From 363.4 to 197.7 lbs: My One-Meal-a-Day Success Story

I was wondering about this "bit of loose skin" you speak of--how is it...is it really unsightly, like you may need surgery or something to correct it or not so bad looking/hardly noticeable? That's the only thing about relatively fast weight loss that kinda scares me--loose skin.

Again, way to go dude--thank for post! :drinker: :flowerforyou: :drinker:

Bumping for reply...

I have loose skin nearly everywhere, but people tell me it's not noticeable until I draw attention to it. I agree with them. The worst is my neck, chin, and waist, which is why I am really enjoying the firming up aspect of things now in a good strength training program.

Am I at all worried about the loose skin? Not much beyond a second or third take in the mirror daily. Caught myself before the loose skin became a huge issue. Had I peaked over 400 lbs, that no doubt would be a bigger concern, but most tell me loose skin does retract in time except in the most serious of cases.

I think that you should be proud of yourself and I applaud the way you have been able to wean yourself off an overly dependent emotional relationship to food.

Unless a person has a particular health problem such as diabetes or whatever, what harm is there in eating one meal a day? I have been in the medical field for almost 10 years and have yet to hear of someone dying or even becoming ill because they don't eat more than one meal a day.

I wish you the best in your continued walk in health and a long life to you!

Jennifer Smith

There are lots of ways to drop weight. Unfortunately, the way I chose is still viewed as a radical and reckless method that is "unhealthy." Well, blood panels and practical, measurable results don't lie, friends. It's not unhealthy, and it isn't as hard as it seems and can offer hope when hope seems altogether gone. The Macedonians, the Greeks and Romans, our hunter-gatherer ancestors, not to mention the followers of Elijah Muhammed, all ate one meal a day.

-BEFORE-
Age: 39
Height: 6'4
Clothing sizes: 4X shirts, 54' waist pants
Blood pressure: 152/117






288 lbs, 3X shirts, 42 inch waist pants

-AFTER-
Age: 40
Final clothing sizes: Large and XL shirts, 34' waist pants
Blood pressure: 106/67


234 lbs



These last ten months have changed me in ways that it is hard to begin to describe. Going from a mouth-breathing, weazing, inactive fat guy who was sick all the time to an active guy who can actually live and interact in the world around him WITHOUT having to take 3-hour naps after eating is something that is hard to comprehend (unless you've gone through it). And, well, it makes me think I should pinch myself because it must all be a dream. I can't even imagine how I once managed to consume 9,500+ calories a day!

You start out with "baby steps," eating what you want to minimize discomfort, nursing your stomach to a smaller size all the while. Then, gradually, you make healthier eating choices (not because you have to but because it just feels right). Then, that extra energy and go-ahead power allows you to bring in exercise and see yet better improvements. Every little step is a step forward.

To whom it may concern, here is how I did it. You should ignore the haters and armchair dieticians out there and give it a try if you have serious trouble with obesity, are a binger, a psychological eater, or otherwise struggle with serious resistance to other, more lenient programs. Mind you, THIS WILL WORK when everything else has failed...

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1241325-how-to-do-one-meal-a-day-the-basics

Once you get your system down and can readily remember WHY you must make the changes and stick with them, it isn't that hard to see them through.

But however you choose to knock off your pounds, the key is consistency and doing it for you. When all is said and done, you can only do it for you, not for anyone else. Aside from some loose skin and the need to keep getting rid of old clothes, I am left with incredible energy and gasping reactions from people who knew the fat me and the disbelief they experience in seeing the new me. I figure I'll ride this high for at least a year or so as I continue to maintain and "firm up," now with 2,100+ calories a day. It can absolutely be done, folks. It can be done. Food doesn't have to own you.

Feel free to add me if you'd like.

It's not as hard as you'd think, peeps. I'm not some Vulcan with unearthly mind power, nor is anybody else who's done this. But anything worth doing is worth sacrificing for and costs something.

Yes, the first week is really hard, less so the next 3 weeks. After that, if you're still doing it, you're saying: "I can keep doing this!" And that means you've as good as already done it since you know you've adopted it and can do it forever. The reason people fail on so many eating plans is because they can't make peace to live with the changes. This is not that hard to get used to. it requires sacrifice, but the payoff is worth it.

And once you know that you can ONLY EAT ONCE PER DAY, the conviction sits in your mind and you get less hungry because you know when you can eat and that you only have to wait 23 hrs at the most for your meal (which will consist of just about whatever you want). You set a boundary and know you can never cross it for the sake of yourself. Therefore, it gets easier.

Plus, multiple meal portion moderators are doing it the hard way since it's way easier to jinx your efforts by overeating 3 times a day as opposed to 1. The one-plate rule is yet another safeguard. The result is that this works and I'm almost never sick anymore. I have tons of energy and a more full day at my disposal.

“Eat a single meal a day, no matter what anyone says. If your doctor says that you should eat more than one meal a day, ignore him with a smile and eat only once a day. If he tells you he eats three meals a day, tell him that his length of life is about the same as his patients. Then, tell the doctor to try eating one meal a day.”

-Elijah Muhammed, How to Eat to Live, Book 1.