We’ve all heard the golden rule of weight loss: Calories in, calories out. It sounds simple enough: eat less, move more, and the weight should fall off. But what happens when you’re barely eating, skipping meals, and hitting the gym, yet the scale refuses to budge?

For many dieters, the instinct is to cut calories even further. However, research suggests that this approach often backfires. In a counter-intuitive twist, the secret to breaking through a weight loss plateau might actually be eating more. Here is the science behind why “starving yourself” sabotages your goals, and how fueling your body correctly can reignite your metabolism.