Yes, you read that right. But no, that doesn't give you free rein to eat endless desserts. "We all think the less we eat the more weight we’ll lose," says Amy Shapiro, MS, RD, CDN, founder and director of Real Nutrition. "However, not eating enough may lower our metabolism. Our body needs adequate calories to maintain our energy burn, and when we short-change it, our body naturally slows its burn to reserve the energy stores that it has. So when you eat enough calories, your body doesn't have to store or reserve, so we burn more efficiently."
Consistency is key here. "Not eating consistently can throw off your metabolism. (I encourage clients to eat every three to four hours throughout the day.) Eating smaller meals and keeping a regular eating schedule can keep the metabolism stable and healthy," says Yasi Ansari, MS, RD, CSSD, a national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
If you want to try intermittent fasting, Ansari recommends doing it for a day or two per week but making sure you meet your calorie needs on "normal" eating days and not eating less.