Unfortunately, this seemingly simple solution is unlikely to be effective in this case. In fact, it may not only thwart your weight loss efforts, it may actually cause you to gain weight over the long haul. When you skip meals, your body slows its metabolism and becomes very efficient at conserving calories. Meal skipping is detrimental to managing diabetes, too.
If you take insulin, skipping meals can upset the balance between food intake and insulin. Most experts recommend three meals spread throughout the day, with an insulin injection 30 minutes prior to each meal to manage both weight and diabetes. According to experts from the American Medical Association and others in the field, sticking to regular meal times should be a top priority for weight loss. Skipping meals is likely to lead to overeating later in the day, which will make up for any calories you may have cut out. Even the busiest person can grab a piece of fruit or a granola bar made with whole grains as a snack on the go—to help keep the all-important energy-balance equation in check and make sure you're not ravenous later on.
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Miriam E. Nelson
Ph.D
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