Eat more, lose weight.

No joke.

It seems right to believe that eating less means weighing less, but lucky for us, the human body doesn’t work that way. “Calorie restriction” can certainly cause you to lose weight, but here’s two really good reasons why you shouldn’t do it:

1. The weight you lose isn’t fat… You’re losing muscle mass and bone density. When you restrict your calorie intake, your body (which usually uses fat as fuel) goes into starvation mode and holds onto its fat. Since you have to get energy from somewhere, your body is now depleting your lean tissue (muscle and bone) and using it for energy. So while you might lose a few pounds, you won’t be any less fat.

2. Your metabolism slows down, so now, when you do eat, you’re gaining weight.

And what’s metabolism? Bear with me for a sec… Metabolism is the sum of all your body’s processes, and the rate your body extracts the nutrients from food to turn it into energy (because calories=energy.) For example, your body needs energy (calories) to breathe, digest, and keep your heart pumping–and this is all while you’re sitting down! The amount of calories that you need to carry out these basic life-sustaining processes is referred to as your Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR. My BMR is 2100. (The more active you are, the higher BMR you will have, which is a good thing.)

This is not to say, obviously, that you will lose weight if you eat a huge amount of calories a day. If you are consistently eating above and beyond the amount of calories your body needs to carry out its daily functions (basic biological processes and energy expended during physical activity) you’ll store those extra calories as fat. This is often mistaken for “slow metabolism”, which actually your metabolism works just fine, you’re just eating too much.

The simple version: Don’t eat too little, and don’t eat too much. Getting your BMR calculated can help give you an idea of where to start. If you don’t count calories and you’ve already begun to clean up your eating habits, make sure you’re not: A) starving yourself for hours at a time, and B) eating giant meals that put you in a food coma. Easier said than done, I know, but there’s the facts. Hope it helps!

If you really need help figuring out how much you should be eating, check out choosemyplate.gov – it’s the best site out there.