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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I have a question… I wanted to post it on yahoo or something like its own topic but idk how. Did our ancestors or do some rural tribes now eat once daily? I was watching a show about two Maasai men visiting America and they said “Americans eat so much… and they’re ALWAYS eating.” One every corner, bus or car, house, office desk or school we are eating ALL THE TIME and them saying that made me realize that and wonder how often they eat and how often our ancestors ate…
Our ancestors at very seldom. Some reasons for this include not having food right there and a busy lifestyle. If we were still hunter/gatherers we wouldn’t eat as much because we’d only eat what we could find or catch. Much of the time if they did eat more than just their 1 main meal it would be small things such as berries that they found. Back in the 1800s here in Canada for example, a lot of people were farmers. They went to bed early and they were up early while the majority of their day was spent taking care of the farm, the animals and the house. They woke with the sun and went to bed with the sun so most of the time that would be around 6am to 7pm which meant they were up for only 13 hours. Since they actually cooked from scratch back then and normally didn’t have left overs (aside from preserves for example) it took much longer to cook a meal and as such they would normally have one large meal in the evening shortly before preparing for bed. And again, if they had anything throughout the day it was normally fruits aside from perhaps a bowl of gruel (aka oatmeal aka porridge) in the morning. If you notice that since perhaps the ’50s we have been getting increasingly easier access to food that is easier and quicker to prepare and our weight has increased along with it. Even new borns are heavier than 50 years ago or so. The avg. newborn weighs 8lbs whereas 50 years ago they only weighed 6lbs.
Dead on you are. Many now are as animals taken from the wild, poisoned in mind & body, not to mention the soul. Cetus
I have been on the IF/One meal a day lifestyle for 14 days now. Have gone from 260 to 246 pounds (5’10, 44 years old) with a goal weight of 165 lbs. After the first three days, my food cravings have disappeared. My ability to focus and my energy level is off the charts, and I am doing cardo and resistance training regularly. I understand that people have opinions about diet etc…, but this lifestyle works for me. I have always followed the old adage: “Eat like a King for breakfast, Prince for lunch and a Pauper for dinner.” Look where it got me? Almost a 100 lbs over my ideal weight of 165 (which is what I weighed as a 23 year old stud). At this point should I worry about what the diet industry is selling? Eat 5-6 meals a day to “feed your metabolism.” That might work for some. Not me. I will check back in here periodically and let you know how I am doing.
Marshall
Im with you! Same here, this is the best change I made for myself, you have written exactly what I keep saying. Stick to it. I have done so for 15 years & never felt better.
WEIGHT… noobs/newbies never say fat they always say weight… this is their first f*ck up in quest for a healthy bod.
All i can say without ranting about “one meal a day” is ridiculious…
body + mind needs energy throughout the day, need protein through out the day and fat throughout the day, eating one meal is like saying to your body… there you go…goodluck…
@Marshall.. yeah whilst the eat breakfast like a King etc is some what true… you obviously failed to take into consideration… calories in vs calories out! You obviously ate more calories than you were burning, and the body can only process so many calories at once, the rest is stored as fat.
I do the one meal a day thing and it is also realy workig for me not everyone is the same. just like not every diet works the same I was eating 5-6 small meals a day and I found my self hungry all the time! and I was eating healthy raw veggies and fruit or whole wheat sand. with one slice of turky gronala bars and still i was soooo hungry I was ganning wait to. I tryed the one a day and I actuly have more energy and I have lost a sicnifficant amount of weight. I am not hungry all the time and I do fine I think every ones body is diffrent in how it will lose weight.
Wow “Tyler” you are a genius.
@ Tyler “The genius” – 80 lbs , HBP, high cholesterol, gout, achy joints, impotence…all gone in 10 months due to Fast-5 diet (google it). Basically the same principle. One meal a day. And I am 50 yrs old. Now I make love like a rabbit, have energy like a bunny and increased mental focus…and I am much more mellow, too.
Hey, if it works, it works. Different strokes for different people. I have tried them all. This was easy. Stop trying to sound like some kind of expert, okay.
ok first of all eating 4 to 6 small meals a day will just make you fat like seriously thats no wonder all overweight people get fat because of that and the internet just says that because they want to make you fat plus they add all this information that i or some ppl dont understand…this works for me and all my craving have gone drown the drain…so if ur listening to some internet thinking that it will work you fisrt have to think about what works for you and dont act like some expert because its proven it works so yea…im not trying to praise this type of eating once a day rule but its really getting annoying how people say it doesnt work when they just say that because they’re simply clueless.
I agree jenko. Do what works for you. Eating 5-6 small meals a day didnt work for me. Eating once a day after 4 pm works for me. Clear mind, no bonking, lots of energy. And I have dropped 25 lbs thus far. Still miss my two-three pints a beer a day!
Let’s get real. Who said cavemen ate once a day?
Did they find a caveman diary among the fossils?
People and animals ate the same. They grazed. As they went about their business, you know, trying to stay warm, alive, hydrated, they picked at or up the raw food that God has provided. They were forced to move and be physical and ate while they did their thing, hence, the 5-6 SMALL, repeat, SMALL, like one hand full of food at a time small. It wasnt until we were growing wheat, eating bread and chowing down on domesticated animal meat that reports began to surface on heart disease and obesity. If you hadn’t faked being sick and stayed home from school because of all the candy you ate the day before you would have learned this in world history 101. I’m just saying…
Whether our ancestors ate one meal a day or not, they did have to go on empty for a while until they found food. Not only that but when an animal is sick, it fasts; when a human is nervous or anxious, they lose their appetite; and I know quite a few people, including myself, who cannot have breakfast without becoming sick, and none of us has any sort of disease or affliction that causes this. From my perspective, it’s a much more natural and intuitive system and it’s a hell of a lot better than counting calories and trying to plan and prepare six meals a day.
Not only that, but I know a handful of people who absolutely love the Warrior Diet, the Fast-5 Diet, and other intermittent fasting systems, and they find it easy to stick to. I seriously recommend finding the Warrior Diet’s website, it explains everything from a biological standpoint. And unless you try it, you really have no room to talk about it. All you’re doing is following mainstream “health experts” whom, like the rest of the health industry, often don’t even live by their own advice. I swear if I see another fat “nutritionist” . .
The Warrior diet is the way to go. It’s really not just one meal a day. I’ve been on it for 6 years now and I can tell you it has changed my life. The attraction for me was I had an instinct since high school that eating a traditional American 3 meals a day plus snacks made me sluggish,tired, during a school or work day. When i eat this way I feel like …what???!it’s time to eat again??Didn’t we just eat??? As a child and teenager and young adult I ate sparcely during the day. Not because i was told to. But because it felt natural. I was fit ,trim, cute,wirey. When i got in my 30′s and was suddenly soooo into reading every thing related to fitness,I tried every new workout plan and every new way of eating–i.e. eating 3 meals a day plus snacks, I gained 15-20 pds and felt like a bloated,older model of myself. Once I thought it through,I realized that I had to go back to what had worked for me early in life. I found the Warrior Diet. I’ve suited it to myself but I can tell you this diet,once you adjust to it,will change your life!! I don’t really have just one meal a day. But my main meal is at night. During the day when you are working and performing your “warrior” duties, you need to stay sharp. I start the day with 2 glasses of lemon water. Then I have coffee. My first solid calories are as late in the day as I can comfortably do. usually from noon to 2 pm I start to feel hungry,and I have fresh fruit and raw vegies. I don’t eat a full meal until at least 5 pm . Sometimer later. I eat until 8 pm(only if and when i’m hingry)I feel at least 15 years younger than my age. I am normaly pegged at being 10 years younger than my age,by other people. Try it before shooting it down. Your eyes will be opened.
i totally agree with you!!
2 months ago I was 210 pounds, I am 5 ft10, by blood pressure was high, had constant, terrible, annoying, headaches and had huge trouble falling asleep.
…So its been two “terrible” months of eating just a healthy huge meal a day at around 8pm, consisting of pretty much everything I want but in a certain order.
Sleeping 7/8 hours a night, no longer a trouble, blood pressure better then when I was 20(I´m 29), headaches? I´m starting to forget what it is! Ahh, the down side, I´ve lost 15 pounds the first month, and now losing an average of 2/3 pounds weak. Another huuuge problem, my waist passed from the healthy 46 inches diameter to the unpleasant 39 inches!
I work around 12 hours a day at an office, if I feel weak (it happened 4 times till now, all in the first month) I eat an apple and a bunch of water. Bc I dont have time to workout, or maybe the will, I just do some pus-ups and sit-ups every morning (not more than 10 minutes of it).
To summarize,
Keep eating 5-6-7 or even a hundred 20 calorie meals per day, to really boost up your metabolism, thats the way! (and would actually reduce the unemployment rates since people would consider it a job, a darn difficult one!)
Ps: Dont do what I´m doing, I´m just killing myself!!
Eating only 1 meal a day definitely works in the quest to shed a few extra pounds, I’ve been eating one healthy meal a day now for 3 weeks and I’ve shed 8lbs.. I start the morning with a cup of fresh coffee and it seems to energise me for the morning and also suppresses my appetite too.. It can be hard with hunger pangs but if you keep yourself busy time you’ll manage it.
You will notice you get fuller of smaller portions of food too!
Word of warning..
Stay away from greasy foods if your only eating healthily, you will notice it’ll come straight out of you!
Hey guys,
I think the important thing to realise here is that what works for one person may not work for another.
Many of you are arguing the discussion based on your personal experience….sure one meal a day or 6 meals a day may work for you but that doesn’t mean it will work for the next guy.
Focus more on what you are consuming rather than how often, experiment with meal timing and amount, and sure enough you will find the way that works for you.
Eat clean, feel great
Nathan
I read of a study that said eating one meal a day causes an increase in cardiovascular risk. This bothers me because I have been eating one meal a day for 4 months.
Did you know that water fasting can help you lose weight, lose fat, keep muscle and decrease chances of cancer while making your skin nicer? And yet people have “You’ll GAIN weight if you fast because your body will burn MUSCLE and HOLD onto all of your FAT and your metabolism will slow down FOREVER!” Shoved down their throats. Although it is true a persons metabolism will slow down during the fast because your body doesn’t have to waste energy digesting food it will speed back up afterwards. And your body will use fatty tissue before it uses muscle do to a thing called protein sparing. That’s why water fasting tends to be used for health reasons. If water fasting for 30, 60, 90 days can be healthy for you than 1 meal a day can’t be nearly as bad for you than people try to say.
But it’s all consumerism. It’s as simple as “Let’s convince them that by eating more they can be nice and skinny and fit and will be healthier! Sure, they’ll be fat, but they’re stupid and won’t catch on until it’s too late. Besides, we make money from this! Nothing wrong with using peoples insecurities to make money!”
First of all, I think everyone talking about “our ancestors” needs to let them stay in the past — humans today are significantly less active than our ancestors were, and the way our ancestors used to eat would most likely not jive with our lifestyles today.
Secondly, everyone arguing back and forth about how it works for some and not for others should research nutrigenomics. It’s fairly new, and studies the effects of nutrition on gene expression (and vice versa). In the next 10 -20 years the food guide will be obsolete, and you’ll be able to get a blood sample drawn and analyzed to get your own personalized nutrition plan. Some people get fat on high carb diets. Some people get thin on high fat diets. Everyone’s body is different, and this is precisely what nutrigenomics studies.
Third: from a purely physiologic point of view, eating once a day slows down metabolism. What does that mean? That phrase is thrown around all the time, and I suspect most users are unaware of its scientific definition. “Metabolism slowing down” means that energy production is down-regulated. Your body produces energy (ATP) from the food that you eat.
When you have food coming in frequently, your body has ample substrate for energy production, and it can make energy at a fast rate (hence, eating frequently speeds up your metabolism). However, eating too many calories is when people end up storing energy as fat.
As far as eating infrequently (i.e., once a day), your body slows down energy production because it does not have enough calories coming in to support energy production. Since there isn’t enough food during the day, it slows down the process of making energy to ensure it doesn’t run out of fuel.
After 10-12 hours of being in a catabolic state, that one meal, regardless of what you’re eating, is going to stimulate insulin. Insulin is a storage hormone, and the body will super-compensate by taking up all the nutrients it can from the food. This results in two things occurring: 1, your blood glucose drops very rapidly (a crash); 2, your body now has way too much fuel for energy production. So, what does it do? It jump starts and makes lots of energy, and stores it as adipose tissue (fat).
After a few days of this, the body begins to switch to using fat as its primary source of energy…but that doesn’t mean it’s healthy. The brain, all by itself, requires about 400 calories a day — and the thing about the brain is it discriminates. Glucose is the only energy-yielding nutrient that can pass into the brain, therefore the brain can only use glucose for energy. This means the brain needs about 100 grams of carbohydrates a day just to perform basic functions, like maintaining body temperature, etc. Again, ONLY THE BRAIN. The rest of the body needs more.
Also, when you fast, your body DOES break down muscle for energy. Yes, it uses fat, but fat cannot be converted into glucose. However, some amino acids can (named ‘glucogenic’ amino acids). To produce glucose from non-carbohydrate sources, your body will break down muscle as a last resort. You need amino acids circulating in your blood stream to maintain muscle. Eating once a day isn’t adequate to obtain this.
Fasting for any period of time really isn’t the most nutritionally sound thing to do, and anyone who does it for extended lengths should look up photos of holocaust survivors — that is what fasting can lead to in extreme circumstances.
And just a side note on fasts and cleanses — your body does a bang up job detoxifying itself just fine. Even today, with all of our technological advances in science and medicine, we still can’t make a dialysis machine that filters the blood as well as the kidneys. Go figure.
Okay, that’s the long, overview of human metabolism. Personally, I would not last very long on one meal a day. However, I also respect and acknowledge the fact that everyone has a different body, different DNA, and different beliefs. Do what makes you happy, just always be conscientious about your health and your body.
And remember, weight loss isn’t everything — fast weight loss equates to loss of lean body mass, not necessarily fat loss. Focus more on body fat percentage than weight, and try to lose no more than 2 lbs a week to prevent losses in muscle.
Bravo if you made it through this!
-Zack
Hi Zack,
I know this is 2 months after your reply, but I wanted to comment on what you said about the ability to utilize fats as energy. You’re right that fat cannot be converted to glucose, but it CAN enter the TCA cycle (as acetyl CoA), which is where glucose is eventually shunted from glycolysis to yield the most ATP. Also, the products of fatty acid oxidation, ketones, can be used by the brain for energy. As a matter of fact, some people (usually children) who suffer from seizures because they can’t process carbohydrates (they lack of enzymes that link glycolysis to the TCA cycle, and this leads to a buildup of lactate in neurons) have to be put on a ketogenic diet, meaning, they have to restrict the carbohydrates in the diet so that their energy comes from ketone bodies.
Hello,
The headaches and moodiness are directly related to the amount and types. Eat predominately alkaline foods and once per day at lunchtime when solar activity and the mechanical effect of chewing do the most good. Notice the waste when eating 3 times a day. Thats alot of time chewing, cooking, working to provide it, cleaning up after it you may as well worship food, its the God of many. The waste I refer to is not what I wrote above either, alot of time and money deposited there too. Once you realise that it does not take much to maintain the grown human you will have free time, more energy and be less destructive in this placement. You have your mind, use it and less of others.
Peace.
Continued:
Also friend, when you cutback on meals your body has more time and energy to repair error of the past. Part of this process is the elimination of waste from the body. Headaches and moodiness…incoming for sure.
It is an area where many go back to the comfort of no systematic energy, therefor the effects of healing disapear, only to return later on in life as disease, in direct relation to the level of toxicity of the food and the amounts [not including the slight factoring of inherited genes]. The body also is not a sorting machine. The body was designed and being one of the highest setinents here it was designed for us to operate within this body on this planet with the least destruction. Learn what is given to you and that which is taken by you. Can you continue on with where you took your sustenence without seed. What are YOU doing to obtain your life, as life begets life, death does not beget life, no seed friend.
Love and knowledge through experience and logic.
Peace
Blah, Blah, Blah… each human to there own system to loose weight…IMO its simple math… Lower your K/cal intake increase your burning or K/cal that means exercise, and pain..I avoid eating out and fast food period done never again.. slowly got myself off SUGAR!!!! yes zero refined sugars that’s key.. My sugar comes from natural fruit.. Protein 100% fish.. zero red meat.. Vegetables in natural state only.. I almost zero condiments..that means I use only 3 seasonings on my foods period. no mayo at all..no salad dressings..
I am in the best shape of my life a 39, and I am gaining muscle while loosing body fat. I reached a Plateau at the gym.. and wanted to break it I was eating 100% right controlled portions. The problem your body will adjust to your new diet.. You must keep your body on its “toe’s” per say that means eating less and tricking your liver to release insulin to burn FAT. That means ONE MEAL A DAY for me, and I am exploding with energy and people at the gym are like WTF is he on..Yah it is pure hell at first if you have little or no discipline.. Nothing in life comes easy, and a great body takes lots of work, clean food, clean living, a spiritual connection with something greater than yourself gets me through those sets at the gym.. I push through them better the next day…
The food industry is about MONEY not your well being!!!! America wake up.. Eat less work out more.. stay active.. shut the cable tv off, shoot the 52″ plasma join a gym.. get outside…
Sorry, but I have to disagree with
“cutback on meals your body has more time and energy to repair error of the past. Part of this process is the elimination of waste from the body”
Your body needs nutrients to repair itself, and eating one meal a day isn’t going to provide everything it needs. I am not advocating eating a lot of food, simply eating small meals frequently. And the foods eaten should be healthy – whole grains, fresh veggies and fruits, low-fat dairy, lean meats, nuts, legumes, seeds, etc.
Unless you have a metabolic disorder, it comes down to calories in vs. calories out, as Charles stated a few posts ago. I’ve seen several posts on this thread about people saying they’ve tried everything to lose weight, and this is the only thing that worked. Well, it worked not because eating once a day cleanses the body, but because eating once a day provides only a fraction of the calories your body needs to maintain its weight. I’m also willing to bet that those who lost weight on this diet lost a lot of it quickly – and I can guarantee much of it was not fat.
It’s not about a DIET. Diet is a four-letter word and should be added to the list of seven dirty words that can’t be said on television. The key is making a LIFESTYLE CHANGE. Energy is not wasted on preparing and eating food. You are investing energy into your health, and it is important to make time for it. I’ll quote one of my college professors here:
“when you say, ‘I don’t have time for something’, you’re really saying, ‘it’s not a priority to me’.”
Make it a priority.
1) diet: the usual food and drink consumed by an organism (person or animal). Far from a “dirty word”.
2) In 4 days I had lost nearly 5 lbs and 1%body fat. which means approx. 3 lbs of what I had lost was fat.
3) I was consuming 1000-1500 calories.
4) Last time I had done this I lost 30 lbs, 10% body fat. In other words I lost 24.6 lbs of fat with an avg of 1200 calories each day. It also took about 1 year. That’s not at all quick and most of what I had lost was fat.
1) What I meant by that phrase was the fact that a lot of people think of a diet as a temporary change in eating habits. For example, “I’m going on a diet for a month”, or, “I’m trying the Atkin’s diet”. So in this sense ‘diet’ is a bad word, because it means a non-permanent change in the way one eats.
2-4) What were your stats before you started? Height? Weight? BF%? Physical activity? 1000-1500 might be enough for your body. I don’t know.
I still stand by the belief that eating once a day is all around unhealthy. I appreciate the challenge though, and congrats on the weight loss
the last time I was 5′/5’2. started at 165lb 37%bf and maybe 30-60 mins walking (5-10 mins to/from school 4x/day, between classes), ended at 135lb 27%bf and only change was maybe an extra 10 mins for walking the dog I had gotten that year. (by the way, I was only in jr high at the time but if you believe genes play any part in metabolism and such, my mother is normally overweight by about 30lbs, i have 2 morbidly obese sisters, 1 obese sister, 1 anorexic sister, my grandmother was overweight and my great grandmother would have been considered morbidly obese although both my grandmother and great grandmother lived pretty much off of what they grew)
And thanks.
Absolutely not! Eating once a day is no good for the metabolism, I think most of us know this.
One cannot truly loose fat and gain muscle at the the same time.. The key is a balance between lowering your intake calories while increasing your work-out intensity.. and change up your routine keep your muscles confused.. I eat One meal a day smaller portion but high quality food..It is possible to loose that last little bit of weight holding you back from a killer body.. It takes discipline and commitment to a new lifestyle and diet..Once I loose another 5lbs I will up my calorie intake with high quality source of protein, and greens.. minimal carbs.. no bread..zero sugar, zero soda or pop.. drink water only.. Milk once in a while..
There is no “silver bullet” to loose weight.. Eating less does not mean you are starving or consuming muscle..
you do know that by gaining muscle you burn fat right? You should go to school or talk to some personal trainers more often.
Considering most body-builders will tell you that the best you can do is a 1:1 fat to muscle gain ratio, if that, then no, it’s nigh impossible to do both consistently. If you’re just starting out from going from doing absolutely nothing physical to weight-lifting+cardio a few times a week, then yes, you can do both rather well. But for those already within healthy body-fat %s, it’s impossible to make substantial gains without gaining some fat as well.
i was 210 4 months ago… ive been eating one meal a day since then and once or twice a week i just eat what i want whenever and drink a shit load of beers… anyways im 165 now. i go to school and basically sit on my ass all day doin school work. never go to the gym. smoking half a pack a day
you tellem tom
Oh and the Tyler fellow is right about one thing in that it’s not about the scale weight. In the same way that one sees 300+ pound people at the gym curling 40-50 pounds yet are unable to do a single pull-up or more than a few push-ups, there are those people who have a BMI of 20(Perfectly average for a male) yet have no definition and also cannot do a pull-up for the life of them.
But it’s not just about strength. Dieting poorly, in addition to the problems of weight & body fat %, causes health problems from lacking nutrients, vitamins, etc. Perhaps the reason that the 1 a day meal works for some is because the food eaten is actually quality compared to the junk most people eat before they actually pay attention to their diet.
This is something that I used to do when I wanted to lose weight quickly…but the thing that I didn’t like was losing so much of my strength also. That’s why I like to eat small meals all day long. Every now and then I will go back to eating only ounce a day to lean me out a little bit.
I wouldn’t recommend this to anybody that is trying to build muscle because you will be going nowhere fast!
Patrick is so right about that. Although some guys cycle one meal a day type philosophies in and out of their training with good success, it is NOT something to stick to long term. Bad idea, and forget about “our ancestors” what does that have to do with anything today? None of us were there so do we really know what it was like? sure, we can take guesses but who’s to say they wouldn’t have lived healthier lives if they ate more structured meals designed to control blood sugar levels better? No one can, just like no one can say what really happened at the battle of Thermopylae?
The evidence is clear………and Zack, you sound very eloquent and have retained information you’ve gleaned and condensed into intelligent arguments. However, unanimously, those who are eating 1 meal a day/restricting calories far beyond general consensus health guidelines, are increasing lean muscle mass ratios, losing fat and increasing their fitness.
I have been doing the one meal a day plan for 6 months now. You do loose weight and fast. I dropped about 16lb in 6 7 weeks. I just do it Monday to Friday now.
The money I save in the week goes on quality food for the evening and at weekends. I eat what I want yet don’t crave junk food like I always did. Yeah the 1st few days where difficult but now I don’t think about it. If I feel hungry I drink water and the hunger goes away…simple really.
I go to the gym 4 time a week with no problems. Again at 1st I thought there would be no way but actually it’s no big deal. As long as you eat shortly after a session you do not loose muscle mass.
You really do have eat fresh good quality foods though to make sure you get the nutrients out of what you eat.
I have been on this now for 3 weeks. My weight has dropped from 15st 10lbs to 14 st 3lbs thats a weight loss of 21lb in 3 weeks or 7lbs a week. I go to the gym 4 times a week. My 5k running time is down from 24mins to 20mins 40secs. Only good things. My resting heart rate is down from 72 bpm to 64bpm and my body fat is down from 20.4% to 14%. I only do the Diet Monday to Friday and allow my self to have the weekends as I cheat days. Although I dont pig out I do enjoy 3 meals aday. I have found that this helps restimulate my metabolic rate and aids in the weight loss. good luck to every one.
I’m 5″11 and 46kg and eat around 4-5 times a day, with evening always being the largest.
I also have a purely yogurt day once a week, as I notice with beans etc you can gan ‘fake weight’ from the bulk.
The yogurt day gives you a bit of a rest.
One meal a day is ridiculous, WE’RE not cave men anymore, we evolved! and became smarter by eating more often.
I don’t know why people do these silly things…perhaps bored wth life?
we’re evolved, we’re smarter, and we’re obese. better to eat less and be healthy then eat all the time and be obese. The people that eat all the time are the ones bored with life. If they would they’d go out there and have a life instead of eating.
Perfect reply!
Hey guys this post seems to be going on and on
but still the underlying theme is that what works for one person may not work for another.
I personally disagree with eating only once a day (unless part of a strategised intermittant fast) as over a longer period of time I feel this will have negative reprocussions on the body as the variety of foods, vitamins, minerals in one meal can not provide the neccessary fuels of good health. Not to mention that certain minerals will interact with each other preventing absorption (for example calcium and magnesium) so would need to be absorbed through differing meal times.
looking forward to hearing what more of you have to say
Nathan
Well, after reading some of the comments, I have to say – if eating one meal a day decreases your metabolism over time and makes it harder to lose weight later, how is that a problem if you are still eating once a day and engaging in regular exercise? How are you going to gain weight with good exercise? I would like to say that I am 15, about five foot seven, and last year, my freshman year of high school, I inadvertently ended up eating one meal a day. The cafeteria and its food were revolting to me, so I soon stopped eating it. I didn’t have time for breakfast because I had sleeping problems and would frequently be running late by the time I left the house, which means packing a lunch is also difficult. So, I would go through each day fairly hungry, and then get home at around 4 p.m. My mom would get home and make a decent-sized healthy dinner each night, save for a few occasions where we might go out to eat or order pizza, and I would eat the dinner and go to bed, then starting the next day the same way. But I have heard that eating your biggest meal before you go to sleep may induce weight gain because your body stores more fat when it is processing food while you are asleep. Now, I have read a lot about the body and how it works in the manner of nutrition and weight gain/loss, but every thing I read seems to counteract other things or contradict itself. Also, I moved to a new city about two and a half months ago, and have since been taking classes over the phone, meaning that I don’t get out of the house as much except for when I visit friends on the weekends, and with classes over by eleven in the moring each day, I do not have much to occupy my time and have hence developed something of a habit of eating. I will eat little things as snacks here and there, and have noticed a weight gain of a couple pounds. It is noticeable because before we moved I was skinnier and the outl!nes of my abs were visible, also I got more exercise because I got out more and would walk home with friends and whatnot. Granted, right now I have recently started a new birth control pill almost a month ago and am currently on my period. I have noticed other bc pills make me bloated so I do not know if that’s contributing, but I want to go back to one meal a day because I am quite disappointed with how I look now. Also I take vitamins daily and I feel healthy as I always have, I was wondering if anyone might know if it is the eating a bit more or the decrease in exercise that is contributing more to the weight? Also I have been fairly depressed since moving and I know I would be back to normal if I were back in my old town but unfortunately that is not an option at the moment.
Eating once a day is not a good idea. You have to give your body everything required to be healthy. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner… all these are necessary time to time. Food at regular interval maintains the body and keeps you fit.
Be careful about eating healthy food with low calories, exercise everyday, and be happy.
That’s all…
Well i dunno about how much truth there is to this but apparently Ex NFLer and current MMA fighter Hershel Walker only eats once a day (soup at that) and hes a machine. This guy is probably one of the healthiest looking people ive ever seen, he has less than 10% body fat, is ripped like a body builder and doesnt even lift weights either. If it is true than we should all be on soup diets.
I personally don’t believe that it’s possible to train and eat only once a day.
I definitely agree with you and the rest of the fitness world who prescribe that it is ideal to eat many small meals throughout the day. As a matter of fact I have heard that sumo wrestlers actually eat one huge meal a day in order to gain all the fat that they do.
When you on weight loss program, you have to eat small portion of food about 3-5 times a day to get better result. Of course you have to consider calories, water and fresh fruits for daily intake. I lost 26 pounds following this way and feel great!
I think it’s funny how the people who are so opposed to eating this way continue to come back and try to defend the “6 meals a day”. It must be hard when everything you’ve been told is a big fat lie. “You need to eat 5-6 small meals a day to FIRE UP your metabolism” I call bs. I understand why they do it because I used to eat 6 meals a day too. I lost weight, yes, but I was always hungry. When I was backpacking around the world a few years ago, it was amazing to see how other countries eat. They don’t eat 5 or 6 times a day. Some eat twice, some eat once. However they look fit and healthy! Not obese or overweight like the majority of this country. I, myself, could only afford to eat once or twice a day back when I was traveling and I got lean, healthy, fit. Eating once a day is so much easier. You break your food addiction because you’re not constantly thinking about food. When I do feel hungry, I drink some water or go for a walk or distract myself with another activity. Eating once a day is NOT going to slow your metabolism. In fact, your metabolism actually increases during a fast. For those saying that you’ll lose muscle? It takes 3 days without food for your body to start breaking down muscle for fuel. Make sure your one meal has protein, lift weights a few times a week and you’ll keep, perhaps even gain, muscle mass. The first few days are the hardest. Once you’re through that you’ll think clearer, have way more energy, appreciate every mouthful (food tastes so much better when you’re not stuffing yourself 6 times a day with bland boring food), lose fat, skin becomes clearer. Eat a balanced meal, take your vitamins, exercise, drink water and you’ll love the way you feel. Not sure if i can post links here but google “leangains” and check out the top 10 fasting myths. He has some great info on that site. Especially if you want to reap the benefits of fasting while gaining muscle.
Of course this isn’t for everyone. The point is…do what works for you and don’t listen to anyone else. If something is working and you feel great, keep doing it.
Is it safe to eat once a day? Well, it’s safe if you don’t care that your body will be breaking down your muscles and your metabolism will sky rocket into the dead end. But it’s pretty absurd if you ask me.
what you’re saying about breaking down your muscles has
no basis as fact.
I’ve been trying this for going on 4 days now, and I must say I do feel better already. When I stopped playing basketball in high school over 7 years ago, I’d gained weight. Entering college didn’t help either. I have been eating one meal a day for awhile thought, but I was in-taking the wrong foods..and thought I couldn’t live without Reese’s peanut butter cups. lol I do have strong will power. A year ago I decided to stop drinking soda of any kind. I replaced soda with V8 Splash and V8 Fusion, that was a year go. 6months later, I replaced the V8 with strictly water. I’m proud to say I haven’t drank a soda in a year. I don’t eat alot of meats (mostly fish and chicken). This year I had planned to cut out all sweets and breads, and eventually cutting out fried foods. In just the 4 days that I’ve been eating once a day without snacking during the day, I feel revived. My stomach doesn’t have that bloated feeling. I’ve been exercising for 30mins a day also. I just look forward to feeling and looking healthy for the first time in my life. In high school, I’d eat anything because I knew I had basketball practice for 3 hours everyday except weekends and even then I was overweight, but in shape, which was confusing. I was and still am 5’7″ and then weighed 200+ (220 max) but I could play basketball and not get tired, run up and down the court like everyone else. My motivation for doing this is because I don’t want to be uncomfortable for the rest of my life, nor do I ever want to stick myself with a needle due to diabetes. My body is my temple and to be overweight is being disobedient to God…besides clothes are cheaper. lol I want to lose 20lbs by my birthday, May…and go on from there.
Just search for Leangains diet.All the facts are there
By definition, dieting is eating the right food, in right quantity, at the right time.
So why starve?!
There have always been fad diets available, such as the “no carbohydrate” diet, the “low carbohydrate diet” and let’s not forget the famous “cabbage soup” diet.
It may look like you are going on a diet that will bring you the results you want, but it does not.
If you ever tried a starving diet, you probably lost some pounds quickly at first, but as time went by, it became much harder to lose the extra weight. Finally, you got to a point that you were actually starving yourself and still not losing weight at all.
Starving diets do not work because they slow down the metabolism and put the body into a starvation mode, making it impossible to lose weight in a healthy way.
I know it because five years ago, I tried such a “diet”. I felt miserable all the time and I was always hungry and tired.
Obviously, after a couple of months I stopped… meaning going back to my regular eating habits… but I had a new problem. You see, when you stop the starving diet, your metabolism is still stuck in a low calorie-burning mode and by the time it catches up, you have gained all the weight back and even a few extra pounds.
The other problem is the loss of muscle mass. As you know, muscle mass is a major part of the body that burns fat, but on a very low-calorie diet you are losing fat as well as your muscle mass. When you stop this diet, you put all the lost weight back on, but you also end up with even more fat and less muscle to burn it with.
Bottom line, IT IS NOT HEALTHY. So if you are on such a diet, I advice you to stop immediately.
Starving yourself will affect your health and damage your kidneys, liver and the rest of your organs. The more you starve yourself, the bigger these problems will become.
We should all eat very tasty foods, but in the right quantities and at the right time, so you can lose weight and be as healthy as you can be.
there is a difference between starving and fasting. Look
it up.
Eating one meal a day is definitely healthy and beats the crap out of mini meal high protein diets like the Zone or Atkins like Dukan which allows you to eat what you want, follow guidelines and make up for cheats with a,day of protein. Dukan is actually pretty flexible but I had no energy on it. Ori Hofmekler’s Warrior Diet is a mind blowing revelation, you have to try it. He says the body needs to detoxify earlier in the day and that eating, really anything, even a high protein or carb/protein/fat meal makes you tired and less alert. The body makes hgh which needs to rise, eating suppresses it and no it doesn’t help your metabolism, this is,pure garbage. The body needs to break itself down and purify itself, this state breaks down fat while preserving muscle. I have just started on the WD after 10 years of high protein Paleo Zone blood type nutrition type diet and already I am a billion times happier. I am 40 and have been utterly exhausted from dieting the last few years. I am much happier eating a little fruit and vegetables during the day and having one big meal at night. One meal a day has more or less,saved me from the hell called mid life.
Everyone really needs to stop arguing about this dieting thing; every one is completely!! different!
I exercised for 4 hours every day with the weight watchers diet lost nothing ! i did it for 5 months ! Oh and one more cracker im only 18! any was like 3 stone over weight! so ye explain that diet experts! I did the one meal a day thing but guess what ? I actually thought about it look it worked for me i lost my 3 stone fast! But you got to think make sure your one meal contains good things to keep you going, and your metabolism at a good rate put it this way I’m eating 3 meals a day again and i haven’t put the weight back on! you got to be smart about these things.. Calculate your BMR NOT BMI –> BMR and descover exactly what you as an idividual need and then go from there. Oh 1 more thing to people who think your not going to crave food or won’t feel hungry your crazy! And to people who are souly looking for a diet like that, you clearly dont want it bad enough; Dieting isn’t easy it all comes down to HOW BAD YOU WANT IT!
the “everyone is different” is, for the most part, is an inaccurrate and oversimplified statement. When it comes
to digesting and metabolizing food we’re basically the same.
losing fat is burning more calories than you’re taking in.
This applies to everyone. Universally.
I did the whole one meal a day thing when I was in high school. I went to school. I would not eat breakfast nor lunch becuase that was the “cool” thing to do was sit around and talk instead of eat. when I would get home from school around 4 in the afternoon and I would eat whatever I wanted and it did work for me. I beleived it worked because I was still eating what I wanted but, just for one meal a day and I wasn’t feeling deprived. I am 5’5″ I went from 170lbs to 130 lbs in about 4 months. And I was able to keep all that weight off until I had a baby. Now I am back up there. I am wanting to start doing this again… considering school just started up again and I am a school teacher and stay pretty much busy from 8 to 4! So, I hope it will work for me again!!! I’ll let y’all know how it works!!!
Well, Actually , Ayurveda the science of life defines that a human needs two handfuls of food a day – put both your palms together like a cup and what fills that cup is enough to keep you healthy. Thats all the food you need. But times changed. We live in a stressful world full of technology and medical advancements..so there are several opinions.
But eating less never killed any one.
I eat twice a day and I am very healthy person.
No alcohol, No Tobocco, Only vegetarian food, No fats oils..
WALK a lot ( dont use car).
Most important is trust the almighty and pray every day..
When I was 18 I weighed 120ibs..I am 5’1 ..I only ate one meal a day..I was never tired or anger or had trouble thinking..I am now 21 and I have been doing the 4-6 small meals a day and I weigh 169 ibs…I am easily aggravated…I feel so angry as well..I am going back to my one meal a day..I hope it will once again work for me..if your worried about nutrition take a vitamin supplement recommended by your doctor..for women I recommend Viactin or viactiv I think that is what it is called..they are chewable..mint flavored and chocolate
you guys have me thinking.
When I was in high school, I weighed between 130 and 140 pounds. I am 5’7. I looked good!
Then my best friend started trying to lose weight and started dieting to lose weight(she weighed more than me). So I started dieting too even though I really didn’t need to(i gained about 10 pounds).
Then I got older and worked at a fast food restaurant. I didn’t use to eat during my shift and everybody would say(the other employees) you not gonna eat, you not hungry???? So I started eating(and the food was free).
I gained 27 pounds over the summer and then I went to college were I got the student card to go to the cafeteria and eat breakfast, lunch and dinner(with having to pay cash). I wouldn’t be thinking of food but I would go with my friends anyway. So I got in the habit of that and gained the “freshman 30″ in college.
And so on, you get the picture! Now I am married and 32 years old. I am 284lbs and trying to figure how to lose weight.
I tried eating several time a day, tried low carb diet, tried having a healthy lifestyle with several meals a day and I can’t stay on the diet long enough to lose enough weight.
I even hired a personal trainer who put me through bootcamp training. I lost lots of inches but didn’t lose weight. I am still working out but not as strenuous.
I was afraid that I would stay this weight the rest of my life. But after reading this, I think I am going to go back to my natural way of doing things and see how that works for me(this time, i will not let friends/associates force me into social eating!
Thanks ya’ll I am going to check back with you and tell you my progress with the one meal a day diet.
Okay, my last posting was 9/10/11. Todays date is 9/14/11. So after 5 days I weigh in at 277lbs. That’s a 7 pound loss in 5 days! Yeah me…
Don’t worry, I have been eating full meals when I do eat. I am just glad it’s coming off. I will continue this lifestyle per my body responds to it well and I feel healthy, strong, and my mind is very clear. I love it! I will check back and give progress!
Been on Intermittent Fasting (IF) diet since 1/29/11. I have dropped 25 lbs cumulative since then, tapering down to about 164 lbs these past couple months. I am a 35 yr old asian male with a lean (is that endomorph? i forget) and i have never been ripped, 6-pack etc. My activity level is on average moderate high to dynamic.
My “feast window” every day is 12pm-8pm. I work out on an empty stomach early in the morning and outside of the 8 hour window i consume ONLY water. my energy and focus are increased. i “feel” healthier. my buckets of protein powder have been sitting around for months and are not nece$$ary. With this IF diet/lifestyle it is shockinly simple. picked it up from http://www.leangains.com. i don’t follow the guy’s formula 100% as far as macro calculations and workout suggestions, but have been doing circuit training average 2-3 times a week for only about an hour. THAT’s IT.
Highly recommended. One question i do have is how this diet may affect me in the long run….but so far so good. i’ve never been leaner or more fit.
I’ve been eating once a day for over a year now. In June 2010 I was 230 pounds. I’m 5’8 so that’s considered obese. Right now I weigh 177 pounds. That’s over 50 pounds lost in a year! Went from a size 16 pants to size 10/11. I have changed my eating habits and tend to eat salads five days out the week. I seldom drink soda. Instead I drink water and ice tea. I don’t even bother worrying about if the teas have a lot of sugar in them either. I lose about 2-3 three pounds a week. I’ve noticed that my appetite has gotten considerably smaller and I crave foods a lot less.
What has really helped is the fact that I’m active almost everyday. I cannot wait to start working out seriously. The weight will really melt off then!
No wonder Americans and for that matter the British are getting so fat.
Simply put the supermarket want you to eat more = more profits
The diet companies want you to pile back on the weight = more profits
The supplements industry want you to keep failing = more profits
The pharmicutical companies want you to get fat mean selling more drug = more profits
And finally America wants us to engage in more unrealistic wars in the middle east as it equals guess what arms sales oil minerals and in iran control of the caspian sea = more $
Simple if it costs nothing but works they don’t want to stop the fast food craze.
Fasting is very good for humans we are designed that way. It works simple all you fatties carry on with your six meals a day and we will see you and your kids in the diabetic clinic
I’ve always just eaten one meal a day, as long as I can remember and I’m 46 and 103 pounds. The most I’ve ever weighed was 115 at 5’4″ and that’s when I worked different hours, was bored out of my mind and ate all day. I gained about 15 pounds in about 6 months. Changed my hours and the extra weight just fell right off without doing anything else but eating only once a day. It’s funny, all my family and friends like to “do lunch” and when I tell them I’m not hungry or don’t eat until around 4:30 or after they look at me like I’m crazy and tell me how “unhealthy” it is. Meanwhile, they are all overweight and my bloodwork is just about perfect. I do like to walk and moderate exercise to stay in shape as well. I think everyone just has to figure out what works for them. For me, I can’t stand to just sit around…it makes me nuts. I’m not a big tv watcher and I think that’s a huge factor as well. It’s so easy to just put away loads of empty calories without realizing it just sitting around watching t.v. Anyway, good luck to all in your fitness quests!
Been doing the one meal a day for over a week now and I used to get really tired at around 4pm daily. The biggest thing I have noticed is I no longer feel like a little sleep at this time now and am full of energy all day long so something must be right.
I can go to the gym normally work hard at my job which is relatively active.
I enjoy my food when I eat but the other day ate some chocolate fingers and had a stomach ache for a while.
cals in VS cals out. THE END
that said iv been doing 1 meal a day(sorta) for a week now and it was PURLEY experimental, i didnt even know there was such a diet until now :/ 50g protein shake 4x a day and 1 solid carb/protein meal in the evening after my workout. + bcaa’s multiV etc..gotta say im feeling gr8! lost some water and ill update in a couple weeks for the verdict.
EATING ONE MEAL A DAY WILL MAKE YOU GAIN WEIGHT! When your body gets on a regular cycle of you only eating one meal a day, it counts on that meal. So when it comes, your body will store most of that meal as fat because it isn’t expecting to eat again for another 24 hours. Your body needs energy to burn fat and if you don’t give it food, you will not loose more weight. The reason why people say eat 3 meals per day with two snacks in between is because it WORKS! Don’t fool yourself thinking eating less will make you loose weight!
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