Eating once per day

yesthistime

I am very interested in hearing from those who fast during the day and only eat at night, or eat most or all of your calories as one larger meal each day. I would like to know real accounts from people who eat this way, including why you do it, benefits vs. costs of this eating style, what your meals look like, effects on your weight/muscle mass, etc.

Now to sit back and wade through all of the "Don't do this, because you'll be fat and die" comments to get to the answers I am looking for.... Thanks in advance! :flowerforyou:

Sidesteal

I am very interested in hearing from those who fast during the day and only eat at night, or eat most or all of your calories as one larger meal each day. I would like to know real accounts from people who eat this way, including why you do it, benefits vs. costs of this eating style, what your meals look like, effects on your weight/muscle mass, etc.

Now to sit back and wade through all of the "Don't do this, because you'll be fat and die" comments to get to the answers I am looking for.... Thanks in advance! :flowerforyou:

I do this when I'm cutting weight and I love it. I do it because you eventually adapt to the behavior which means early day hunger gets easier and easier. In short, X calories over 12 hours isn't as fun as X calories over 2 hours, just to use an extreme example. (Look up info on Ghrelin regarding this).

I'm not convinced on physiological benefits yet although research in that area is still young. I AM convinced that it is a good fit for me, and that it isn't dangerous in the slightest (the concept of metabolism slowing down due to skipping a few meals is ridiculous and simply false).

If you've NOT yet tried it, I'd recommend giving it at least a week -- but it isn't for everyone.

BAMFMeredith

I am very interested in hearing from those who fast during the day and only eat at night, or eat most or all of your calories as one larger meal each day. I would like to know real accounts from people who eat this way, including why you do it, benefits vs. costs of this eating style, what your meals look like, effects on your weight/muscle mass, etc.

Now to sit back and wade through all of the "Don't do this, because you'll be fat and die" comments to get to the answers I am looking for.... Thanks in advance! :flowerforyou:

I do this when I'm cutting weight and I love it. I do it because you eventually adapt to the behavior which means early day hunger gets easier and easier. In short, X calories over 12 hours isn't as fun as X calories over 2 hours, just to use an extreme example. (Look up info on Ghrelin regarding this).

I'm not convinced on physiological benefits yet although research in that area is still young. I AM convinced that it is a good fit for me, and that it isn't dangerous in the slightest (the concept of metabolism slowing down due to skipping a few meals is ridiculous and simply false).

If you've NOT yet tried it, I'd recommend giving it at least a week -- but it isn't for everyone.

I don't exactly do this consciously, but every once in a while I'll eat like a huge, delicious, calorie filled lunch (like enchiladas at my favorite Tex-Mex place) and be so full that I won't eat again for the rest of the day. The plus is I get to eat rich fatty and generally not diet friendly food, eat as much as I want, and stay within my calorie limit for the day! It's rare that I actually do this, but every once in a while...oh man it's so worth it.

gp79

I've been doing this for a while now and I enjoy it. I wake up at 6 - get my coffee with minimal additions (10-20 cals) and may have a few pieces of gum throughout the day along with whatever water I end up drinking. I enjoy dinner with my family and usually continue eating until my calories / macros have been satisfied. Sometimes just before I hop in bed.

Eating for most of us is a learned behavior, so when we start trying to change the way we've been brought up, there's some psychological resistance.

There has been no effect on muscle mass, nor will there be. I eat a normal, variety of foods, usually of which I've planned ahead for.

Eat in the fashion that allows you to best adhere to your diet.

2012asv

All in moderation. Balance is key right?
I think that's a good plan when you know you're going to have a high calorie meal (dinner party, etc)
What i'll do is munch on really light snacks like grapes or salad (without dressing) so i dont go into starvation and get delirious.

gp79

All in moderation. Balance is key right?
I think that's a good plan when you know you're going to have a high calorie meal (dinner party, etc)
What i'll do is munch on really light snacks like grapes or salad (without dressing) so i dont go into starvation and get delirious.

Starvation mode is a myth. You know that right?

IndigoVA

The thinnest I have ever been in my adult life was reached by eating only one meal a day. For me it was lunch, and I wasn't doing it intentionally. I was working full-time during the day and going to grad school full time at night. I'm not saying it's the healthiest way to live, and I can't do it now that I'm older and not as on the go. But I can say from 2 years of experience with it, that it won't make you fat or dead.

tequila09

I use to be so good at this! About 2 years ago I got to my heaviest by eating whatever I wanted (junk) all day long and at the time I was not ready to give up fast food on a daily basis so I would just eat once a day whatever I wanted which for me I use to eat that times 2 or even 3 so I lost weight. It's harder for me now mentally so I've decided to eat healthy for the most.part but it did work for me at that time.

sarahgilmore

I do it on and off.

I generally don't get hungry during the early day, but I AM always hungry in the early-mid afternoon, then minimally for dinner and not at all for night. No matter what.
trying to space my meals out, wouldn't work. nibble in the morning, nibble for lunch, then get home i the early afternoon and MUNCH MUNCH MUNCH so doubling my calorie intake without needing to.
I just cannot break the early afternoon hunger, so now I work with it. I'll eat 80% or more of my calories (like 1500+)between 3 and 6pm
I'm much happier and relaxed, than I was trying to fit to the "ideal" 6 meals a day scheme.

Sometimes in the mid-morning I find I need a wee snack and if I need it then I have it, but I don't worry about it either way and I don't feel like I'm missing something or feel inclined to 'binge' if I don't have it.

Di3012

I am very interested in hearing from those who fast during the day and only eat at night, or eat most or all of your calories as one larger meal each day. I would like to know real accounts from people who eat this way, including why you do it, benefits vs. costs of this eating style, what your meals look like, effects on your weight/muscle mass, etc.

Now to sit back and wade through all of the "Don't do this, because you'll be fat and die" comments to get to the answers I am looking for.... Thanks in advance! :flowerforyou:

I am not sure I could do this day in, day out, I would get so hungry and then probably feel bloated when I did eat all of my calories in one swoop lol.

I usually have one large meal during the day however, that can be up to around 700 calories which is over half my 1200 allowance for the day. The rest is spread out for lunch, breakfast and an orange last thing at night.

dane11235813

All in moderation. Balance is key right?
I think that's a good plan when you know you're going to have a high calorie meal (dinner party, etc)
What i'll do is munch on really light snacks like grapes or salad (without dressing) so i dont go into starvation and get delirious.

Starvation mode is a myth. You know that right?

but the side effects of being hungry are real.

rileysowner

I have done this on and off for probably 8 months or so. I have no problem not eating until 3-5PM. Then in a couple of large meals I get my calories for the day. Just finished off a nice sized home made pizza are 970 calories, and I have over 1000 calories left. Right now I am fully satisfied, something that a bunch of small meals through the day didn't do for me, although 3 meals did ok. I actually find that when I switch to other eating patterns I am much more likely to over eat. In short it works for me.

kaseyjones7

You're talking about Intermittent Fasting. Go to www.leangains.com This guy is the expert. He's brilliant. Has the science to back it up.

iuew

i did it for a while after a diet in college so i could have a big mcdonalds dinner every night and not gain weight. i couldn't sustain it, and i was useless for a lot of the day because of no nutrients.

currently, my dinner / dessert is the biggest meal of the day, but i still eat breakfast and lunch, so i have kind of split the difference.

tracikearns

sooo, you can still lose weight eating all of your calories in a short amount of time?? I am really never that hungry throughout the day and eat just because I am supposed to, get my metabolism going etc...is this false? Really love to hear more

sarahgilmore

sooo, you can still lose weight eating all of your calories in a short amount of time?? I am really never that hungry throughout the day and eat just because I am supposed to, get my metabolism going etc...is this false? Really love to hear more

It doesn't matter when you eat. If eating small meals often helps you moderate your intake, then that's the best thing for you. If eating a big meal once or twice does it, then that's best.
There's no such thing as 'stoking the metabolic fire' as I see if often worded.
If waiting to eat means you end up eating MORE than you should (i.e binging) then it's not so good.

Meet your macros. Meet your caloric goal. it's that simple. If eating clean or healthy food only is important to you, then do so.

Personally, small meals makes me eat more. For others, they get so hungry they have a huge blowout if they don't eat small regular meals.

goldfinger88

Fasting is very bad. It's dangerous. It serves no purpose. It does not help your health, weight loss or anything else. As to eating once a day = that's just stupid. The human body is designed to eat a number of times throughout the day. Small, healthy meals. This keeps the blood sugar and the metabolism is good working order. Eating once a day will screw up your system and do a good deal of damage.

Acg67

Fasting is very bad. It's dangerous. It serves no purpose. It does not help your health, weight loss or anything else. As to eating once a day = that's just stupid. The human body is designed to eat a number of times throughout the day. Small, healthy meals. This keeps the blood sugar and the metabolism is good working order. Eating once a day will screw up your system and do a good deal of damage.

You know what also is stupid...

MystiqueASAP

I have done this often. Like someone else mentioned, sometimes it is when I have an event planned; however, it is sort of a fruit/veggies and tea fast during the day and a large dinner.

messyinthekitchen

Fasting is very bad. It's dangerous. It serves no purpose. It does not help your health, weight loss or anything else. As to eating once a day = that's just stupid. The human body is designed to eat a number of times throughout the day. Small, healthy meals. This keeps the blood sugar and the metabolism is good working order. Eating once a day will screw up your system and do a good deal of damage.

I really like to know your science behind this. I have done this before. For 5 years working 2 jobs and going to University. I was full of energy never hungry. Paid much attention in school was one of the top in my class. Worked out. My metabolism was fine. And when I graduated and began to eat normal I didn't gain any weight. Again nothing changed. I was the same as I always was. I just wasnt really hungry until dinner. Still that way now. If it was just me I wouldn't eat till dinner. But I eat with my son.

SkinnyShadow

I like having one big meal a day.
Dinner. 600-800 cals. then I don't eat for the rest of the night, and I don't wake up with a yucky feeling in my stomach. I like to wake up, drink my coffee, exercise, drink water, and eat a small, healthy, late..ish lunch ie 2pm. then I find by 5, I'm really hungry, so I make dinner, and eat between 5:30 and 6:30. I find for me, that if I eat breakfast, I'm super hungry at 10:30/11am, and again every couple hours. However... if I skip lunch too, I end up getting light headed, hot, fluttery heart and puke up bile... so yeah, I eat lol.

There was a time when I only ate one meal a day, and it was probably 2000 cals, and I lost weight... probably about 2-3lbs a week - no exercise. But at the time, I was super broke, and it wasn't really a choice. ..and if I wasn't constantly drinking water, I'd throw up. It wasn't fun, and I wouldn't recommend it.

lavlei

bump

cgrout78

All in moderation. Balance is key right?
I think that's a good plan when you know you're going to have a high calorie meal (dinner party, etc)
What i'll do is munch on really light snacks like grapes or salad (without dressing) so i dont go into starvation and get delirious.

Starvation mode is a myth. You know that right?

but the side effects of being hungry are real.

^^ for me. I couldn't do IF...I get lightheaded, shaky and dizzy if I don't eat every 2 to three hours (except when sleeping). It works great for some, not for others!!

r1ghtpath

i'm guessing this is different than not eating ENOUGH calories during the day? so, you're not talking not eating all day long and then at like 6p eating a dinner of 200-400 calories? you're saying not eating all day and then at like 5p eating your 1200 calories for the day?

i did the first, i could easily go all day without eating. i was never able to lose weight doing that. i would start eating at like 2p and between then and 8p i would eat about 700-800 calories. i did not lose weight. i didn't gain either, but i didn't lose anything.

i can't say i've tried the second. i just recently started eating 1200 calories a day ( as in like the past week i started.....) and it takes me all day long to consume that many. i went out for thai/ hunan the other night, and in the past, i would have not eaten all day long just so i could eat a whole lot at dinner. so, instead, i ate during the day and saved calories then ate as much as i wanted. it all worked out well and i was still under for the entire day.

i just don't think i could consume that many calories at one time. i think i'd feel sick.

realrayne10

I am very interested in hearing from those who fast during the day and only eat at night, or eat most or all of your calories as one larger meal each day. I would like to know real accounts from people who eat this way, including why you do it, benefits vs. costs of this eating style, what your meals look like, effects on your weight/muscle mass, etc.

Now to sit back and wade through all of the "Don't do this, because you'll be fat and die" comments to get to the answers I am looking for.... Thanks in advance! :flowerforyou:

Good luck with that. This is how I got fat in the first place.

lilojoke

I do this quite a lot actually.

Have my shake with my workout then a good sized meal of about 1000 calories eaten within about an hour.

Trail_Addict

All in moderation. Balance is key right?
I think that's a good plan when you know you're going to have a high calorie meal (dinner party, etc)
What i'll do is munch on really light snacks like grapes or salad (without dressing) so i dont go into starvation and get delirious.

Starvation mode is a myth. You know that right?

but the side effects of being hungry are real.

"Will power" is a controllable variable, so it's not conditional in the final results. So, if you can cope with the hunger pangs, then you'll likely find results.

skywa

I just started IF and i've been at it for about a week.

It fits my life style mostly. Im usually to busy for food during the day anyways. And im honestly not hungry till later in the day. I use a 5 hr, feeding window.

No loss or gain so far.

sarahgilmore

i'm guessing this is different than not eating ENOUGH calories during the day? so, you're not talking not eating all day long and then at like 6p eating a dinner of 200-400 calories? you're saying not eating all day and then at like 5p eating your 1200 calories for the day?

i did the first, i could easily go all day without eating. i was never able to lose weight doing that. i would start eating at like 2p and between then and 8p i would eat about 700-800 calories. i did not lose weight. i didn't gain either, but i didn't lose anything.

i can't say i've tried the second. i just recently started eating 1200 calories a day ( as in like the past week i started.....) and it takes me all day long to consume that many. i went out for thai/ hunan the other night, and in the past, i would have not eaten all day long just so i could eat a whole lot at dinner. so, instead, i ate during the day and saved calories then ate as much as i wanted. it all worked out well and i was still under for the entire day.

i just don't think i could consume that many calories at one time. i think i'd feel sick.

Generally it's a 'window' of eating. a common one is 16off/8on I think. like for me I'll start about 2-3pm and stop around 6-7pm but some days I'll start around 12-1pm or finish later depending on my needs.

So yesterday (Thursday if you look at my diary it is Friday here now) I had a yoghurt and a fruit & nut bar and a cup of tea about noon. Then I had a curry meal about 2. (I had something on in the afternoon so I started a bit earlier, normally I'll just wait til I get home from work about 2.30. ) Then at 5pm I had dinner which was 2 sausages, some peas and corn and half a potato with some cheese. And a glass of orange juice. Then about 6 I had another cup of tea and a small dessert. Just under 1800 calories.

But yes, they key is to meet your macros and meet your calorie goal.
(My calorie goal is set to maintenence I just try to come in a little under when I can, if you're wondering)

The best thing, I can eat normal food, rather than trying to fill myself up on fruit and vegetables because the calories are spread so thin

jrose74

I do this but I do it in reverse. I usually eat a huge breakfast and then I am not hungary for the rest of the day. I was told by my doctor to eat in reverse for all meals. Largest at breakfast, medium lunch and small dinner. This way you are busy and able to burn the calories from your largest meal in the morning. I guess it would depend on the person if any of this works. Good Luck

xxcatyxx555

it works really well for me and the it eliminates late night snacking which would always make me go over my calories