Anyone who has a history of dieting has probably tried a large variety of ways to lose their extra weight. Some have been successful, and others may not have had much luck. Still others may have lost the weight and then gained it all back again after going off the diet plan that they were on. There are many, many different diets out there, and only a few really work. However, it is hard to know which ones will work and which won’t do anything for you and no one wants to waste time trying out different diets just to find out that they are not losing any weight and they have lost 2 weeks of their life! Before you put yourself on any new diet plan, be sure to research it and talk to others who have followed the diet so you can see if it actually does work.

If you have a history of dieting, you have probably tried the starvation diet method once or twice. If you’ve ever had a high school reunion sprung on you, you’ve definitely tried the starvation diet! In one way, this type of dieting, which is also known as “crash dieting,” really does work, but only for a very short period of time, and it is very unhealthy for your body. When you are on a starvation diet, you are not giving your body the vitamins and proper nutrients that it needs to get you through your every day tasks.

Why doesn’t it work? You would think that no or very little food would automatically shed lots of pounds, because it is the food that is putting the weight on you in the first place! However, our bodies were designed to survive, and no matter what your brain says, sometimes your body will have a “mind of its own!” When you are starving yourself to lose weight, your body automatically goes into survival mode. It literally thinks that there is a famine, and it will do everything it can to make sure that you live through it. This means that everything you eat gets stored to fat! You must have noticed that when you are on a starvation diet, you have very little energy – this is because your body is only giving you the bare minimum so that it can put as much as possible into fat cells in case you need it later on. No wonder this diet doesn’t work!

Now, when we are eating several times throughout the day, our bodies do the exact opposite. Metabolism speeds up, we get our energy boosted and the weight that comes off has a much better chance of staying off for good. When there is lots of food, your body thinks that there is more than enough, and it relaxes, and uses more food for energy rather than storing it to fat. It is not worried about survival, because it knows that there is no danger of famine anytime soon.

Don’t starve yourself! You will only slow down your metabolism and stress your body out. Not to mention it will be harder for you to lose weight. Eat small, healthy meals and snacks 5 or 6 times a day, and I guarantee you will lose weight without even trying.