Does anyone do one meal a day?

I eat 1 to 2x a day. I work graveyard and found out after a bit of trial and error this works best for me with my sleeping patterns and workout habits. .

hmmm. This is something I am trying to get away from and one of the reasons I joined. I have done 1 to 2 meals for years and I know my calories weren't high enough. It isn't natural or something I like to think about a lot. I'd get busy or stressed out and the idea of food wouldn't cross my mind at all. This was especially bad when I was working full time. I actually questioned a few years ago if I broke my 'hungry' trigger because I wasn't getting hungry at all. Now I am suffering from years of doing this. My energy is very poor and I'm tired all the time. If I go too long without eating I get nauseated and start shaking. It definitely has not been good for me.

But if you feel like this is helping you I'd maybe only do it once in awhile or as others suggested - many calories in 1 meal.

Today I woke up like a ravenous bear and had all my calories before 10:30am :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I do that sometimes. Some people may have viewed that as a binge, but I felt my body was screaming out for food and it was all my usual healthy stuff. Getting up at 5am does bad things! :laugh: It may be slightly tougher to withstand no food all day as opposed to if I'd spaced it out - but heck who cares I'll still be in a deficit and I can go back to my normal times tomorrow. :bigsmile:

Others have said "you have to do what suits you" but eating 1 meal a day is not good for anyone to do for an extended period of time ever! You are basically stopping your metabolism. You have to continually feed your body to keep your metabolism up so it will burn off the calories. If you only feed your body 1 time a day it will think it is not going to get food and will hold onto every bit you give it because it doesn't know when it's next fueling will be. An occaisonal fast(500-700 calories for the day) where you eat breakfast and then maybe have a VERY low calorie snack and then have dinner is ok but also not on a consistent basis.

BTW---this comes from my certified trainer.

And this is why you don't get nutritional information from a trainer.

Your metabolism doesn't stop unless you are dead. My body functions very well on 1 or 2 meals a day. And can you please provide the studies to back up this claim you have made. Thanks

I agree. Trainer and nutritionist are two different professions. Be careful where you get your advice.

OP: Meal timing is irrelevant, as long as you're hitting your macros and getting all of your nutritional needs. I often eat only once (but usually twice) a day.

ever since I was operated for Thyroid cancer in Sept. '99 I lost my appetite. Sometimes I would go 2 or 3 days without eating, but most days I would have one meal a day...I gained 40lbs...I started eating 3 meals a day and I have lost 12 lbs...I don't recommend one meal a day.

I too was a big eater, in more ways than one. i still think of buffets as the ultimate high, but I have managed to change that.

One meal a day, with the right number of calories to make intake < expenditure, will work to make you lose weight, but it is likely to be slower, and it will not ultimately be sustainable, as you are keeping your body used to large amounts of food, and reducing your metabolic rate.

i have spent a lot of time thinking about how to lose my excess weight in a way that will keep it off. The goal for me is sustainability, not just a weight loss which will return due to bad habits. I try to create good habits I can keep to and have done that gradually.

The hunger pangs are awful, yes, sometimes, I want to gnaw my fingers off, but I know all my indulgences have to be paid for, like a big credit card bill!

Make small changes to start with, drop the milk and then the sugar if you have them in coffee or tea. Ration your butter and spreads. Challenge yourself to go a day without chocolate, or whatever your indulgence is. Eat half your meal, then tell yourself you can eat the rest in 90 minutes. That will help increase your metabolic rate and train your stomach to accept less food.

Also, on MFP, reduce your calorie target by an extra 100 cals, then another 10 per week, and increase the exercise by 10 each week.

And remember a bad day doesn't have to last longer than that day. Don't punish yourself.

We are so brainwashed with all the diet rules and gimmicks...do what works best for you.

I too know that I have limited self-control. Once the seal in my stomach is introduced to food it is difficult to stop eating. I have been struggling with OMAD but I KNOW for a fact it will work.

http://www.alternet.org/story/152486/there_is_no_biological_reason_to_eat_three_meals_a_day_--_so_why_do_we_do_it?page=0,1

Our ancestors were lucky to get even ONE meal per day. There were no such things as meal replacement shakes and supplements. Majority of families that ate this way were in optimal shape.


I don't mean to offend anyone but my opinion is that we have become a brain washed gluttonous society :-(



BTW Good luck with this! I will also post results once I get a steady flow.

If you feel like you cannot trust that you'd stop eating even if you ate enough then it's something emotional. I say this because physical hunger is satisfied with nutritious food. Hunger that food doesn't fix comes from someplace else.

I don't think that one meal a day is wrong, and I think big meals are good to help keep one calm and focused, but if you're using it as a crutch to avoid dealing with compulsive over eating, that will not be a long term solution.
What you need to do is really think deep (I pretend I'm having a conversation), and keep asking about why you need more of a certain food, and you will eventually uncover some underlying issue.

Example: Sometimes we eat cake because it makes us happy, so then I would ask- why do I need to do that, and what makes me unhappy that I resort to food? What can I do to be happier?
Example: Sometimes we feel the need to watch TV with some food on our lap. Why? Can we replace that habit with something else?

If it's not emotional, also consider looking at the kinds of food you eat. Are you eating satisfying filling, nutritious foods? If I eat a lot of baked goods or cereal I can't stop thinking about food.

I've been having a protein shake for breakfast and eat one meal a day, usually between 4-5 pm. I don't overeat. I get full quickly now but know I can't eat again until the next day so I try to finish my healthy meal. Use a 10" plate and put a normal amount of food on it. Meat, vegie, carb, and desert, if you like. Do not go back for second helpings. Also, you can have a calorie beverage of 12-16 oz with the meal, if you choose. This meal is not a free-for-all. It needs to be healthy. After dinner you can have water or decaf tea.

The first few days I was hungry and ate about 1/3 of a protein bar around 1pm but after that I was fine and didn't need it.

Also, I've picked one day of the week for a free day. (make sure it's not the same day and not back to back days) Not a free day to eat all you want but a day to have a light lunch and dinner. I pick Saturday or Sunday and then go right back to one meal a day the next day. I've read that this is to keep a metabolism going strong. Some people use their free day to have two plates of food at dinnertime within the designated hour. I can't eat that much food at one time so I spread my meals out between lunch and dinner on my free day.

I'm drinking a protein shake for breakfast because it's quick and I paid a lot of money for them and want to finish them off. Once I've finished them I won't be having breakfast again until I reach my goal and then I'll slowly introduce either breakfast of lunch into my diet each day. I will never eat three meals a day again.

I've been on the diet for two weeks and have lost about 7.4 pounds so far.

It works for me because I don't have to figure out what to fix for breakfast or what to take to work to eat for lunch. I don't get tired or grouchy, or lightheaded, or spacey. I thoroughly enjoy the program.