Eating 1x day to stay under calories

Ramen has a ridiculous amount of sodium. Not good for retaining water.

One of the absolute BIGGEST things that has helped me stay full throughout the day is just drinking a lot of water. So many of us have heard how important it is to drink plenty of fluids, but sometimes I think we mistake thirst for hunger. For my average day, I typically have a protein drink for breakfast and don't eat anything else until lunch. In between, I have a 25oz bottle of water that I fill up and finish. I can honestly say I don't get hungry until that next meal. After lunch, I fill it up again, get another 25oz (2/3 of the water my body needs for the day, at this point) before I leave the office. If I can get more (maybe part of another fill up), I'm usually in good shape to not overeat at dinner! The only negative (since water is SUPER cheap) is that you may find yourself going to the restroom more often, so time yourself and pace! I've also found it helpful to get different water flavor enhancers, in case things get a little boring. Hope this helps!

My usual lunch at the moment is 2 whole wheat wraps, one with peanut butter + apple slices (I like granny smith because they're slightly sour), one with chicken/turkey (those sandwich/deli slices) + bell pepper. You will use about half a small apple or half a bell pepper per wrap. The cost of peanut butter is rather negligible, and you can buy a whole bunch of whole wheat wraps once they're on sale. For those two wraps, I come in at about 400-500 calories, depending on how much butter and peanut butter you use.

Quick totals and cost estimates:
Let's say you're eating this every day - I would not recommend eating the same thing every day, but just for cost analysis - that's 7x2 = 14 wraps. So 3.5 bell peppers and 3.5 apples. Make that 7 apples so you can eat the other half of the apple together with your lunch, which will make you feel more filled without adding a whole lot of calories. One jar of peanut butter will last you a couple of weeks, and one package of sandwich/deli sliced chicken/turkey should probably last you a week as well.

14 wraps = 3 dollars
4 bell peppers = 2 dollar
7 apples = 2 dollars
chicken/turkey = 1 dollar
1 jar of peanut butter = 2 dollars
Total = 10 dollars, 8 if you already have the peanut butter.

So depending on your local prices (and whether you can stock up on things like wraps and peanut butter during a sale), you would come in around the same price as your current ramen, a bit lower on calories, and on average just a whole lot healthier than plain ramen.

Good response @joolsmd - I'm on 1200 a day (only just back but last time I was tracking I was on 1200 per day and eating 3 meals and snacks).

Big question - are you exercising? I know some people will shout down this view but if you burn off say 200 on an exercise bike or jogging or whatever floats your boat that's more calories you can eat. CICO as they say.

Eggs are cheap, filling and versatile.

Cook up a big batch of something you love and freeze it in single portions, take it out as and when. Tinned chopped tomatoes are a great sauce base, low in calories, high in veg content (obviously). Ideas include:

1.chorizo and bean stew (chorizo ring + tin of tomatoes + tin of mixed beans + 1 onion + 3 garlic cloves + paprika/chilli powder/seasoning)
2. fish curry (cheap fish - whatever is local and available to you + tinned tomato + curry spices (cumin, coriander, garlic, ginger are favourites of mine) + optional fish stock cube)
3. quorn mince chilli (quorn mince + tin of tomatoes + chilli powder + tinned beans)
4. beef stew (cheap cuts of beef/stewing beef/whatever + tinned tomato + carrots, suede, parsnip, onion, garlic + stock + marmite (if you fancy it) + herbs (whatever's in the cupboard/garden + spoon of wholegrain or English mustard)

Buy cheap cuts of meat - they work best in slow cooked stews which are also super filling. Use seasonal or frozen veg.

Forget the diet pills. If it was as simple as that we'd all be on them.

If you're only going to eat once a day (which sounds like my own personal idea of hell), 1400 is a helluva lot of calories to be throwing at one meal!

One day is nothing but the idea of tracking is to spot where you eat/drink more than you think. 300 cal spread across the day can be done less drastically than cutting an entire meal (or two).

It's called "intermittent fasting" and is a legitimate way of eating although it may lead to larger hormonal fluctuations in women than men which is why some women quit it after a short while and men can find it easier to stick to. It has largely been popularised under the name "lean gains" and since been picked up by many bodybuilders year-round or during their cut phases...

Basically, you eat all your calories in an eating window (say, 6-8 hours) and fast during the rest of a 24 hour period. It used to be called "skipping breakfast" but there's a lot more science and bro science around it now.

Some studies suggest it boosts HGH production and cortisol, others say it has virtually no effect on you whatsoever, neither beneficial nor detrimental. I've yet to see convincing evidence of slowed metabolisms etc. from not eating for a few hours...

Meal timing has been largely debunked (eat right before bed if that's your thing, it doesn't matter... also, don't worry about getting your protein right after working out etc...) so eating all your calories and macros in one big meal results in the same as eating it in six small prepped meals.

It's very hard to over-eat in one meal, though... so if nothing else, IF is a way of making restricting calories easier for some. Black coffee, sparkling water and small snacks (fruits, nuts) can help getting used to not eating during the day and pushing that meal further into the day.

For me (80kg, male, 29, 187cm), black coffee for breakfast, an apple or a banana sometime before lunch, a small lunch (600-800 kcal) and a large dinner (1.000-1.200 kcal) at 7pm or so have been an easy way of maintaining a healthy deficit (100-400 kcal every day) for the last six months. My friend is exactly the other way round though: She doesn't really eat dinner except for some snacking but needs a large breakfast "to start the day". I'd be miserable around the clock if I ate 6 * 300 kcal during the day or something... Going to bed hungry is not something I can do.

No matter how you eat... raising TDEE by working out (doesn't have to be in a gym: bodyweight exercises, go for walks, do HIIT are three free and effective options) is your best bet at being able to eat to satisfaction and lose weight. You can't outrun a bad diet but you can raise your daily allowance considerably.

And: start with a small deficit. If your daily expenditure is 1.800, don't go for 1.400 right away. Cut 10-15 % and see what happens... (weigh yourself every day and take averages to eliminate water weight fluctuations). The numbers calculated by myfitnesspal and other formulas are just estimates and for orientation, they don't know your exact body, lifestyle and metabolism. If nothing happens, cut 10 % more but never go below your BMR (unless you're already at a very low body fat percentage and know exactly what you're doing). Small incremental adjustments work much better than throwing everything at your metabolism and giving up after a month or two.

Whatever works for you... skip the pills, though.

Skip the diet pills. They can range anywhere from useless to harmful. Please don't take them.

1 meal a day is fine if that works for you. Some people would prefer to eat once a day and stuff themselves because they like that full feeling rather than eating a little all day. It is a form of intermittent fasting, so read up on that if you are serious about trying it.

Other than that you mention that you are struggling to eat because you eat with other family members. Why can't you eat what they are eating and just control your portion sizes? When I started out, I didn't change WHAT I ate, just HOW MUCH of it I ate. As I got further along, my diet has changed somewhat and my husband doesn't mind the healthier foods either. But it was a gradual shift, not an overnight overhaul.

Do what you want. If you want to eat 1 meal eat 1 meal. If you want to eat 20 meals eat 20 meals. Doesn't really matter metabolically speaking.

KurumiSophia wrote: »

I just feel frustrated because a) I have a budget that I have to stick with and b) I am the only person who is honestly trying to lose weight in the house so I have to cater to other people's food choices and try to lose weight which is why my brain tripped to eating only 1X/day and using appetite suppressants.

Unless their food choices are things that won't keep you full (like I said, muffins for me), then just eat less of whatever they eat. I eat all the same things everyone else in my family eats. I eat the same things that my parents eat when I go over their house. When I'm over my parents I pick what I want to eat and serve myself, so I often pass on the bread or carb heavy side dishes and fill up on the protein and fat sources.

Also, I'm not no carb, but you could classify me as low carb. About 35% of my daily calories come from carbs while I'm eating at a deficit. It gets closer to 45-50% if I'm eating at maintenance (basically, when I allow myself more snacks I choose carbs).