Busy schedules, back-to-back meetings, deadlines, client visits; are you forgetting anything in between all of these? Maybe it's your meals. Most of the time, we are so caught up that we become utterly forgetful about our health. And that is where symptoms related to various health issues emerge into the picture. Read on to understand what exactly happens to one's body when one skips meals.
Problematic Digestion
It has been proven scientifically that people who are regular with their diets tend to have hassle-free bowels that move about the same time every day. On the flip side, digestion is compromised for those who avoid eating at regular intervals. So, it is advisable to have six meals a day, including three major and three small meals.
Overindulging
Unhealthy eating, Image Source: Dreamstime
It is a universal fact that when we skip meals, we tend to gulp more during our next meal. It works on an emotional mechanism that we need to make up for starving for too long. And we end up overindulging. It sometimes creates havoc with our digestion and makes us feel bloated or stuffed.
Leads to weight gain
The erratic pattern of feeding the body signals the mind to store fat from the available meal. When we are not regular with our dietary intake, our body tends to store more fat from the next meal to save itself from crises like starvation. You might have observed an increase in your body's fat percentage when you skip meals for a prolonged duration. This is a defensive measure adopted by the human body as it believes that there is food scarcity, although this is not the case. Hence, be regular with your meals to prevent sending confusing signals to your body.
Losing Muscles
Our body breaks down fat and lean muscle through infrequent meals to get the required fuel. This is risky, and one may experience the symptoms such as fatigue and nausea, among others. Losing muscles isn't an advisable situation. In the long run, such a situation results in a poor metabolism rate and burning less fat may cause obesity.
Hormones Go Haywire
Skipping a meal often takes a toll on the body and raises stress. Cortisol is a stress hormone which is quite harmful. When our mind and other body parts stop getting needed fuel from food, cortisol levels and insulin levels increase in the system. This, in due course, leads to feelings like fainting or collapsing.
Frequent Mood Swings
Hangry is a strange combination of hungry and angry. Typically, such occurrences occur when one starts depriving the body of regular and required food intake. Our mood goes for a toss. We become cranky, fussy and ill-tempered. Thus, having food on time is essential to be in a cheerful mood.