Am I Eating Too Much Food?

Your body is a moving machine that needs energy to burn in order to run efficiently. We derive that energy from the foods that we eat in the form of calories. Our bodies obtain calories from two places. Those two places are our bodies and our foods. After we eat, our foods is then broken down and delivered to areas that need physical energy. When your body is lacking in food energy it then starts to take it from your storage. Your body will internally metabolize either fat and convert it into fuel for your muscles (skeletal muscles and organs) or it will break down muscle tissue for energy.

Most often, when our body is not getting enough food, it will start breaking down muscle tissue before it gets to the extra storage of fat. This is because the body is going into starvation mode. By eating the muscle first, the body is accomplishing two things. One, it is supplying the body with nutrients and the energy needed to survive and two, by breaking down and eating muscle tissue it is slowing down the metabolism by eliminating the very thing that burns calories.

The less muscle you have, the fewer calories you need. This is why it is so important to increase lean muscle tissue through working out. You will increase the amount of calories your body expends throughout the day and easily put your body into a safe deficit—that is, if you are consuming enough to maintain your basic body weight.

With this in mind, eating regularly throughout the day 5-6 small balance meals every 2-4 hours teaches the body to use the calories more efficiently and to become hungry at intervals parallel with increased meal frequency. It is important not to skip any of these small meals. Hunger pains are usually a sign that your body is starting to run out of fuel and will start to dip into those valuable metabolism sustaining muscle stores.

When you feel hunger pains, you can either eat or your body will resort to using your muscle protein and glycogen stores. Around this time, the stress hormone cortisol rises, and if you do not eat, muscles will be broken down into sugar and fed to your brain in a process called gluconeiogensis.

Basically, your body will use your muscles for energy if you do not provide it with any food. The lower the calories in your diet, the more likely this will happen therefore it is important to eat regularly throughout the day.

It is never worth it to starve yourself to lose weight or come anywhere even near it. Finding the right amount of food to eat and consuming it responsibly and within reason will ultimately increase your feeling of self worth as you give your body the exact tools it needs to transform itself.