One meal a day diet
Discussion
Hi All,
Anyone else doing or done this? I got into the habit during the first lockdown and dropped from 11st 8lb to 10st 4lb without feeling like I was even trying. I hate cooking and as I was on my own during lockdown, it was easier to cook one meal a day, so it happened quite naturally. Of course, I had no fast foods, takeaways or sandwich shops to tempt me either.
Since going back to the office and 2-3 meals per day, I've slowly put it back on again and the muffin top and moobs have reappeared. I've done two days of it so far and it already feels like it's getting easier. The only calory intake I have in the day (apart from feeding time) is tea and coffee with milk.
It was quite nice at lunch time today to go for a walk in the park, rather than go out for food, bring it back to my desk and eat like I usually do.
I've noticed if I go around 24 hours without eating, I get some discomfort at the top of my mouth when I start eating again. I believe this will stop as I get used to it.
Whilst it can be difficult to go 22-24 hours without eating, once you are used to it, it is no bother at all. It's just getting through the first few days. It saves a fair bit of time, effort and money in the long run.
It is actually difficult to overeat because there is only so much food you want to eat in one sitting. It is very nice to be able to have a three-course dinner guilt free, knowing you are maintaining a calory controlled diet without having to count calories (within reason).
I often have an afternoon slump at work around about 3pm, but I didn't get it today. I was hungry at lunchtime, but at 3pm I felt much more alert than I usually would. I did, however overeat for dinner today and feel a bit sick. I've learnt my lesson now and will eat a bit less for dinner tomorrow.
I am aware a traditional calory restricted diet with exercise is a better way to do it, but I struggle to maintain it. I find it particularly difficult not to eat something sweet after a meal.
Anyone else doing or done this? I got into the habit during the first lockdown and dropped from 11st 8lb to 10st 4lb without feeling like I was even trying. I hate cooking and as I was on my own during lockdown, it was easier to cook one meal a day, so it happened quite naturally. Of course, I had no fast foods, takeaways or sandwich shops to tempt me either.
Since going back to the office and 2-3 meals per day, I've slowly put it back on again and the muffin top and moobs have reappeared. I've done two days of it so far and it already feels like it's getting easier. The only calory intake I have in the day (apart from feeding time) is tea and coffee with milk.
It was quite nice at lunch time today to go for a walk in the park, rather than go out for food, bring it back to my desk and eat like I usually do.
I've noticed if I go around 24 hours without eating, I get some discomfort at the top of my mouth when I start eating again. I believe this will stop as I get used to it.
Whilst it can be difficult to go 22-24 hours without eating, once you are used to it, it is no bother at all. It's just getting through the first few days. It saves a fair bit of time, effort and money in the long run.
It is actually difficult to overeat because there is only so much food you want to eat in one sitting. It is very nice to be able to have a three-course dinner guilt free, knowing you are maintaining a calory controlled diet without having to count calories (within reason).
I often have an afternoon slump at work around about 3pm, but I didn't get it today. I was hungry at lunchtime, but at 3pm I felt much more alert than I usually would. I did, however overeat for dinner today and feel a bit sick. I've learnt my lesson now and will eat a bit less for dinner tomorrow.
I am aware a traditional calory restricted diet with exercise is a better way to do it, but I struggle to maintain it. I find it particularly difficult not to eat something sweet after a meal.
VeeReihenmotor6 said:
I get skipping a meal, say breakfast a few times a week but 1 meal a day sounds like an eating disorder long term. Why not try fasting and exercise on non fast days for a better balance?
Or just 3 normal meals and exercise.
BOr just 3 normal meals and exercise.
It needs to be sustainable.
(I have lost over 10 stone in the past)
If it works for you then it works for you.
There's not a lot more to be said. Just sounds like a slightly more extreme version of intermittent fasting which is just another way of reducing calorie intake. As you say you're going to struggle to over eat in a short eating window although given the weight you mention I don't expect you've got a huge amount of calories to play with to loose weight.
There's not a lot more to be said. Just sounds like a slightly more extreme version of intermittent fasting which is just another way of reducing calorie intake. As you say you're going to struggle to over eat in a short eating window although given the weight you mention I don't expect you've got a huge amount of calories to play with to loose weight.
jm8403 said:
No, this is stupid IMO. Just cut junk and move more. You need something sustainable.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating, as they say.or
If it looks like pudding and tastes like pudding, it must be pudding.
Therefore
If OP wants just one massive pudding/24hrs, then let him have his pudding and eat it.
jm8403 said:
No, this is stupid IMO. Just cut junk and move more. You need something sustainable.
I have found the cutting junk and moving more method to be unsuccessful, mainly due to cravings for sweet foods after meals.I simply fell into the habit of OMAD during lockdown without intending to. I just had one large meal at lunch time, and that was enough for me. I wasn't even trying.
The difference here is that I'll be having the meal at around 7pm instead of 1pm.
I should probably have mentioned that I never eat breakfast, so I am used to going 18 hours without food between dinner and lunch.
The 30 minutes that I would usually be sitting eating at lunch and browsing PH is now freed up and I'm going to spend it walking in the park instead.
I'm lightly built and I have a desk job, so my maintenance calories is calculated at about 1800. It's hard to get three good meals in a day at 1800 or fewer calories.
I've also found in the past that sometimes I need to do something fairly extreme to give myself a mental kickstart into dieting. I've been trying unsuccessfully to reduce my calory intake for the last six months!
The 30 minutes that I would usually be sitting eating at lunch and browsing PH is now freed up and I'm going to spend it walking in the park instead.
a311 said:
If it works for you then it works for you.
There's not a lot more to be said. Just sounds like a slightly more extreme version of intermittent fasting which is just another way of reducing calorie intake. As you say you're going to struggle to over eat in a short eating window although given the weight you mention I don't expect you've got a huge amount of calories to play with to loose weight.
There's not a lot more to be said. Just sounds like a slightly more extreme version of intermittent fasting which is just another way of reducing calorie intake. As you say you're going to struggle to over eat in a short eating window although given the weight you mention I don't expect you've got a huge amount of calories to play with to loose weight.
I'm lightly built and I have a desk job, so my maintenance calories is calculated at about 1800. It's hard to get three good meals in a day at 1800 or fewer calories.
I've also found in the past that sometimes I need to do something fairly extreme to give myself a mental kickstart into dieting. I've been trying unsuccessfully to reduce my calory intake for the last six months!
I often do this. I never eat breakfast during the week anyway, and I find - especially if I'm busy - missing lunch is easy enough and keeps me more focussed. Then I have a evening meal.
It's helping me shift a few pounds, and balance some days when I eat a bit too much.
It's not an every day and forever thing but works well for me.
It's helping me shift a few pounds, and balance some days when I eat a bit too much.
It's not an every day and forever thing but works well for me.
There's an interesting podcast on the Zoe Health site that talks about this. There's some very sound studies and research that suggest it's something we need to do more of.
The abridged version is that the microbes in your gut that process the food you eat need time to rest. Our lifestyles have changed to the point where we're eating something pretty much every hour so our guts never get the chance to properly recharge.
One of the diet planes they suggest involves drinking nothing but water and black coffee all day but eating within a single four-hour window. Weight loss is a consequence but the primary benefit is mental health. I know one person doing this and they swear by it.
The abridged version is that the microbes in your gut that process the food you eat need time to rest. Our lifestyles have changed to the point where we're eating something pretty much every hour so our guts never get the chance to properly recharge.
One of the diet planes they suggest involves drinking nothing but water and black coffee all day but eating within a single four-hour window. Weight loss is a consequence but the primary benefit is mental health. I know one person doing this and they swear by it.
AlexC1981 said:
I should probably have mentioned that I never eat breakfast, so I am used to going 18 hours without food between dinner and lunch.
The 30 minutes that I would usually be sitting eating at lunch and browsing PH is now freed up and I'm going to spend it walking in the park instead.
I'm lightly built and I have a desk job, so my maintenance calories is calculated at about 1800. It's hard to get three good meals in a day at 1800 or fewer calories.
I've also found in the past that sometimes I need to do something fairly extreme to give myself a mental kickstart into dieting. I've been trying unsuccessfully to reduce my calory intake for the last six months!
You might do well to lean towards higher protein/less carbs if eating this way; carbs/sugars fuel the hit/crash/hit cycle.The 30 minutes that I would usually be sitting eating at lunch and browsing PH is now freed up and I'm going to spend it walking in the park instead.
a311 said:
If it works for you then it works for you.
There's not a lot more to be said. Just sounds like a slightly more extreme version of intermittent fasting which is just another way of reducing calorie intake. As you say you're going to struggle to over eat in a short eating window although given the weight you mention I don't expect you've got a huge amount of calories to play with to loose weight.
There's not a lot more to be said. Just sounds like a slightly more extreme version of intermittent fasting which is just another way of reducing calorie intake. As you say you're going to struggle to over eat in a short eating window although given the weight you mention I don't expect you've got a huge amount of calories to play with to loose weight.
I'm lightly built and I have a desk job, so my maintenance calories is calculated at about 1800. It's hard to get three good meals in a day at 1800 or fewer calories.
I've also found in the past that sometimes I need to do something fairly extreme to give myself a mental kickstart into dieting. I've been trying unsuccessfully to reduce my calory intake for the last six months!
I generally eat once a day (often a snack too within a window) and have done for a while and don't actually try to eat this way, it's an effect of reducing carbs, word of warning though some people do get colossally bent out of shape and confronted over it so just listen to your body and do what feels right.
StevieBee said:
The abridged version is that the microbes in your gut that process the food you eat need time to rest. Our lifestyles have changed to the point where we're eating something pretty much every hour so our guts never get the chance to properly recharge.
Well if people are eating every hour no wonder they are tubby, breakfast 7am lunch 12pm dinner 7pm plenty of time between each meal, zero need to be eating every hour or just once a day for that matter.This food fad stuff is just weird, during the late unpleasantness I put on 2 stone because I was eating and drinking too much and doing zero exercise so I stopped doing that, started walking everyday and lost the 2 stone it's not rocket science.
Guess we're all different... I'd be absolutely blooming starving by 10.00 or 11.00am without any breakfast let alone not eating for a full day! Like, not able to concentrate on anything and stomach growling with hunger.
Not sure about the science. Listen to your body I'd say. I know it wouldn't work for me, but then I've never wanted to lose weight (very slim already).
Not sure about the science. Listen to your body I'd say. I know it wouldn't work for me, but then I've never wanted to lose weight (very slim already).
Wills2 said:
StevieBee said:
The abridged version is that the microbes in your gut that process the food you eat need time to rest. Our lifestyles have changed to the point where we're eating something pretty much every hour so our guts never get the chance to properly recharge.
Well if people are eating every hour no wonder they are tubby, breakfast 7am lunch 12pm dinner 7pm plenty of time between each meal, zero need to be eating every hour or just once a day for that matter.This food fad stuff is just weird, during the late unpleasantness I put on 2 stone because I was eating and drinking too much and doing zero exercise so I stopped doing that, started walking everyday and lost the 2 stone it's not rocket science.
You wouldn't put much weight on eating a cucumber every half hour.
There is a case to be considered for how often and what it is you're eating though. I'm generally a 3 meal a day man, but recently i've been so engrossed in what i'm doing (occasionally) that i've gone right through from a reasonable breakfast to a late dinner with nothing inbetween and felt ok (apart from a bit hungry when I realised) and then eating.
This points to boredom eating.
Apparently, 24 hour fasts are good for you. It's not just about losing weight. Google it.
I've been doing it for the last 2 months (or so). Only once a week, mind. I've been told that it's more a dirty fast as I drink black coffee and green tea. *shrug*
I've noticed I've got leaner without trying. I don't have problems with weights or light exercise.
If I'm heading to a 2-3 hour tennis session I'll eat a light snack beforehand making it a 16:8 IF-style fast rather than a 24 hour fast.
As you say, when you eat, there's only so much you can eat.
Staying on the course comes mainly from distracting myself with work etc. I also remind myself of how I'm choosing to fast.
I've been doing it for the last 2 months (or so). Only once a week, mind. I've been told that it's more a dirty fast as I drink black coffee and green tea. *shrug*
I've noticed I've got leaner without trying. I don't have problems with weights or light exercise.
If I'm heading to a 2-3 hour tennis session I'll eat a light snack beforehand making it a 16:8 IF-style fast rather than a 24 hour fast.
As you say, when you eat, there's only so much you can eat.
Staying on the course comes mainly from distracting myself with work etc. I also remind myself of how I'm choosing to fast.
I only eat one meal a day at lunch time and have done for about the last 15 years. Not because of any diet reasons only that im far too lazy to go shopping, cook and wash up at home.
Week days, Leave for work at 8, I dont have any brakfast, cup of cofee with two sugars about ten, out for a biggish lunch at 1 then another coffee at about 4. Thats it. No snacks either side and i dont keep any food at all at home except tea/coffee and booze as might have a couple of bottles of beer in the evening or a whiskey before bed.
Weekends, nothing all day except a coffee and then hold out to about 7pm and get a takeaway.
Week days, Leave for work at 8, I dont have any brakfast, cup of cofee with two sugars about ten, out for a biggish lunch at 1 then another coffee at about 4. Thats it. No snacks either side and i dont keep any food at all at home except tea/coffee and booze as might have a couple of bottles of beer in the evening or a whiskey before bed.
Weekends, nothing all day except a coffee and then hold out to about 7pm and get a takeaway.
My last meal is at 7 or 8 pm, my next is at 1pm, huge energy levels and super alert, don't even feel like snacking ether, I also throw in a 20hr fast one day a week, almost 51 and I'm in the best shape of my life, my advice is try and find a sensible and sustainable balance that works for you.
Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff