I only eat one meal a day. Why can’t I lose weight? Written by Laura Johnston, MEd, RD Hmmm…good question. You’ve heard if you eat less than you burn, you will lose weight. While this is true, it’s not that simple. Our bodies function on a basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the amount of calories required for basic body functions. This rate can change depending on how often and how much we feed ourselves. In periods of famine our ancestors may have gone through, the BMR went down to accommodate for the decrease in calories eaten. This way the body could survive on fewer calories. When the famine ended and more frequent meals were eaten, the BMR increased again. Today, the same decrease in BMR occurs when a person eats only one meal a day, which provides fewer calories than the body’s basic needs. At first, a person may lose some weight, but once the body adjusts to this severely low calorie intake it will strive to maintain its body weight on this decreased amount and weight loss can no longer be achieved. A better solution for weight management is to feed your body what it needs to stay satisfied throughout the day and give it enough energy for exercise. Smaller, more frequent meals can boost your metabolism and you will be pleasantly surprised to find that by eating more you can actually lose weight the slow, gradual, healthy way!