Pulled out one of my 'how to' books (notice I didn't say 'diet book') and in one put out by Consumer Guide - "Foods that Make you Lose Weight", I found this interesting information - paraphrased a bit because it was a long paragraph --If your 'diet' includes skipping meals, fasting, or eating less than 1,000 caolories per day, it lowers your body's metabolic rate. The metabolic rate is the amount of energy, or calories, a resing, awake body needs just to breathe and stay alive. If you...eat too little, the body thinks it's starving, so it begins to shut down and conserve resources. ...Your body doesn't know you're dieting; it thinks the world is on the brink of a famine, so it switches into 'starvation mode' to conserve fat stores. The lower your metabolic rate goes, the more difficult it is to lose weight. In fact, just skipping breakfast every day lowers your metabolic rate by four to five percent, resulting in a one-pound weight gain every seven weeks without eating extra food. ...To prevent your body from switching into this 'starvation mode' and burning up muscle, you need to eat at least 1,200 calories per day divided up into at least three meals. (end)
Man, that was an eye-opener for me - QM, please increase your calories - and those of you who skip breakfast, consider changing that habit. I'm finding good things that I'll be using for our Terrific Tuesdays for a few weeks in this book.