How good are your eating habits when you are trying to lose or maintain weight? They may not be as healthy as you think. How much you eat has an impact on many body processes thanks to its impact on metabolism.

It is common knowledge that not eating enough can slow down metabolism as well. But, it is less common knowledge that if you eat too much fat or sugar, you can slow down your metabolism. Therefore, when you take a look at your eating habits for health and weight loss, make sure you take into account how much food you need to eat. While there are some “tricks” that are often used to eat less, it’s always a good idea to focus on eating healthy as well.

Why the Decline?

Fewer calories in should equal weight loss, but it doesn’t always work like that. When you eat too few calories, you wreak havoc on your metabolism because your body thinks it is starving. This happens because your body is not getting any glucose, which is its primary source of energy. This can happen as fast as 6 hours after your last meal.

When that happens, that message that the body is being deprived of energy is heard loud and clear and it uses any glucose stored in your body for energy. Your body does adapt to this lack of energy, but it does so by slowing down the metabolism so that your body uses the least amount of energy possible. This is what allows your body to survive without food for a short time.

When you add the likelihood of binge eating to this equation, you can further affect your ability to lose weight as the body hangs on to the energy when you binge – because it is in starvation mode and doesn’t know when it will get energy again.

While this article points to the fact that a starvation diet can slow down the metabolism, it needs to be clear that feasting can also have a negative effect on metabolism. Moreover, reducing your calories to very little per day – 800 calories or lower, can reduce metabolism over time by up to 20 percent within a few weeks.

“Most people who slip into starvation metabolism do so when they go on a highly restricted diet for a couple of weeks or a couple of months.” – Family Education

Not Eating A Well-Balanced Diet

Most people who cut calories drastically from their diet also cut out certain foods groups from their diet. This can have a further negative effect on the metabolism.

For instance, cutting out carbohydrates, which are converted into glucose in the body, can affect energy requirements and slow down your metabolic rate. Moreover, restricting carbs can lead to a decreased thyroid output, lower amount of testosterone production, increased cortisol output, and suppressed immune function. All of these things can all slow down the metabolism even further.

How Much Should You Eat?

There is no set number of calories that can be recommended as a perfect amount for you. It is important to listen to your body and eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. Doing this can offer you the nutrition your body needs without overdoing it or under-doing it.

Also, eating well-balanced, smaller meals made of natural ingredients throughout the day will help you to stay satisfied longer without taking in too many calories.