It seems like an obvious idea: if the idea is to eat fewer calories than I use, then not eating at all should help me lose lots of weight! The truth is that self-starvation will never make you slim and healthy. It isn’t just that such “diets” are unsustainable and unrealistic, most people radically underestimate the calories they eat (and overestimate their activity level) on such a plan.  But most importantly, such a plan sabotages the metabolism! Your body is smarter than you are; if you aren’t eating despite the fact that you are hungry, it must be because no food is available, so your body will conserve calories to “save you” from the “famine.”

If you want a longer explanation, go ahead and read Chalene Johnson’s blog post, “Why Crash Diets, Starvation and Stress are making you fat!”