It’s all about calories consumed versus calories burned. You burn more calories than you take in and you lose weight, get healthy and all is right with the world, right? Well, not really. It’s a little more complicated than that. Let me give you an example.

Jane and Susie are identical twins with the exact same lifestyle. They both workout, eat the same foods, eat the same amount of calories and do the same activities. Identical in every way. Except for one. Jane eats one time a day while Susie eats five times a day. The same amount, just spread out differently. If they take in the same amount of calories each day, then they should be the same weight and in the same health, right? Unfortunately, Jane gains one pound of body fat each week while Suzie loses one pound a week in body fat. Jane is also considerably lower in energy, weaker in strength and is headed down a life of possible health related issues.

How can this be? Well, it’s not just about the amount of calories you take in, but WHEN you eat that is also important.

By eating only once a day, numerous things happen that demolish your health and add extra weight. Food and calories are fuel for your body to function and your body is in need of that fuel every two to four hours. When you go too long without fuel your body can go into starvation mode in which it begins burning lean mass (muscle), and stores body fat. Another negative effect from going too long without eating is that it kills your metabolism. Your body burns calories all day long, even at rest. How much it burns every hour is dependent on your metabolism. When your metabolism is high, it burns much more calories than when it is low. Eating every two to four hours will help boost your metabolism (as will consistent exercise!). Also keep in mind the simple act of eating and digestion burns calories! Yet another issue from waiting too long between meals is that you’re constantly hungry and when you do eat, you tend to over eat which will spike your insulin levels, which in turn, leaves you crashing the rest of the day. Lastly, the lack of food throughout the day will dramatically decrease your physical and mental abilities, ruining your workouts and having a negative effect on your daily activities.

As you can see, while it’s true that in order to lose weight you must burn more calories than you take in, WHEN you eat can dramatically alter how many calories you burn. Just make sure what you’re eating is REAL food! The body can’t make much use of junk food, much like your car can’t make use of pouring sea water into the fuel tank! The body, like your car, must be fueled properly to work properly.

So stop starving yourself, eat up!