One meal a day.

24

Replies

  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    mrwjunk wrote: »
    Charlie Beans - I'm doing this under medical supervision.
    should have mentioned that in the beginning
  • raquele3394
    raquele3394 Posts: 180 Member
    What are your views on the one meal a day diet, is it effective?

    Just kill me it will be easier!!!

  • fatblatta
    fatblatta Posts: 333 Member
    What are your views on the one meal a day diet, is it effective?

    Yes. It's pretty easy too, once you've done it a few times. There is a 5:2 diet where folks eat 3 meals 5 days a week and one meal 2 days a week. People have ridiculous reasons why they don't think fasting is healthy. Think about it. If humans got weak and couldn't function without food for a day we all world have died off a long time ago. You actually think clearer and you are a better hunter when you're hungry!

    Good luck!
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    edited May 2017
    fatblatta wrote: »
    What are your views on the one meal a day diet, is it effective?

    Yes. It's pretty easy too, once you've done it a few times. There is a 5:2 diet where folks eat 3 meals 5 days a week and one meal 2 days a week. People have ridiculous reasons why they don't think fasting is healthy. Think about it. If humans got weak and couldn't function without food for a day we all world have died off a long time ago. You actually think clearer and you are a better hunter when you're hungry!

    Good luck!

    if you mean 5:2 IF(intermittent fasting) 5:2 is where you eat normally(could be maintenance calories or your regular deficit) for 5 days and for 2 days you eat 500-600 calories(some eat 800). not you eat 3 meals 5 days a week and one meal 2 days a week because if someone wasnt watching their calories those 3 meals could be high in calories resulting in weight gain.
  • fatblatta
    fatblatta Posts: 333 Member
    Yes. The calorie part is ok. One meal a day is fine too.
  • moonstroller
    moonstroller Posts: 210 Member
    Theo166 wrote: »
    I tried the "Warrior Diet" which is essentially eating one meal between 4 pm and no later than 7 pm, but you can eat all that you want until you are full. Although I didn't have all that much difficulty eating one meal per day, what I found was I would seriously overeat at night, so it didn't work for me.

    The car analogy is novel, however people are not cars, we can run for quiet some time on empty.

    The car analogy is excellent but can be expanded. With obese people we are talking a car that burns 5 gal a day but has a 500 gal reserve tank (fat).

    Whether we put in x1 gal at regular intervals or 5 gal once a day, we rarely ever pull from the reserve tank and never run on empty.

    Thanks, Theo, that helped me understand the analogy better.
  • Niki_Fitz
    Niki_Fitz Posts: 951 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »
    It is not easy to get all your nutrition needs in one seating, especially protein. I like having one meal a day but the only way to get all your calories in one meal is either not clean eating or Thanksgiving dinner. So I stretch it and make it a 6 hour feeding window.
    With that said, if I know I have a big meal coming ( going out or going to Mom's for dinner), I save my calories for that meal.

    This can't be stressed enough. It would be very difficult to address macronutrient needs in one meal.

    At least with 16:8 or other types of IF, you have a bigger window to be able to do so.

    Yes to this. I tried one meal a day (unofficially, I didn't know it was a thing!) but felt famished even once I was full, probably from not having enough nutrients for my busy days. I eat very small protein focused meals early in the day now and one balanced meal in the evening.
  • jpoehls9025
    jpoehls9025 Posts: 471 Member
    Im curious tho, Me personally I eat 5-6 times a day smaller more protein dense meals however, can you even absorb every nutrient from a meal if you only eat it all in one meal???
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,432 MFP Moderator
    Im curious tho, Me personally I eat 5-6 times a day smaller more protein dense meals however, can you even absorb every nutrient from a meal if you only eat it all in one meal???

    You can. Your body will slow down the breakdown of the nutrients.
  • heiliskrimsli
    heiliskrimsli Posts: 735 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »
    It is not easy to get all your nutrition needs in one seating, especially protein. I like having one meal a day but the only way to get all your calories in one meal is either not clean eating or Thanksgiving dinner. So I stretch it and make it a 6 hour feeding window.
    With that said, if I know I have a big meal coming ( going out or going to Mom's for dinner), I save my calories for that meal.

    This can't be stressed enough. It would be very difficult to address macronutrient needs in one meal.

    At least with 16:8 or other types of IF, you have a bigger window to be able to do so.

    Depends on the meal.

    Say you have a large steak with sides and salad as your one meal.

    A 16 oz (454g raw weight) strip steak is 92g of protein and 68g total fat. It's also 1003 kcal. Add a russet potato, skin on, 170g for 134 kcal topped with 14g (1 tablespoon) butter which is 100 kcal, a side of lima beans, raw, 100g raw at 338 kcal and 19g dietary fiber, and a small garden salad (roughly 100 kcal) with a 1 tbsp of balsamic vinaigrette on it (50 kcal) and you have an entire day's nutrients in one meal. That meal is 1725 kcal.

    Not difficult at all to address macronutrient needs.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,432 MFP Moderator
    edited May 2017
    psuLemon wrote: »
    It is not easy to get all your nutrition needs in one seating, especially protein. I like having one meal a day but the only way to get all your calories in one meal is either not clean eating or Thanksgiving dinner. So I stretch it and make it a 6 hour feeding window.
    With that said, if I know I have a big meal coming ( going out or going to Mom's for dinner), I save my calories for that meal.

    This can't be stressed enough. It would be very difficult to address macronutrient needs in one meal.

    At least with 16:8 or other types of IF, you have a bigger window to be able to do so.

    Depends on the meal.

    Say you have a large steak with sides and salad as your one meal.

    A 16 oz (454g raw weight) strip steak is 92g of protein and 68g total fat. It's also 1003 kcal. Add a russet potato, skin on, 170g for 134 kcal topped with 14g (1 tablespoon) butter which is 100 kcal, a side of lima beans, raw, 100g raw at 338 kcal and 19g dietary fiber, and a small garden salad (roughly 100 kcal) with a 1 tbsp of balsamic vinaigrette on it (50 kcal) and you have an entire day's nutrients in one meal. That meal is 1725 kcal.

    Not difficult at all to address macronutrient needs.

    Do you plan on eating the same meal daily? I also dont know many people that can down that much volume of food in one meal, especially women.

    ETA: For most males, that meal will be woefully inadequate. I need close to 2400 to cut and about 150g of pro to meet my needs.
  • heiliskrimsli
    heiliskrimsli Posts: 735 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    It is not easy to get all your nutrition needs in one seating, especially protein. I like having one meal a day but the only way to get all your calories in one meal is either not clean eating or Thanksgiving dinner. So I stretch it and make it a 6 hour feeding window.
    With that said, if I know I have a big meal coming ( going out or going to Mom's for dinner), I save my calories for that meal.

    This can't be stressed enough. It would be very difficult to address macronutrient needs in one meal.

    At least with 16:8 or other types of IF, you have a bigger window to be able to do so.

    Depends on the meal.

    Say you have a large steak with sides and salad as your one meal.

    A 16 oz (454g raw weight) strip steak is 92g of protein and 68g total fat. It's also 1003 kcal. Add a russet potato, skin on, 170g for 134 kcal topped with 14g (1 tablespoon) butter which is 100 kcal, a side of lima beans, raw, 100g raw at 338 kcal and 19g dietary fiber, and a small garden salad (roughly 100 kcal) with a 1 tbsp of balsamic vinaigrette on it (50 kcal) and you have an entire day's nutrients in one meal. That meal is 1725 kcal.

    Not difficult at all to address macronutrient needs.

    Do you plan on eating the same meal daily? I also dont know many people that can down that much volume of food in one meal, especially women.

    The exact same meal? No, not every day, although many times I make enough to eat for a week straight so I only have to cook once a week.

    My maintenance is lower than that, so I don't eat that much every day regardless (especially since I'm currently eating at a deficit). The only days I eat that much are when I've done significant exercise. For me it isn't anywhere near difficult for me to get my nutritional needs met by eating a single big meal in a day if that's what I choose to do. There are a lot of days that I get to dinner time having consumed less than 200 calories. I think your assessment that it's "very difficult" isn't applicable to everyone.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,432 MFP Moderator
    psuLemon wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    It is not easy to get all your nutrition needs in one seating, especially protein. I like having one meal a day but the only way to get all your calories in one meal is either not clean eating or Thanksgiving dinner. So I stretch it and make it a 6 hour feeding window.
    With that said, if I know I have a big meal coming ( going out or going to Mom's for dinner), I save my calories for that meal.

    This can't be stressed enough. It would be very difficult to address macronutrient needs in one meal.

    At least with 16:8 or other types of IF, you have a bigger window to be able to do so.

    Depends on the meal.

    Say you have a large steak with sides and salad as your one meal.

    A 16 oz (454g raw weight) strip steak is 92g of protein and 68g total fat. It's also 1003 kcal. Add a russet potato, skin on, 170g for 134 kcal topped with 14g (1 tablespoon) butter which is 100 kcal, a side of lima beans, raw, 100g raw at 338 kcal and 19g dietary fiber, and a small garden salad (roughly 100 kcal) with a 1 tbsp of balsamic vinaigrette on it (50 kcal) and you have an entire day's nutrients in one meal. That meal is 1725 kcal.

    Not difficult at all to address macronutrient needs.

    Do you plan on eating the same meal daily? I also dont know many people that can down that much volume of food in one meal, especially women.

    The exact same meal? No, not every day, although many times I make enough to eat for a week straight so I only have to cook once a week.

    My maintenance is lower than that, so I don't eat that much every day regardless (especially since I'm currently eating at a deficit). The only days I eat that much are when I've done significant exercise. For me it isn't anywhere near difficult for me to get my nutritional needs met by eating a single big meal in a day if that's what I choose to do. There are a lot of days that I get to dinner time having consumed less than 200 calories. I think your assessment that it's "very difficult" isn't applicable to everyone.

    Id argue the more people would fail to meet their needs unless they know what they are doing and plan carefully. Most people doing this program are very new to fitness and weight loss, at least from the one's doing the program here, and dont look at things this carefully.
  • heiliskrimsli
    heiliskrimsli Posts: 735 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    It is not easy to get all your nutrition needs in one seating, especially protein. I like having one meal a day but the only way to get all your calories in one meal is either not clean eating or Thanksgiving dinner. So I stretch it and make it a 6 hour feeding window.
    With that said, if I know I have a big meal coming ( going out or going to Mom's for dinner), I save my calories for that meal.

    This can't be stressed enough. It would be very difficult to address macronutrient needs in one meal.

    At least with 16:8 or other types of IF, you have a bigger window to be able to do so.

    Depends on the meal.

    Say you have a large steak with sides and salad as your one meal.

    A 16 oz (454g raw weight) strip steak is 92g of protein and 68g total fat. It's also 1003 kcal. Add a russet potato, skin on, 170g for 134 kcal topped with 14g (1 tablespoon) butter which is 100 kcal, a side of lima beans, raw, 100g raw at 338 kcal and 19g dietary fiber, and a small garden salad (roughly 100 kcal) with a 1 tbsp of balsamic vinaigrette on it (50 kcal) and you have an entire day's nutrients in one meal. That meal is 1725 kcal.

    Not difficult at all to address macronutrient needs.

    Do you plan on eating the same meal daily? I also dont know many people that can down that much volume of food in one meal, especially women.

    The exact same meal? No, not every day, although many times I make enough to eat for a week straight so I only have to cook once a week.

    My maintenance is lower than that, so I don't eat that much every day regardless (especially since I'm currently eating at a deficit). The only days I eat that much are when I've done significant exercise. For me it isn't anywhere near difficult for me to get my nutritional needs met by eating a single big meal in a day if that's what I choose to do. There are a lot of days that I get to dinner time having consumed less than 200 calories. I think your assessment that it's "very difficult" isn't applicable to everyone.

    Id argue the more people would fail to meet their needs unless they know what they are doing and plan carefully. Most people doing this program are very new to fitness and weight loss, at least from the one's doing the program here, and dont look at things this carefully.

    By the program do you mean calorie counting, or intermittent fasting? Either way, though, the only way that I can see it being difficult is if one's diet consists of a high amount of heat-and-eat type foods. Sticking to meats, eggs, fresh (or frozen without added sauces) vegetables (including starchy veg), fresh (or frozen without added sugar/syrup/sauce) fruits, nuts, and grains such as quinoa and farro help a lot. In reality, the ability to get almost all my nutrition from a single meal has opened up huge variety - particularly with respect to learning and cooking Indian, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Mexican, Colombian, Brazilian and many, many other ethnic foods that incorporate a wonderful variety of meat and veg.

    It'd be difficult to do if you're looking for things that don't have to be cooked so much as heated, possibly with the addition of water because much of the time those are not the most nutrient dense choices.
  • carolannnoble
    carolannnoble Posts: 2 Member
    Eating 2000cals (for example) in 6 meals a day or in 1 meal a day makes no difference. It's 2000cals being eaten either way.
    Equally, I could eat 1200cals a day over 6 meals but I could easily eat 4000cals in one meal. Guess which one will make me lose weight?
    It's all about cals going in and cals going out. Whether you eat your daily amount in across 12 hours or 30mins makes no difference.
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
    edited May 2017
    What one person does another can't always do. I would not personally be able to eat one meal a day and would end up going over my calories for the day. I do better eating 3 meals and 1 snack or even four-six mini meals.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    It is not easy to get all your nutrition needs in one seating, especially protein. I like having one meal a day but the only way to get all your calories in one meal is either not clean eating or Thanksgiving dinner. So I stretch it and make it a 6 hour feeding window.
    With that said, if I know I have a big meal coming ( going out or going to Mom's for dinner), I save my calories for that meal.

    This can't be stressed enough. It would be very difficult to address macronutrient needs in one meal.

    At least with 16:8 or other types of IF, you have a bigger window to be able to do so.

    Depends on the meal.

    Say you have a large steak with sides and salad as your one meal.

    A 16 oz (454g raw weight) strip steak is 92g of protein and 68g total fat. It's also 1003 kcal. Add a russet potato, skin on, 170g for 134 kcal topped with 14g (1 tablespoon) butter which is 100 kcal, a side of lima beans, raw, 100g raw at 338 kcal and 19g dietary fiber, and a small garden salad (roughly 100 kcal) with a 1 tbsp of balsamic vinaigrette on it (50 kcal) and you have an entire day's nutrients in one meal. That meal is 1725 kcal.

    Not difficult at all to address macronutrient needs.

    Do you plan on eating the same meal daily? I also dont know many people that can down that much volume of food in one meal, especially women.

    Yeah, I would find it difficult on the average day. Especially at maintenance, but even on my current deficit. I find it much easier to eat around 25-45 g of protein in a meal, and to get vegetables I also find it easier to spread them over multiple meals.

    I'm sure people differ, though.
  • heiliskrimsli
    heiliskrimsli Posts: 735 Member
    perkymommy wrote: »
    What one person does another can't always do. I would not personally be able to eat one meal a day and would end up going over my calories for the day. I do better eating 3 meals and 1 snack or even four-six mini meals.

    I've tried the whole six times a day small amounts thing and always felt hungry. I tried three meals a day, and breakfast was essentially a waste of calories because I didn't want to eat, wasn't hungry, and was starving at dinner time.

    Now? Nothing but coffee until 12:30. Something very light at 12:30 (200 calories is typical, but if a big dinner is planned nothing) and then a huge dinner around 19:00-20:00. I'm just personally way happier and less hungry doing it that way. Yes I get my macros and my micros. I am not suffering malnutrition.
  • Bob314159
    Bob314159 Posts: 1,178 Member
    The car analogy is novel, however people are not cars, we can run for quiet some time on empty.

    Exactly

  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    Bob314159 wrote: »
    The car analogy is novel, however people are not cars, we can run for quiet some time on empty.

    Exactly

    Nothing can run on empty.
  • nimarama
    nimarama Posts: 3 Member
    One meal a day or six meals a day makes no difference. You can achieve the same goal regardless.
    It's dependent on how much you're eating and the quality of food in any given 24hr period.

    Meal frequency is neither here nor there. It's all down to preference.
  • owa1s
    owa1s Posts: 273 Member
    Bad for building muscle because u to consume protein through out the day, maybe for losing weight if it works for u then stick to it if it doesn't then change it up, try on ur own and see what works best for u
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Effective for some, not for others. You need a calorie deficit for weight loss. What method most effectively allows you to do achieve that deficit is highly personal.
  • jennabeauchesne
    jennabeauchesne Posts: 6 Member
    I eat one meal a day. Its not ideal, but what needs to be done to keep me on track. I work overnights so generally I wake up at 8pm, work at 11pm, eat my meal (a tuna/hummus/lettuce wrap, a rice cake, a baby bell cheese, 1 cup of red grapes, a sugar free pudding, and one of those special K 100 cal pastry crisps) around 12:30am. But I'm finding it hard to make it to 8am without snacking so I might push it to around 3am/4am and add in a Greek yogurt and clementine later on in the morning. Without the later day adds I just mentioned, it runs about 665 cals. Of course, I tend to nibble at things at work later on to keep me awake which could make it higher. Then I get out of work at 8am, chill for a little bit until 10am and knock out. The one meal a day thing really works for me, but for those with a day job, I can't see it being satisfying. When I did it with a day job, I had no energy.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,235 Member
    edited May 2017
    I eat one meal a day. Its not ideal, but what needs to be done to keep me on track. I work overnights so generally I wake up at 8pm, work at 11pm, eat my meal (a tuna/hummus/lettuce wrap, a rice cake, a baby bell cheese, 1 cup of red grapes, a sugar free pudding, and one of those special K 100 cal pastry crisps) around 12:30am. But I'm finding it hard to make it to 8am without snacking so I might push it to around 3am/4am and add in a Greek yogurt and clementine later on in the morning. Without the later day adds I just mentioned, it runs about 665 cals. Of course, I tend to nibble at things at work later on to keep me awake which could make it higher. Then I get out of work at 8am, chill for a little bit until 10am and knock out. The one meal a day thing really works for me, but for those with a day job, I can't see it being satisfying. When I did it with a day job, I had no energy.

    Please tell me that's a typo or I'm missing something. Are you saying that you eat just one meal a day (which is fine) and that meal is only 665 calories (seriously not fine)???
  • sperouty
    sperouty Posts: 23 Member
    During the week, Monday through Friday, I eat small meals all throughout the day staying at 1,200 calories per day and I don't add back any calories for exercising. The weekends are different though. Sundays I usually don't have time for breakfast, I go to church, have a big lunch at a restaurant, and then I'm not usually hungry for dinner. I'm not sure if eating more regularly is better for your metabolism or not. Everyone's schedule and preference is different, but I guess as long as you are eating the right amount of calories for your goal it should be fine. I do believe clean eating is better for you and it makes you feel better, but that's a different topic.
  • heiliskrimsli
    heiliskrimsli Posts: 735 Member
    I eat one meal a day. Its not ideal, but what needs to be done to keep me on track. I work overnights so generally I wake up at 8pm, work at 11pm, eat my meal (a tuna/hummus/lettuce wrap, a rice cake, a baby bell cheese, 1 cup of red grapes, a sugar free pudding, and one of those special K 100 cal pastry crisps) around 12:30am. But I'm finding it hard to make it to 8am without snacking so I might push it to around 3am/4am and add in a Greek yogurt and clementine later on in the morning. Without the later day adds I just mentioned, it runs about 665 cals. Of course, I tend to nibble at things at work later on to keep me awake which could make it higher. Then I get out of work at 8am, chill for a little bit until 10am and knock out. The one meal a day thing really works for me, but for those with a day job, I can't see it being satisfying. When I did it with a day job, I had no energy.

    Please tell me that's a typo or I'm missing something. Are you saying that you eat just one meal a day (which is fine) and that meal is only 665 calories (seriously not fine)???

    I think it's the "nibbling on things at work" that would mean 655 calories is not all she's eating. There's also no mention of whether she's drinking any calories.
This discussion has been closed.