Not Eating Often Enough ?

WinstonH123

I have been having to meet with study groups for the past few days and it has also snowed 7 inches at my college. Both have been preventing me from really eating enough. I will venture out and eat in the caf but not every meal. Sometimes all I have for lunch is an apple, sliced with cinnamin because im just not hungry. If I lose weight from that is it just water weight? I also sometimes don't eat breakfast(tues,thur) because my first class isnt til 1230 so I sleep in. Should waking up those days and eating breakfast help with weight loss?

Athijade

I have been having to meet with study groups for the past few days and it has also snowed 7 inches at my college. Both have been preventing me from really eating enough. I will venture out and eat in the caf but not every meal. Sometimes all I have for lunch is an apple, sliced with cinnamin because im just not hungry. If I lose weight from that is it just water weight? I also sometimes don't eat breakfast(tues,thur) because my first class isnt til 1230 so I sleep in. Should waking up those days and eating breakfast help with weight loss?

The big thing is that you need to be sure to get your calories in. Very low calorie diets in general are not a good idea. Meal frequency and timing don't play much of a role in weight loss or metabolic rate. What the issue can be though is that you don't meet your calorie or nutrient goals due to lack of food in general.

AnvilHead

^ Athijade hit the nail on the head. When you eat doesn't really matter, but how much you eat does.

QuietLegs

Amount and quality of sleep also matter. Tons of studies out there to prove it. Of course, the hours you "need" depends on the individual, but messing too much with your sleep requirements, or your body's preference on timing, could have negative impacts on all areas of your life, including weight.

And please don't take offense at this, but the way you phrased your post makes me worry that you're hoping you can keep skipping meals, and massively undereat in the hopes of losing weight faster. I admit, I might be reading too much in your statements, but please don't do that. Losing fat is great; losing weight by starving yourself is a potentially risky / dangerous / unhealthy endeavor.

Anyway, as long as you're hitting your macros and your calorie goals, the time of you day that you eat is largely irrelevant.

AbsoluteNG

It's a myth that you have to eat 5 times a day in order to keep your metabolism up. There's nothing wrong with getting all of your calories inside of just 1 or 2 meals and in fact, there are more studies that says it is healthy to eat less meals a day then there are eating 5+ times a day. There is also nothing wrong with fasting for 1 day if you over ate the day before. The most important factor is for you to remain consistent. If you are finding it hard to eat 3-5 times a day as a student then change try something that works with your schedule such as eating once or twice a day, at the same time each day, and with the same amount of calories. The key is being consistent.

WinstonH123

Thanks you guys! I think it will be easier to just eat like two times and get all my calories in with apples as snacks instead of spreading it out!

And oh, no I am not trying to skip meals haha I have seriously been busy busy busy! But was just curious why my scale is saying ive lost weight, but Im pretty sure its just water weight since I havent been able to eat as much lately!