Two years ago I wrote a post under the category of fitness myths titled "Fitness Myth - Eating Once a Day to Lose Weight." Almost everything I have read in terms of diet has always been to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with 2 snacks in between. Most popular fitness sites will say the same thing - eat 5 to 6 small meals a day.
Well, I never thought that the article I posted 2 years ago would get so many comments and mostly of people saying that eating once a day is GOOD for losing weight. Surprisingly, most of the comments state that eating once a day was the only way to lose weight. Even with all of those comments I still have to disagree just from my own experience. I don't like starving. I get moody and I get headaches if I haven't had enough to eat.
I do believe that eating more throughout the day (of the right foods) keeps you fueled for exercise as well as keeping you functioning in general. Besides, how can you get all of the vitamins and nutrients you need from one meal a day? Supplements are fine but they are to supplement - not replace food as your main source of nutrition. I just thought I'd bring this up again since the topic continues to generate comments on the post.
What do you think? Is it safe to eat once a day?
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Charlie, can you give me a for instance on a typical meal? I’ve been trying this new way of eating for the last few days and love it so far. Haven’t experienced any of the drawbacks that have been mentioned by others and the best part is I don’t have to make diet choices every 3 to 4 hours. What freedom from convention!!! When dinner time rolls around, I’m actually in more control of what I eat than when I was trying 3 – 6 meals per day. I’m not trying to lose weight. If I maintain, that’ll be good enough for me!
Sure, I’ll tell you about my choices, but they might not work for you hon.
Also, please note, my reply below does NOT constitute an attempt to give nutritional or medical advice to anyone, and I am NOT a qualified nutritionist or health care practitioner. I’m just a guy on the internet, saying what I eat lately.
You need to research nutrition, and make your own choices, in consultation with your medical provider and other qualified professionals, as you deem appropriate.
So I’m posting this in good faith, as a comment about my own chosen current lifestyle. That’s all.
Around 12 – 14 hours after I wake up, I get hungry. I usually eat something like salad (lettuce, cukes, tomatoes, celery, maybe basil if I have some fresh) with olive oil dressing to start, maybe some shavings of parmesan, or a fresh veg or lentil soup if it’s too cold for salad.
Then I have some meat or fish with potatoes (mash, boiled, roast, baked – whatever goes best) and a cooked veg or two (carrots, maybe broccoli) or curry & rice, or pasta with meat and some veg in the sauce. Or rice and beans. Whatever’s good, and whatever I fancy that’s got protein.
Then maybe some cheese & crackers with fruit, or fruit juice and a dessert like pie or cheesecake, and I always like a few chunks of a good dark chocolate (Green & Black’s 85% stuff) with a cup of green tea or a glass of wine to finish off.
I’m scrupulous about getting 7 – 9 “portions” of fruit & veg, because my family who’ve lived the longest best lives were big veg eaters!
I never eat stuff with hydrogenated veg. oils, and I’ll only eat organic meat. I don’t eat big quantities, though they don’t look like a dieter’s plate either (I’m steadily maintaining now and don’t want or need to lose) but do eat energy-dense foods like potatoes, red meat and desserts without worrying about the calories.
And take my time over it all, I don’t ever bolt food.
Couple of times getting back into this after gaining from eating more often, I estimated calories, and my meals work out anywhere between around 1800 – 2500calories/day.
I drink a lot of water through the day, and sometimes have a black tea or coffee when I wake up as well. Oh, and it’s kind of childish, but I’ll usually have a mug of hot milk before bed, it helps me sleep.
Back when I was aiming at 3 meals a day, I ate around the same, but I’d be having that salad and potatoes at lunch with a little meat or tuna, and never feeling full afterwards, then crashing: oh, and I’d maybe skip dessert, in favour of some cereal or wholemeal toast in the morning, and so on.
It was around the same amount, but I was hungry all the time and the carbs (breads and starches) started to creep up because I seldom felt full, and I’d find myself craving chocolate between meals as soon as the blood-sugar high from the latest meal had subsided.
But eating this way, I no longer have that crash at 3 hours after my meal.
I’ve never claimed my way is for everyone, unlike some of the people/businesses here who promote eating every 3 hours or less, and I’ve only replied on here so far to balance what I believe is a stupidly limited “one size fits all” thinking, that supports eating disorders in many people who compulsively over-eat.
Be interested to hear from anyone here for whom 5 – 6 meals a day is working out long-term as a maintenance plan, and who DOESN’T have a business (based on people who want to lose weight) to promote/link to, to add a bit of balance, and open up like I just have?
Hey Charlie.
I am not currently eating 5-6 mini meals–it’s more like 3 regular meals and two small snacks–but when I was running consistently 25 miles a week, I had to or I’d crash.
As an athlete training for a marathon, I couldn’t eat one such large meal. I didn’t have the time, nor did I have the inclination to eat enough to satisfy me for an entire day.
I found that, as a runner, my relationship with food became more about fuel, and less about what I felt like eating. I had to eat particular foods before a run, because certain things weigh too heavily on the stomach and make it uncomfortable–or even made me sick to my stomach. I needed certain foods afterwards, with a specific 4:1 ratio of carbs:protein, which is recommended for recovery after a long distance (like a 20 miler). I also found that after about three hours, I got very hungry.
Eating this way, with the exercise of course, worked perfectly for me. Imagine the opposite: needing to run 20 miles on no fuel except for what I’d had the day before, or alternately after a single-meal day. I wouldn’t have been able to do it–I’d have crashed, one way or the other–too much food, or too little.
Naturally that is specific to athletes, but I thought I’d share why, in this one instance, I found that frequent smaller meals worked better.
BTW, I thought you made a fantastic point that nobody should claim their way is the best way. I think we all have to find what works for us. Some people’s physiology works great with small frequent meals; some work better with one large one. It depends on our bodies, our genetic makeup and even our culture, really.
Enjoy!
Thanks Charlie! My reason for asking for an example meal wasn’t to put you on the spot, but more to get an idea of how to put a day’s worth of calories into one healthful meal. I’m absolutely loving this way of eating, but my only challenge is making sure that I eat enough calories. I’m a spinach salad maniac from way back and our home is never without fresh fruit and veggies. But so much of that is low calorie or lower than regular “meat and potato” fare. In my first couple of weeks of once-daily eating, I’ve noticed that eggs help me top off my calories for the day.
I exercise religiously every morning and have for most of my 38 years. Every other day of an hour of resistance training and every other day of running or cycling. This is the coolest part of my observation of eating this way: the energy rush I get from exercising lasts ALL day! I went into this preparing myself for needing some help from a banana or healthful snack to keep going because surely eating once daily at night wouldn’t carry me through…but it does! Now, having said that I’m not the same caliber athlete as Karina – and Karina when I was training for 1/2 and full marathons, I remember thinking of my food as fuel, as well – there is a definite demand for calories from my body that once-daily eating at night seems to satisfy quite nicely.
I agree that one size does not fit all in regard to how we eat, exercise, live our lives, etc. But I am truly excited to have found this way and to have found others who have, too.
I am raising two beautiful little girls and have thought about making sure they have a healthy relationship with food, neither under-eating nor over-eating. To that end I despise the “schedule” of eating once at 8 a.m., again at noon, then dinner at 6. When they tell me they are hungry, they eat and it may only be a couple of large, balanced meals a day. As their mother, I know the example I set means so much and I can’t help but feel this eating once daily sets a good foundation. I’m now practicing what I preach. They see me exercise and eat a well-balanced, healthful meal WHEN I’m HUNGRY (not starving or in any way out of control). I’m not a slave to the schedule or society’s diet gimics.
I’m loving this post and look forward to reading what others have to share, one way or the other!
I started Intermittent fasting one month ago. I typically do a water only fast once a week for 36 hours. On the days I eat I maintain a feeding window between 3pm and 6pm for all my daily caloric intake.
I have never been a breakfeast eater or coffee drinker, going against all convetional wisdom that this is the most important meal of the day. My question is for who, certainly not me as when I eat breakfeast my body goes into slow motion. I workout first thing in the morning, 4 -5 times a week doing both cardio and weight lifting. I am stronger with more energy heading to the gym in a fasted state. I just get busy with work and if I do get a hunger pang, then I drink water or green tea.
I have lost 20 lbs in the last 8 weeks since rejoining the gym, however most of the inches have come off in the last 4 weeks since I started the intermittent fasting. Before I started IF, I tried the 5 meal a day and found myself overeating. Now my realtionship with food has changed as after a fast a piece of fruit and or a piece of brocoli never tasted so good.
It may not be for everyone but it is givng me the results I am looking for and I feel great and do not feel like I am sacraficing.
Charlie, and anyone else eating once daily, have you noticed that food does actually taste different after a while of eating once daily? One of the first observations I made in my own experience is that at the end of the day, when it’s time to eat, I’m not craving anything I can get my hands on. I seem to only truly desire proteins (like chicken and eggs), nuts, salads, and milk. On the weekends, my once-daily meals are more family and social oriented so I allow some latitude for things like pizza and burgers – although, I don’t crave them as I used to. But they taste different! Not sure if the flavors are just more intense? Last weekend we ordered pizza and my husband (who eats several times daily) assured me that it was excellent while I couldn’t finish because it was just too salty.
I have had zero trouble with energy levels during the day – on the contrary I’ve noticed being able to buzz around without a hitch from start to finish with no crash except at bed time. My weight has only fluctuated a couple of pounds down and I haven’t seemed to have suffered any loss of lean muscle. Morning workouts are continuing as usual with no apparent loss of endurance. So tell me again why eating once daily is such a bad idea??
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with eating once a day. It’s how I (along with many of my healthy, long living relatives) typically eat on a regular basis. Except for when I was very young the last time I recall having three square meals a day was probably around high school. Today I’m 29, fit as a horse, I eat what I want (just only in the evenings after work), I consider myself fairly athletic (I run about 15+ miles a week at a 7 minute pace), I’m not obese nor would you look at me and think I looked anorexic. I look fit and I feel fit. The only days I feel like I don’t have energy happens to be when I eat breakfast/lunch to be social, like at the office, and ironically – those are the only days where I find myself constantly hungry and craving foods I typically don’t eat (vending machine junk).
My average meal consists of whatever I’m hungry for – mostly chicken, potatoes, vegetables (I like broccoli and cauliflower the most), fish, pasta, eggs, cheese, beans, etc… There is no calorie counting in my home and we don’t measure servings. It’s eat till you’re full, whatever makes your mouth and tummy happy (that includes ice cream).
Personally, while I think it’s good for little ones to eat regularly because their bodies are growing, I think most people simply eat far more then they need to. It’s okay to have an empty stomach, that’s not starving yourself. 1 to 2 months of actually ’starving’ yourself will cause permanent organ damage and then kill you (and in that case I’d have died over a decade ago). Reducing the frequency in which you eat is not starving yourself. Stop worrying about trying to micromanage your food and focus more on just listening to when you’re body is truly hungry. Peach!
I’m a recent convert to eating less often although the system I stumbled across and am trying(for a week now) is “Fast 5″ with an eating window of 2pm to 7pm so I am eating more than once a day but over a five hour window…
I am absolutely loving it – I have lost a kilo(2.2lbs) in the last week and I haven’t even done the plan every day…
I look forward to breakfast at 2pm and it tastes delicious – I eat my home made museli – oats, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, small amount of dried fruits for flavour and mix it up with whey powder and water – I eat a bowl of that – an ordinary desert bowl (about a coffee cup full).
That keeps me going until 4pm when my son gets home from school and is looking for a snack – I literally have a snack with him, fruit with a couple of rice crackers spread with some cream cheese… a banana is a favourite at this time although the other day I shared a pot of 2 minute noodles with him and really enjoyed it and it filled me up until dinner.
6.30 I eat a normal evening meal with the family… some kind of meat and various vegetables – potato yes if I want…
My window closes at 7 and so far I’m not tempted to snack after dinner… I’m full…
As for calories I have no idea as I don’t count them at all… However, I am aware that white starchy carbs have not much to add nutritionally to my food choices so I avoid them and also I try to limit my dairy (small amount of cheese is ok) as I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome and milk makes me bloated and gassy… very embarrasing…
I only exercise three times a week – Monday Wednesday and Friday – 30 mins jog/ steep walking on the treadmill and then 30 mins on the cross trainer – I’m always hot and sweaty when I’m done and feel fantastic… I do have some small weights at home which I will pick up randomly during the day but I’m not religious about it…
I feel great… I’m eating less and I’ve lost weight – I know I’ll have to moderate it slightly when I am ready for maintenance as I only have about 3 kilos (7 lbs) to lose to reach my goal weight. (I now weigh 57 kilos – 125.4lbs)
Most importantly, I know I cannot go back to 5 – 6 meals a day for 7 days a week type system I followed for years because it just does not work for me… As some of the others above reported – the more I eat the more I want to eat and the less will power I seem to have – I really don’t like feeling hungry all day and trying to deny myself… the fasting till 2pm is much easier to do than to try to eat less all morning… I don’t know why but it just works…
I hope this helps others to open your minds to the possibility that this can be a legitimate version of a normal eating plan…
I have not convinced my husband yet and that’s why I don’t do it on the weekend… Eating is part of what we do together and he feels a loss if I’m not eating with him So every Saturday and Sunday I eat traditionally with him – I just focus on protein and avoid white starchy carbs and hope for the best on those days and last week I still managed a weight loss over the whole week…
So, win win…
My father eats just one meal a day because he says he gets too tired after eating. He’s a thin man, but I can’t help but think he’d be in much better shape and feel less tired if he ate more meals throughout the day.
I think people just misjudge their portion sizes when people tell them to eat 5 – 6 small meals a day. If you’re eating that often your portion sizes need to be really small and you shouldn’t have that “stuffed” feeling. You should just be full.
Yes Lindsey I see what you mean about portion sizes and that’s exactly where people seem to fail with the 5 -6 “small” meals a day – well me anyway… I just find it easier to fast than to try to eat small portions until 2pm each day… I have now made my life easier however by purchasing a juice extractor – I am very interested in the juicing philosophies I have been reading on various websites and and now making up a big vegie juice in the morning and sipping on those until 2pm so I’m not really going without food – I’m still losing weight though.. so it’s working… the juice is carrot, beetroot, ginger, apple, one small potato and something green (this morning I used a half a head of brocolli and yesterday I had cabbage…) this feels marvelous – a couple of sips and my appetitite is suppressed – I use a liquer glass and can take up to an hour to finish it – I’m still drinking copious cups of green tea – it’s great… then pretty much as my post above…
cheers…
I couldn’t eat only one meal per day. By the time lunch comes I am starving. I usually eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and a snack after dinner (which I should probably try to stop).
What I found out, totally by accident, is that I’d be starving for lunch only if I DID eat breakfast. Several times in my life I’ve been guilted into eating a certain way because all the experts say it’s the best thing for me. I’d eat breakfast because “it’s the most important meal of the day” and I would barely be done with my breakfast when I’d be obsessing over what’s for lunch – cravings galore! The crazy mornings when I’d be flying around the house and leave forgetting to eat breakfast would be totally different – I could coast through the first half of the day with no difficulty. Still, I felt guilty because surely this was not the way I was supposed to eat and would eat lunch out of that feeling of obligation to by body.
Gotta share with you now that after 2 months of eating once daily at dinnertime, I finally get it and wish I’d gotten it years ago. This way works best for me. And while I would never prescribe a cookie cutter method of eating for the entire world population, I would definitely encourage others to explore what works best for them, even if it means not listening to “conventional wisdom” and seek what makes your body tick.
Since changing my eating habits to eating once daily, I have experienced a net weight loss of 4 pounds. My intention was not to lose weight, however, it just happened. I have had no loss of energy and stamina for my morning workouts. I haven’t experienced any loss of muscle mass – to the contrary, I am experiencing more definition in all large muscle groups and casual observers remark on the “guns!” I have no restrictions at dinnertime. I eat anything prepared including dessert but I insist on a huge spinach salad (because I love them) to go with it. I drink sometimes half a gallon of 1% milk through the meal. And at no time during my day am I craving anything.
You still out there Charlie? Thanks for the outside-the-box input early on! I’m truly loving this!!!!!
Sue, your comment is a perfect example of why promoting eating one meal a day is incredibly unhealthy. So you eat whatever you like for that one meal – for example a piece of cake with fries and a cheeseburger. Doesn’t matter because it’s still calorie deficient since it’s your only meal for the day. Yes, desserts are a healthy choice as well as fries… they have all the nutrients your body needs to function (can you hear the sarcasm yet?)
I truly don’t care for what anyone has said so far about how good it can be to eat just one meal a day, i think it is totally unhealthy and can promote a whole new problem for our youth. While i don’t feel you HAVE to have 6 meals a day either since everyone is different and our lifestyles may not allow for it due to time (it works for me however – 3 main meals, 2 snacks), MODERATION is key and i personally do not feel overloading the body with one big meal for the day to cram in your daily nutrient needs is healthy.
Sue, your comment is a perfect example of why promoting eating one meal a day is incredibly unhealthy. So you eat whatever you like for that one meal – for example a piece of cake with fries and a cheeseburger. Doesn’t matter because it’s still calorie deficient since it’s your only meal for the day. Yes, desserts are a healthy choice as well as fries… they have all the nutrients your body needs to function (can you hear the sarcasm yet?)
I truly don’t care for what anyone has said so far about how good it can be to eat just one meal a day, i think it is totally unhealthy and can promote a whole new problem for our youth. While i don’t feel you have to have 6 meals a day either since everyone is different, i do agree with what Robert has stated so far. 5 meals a day works for me – 3 main meals, 2 snacks. So much depends on your own body – how much you weigh, your height, fat and lean muscle %. This will all affect HOW much your body needs per day. If eating only ONE meal a day was so healthy, professional athletes would be doing it. Since they need to make absolutely sure their body stays in 100% great shape and works efficiently, one meal a day is just stupid. MODERATION is key and i personally do not feel overloading the body with one big meal for the day to cram in your daily nutrient needs is healthy.
Eating once a day much more closely mimics the patterns that our hunter gatherer ancestors metabolisms evolved on for half a million years. Maybe some light grazing on nuts or berries through the day, with one large protien based meal to emulate the feast that would be had when a hunter made a kill.
Frequent periods of 24-48 hours with little to no food and high energy expenditure were the norm. This is why our bodies evolved to be so good at storing unused sugars as fat, only now instead of getting our sugars from berries that we find while walking, we get it in half gallon containers of carbonated high fructose corn syrup.
I strongly recommend everyone try the paleolithic diet at least once. Since doing it I have shed fat I always thought impossible to lose and endurance on my long runs (7-10 miles) has gone up. Periodic fasting and calorie restriction activates certain genes responsible for protecting and regenerating tissue as well as reducing insulin levels, blood sugar and blood lipid profiles.
Current nutritional about a grain based diet comes from a scientific community funded by monies from a powerful heavily subsidized corn lobby. One can not argue with 500,000 years of evolution. give it a shot, the first three days are painful as your body makes the switch from burning sugars for fuel to burning fat. You will have headaches, and low energy. At about five days you will start to feel amazing though, like you just had a shot of espresso, as your body starts tapping the long lasting stable fuel that only fat provides. Sugars and carbs are metabolized to quickly creating spikes and crashes with increased cravings for more carbs.
“… i think it is totally unhealthy and can promote a whole new problem for our youth…”
An opinion is an opinion. Mine is that I would rather my two girls grow up putting food in its place: as a means to stay alive. I, unlike so many who have posted opinions, have tried eating in most all ways recommended: by eating many small meals, eating 3 larger meals and a couple of snacks during the day, eating larger in the morning than evening, high protein/low carb, etc., etc. The way I have found that I prefer to eat is to live my days full of energy and free up the time I used to spend eating (and thinking of eating) to use for more constructive works, and eat a truly well-balanced (and more healthful than most can imagine) meal. My girls see me eat and eat healthfully. Food is not my enemy and they know that. Nor is it my best friend, and they see that as well. And they see me stronger than most grown women they know.
As Andrew mentioned, I too have experienced a more lean and fitter physique after changing my eating habits to once daily eating. I have had no loss of endurance, and in fact continue to improve. And as Charlie had queried before, how is it so hard to imagine that I can put together a single healthful meal that can fulfill all my body’s needs and thrive if I can do it in 3-5 meals per day? I can make good choices once daily or 3-5 times daily. I can make poor choices just as frequently – in my humble opinion.
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