One big meal a day?

1998Shelby

Is that one meal a day a supersized cheeseburger meal with a shake from Mcdonalds? That will quickly get you to 2000 calories but your body is getting nothing nutritionally sound. I don't think you could sit down and eat a nutritional meal that would give you 2000 calories. I think the point of spreading your meals out over the day is because if you are eating lean protein, whole grains, and vegetables it is pretty hard to get more than 400 calories at one time and you are going to get hungrier faster.

str0nger

I dnt know how any1 can think that starving themselves all day and binging at night is ok. Ur a nutrition student, but i'm a nurse and I worked at an eating disorder facility for 2 1/2 yrs. side by side with registered dietician, and my uncle is a certified nutritionist, and non of them would agree, so if ur a student and being taught its ok, maybe u need to look into a new program. anyways, to the OP, u obviously have 2 make the choice, just make sure you research, and make sure to make an informed decision. good luck

It is not binging. Binging is not structured and causes a large surplus at the end of the day. I am not starving if I don't eat for 16 hours either. The body does just fine without food for that long.

Nurses are not food scientists. When did they get their degree? They may need to go back to school for a while if they think it has a metabolic advantage.
My school program is great, one of the best in Iowa. No need for a new program.

Once again. MY metabolism works perfectly. I eat plenty, look great, feel great, and am not starving by any means.

In defense of nurses: Nurses can specialize, in nutrition/food science or have a minor in such.

gp79

Add me into the group who support eating in whatever way supports your lifestyle. For me IF works like a charm...and trust me. I do not starve myself, nor do I even feel hungry until later in the day. I understand the OP may have talked to their nutritionist, but, if you ask the same question to 100 different nutritionists, you are not going to get the same answer across the board. This is because we are humans, and we simply don't know what we don't know. How can you advise a client on something you know nothing about? It takes someone with a personal interest to keep up on the even changing science that goes into better understanding the human body.

Evaluation of evidence is a crucial step in developing a better understanding.

timingsands

I might try IF starting next week. Eating breakfast can be a hassle for me and sometimes I don't eat until 2PM Might as well go all the way and see what happens. Also thinking of getting that Spike Diet book, to see if that will stop my weight loss stall.

bcattoes

Is that one meal a day a supersized cheeseburger meal with a shake from Mcdonalds? That will quickly get you to 2000 calories but your body is getting nothing nutritionally sound. I don't think you could sit down and eat a nutritional meal that would give you 2000 calories. I think the point of spreading your meals out over the day is because if you are eating lean protein, whole grains, and vegetables it is pretty hard to get more than 400 calories at one time and you are going to get hungrier faster.

If you can't get more then 400 calories of healthy food in one meal, I'd suggest that you don't really understand what healthy food is. That would almost have to be a very low fat meal, considering the amount of calories in fat.

1998Shelby

I was referring to the fact that if you are eating 6 meals a day you can't afford for it to be more than 400 calories or so. I guess we would call them mini-meals. But I can't imagine that someone would be able to take in 2000 calories of healthy stuff in one meal-they would be eating plates of food. I would assume that people on this website are trying to lose weight and wouldn't imagine that they can accomplish that by "only" eating one meal that has their total caloric intake for the day and it is the supersized meal.

Sidesteal

If you can find anything wrong with her claims I'd love to hear it.

songbyrdsweet

Anything less than about 18 hours is technically not a fast. You're still in a post-absorptive phase. Protein degradation hasn't kicked in yet, cortisol levels are still low, and you're basically just depleting glycogen and entering ketosis. As soon as you eat, insulin levels jump right back up and you're back into storage mode for the next 3 hours or so. Nothing magical about this diet.

gp79

Is that one meal a day a supersized cheeseburger meal with a shake from Mcdonalds? That will quickly get you to 2000 calories but your body is getting nothing nutritionally sound. I don't think you could sit down and eat a nutritional meal that would give you 2000 calories. I think the point of spreading your meals out over the day is because if you are eating lean protein, whole grains, and vegetables it is pretty hard to get more than 400 calories at one time and you are going to get hungrier faster.

Trust me...I can get a meal that's 2000 calories that is extremely nutritional. Head on over to the "show me your food" thread and feast your eyes upon the many treasures there!

Espressocycle

i'm not dying yet (well, i am but only in the sense that we're all dying from the moment we're born, man).

Life: A sexually transmitted condition with 100% mortality.

BobbyClerici

Grazing remains the ideal mode for daily fueling strategy.
And sometimes, 6 meals a day aren’t always possible, but the body has a remarkable resiliency to carry us through on the days when it just ain’t happening.
Yet, it’s still the goal.

That said, there’s room and considerable benefit in shaking things up with intermittent fasting.

Keep us posted.

waanju

All that 6 meal a day stuff is just because, for a lot of people, it's easier to eat fewer calories that way. Weight loss is simple- calories used exceed calories consumed. It doesn't matter what the calories are from or when they were eaten. WHatever you can do to burn more calories than you eat is what you need to be doing, whether that' having dozens of tiny meals, all on big meal, or eating and then burning it off with extra exercise.

waanju

I know right. I'm never hungry in the mornings, and then by dinner I want food, but the stupid bowl of oatmeal or whatever is hogging all my calories!

Espressocycle

But I can't imagine that someone would be able to take in 2000 calories of healthy stuff in one meal-they would be eating plates of food.

You would be surprised at how much cabbage, beets and whole grain pasta I can eat. Besides, sometimes I want to eat a 12 oz prime rib, baked potato, creamed spinach, side salad and piece of cheese cake washed town with two martinis, and that would be an ideal day to do a daylight fast.

Espressocycle

All that 6 meal a day stuff is just because, for a lot of people, it's easier to eat fewer calories that way.

Yeah, for me, eating small meals just makes me want to eat everything in sight, all day long. If I eat anything besides nuts or meat for breakfast I will feel crappy all day.

KarmaxKitty

If I eat anything besides nuts or meat for breakfast I will feel crappy all day.

That's what she said...

HMonsterX

um no, the difference with ur body and a car, is that ur body continues to burn fuel at night, it never shuts off like a car. just bcuz there r websites that people give you that promote something doesn't make it ok 2 do it. Speaking from a medical point of view it is not ok. b4 u run to the websites that r being suggested, maybe talk to a nutrtionist (which I have), and get a little more info on how it may effect your body

ok b4 u shoot down da evidence, lettuce due sum research, k? omg lol ftw

:laugh: Exactly what i was thinking!

1 meal. 6 meals. From a biological standpoint it makes it makes very little, if any, difference to your weight loss. Psychologically it may affect different people in different ways, sure, but that's not the issue here. That's where personal preference comes in.

The fact is we have all been brainwashed from a young age by various companies and by society in general that we should have 3 meals a day, and lately more smaller meals a day. The main goal is to hit your macros, and create a calorie deficit. That is pretty solid for the vast majority of people. However, there are many, many ways to GET to that goal. 1 meal, 6 meals, low carb, paleo, etc etc. All end up at the same point. Calorie deficit.

As for nurses/nutritionists being right/wrong, don't forget they may have done their training a long time ago. A lot of the new facts people are talking about is from relatively new research, in the last few years, and as such may not have filtered down to those "in the know", so to speak. It's actually quite disconcerting that so-called professionals don't keep up to date with their research.

songbyrdsweet

Grazing remains the ideal mode for daily fueling strategy.
And sometimes, 6 meals a day aren’t always possible, but the body has a remarkable resiliency to carry us through on the days when it just ain’t happening.
Yet, it’s still the goal.

That said, there’s room and considerable benefit in shaking things up with intermittent fasting.

Keep us posted.

Here's the thing...Any time you're in a fed state, this happens:

Insulin levels increase.
Insulin increases protein phosphotase 1, which protects perilipin's coating on triglycerides and blocks hormone-sensitive lipase. Hence, no fat breakdown.
In addition, the lack of ATP breakdown (due to being fed) increases acetyl CoA carboxylase, which converts acetyl CoA to malonyl CoA which is then used to form fatty acids.
Malonyl CoA blocks carbamoyl phosphate 1, which is supposed to bring fatty acids into the mitochondria for oxidation. Can't happen when it's blocked.

So...by eating every 3 hours, you're actually helping to prevent fatty acid liberation or oxidation. The myth that it speeds up your metabolism is based on the faulty idea that the thermic effect of food is some massive number that will totally kick our metabolisms into high gear.

It is FINE to go longer than 3 hours between meals. Promise.

Elizabeth_C34

OMG you are going to die!

/sarcasm

Seriously, your body will be just fine on one big meal per day. I usually only eat 2 meals per day, and I'm fine. I just don't like eating often so I have 2-3 500-600 calorie meals instead.

KaleidoscopeEyes1056

Apparently I am starving myself too:




Frail and unhealthy I know.

I would say more like Damn sexy!!