Many times I have heard people say how crazy it sounds to be eating one meal a day. It may sound crazy to them, because they have no experienced how truely amazing it is!
It is extremely hard to get fat eating one meal a day. There is very little chance of you losing your muscle gains either.
That being said, you can pig out each and every single night while still dropping pounds with ease! Sounds great right?
If you are like me, you may have tried to stick with eating smaller meals throughout the day. Yes these work, but I was always hungry while trying them because the small meals just were not satisfying. It wasn’t until I started eating a single meal each day that I started to see great results (paired with eating less carbs to accelerate the process). The girlfriend still thinks this is insane, but it works for me, and chances are, it could do wonders for you to!
Have you ever wanted to eat a full pizza without feeling guilty? Do you want to go to an all you eat buffet and just eat till you can eat no more? While some of these choices may not be the healthiest ways of eating, you can lose fat, and build lean muscle eating this way! Lets get into what it takes.
Eating Once Per Day – Basic Understanding
So what exactly is the idea? Well, it is really not that hard to understand.
Each day, you get up and go about your day as usual. You can eat one meal whenever you would like, but most people prefer to eat at night. If you follow this method, you will fast the entire day and then eat a giant meal which will contain all your nutrients at nighttime. It is okay to drink a protein shake during the day as long as you are getting the majority of your calories around your meal time. Some people will feel hungry while they get used to eating this way so the protein shake is great for days you are working off and to curb your hunger until dinner time.
As soon as you get used to eating this way, you will feel full and satisfied and not even get hungry till your usual feeding time. Once this happens, your diet is finally back under your control and dieting has been made easy!
Why Does Eating Once Per Day Work So Damn Well?
I stumbled into eating one meal per day a few months into 2014 when I graduated from college. Food is expensive, and since I decided I wanted to go out on my own instead of getting a job, I had to cut costs. Eating once gave me all the nutrients I needed and was MUCH easier to fit into my budget. Once I started reading about intermittent fasting (and came across a similar diet) I found out how effective it really was and began to clean up my diet (still eating once a day, but eating healthier foods) and started training.
Some people simply cannot do it. They get hungry and cannot seem to make the switch. If this sounds like you, I would try to do a keto diet, where you cut carbs below 20 grams a day and eat more fats to keep you full longer. If you can’t do this, it’s okay! This diet is really not for everyone but if you want to eat like a king every day while saving money and getting more done, give it a go! You may surprise yourself. So why does it work so well? Read on!
Increased Energy
For a lot of people, eating food makes them tired! Does this sound like you? You go on your lunch break, and in a few hours, you are practically falling asleep at your desk?
Many people spew on nonsense about how eating gives you all this great energy throughout the day. I never found this to be the case. In fact, I found that the less I ate throughout my work day, the more energy I had and the harder I could push myself at the gym. Sounds weird, but it’s true!
Most people who fast during the day and only eat once or twice at night will experience this incredible energy boost. This feeling is addictive!
Be More Productive – More Gains
Instead of taking that hour lunch at work, what if you could spend that time learning a new skill? Better yet, what if you hit the gym then instead of after? Think of the progress that could be made!
You will not need to take the time to walk or drive to a local food place. You will not need to over caffeinate yourself just to survive your day.
With this time you will save about 260 hours a year. What would you chose to do with those 260 hours? You can use them to do whatever you like without worrying about when to eat since you only do this once a day!
Does Not Feel Like Dieting
Diets work but one of the sole reasons that people fail is that they get hungry and end up going outside the diet to feel satisfied.
This is how it always felt when I ate multiple meals throughout the day. Each meal was only a few hundred calories. Even though I was hitting my caloric intake for the day, I felt constantly hungry. You want more, but are not sure what to do since you are on a diet and have no flexibility.
When you eat once per day, all of a sudden you have all the flexibility in the world! As long as you stay within your caloric limit (for a cut), you can almost eat anything you want and lose weight in the process!
The way this works is that when you stuff yourself at night, you will feel extremely full and not want to eat anymore. While you are fasting, this actually suppresses your appetite. Not to get all philosophical on you, but humans did not always have grocery stores and sometimes had to go periods without food. The body has adapted to this feeling. If you were not able to function on no food for a while, you wouldn’t be able to do anything. It is a good think this is not the case.
Flavors Explode
One of the biggest things I noticed when I switched to eating this diet as a way of life is how much flavor everything seems to have.
Take fruit for example. You may like fruit and of course it is sweet, but this is nothing new. Try not eating anything for an entire day and then try to eat a banana. That banana will just be exploding from flavor! Everything you eat seems to have a new depth you have never experienced before.
This is similar to when people stop drinking soda, and have it again a few months later. Typically, it will taste much too sweet and the flavors will be overwhelming. Not exactly the same thing, but the same concept applies.
Pizza Is A Human Right
Lets be honest for a minute here. Pizza is something that you should not live without.
Why should you give up eating pizza because you are trying to lose weight? (probably because it is not that healthy)…
But you know whats better than eating pizza? Eating pizza and losing weight in the process! You can do this when you only eat one meal per day. You could eat pizza every night of the week, but because you are eating at a deficit and feeling full after your single meal, you will drop pounds!
Does this sound crazy to you? It sounds like the best weight loss tool in the book to me.
What Can I drink?
During the day, you do not want to be drinking calories as this defeats the purpose. That being said, you can still enjoy treats such as your morning coffee or tea, or a soda as long as it diet.
In fact, drinking coffee can be a great way to accelerate your weight loss because of the caffeine and the way it suppresses your appetite.
What If You Get Hungry During The Day?
If you are giving this a try but having an issue with getting hungry during the day, do not worry, this is pretty normal for a lot of people. Not everyone can go the full day without food for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is only during the period of time you are getting used to the diet. Others will need something small no matter how long they have been doing this. This is normal!
So what should you do?
My recommendation is to make a whey protein shake. This is even better and recommend if you are lifting and training hard during the week. Why protein is absorbed fast, and can help muscle recovery after a workout.
So if you are getting hungry throughout the day, try making a single protein shake. This is fast, easy, liquid, and at the end of the day, will only be 100-200 calories. You will still get almost all of your calories from your nightly meal, so this is just fine.
I recommend you grab a tub of Gold Standard 100% Whey as this is what I use each and every day that I lift!
Is This Diet Good For Bulking/Building Lean Muscle?
You can absolutely build muscle and bulk on this diet. But is it efficient or easy? NO!
Some people need to pack calories into their bodies like the world is ending if they want to get bigger. To some, this is going to be upwards of 4000 to 5000 calories. This is going to be incredibly hard to eat in a single sitting. More often than not, you are going to get full before you can take in all those calories.
This is much easier done if you split that massive meal into a few bigger meals throughout the day if you are bulking. If you want to cut and lose weight though, stick to a single meal with less calories than you burn.
Can You Mix Different Diets?
Of course you can! The main reason I chose to eat this way is so that I have absolute flexibility over what I am eating.
If you are doing one meal a day but you know tomorrow you are going to go out to dinner with friends, you may be eating two meals that day. That is just fine!
Perhaps, you want to do one meal a day for a few days, then switch to smaller meals spread out for traveling reasons? Sure, why not!
Remember, the main reason you are probably taking a look at the one meal a day diet is because you want to lose weight. The way this is achieved is eating at a caloric deficit. If you eat less calories than you burn, you will lose weight. It is as simple as that! This is certainly made easier if you eat once a day but if you want to eat more meals because of one reason or another, go for it! Just keep under your daily calories and you will get the same results. Remember the reason you are doing this. It is important to live your life and have fun!
Another way that you can use eating one meal a day to lose weight and actually make it more enjoyable is giving yourself a goal. Losing weight is great, but I was recently reading out this program over at Money Monarch where you can compete against other people while dieting and win money. I love eating, I love working out, and money is a nice bonus. With the goal of earning some money and eating what you want, you should have no issue with motivation or sticking with it.
What Should You Eat For Your Meal?
I am not going to tell you what you should and shouldn’t eat. If you are eating like this, you can really eat anything you want. Some things may be better or worse for you, but we are worried about calories here.
Now, if you are tracking your macros and have certain goals, you will need to track this. The best part is you can stuff your face with all the macros you need in a single sitting. You will eat like you never have before and you will love it! I know I sure do.
It is also important that you get in your protein, fat, and carbs. I find this diet is much easier eating low carb recipes but remember to get a good balance if eating keto is not for you.
If you have tried the one meal a day diet, we want to hear from you! Tell me in the comments section if it has worked for you and what struggles you have come across!
I tried this a few yrs ago and lost 23lbs in month. Was amazing! I got off track easily though and gained it all back plus more. I am going to do this diet again and keep it up this time. Saw a pic of me from about 10yrs ago and I was beautiful and I wanna be that girl again for myself and my husband.
I have done this too and lost 18 pounds in 1 month and I still eat this way even today because once your body gets trained to eating like this it is very hard to go back to the old way of eating. Why should you eat food when you are not hungry. I have never believed in eating breakfast because quite frankly I am not hungry and it makes you sluggish.
That makes sense! Why eat if you are not hungry! One thing the article does not mention though is… that if you drink alcohol…especially beer with a lot of calories and then eat only one meal, you will get too many calories and will take longer to lose weight! A good way to cut down on drinking alcohol, is to make a choice as to whether you will drink for that evening and not eat, or eat for that evening and not drink! 🙂
can i drink a 60 calorie coffee in the morning or no? i love coffee but i cant have it without milk or creamer..
Sorry no, anything over 10 calories takes you out of fasted State. Just have your coffee black
Can i eat anything or does it have to be a healthy meal ?
I’m a little bit curious about something though. Can you really eat anything you want? Like literally anything? Just like spaghetti, cake, chocolate, pizza, or even processed foods? I have done this diet for a few days now and I’m just asking because it may be invalid to eat those.
I’m no expert, but I am currently on day 6 of OMAD and I’ve been eating literally anything. I’ve just been tracking the meals in a food log app (my fitness pal) to make sure I don’t exceed the caloric limit of 1600 per day. At first it was easy to get close, but about a week in now, I’m having trouble eating as much and am having difficulty making 1200 calories/day without eating foods high in fat. The other challenge I’m running into is how to get my suggested vitamin amounts. I’m contemplating adding a fresh squeezed veggie juice beverage to each meal. I think this will blow my food costs out of the water. Even mixing in very large portions of veggies to the meals, I’m not getting anywhere near the what the app says I should be. If anyone has any suggestions to make more complete well rounded meals, I’d be happy to hear them.
take a vitamin
I have done this but instead I had a gallon of Arizona green tea throughout the day, hour and a half of walking combined with 45 min of saionary bike then at night my meal was a bowl of cooked greens and a side of hotwings. I lost a about 2 pounds per day. Best ever. eventually I modified the meats but I always had the bowl of cooked greens.
what about gum? Can you chew them and then spit out (bad breath)??? There was this one that has like 100 calories and other with 120 calories. both sugar-free. what should i do? how its going? results?
This diet is going pretty good so far for me. I started this diet last Monday, and its Wednesday today. I’ve lost 3.5kgs already! All I eat is barbeque, mostly chicken tikka, at around 6pm, and hit the gym at 8pm. Barbecue is really healthy, as its packed with protein, and is delicious… gonna lose another 10kgs before I’m satisfied…
If you mix the “one meal per day” diet with weight loss shakes or smoothies, it will slow the loosing weight process but you will be able to stick to that diet for LIFE! I am actually doing it. It works well and it is AFFORDABLE.
I did this like 8 years ago & i lost 20 pounds in a month i eat meat & salade & 8 bottle waters a day n i did jump rope 30 minutes to am hour….& i did lose i knw its not the best & healthest way to shred pounds but it wrkd for me…
Only diet that’s ever worked for me.. Tried cutting out carbs, but I was miserable. Honestly, who has time to make meals the whole day long? And then eat little meals through the day and then just get hungry after a little while again anyways.. So I just eat a simple meal around 7pm ( usually wholegrain spaghetti with marinara sauce / brown rice with chicken / oatmeal with cinnamon and cream / toast with avocado ) and coffee through the whole day. Easy.
Thanks for not complicating it like the rest of these folks lol.. like seriously, you the real MVP
This is the only diet that has ever worked for me! Its hard for the first 3-5 days. But gets easier. And its so awesome to know ill get to eat whatever i want for my one meal (within reason).
I’m giving it a try! It’s my third day, and I drink tea during the day, so it supresses my apetite. Let’s see how it will turn out… Thanks!
Hi , i have been doing this way of eating for a month , am drinking no sugar squash through day & also taking 2 xtwice day glucomannan capsules. . They are natural , made from konjac – tapioca root , these swell in your stomach and stop hungar pangs.. . . I feel great . . Unstressed. . Energised. . Dont feel on a diet. . I only eat 1000 calories at one meal. . . . With one treat nite – where if i want carbs crisps / something naughty over 1000 calories. . . Lost about a stone
I’ve been doing it for 4 days just coffee in the day then a normal meal at night not gonna no to weigh in till Monday 😁
So what happened? did you lose? I’m starting today…
I’ve been doing it for 4 months and lost 12 Kg with effortlessly. I have one meal from Monday to Friday and free during the weekends, but as I get to the weekend without feeling deprived I don’t eat that much as to revert the weight loss process. I’ll keep doing it untill I get to my goal (another 12 to 14 Kg to go…), and then I’ll do one to two 24-hours fasts a week, and eating No S Diet style (www.nosdiet.com) while not fasting. I hope this strategy will help me keep the weight off with no stress.
Sounds like a great plan,thanks for the idea☺
It works!
yay! what about gum? even if they have like 100 calories in it, sugar-free, just chew and spit out when done??
I love the simplicity. In a culture of excess, eating once a day feels subversive. Join the revolution.! I’ve never felt better.
I agree, I come from one meal a day background which was long forgotten when I came to the land of plenty, I didn’t not only heap tens of pounds, but also got lazy and clumsy.
A thought came to me recently and decided to locate my bearing, got back to a meal a day regardless of availability of food, first week felt my chest getting lighter and fell for the feeling. I did weigh just to be sure of myself, I had lost 2 pounds, with this drop I can’t think of anything better… I stick to this plan!
Will you lose the weight in fat or muscle?
And is this advised for an 18 year old ?
With any weight loss plan, you will lose fat as well as muscle. To ensure you lose mostly fat, we recommend that you are in the gym lifting weights at least 3 times a week to maximize your weight loss. This way, your muscle mass will be as preserved as possible and the fat will shed away. This is perfectly fine for an 18 year old as long as you are getting enough calories. (remember to lose weight you need to be eating at a deficit to your basic metabolic rate).
Ive been seeing a lot of positive comments and I’m wondering how long will I have to do this diet to loose 30-39 pounds. Tomorrow I will be starting and only eating under a 1000-800 cal dinner,contain meats,vegetables,beans,and other stuff. And my birthday is on the 11 of November and thanksgiving is on the 23 of November and I will have to eat full meals on those two days. And I’m hoping it wont make me gain weight. And for the exercising I will be doing 22 minutes of cardio 3 times in a day and another 11 and 7 min exercise. All that 3 times a day
The point here is change, not diet.
2/3’s of americans are on a temporary “”diet.”” When they come off the diet, they eat like the glutton they were before, and sure enough, they yo yo right back to their old weight.
But observation has shown going up and down and back up, etc causes more fat, and the fat is more dense ech time around. So, why not stick with it?
As long as you get 0.5 x body weight to 0.85 x bodyweight (in lbs) in grams of protein each day your muscle will be preserved (.85 to be 100% sure, .5 if you’re not too worried or anywhere in between depending). Add in resistance training of some kind and you’re gonna build muscle.
What I did to keep from losing muscle is strength training with weights and walk aerobics by leslie sansone and I did not lose muscle as a matter of fact I replaced fat with muscle by strength training and lost 4 inches around my waist alone.
This way of eating trains your body to use the fat as fuel first.
I’ve been eating once per day for three years now. It was slightly difficult when I first initiated this way of life, Note, I avoid the nasty “diet” word; as it truly becomes a completely manageable way of life, devoid of the task of managing the old science of 6 small meals per day.
I realized that in the beginning, most of the hunger pangs I experienced during the day were actually my body over-coming an insidious sugar addiction, which is powerful indeed.
At 48, boasting a 29 inch waist and more energy than I know what to do with when I’m not in training for a triathlon or other race, I believe the one meal a day way of life has been ideal for me.
The funny thing for me is, when going out to breakfast, brunch or lunch with friends, meals I don’t eat and explaining my one meal per day lifestyle, are the comments about how “unhealthy” my diet is to my health. Of course they’re all at least 20 lbs overweight. As the old adage goes: The proof is in the pudding. (And “ll have mine after dinner thank you very much…:)
Hahaha made me laugh!
Boom! Great ending. I found its best not telling people about eating just 1 meal a day and if you’re meeting friends for lunch or whatever, just pretend you already ate. People are scared of what they don’t know. We have been brainwashed into thinking eating 3 square meals is a norm and that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So when you go against the grain, people will automatically look at you as if you’ve 10 heads. I honestly believe this way of eating will never become mainstream, the food companies won’t allow it. Imagine the amount of money they would lose out on if everyone in the world just ate 1 meal a day everyday.
Evening…I quite agree re the food companies, no way would they play ball. I got into this quite by ‘accident’ I was trying out low carb, which turned to very low carb but i struggled to eat enough fat. After a couple of very low carb weeks I found my hardboiled eggs mashed with butter and black pepper filled me for the day. I felt energised and alive, less sluggish, it was quite amazing. I noticed I was walking better, I am 56 with osteoarthritis, and had much less pain. Due to sleep disturbances I switched things around. I ate more in the evening and breakfast seemed to move further and further away as I wasn’t overly hungry on waking. Loath to ruin my evening meal I decided to push through the hunger pangs for the last couple of hours until dinner.
Long story short it kind of morphed into one evening meal with tons of water during the day. I cannot explain how different my life is now. No painkillers for the bones for 5 weeks straight, weight is dropping off, I don’t own scales but the inches are just melting away, i have way more energy than I have in years.
For me this has become a lifestyle choice. Best accident that ever happened to me
Take Care
Liz
JOE! I follow you on OMAD REVOLUTION
Wow that is so amazing.i can’t eat breakfast..I just never feel hungry in the morning.now I am thinking to lose the 5 kilos I want to lose ,I would naturally be able to do this diet.it would suit my metabolism and my lifestyle.i am a bit worried about the afternoon “slump” say around 4pm….???any suggestions?
I stared eating one meal a day after a 4 day fast. I felt so incredibly after the fast and broke my fast in the evening of the last day. The next day I felt amazing. I had before ate 3 meals with 3 snacks. This is my 3 day eating one meal a day and I have lost about 5 pounds in 7 days. I have never ever lost weight this fast. I wen to the gym today and was had more energy than I have ever had in a long time. I am no longer bloated during the day after lunch, I an longer sleepy during the day, I enjoy food so much more and I am mentally sharper during the day. This is world changing for me. I am going to be 37 years old and I know with this lifestyle change I will get to my target weight and stay there because I look so amazing. My clothes fit and are no longer tight, my abs are popping out, I feel invigorated and the gym and the sweat pours out of my body as body is burning fat so efficiently now that it does not have to burn glycogen first as much. I also realized the sugar is a no-no for me like the previous poster. During the holiday I had a lot of sugar with baked goods and I blow up like a balloon. Through my fast and the one day lifestyle I feel like a pin popped me and I no bloated, I don’t feel a pad of fat around my arms, back and legs. It truly is life changing.
I started this way of eating in 2012 and haven’t really looked back. I decided to fast for lent and just continued. I lost 5 stone over 18 months….three fell off over five months. and felt fantastic. At first I got hungry but realised that an hour after breakfast I was getting hungry also, so made the decision to only eat once a day. With 20 mins on the treadmill five days a week excelerated my weight loss. However 2015 wasn’t a very good year for me as got slightly depressed by events out of my control. That I gained 20lb… And I hate this sluggish feeling and have now got my self back on track. Anyone who says this way of eating is dangerous or doesn’t work needs to realise we all know the limits of our own bodies. It’s definitely the best way of life for me.
It works!! That’s all I can say. Sometimes I eat so much during my one meal of the day that I’m still full the next day, which works for me. Been only one week so fsr, but lost about 4 lbs.
I’ve been doing this for 3 days so far and have lost 4 pounds.. Not going to lie, I feel a little weak through out the day, but besides this I was okay. I like the results, and even more I love not having to eat totally healthy Haha.
were you eating healthy or what you wanted ?
Hi I’ve been trying to reduce my weight since i was in my 6th std but couldn’t succeed(6th std my weight was around 60kg).As usually I’m playing badminton to reduce my weight but it’s not so fast for me as my weight been a stigma for me .But suddenly i thought to opt 1 meal a day and that’s it i was finding a path in my life.i do start my day with a cup of coffee and have 8 glass of water a day help me to reduce my appetite and finally at dinner im having 3 chapatti and pulse/sabzi.This diet helped me a lot and in 7 day following diet helped me to reduce 3.5 kg a week that was so easy .
Once you get used to it, it wont feel like you are actually doing anything. The initial hunger pangs are from your body used to being fed all the time. Like the other people commented your energy goes through the roof. Three meals a day must have been invented by food manufacturers lol. I also don’t tell people outside of my immediate family what I am doing. I just tell them I am not hungry and if they try to make me eat after that they are just being rude.
Give it a shot. There are zero drawbacks and it usually takes me under a week to get back to it and I usually lose between 3 to 5 pounds a week. Imagine that! Within 6 months you can easily be down 60 to 70 pounds. That’s an incredible amount of weight loss in a very small amount of time if you are very overweight.
I have done it and lost 13 lbs in 13 days it’s very good 1000 percent
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Hi Mary, while I like the fact that you have lost weight, I would like to put a caution here, it is to much weight loss in a week, maybe you need to re-look at what you are not doing right, thanks
Let’s let Mary deal with Mary, ok?
Can you eat your once a day meal during lunch instead of dinner?
Try to make it till night time . This gives your body enough time to flush toxins and use its own glucose . It’s good to fast thru the day.
For a female, a lot of that will be water weight and if she is doing it right, it IS possible to lose that much so quickly. Her body composition can be totally different, water weight high, etc… Everyone has their own journey and success story. Good job Mary.
I tryed this diet before & I must say it works..my friends said your crazy girl for doing that your starving your self…but I wasn’t I was eating my big meal a day meat ,salad & water threw out the day & exercise & I felt great…I did it a month & lost 20 pounds..& I started today again so I will c how it goes this time…I was in my early 20’s am now 30 so I hope I can lose weight cuz I have gained so much I am 188lbs 5-1 yea am short & overweight..good luck to me & for who ever trys it also 🙆🙏🙌
When you think about it, this is pretty much how our ancient early relatives ate. They spent the day working, gathering, roasting and then ate their big meal. I’m sure if they ran into a patch of berries or found some bird eggs, etc., they might snack a little, but they primarily ate one meal a day and, of course, for the most part they worked a lot harder than we do.
I’ve used this diet several times and always lost weight… but I’ve always gained it back because I haven’t committed to making this my permanent eating plan. I started back this week, have already lost 5 pounds and this time I intend to stay on it. I am diabetic and when I’m on this play I have almost perfect blood sugar levels with a minimum of insulin. From what I have read this diet really takes the fat off your internal organs also and I know that is really good for long term health.
In my twenties I never struggled with my weight. As I entered my 30’s I became more health conscious and read that I should be eating 3 meals per day and snacks in between. I’m now 36 and I’m the heaviest I’ve ever been and I workout regularly and don’t have terrible eating habits. At first I thought it was about getting older, but now that I look back I remember I didn’t eat as much when I younger. I felt need most times to eat once per day or if more than that it was something really small. So I’m going back to that. I feel I was forcing myself to eat when I didn’t really want or need to. I’ve been doing one meal per day drinking 3 liters of water and 530 ML of hot lemon tea with honey and I feel great! I’m going to keep it up.
It works!!! I went from a size 12 (uk) to a prefect size 8 (uk) in 12 weeks! Just by eating one meal a day and drinking tea and coffee throughout the day (no milk no sugar; I used sweetneer’s) but I did insure my meals where very nutritious I.e. Lean meat, salads or cooked veg with whole grains (brown rice/brown rice noodles, bulgur wheat, wholewheat pasta/wholewheat noodles) I would also eat white potatoes too.
I did it in 2006.i lost weight.But apart from losing weight here are some of the.benefits I experienced:1.more energy 2.you don’t feel sleepy aftet a meal.3.you become mentally sharper and alert.4.you become spiritually conscious.5.you become more emphathetic and loving.6.you develop a lot of patience with people.
I’m going to give this a try and see how it goes. I’m 43 years old and weigh 240lb. I have a lot of weight I need to lose. I hope this works for me. Wish me luck!!
Hey Ron, how are you getting on? I’m 48 and 200lbs, I like intermittent fasting but want to try this. How has the 1 meal a day thing worked out for you?
Thanks
i am 26 and weighs 85kg,i really want to reduce in weight and will stick to eating once a day.wish myself goodluck.
I’ve just started doing this. I did it as a teenager (I’m now 35) and it worked really well for me then, but I’ve always had trouble keeping weight off. Because I’m addicted to food, I find it easier just not to eat (apart from the one meal a day) than to moderate my intake during the day. Anyway….. what I was wondering is whether it is still possible to lose weight on this diet if you are drinking wine. I do love a glass of wine – I usually drink maybe two or three times a week, but I can easily drink the full bottle each time. I know it’s not ideal, but has anyone lost weight while still occasionally drinking? I definitely can stop drinking but I enjoy it and it’s a part of my social life so to be honest, I don’t really want to. Any advice????
Health benefits aside at the end of the day it’s calories in vs calories out. When eating one meal a day you end up eating so much less calories than when eating 3x a day so yes you will still lose weight even while drinking the wine because your calorie consumption will have reduced from cutting out the extra meals and snacks. Wine however may be leaving you looking a little puffy, it also may prevent you- once you have lost a certain amount- from losing anything further and in that case you would have to cut down on the wine too. But that depends on your goals.
I think to drink one bottle of wine a day and expect to lose weight is pushing it, but I reckon half a bottle, 1 meal and at least 30 minutes exercise should help you continue in the right direction
I started on Ash Wednesday and should end at Easter. I don’t feel hungry at all. I do drink an apple cider vinegar tonic and this does help suppress my appetite. If I have a snack it is only some grapes or snow apple. I only drink herbal teas for fluid intake. It definitely works. I might continue after easter until I reach my ideal weight.
I lost ten stone, 140lbs in just 7 months, 4 stone in the first 2 and that was all from one meal a day and a 30 minute walk daily upping to an hour. I went from a size 24 to a 12 and the results are simply amazing. It won’t be for everyone but….adding in that half an hour walk really speeded things up. Just be careful and listen to your body if something doesn’t feel right
Thats amazing. You sound like you started where I am now…..any advice you can give me…x
Amazing result Louise , can you please tell your start weight and current weight and what you were eating in your one meal please ?
Wow, that is amazing and very inspiring. I just starting eating one meal a day and will begin my walking on an incline treadmill tomorrow. I have about 75lbs to lose or 5 stones.
I am very excited and feel I have finally found something that works for me.
Did you eat what you wanted at the weekend??xx
Wow that’s amazing well done you☺ I’m so looking forward to starting my journey:) I was just wondering what is the best time to eat my one meal a day at ??
I did this back in 2012 and lost 25 lbs in 4 months !
It really works
This works. I had stubborn vanity pounds that I wanted to lose and it was KILLING me to eat several times a day and keep the calories as low as they needed to be to lose them. I was never full or satisfied. Once I started eating one big meal a day, the pounds fell off without me feeling deprived. I did a modified version of this by eating something small at the start of the day (cheese stick, one fried egg, a protein shake).
The only minor downside is that my energy was not even thoughout the day. I would get a bit tired, but it was manageable. I probably could have increased my total amount of calories and remedied this issue.
Also, as another poster mentioned, it seems our bodies are designed for this eating plan. I recall when I was much younger and not dieting that I naturally ate very little during the day and my main meal in the evening.
hi there could anyone give a sample meal of what they eat in there one meal, just to get and idea, thanks x
The way I got into it was back in college. I would eat a big thing of rice and frozen veggies all cooked up together with some meat on top. Of course, do not forget to measure it out so you are not under or over eating.
I eat fruit, veggies, salad, a cup of rice with meat, fish or chicken. On the weekends with your dinner treat yourself to half cup of your favorite ice cream, or muffin or a thin slice of cake.
I was researching over the past weekend wondering how Jesus would have eaten. While researching I have got a lot of good advice and Monday 3/21/16 I started eating 1 meal in the evening about 6. And I have found no problem now on my 3rd day of eating 1 meal. Funny thing today I looked up eating just one meal a day on Google lol and found this site. Was a bit curious if it could hurt me to keep eating just 1 meal a day. But I guess not glad you guys posted. Thanks and in for the long hall.
Can anyone suggest how many calories to consume or do you just eat a normal plate full? (Not stacked,just an average meal size). I live in the UK. Looking to try and lose 9 stone in 5 months (if possible,or at least any closer) as I’m getting married. Would 3 days of walking for 6 hours (working at a dog day care centre) and an hour on an exercise bike 7 days a week be okay? As for food,I eat frozen food products as I cannot afford fresh foods. I enjoy meats,pasta or anything spicy. I can easily live without bread but have a fondness for cereal. Would these foods be okay to eat? Also would having steak once every so often be okay if I go out for a meal? I can easily drink coffee without milk,sometimes with sweetener or I can have it without. I enjoy Diet Coke and peppermint tea,also green tea.
I’m very nervous and desperate to lose weight. Pleas, if you could offer advice,much appreciated!
Eat a normal plate of food. Don’t over eat or you will defeat the purpose. I eat fruit, veggies, a cup of rice with chicken, beef, or fish.
I’ve started this diet today as 3 years ago I lost around 35lbs on one meal a day for approx 3-4 months. It wasn’t intentional, I was going through a tough time and struggled to eat anything, but what I did eat was anything I fancied, be it a huge bar of chocolate or a take out. So yes, you can eat anything you like without overly thinking about it. Once I was over my tough time, I have to say I felt fab and was at my ideal weight. Have put around 28lbs on since and now feel overweight and uncomfortable. I’ve been on a healthy diet recently that lasted all of 8 weeks but got fed up of constantly thinking about what I was going to eat and not feeling satisfied when I did, plus the weight wasn’t shifting quick enough for me, 1-2 lb a week if I was lucky and hungry all the time, so fell off the wagon. This diet is a faster way to weight loss for anyone like me who gets bored of constantly calorie counting with slow results. Yes you get hungry at the start, but just have to stay busy until meal time and until you get used to it.
I remember going on this diet several years ago, and if I was not mistaken, I remember losing one kilogram a day. Now that my weight limit went over the edge aggressively, I tried many diets, but none of them seems to work, so I remembered this diet, and I googled how much wight can you lose, and I found that you only can lose 6 kgs a month. However, this is my second day of this diet, and I didn’t lose 2 kgs. My target is to drop 18 kgs, even though iit takes 3 moths to drop that much wight,?i think it’s worth it because it’s easy as this deit dose not require that many boundaries.
I love this diet. I actually look forward to eating in the evening. I see it as my reward. I am 60 years old and would often get spikes in my sugar level. When I started the one meal per day I started to feel much better. Throughout the day I drink water and green tea. If I start to feel really hungry I drink a very cold can of diet coke–works for me! In the late evening for dinner I have fruit, veggies, some rice, chicken, fish or beef. I lose about 3 lbs per week.
I am happy to hear from someone in my age group. I turned 61 in Oct. I have been on this plan for about 3 weeks and I love it even though my results are not as good as most other people that are posting. I am losing about 1.5 pounds a week on average but I feel great! I can do this the rest of my life so when I lose all my weight I won’t have to worry about it again.
Hey iam 165 pounds. I want to lose 40 pounds in 2 months. I eat only 1 meal a day(if I eat pizza I only 1 and a half slices at the end of the day the other days I eat less than 800 calories and drink lots of water. ) will reach my goal? Hope to hear from you soon ☺
Lol not likely. 20lbs of fat loss a month is a lot to ask of your body no matter what method used. Especially with how little you weigh now
I did his way of eating around 10 years ago and in exactly 14 days lost exactly 12 kg – going from 65kg to 53kg. I myself wouldn’t believe that it is possible if someone else wrote it, but it did happen and this is how it happened.
I went on holidays, staying with barely known relatives and did feel very uncomfortable to cook in their house so, I didn’t, and instead every morning I’d leave the house without breakfast (completely hungry) Then I’d wander around the town till lunch. Then between 2 and 3 pm I’d go to a local cafe or a restaurant and order what I fancied on the day. I’d eat until full and again wander around the town till evening. I couldn’t afford to eat in a cafe/restaurant couple of times every single day, so I’d eat only lunch. I’d get home around 10pm and go to bed. I’d be so hungry that years passed yet until now I remember that incredibly strong feeling of hunger every single evening!!! Same routine would go on for all 14 days, until I flew back to UK. I had no scales, so didn’t weight myself, I realized that I dropped weight yet had no idea how much. When back in UK, I went on a scale I saw 53kg. I couldn’t believe what I saw, and so couldn’t believe that it is me, everyone who knew me! I was tiny! Did I manage to keep the weight off? Yes yet I put on 1-2kg. As soon as I started eating more often, I put on 1-2 kg and that was it, no more than that. For years I’d stay size 8 (UK) with a stable weight of 54-55kg. . Then years passed, at some point I got depressed and was given an antidepressant which caused 18kg weight gain in 1 month.!!!
Then I had the knee issue and gained even more, all in all going from my usual 54kg to 72kg then to 82k and then to 95.8kg, where I stayed for around 7 years. 2 years ago I started trying to loose weight again. Until now I managed to shed 26kg and now I weight 69kg (which keep going to 66-67 and then returns to 69 again!). I lost that weight differently and it took a really long time, firstly I’d go from 95.8 to 84kg by doing Atkins under 20 carbs (shed it in around 6 weeks), then from 84kg to 75kg by eating tiny portions every 2 hours (when I say tiny it’s really tiny, where each portion is around 3-5 spoonfuls), shed tose 9 kg in around 1-1 1/2 months. Then next 5 kg from 75 to 69-70 I dropped by eating very little and very rarely and also it took a long time as 1-2 k would go down, then back up, then down again then back up. Right now my weight is anything between 66.9 – 69.8 kg, and again couple of kgs keep going up and down for months!!! Very tired with this so decided to try eating once a day like that time on holidays and will see how it goes and if will be able to shed it again and how quickly. However at that time I walked a lot – 8-10 hours every day. It won’t be possible now yet will need to go for a walk every single day otherwise the metabolism will just slow s down. What I also noticed is that sleep pattern is crucial for weight loss. The earlier you go to bed and the more hours you sleep – the lighter you will be the next day. I checked it many times and every single time I noticed a huge difference. For example, I’d sleep for 5-6 hours only, wake up weight myself then decide to sleep a bit more (let say sleep 2-4 hours more) wake up, weight myself again and every single time I will weight 100g-300g less. So, sleep is our best friend when it comes to weight loss.
I decided to write this as there are always people who say you can’t lose large amount of weight in a short period of time etc (or even if you did it, you can’t keep it off ) even when they never done it themselves, so they didn’t experience it, yet I did have such experience, that’s why hope it might help someone who really needs it. All this 1-1.5 kg per week will not work for everyone (for me it doesn’t because as soon as I shed a little, a body is doing all it can to return it back and it does return it back), so there are people (like me) who need to reduce large amount of weight in the shortest period of time and then stabilize, then again reduce and then stabilize. All weight that I lost till now from those 95.8kg would be large amounts if short periods and then stabilize. For a year I’ve been trying to lose couple of kg now and it’s not working as if I do it slowly and in small amount, body realizes what I am doing and fights hard to gets every kg back and it does! Yet when you reduce a lot and quickly, body i in a shock and is not trying to get all of it back (as if you shed a lot it’s not possible), so is trying to at least stop you from shedding more without returning previous kgs back.
I have lost weight by this diet. And it’s soo easy. You just need to occupy yourself with something throughout the day and eat a big meal at night. I usually eat 2 meals at night. But I’m a guy and im bulky so dont follow me eating 2 meals at night. It works guys. Drink water the whole day and also if possible exercise 30 minutes at least 3 days per day. Thanks guys.
Thanks a lot for the great tips .☺ how much calories should be in the meal?
I didn’t even know this was a thing. I started eating one meal a day a few weeks ago. I usually eat my one meal at lunch during the week and the weekends I’ll have my one meal for dinner. Socially it makes most sense for me. I just got tired of running through McD’s drive thru and spending $6-$8 every morning. I decided to get online to see if this eating style was detrimental and found this page. 3 weeks in and down 15 lbs. Cheap, easy and works for me!
I’m going to give it a try. I need to cut back on costs and this might do the trick. As a nomad I spent way too much time in fastfood places or looking for a place to eat. This method might save me money AND time! 🙂
My wife and I have been doing this for close to 2 weeks now and the weight is dropping off rapidly. I am no stranger to modifying my lifestyle to incorporate healthier practices. This is my 2nd marriage and my wife is Hispanic, 18 years younger and beautiful. I only mention that because of her cultural affinity for rice and beans, which in my book is a now and mostly forever a “no no”. These two starches wreak havoc on the waistline and over the past year I obtained an intrinsic knowledge of this phenomenon. I needed to do something quick, hence the one meal per day. I have not eaten red meat for over 40 years and pork since I was 13. I recently turned 60, but most people don’t believe it. This is due to years of doing good things (Used to run 54 miles per week – martial arts training – and lots of yoga). I was vegetarian for 4 years but added poultry and seafood when I began in kung fu (I needed the added protein). Okay, the one meal per day… I eat whatever I want in the evening for dinner and still losing weight (Yes, I pig out!!) Think about it though, with 3 meals a day you are beating your digestive system up, constantly shoveling in more food than it can breakdown during those relatively short spurts between the meals. With my 1 meal per day, my body has about 23 hours to break it down and get rid of it. Yes, it’s that simple. During the day I have a smoothie to keep me going (banana, strawberries, fresh pineapple chunks, spinach and a tbsp of peanut butter, blended with almond milk). My wife just discovered that adding chia seeds to spring water works for her as a meal substitute. It has wonderful medicinal qualities too. Don’t believe the B.S. about 3 meals a day. The corporate food conglomerates want to keep you fat, clueless and profitable to them.
I just have a question, What happens if a 15 year old does this kind of thing? (Please reply ASAP). Am i still going to lose weight? And will it be bad for me? If so, why? I’m 15 and i want to start doing this. I’m going to do this for 2 weeks.
If you get enough calories in during the day and eat 200 calories below your recommended intake for maintenance, there should be no problem. That being said, please consult a doctor before going on a diet.
my son who is 13 years doesn’t do a diet but he has never been one to eat during the day he is 5ft 7 and a lean 9 stone he just doesn’t like to eat during the day so when he comes home from school he has a healthy big home cooked tea and a pudding, he isn’t fat he has energy he has hardly any spots he is a sporty kid, he doesn’t do this because he wants to lose weight etc its just how he is so providing i am cooking him a healthy meal and pudding he is happy and he drink lots of water all he has in the morning before school is a cup of tea hope this helps.
I’m 172 pounds 5″4 I’m looking to put my weight down to 130ish, I’ve tried tons of things to lose weight it’s just not happening so I thought I would try this. How soon do you think I’ll get results I’m 18 and I try and go for a 20-30 min run every couple days plus I’m chasing after a toddler all day. Thank you.
This is a perfect way to loose weight….I did it and it worked very well for me…even during the one meal…I try to aviod big food….I eat I’m small quantity and still feel good.
I am going to start this one meal a day diet from tommorow 22 June present weight 15 stone 5 pounds and I intend to eat 5 boiled potatoes with ketchup each evening and nothing else.
I will let you know the results in 2 months.
William
It’s interesting how all the doctors recommend you eat 5 or 6 meals a day high in carb. Yet when you read body building magazines, when they lose weight they cut down the carb and in the off season when they gain weight they eat high carb diets, the same diets doctors recommend for losing weight. In the off season body builders collect muscle and a lot of fat from the high carb diet, and before a show they lower the carb altogether, the reason is you simply cannot lose weight while on a high carb diet. As a person who is over weight and has lost weight at different points in my life, the worst diet was the high carb diet, it leaves you tired and feeling hungry, and even left me light headed.
The eating once daily diet is a healthier choice than what doctors prescribe.
My cardiologist has just recommended the one meal a day way of eating, so not all Doctors are the same. I’m on day one and very positive.
I agree and you know the amazing thing about this eating 1 meal a day is that it cuts down on your grocery bill
I love this diet! The number one thing that helped me was drinking kifer, after a week my sugar cravings were gone and sticking to one meal a day was no problem! A cup of kifer b4 bed and one meal during the day!
it works but i see some of you are clearly not eating enough in your one meal a day.
you have to eat at least 1200kcal, you dont’t want to lose weight too quickly believe me.
i eat 1800kcal and still lose weight eating one meal a day. I eat whatever i desire too.
also for anyone under the age of 21, your body is still growing so i would be careful with this way of eating.
i also take a multivitamin daily.
I did this after having both children and putting 4/5 stone on each time, worked and has stayed off, never looked back! Took around 3/4 months to loose 3/4 stone
Been doing this for 25 days now. I’ve lost an average of 300 grams a day. That’s a total of 7.5 kgs.
With this system you can lose around 8kgs per month.
When you start getting closer to your ideal weight this will start to slow a little.
Just keep yourself busy until dinner time.
Drink water and one or two cups of coffee or tea.
It’s really not that hard and before you know it your body will adjust to it.
ive been doing this for a week now by accident. i only eat one meal a day to cut off budget. and i can say that it is really working… already lost 1kl(sorry im not that good in lbs) and dropping. i only eat 2 cups of rice and a single serving of any viand that i would like. with the help of coffee and water through the day:))
I have been on Slimming World for three months religiously following the plan and have lost a painful 6lbs. I have documented everything eaten and drunk. I have been doing this three days and will still go to my weekly weigh-in as a recording exercise. Going to be interesting!!
Will try this right away. But not sure which is the best time to eat my one meal. Have tried many diets which didn’t help.
BZee
BZee , The best wat for most people is evening meal but i can assure this works . i have lost a total of 5kgs in 2 month and this has been the easiest diet i have ever followed and believe me i have tried them all !
This is the only thing that works , eat to you fill your one meal and drink plenty of water , Excercise is not needed but if you walk for 30 mins a day the weight flys off FAST ! You dont have to ro do this as it will work but speeds up , rememebr no running or jogging just a plain simple walk .
Keep updating your progress
start date 11 july 2016
my stats are , start weight – 123kgs
weigh on 20 july 2016 – 118kgs
Hi I am wanting to do One meal a day eating plan to lose weight. But I am addicted to my morning coffee 2cups with milk and 1 sugar. Do you think I will still lose weight by having my coffee. Thanks
You should still lose weight but you can cut another 200+ calories per day if you can make the switch to black coffee or 0 calorie sweetener. I myself just switched to black a couple days ago for this diet and while it’s not even close to as good, it’s not awful. Goodluck
Why it’s all about calories anyway
In just 2 days by eating 1 meal a day I have lost 4 pounds and 6 ounces and have lost a half inch on waist and hips and guess what I am not even hungry until it it time for me to eat my 1 meal again the next day. I have more energy and I am less sluggish.
Didn’t know about this one hour ago. I’ve always had as struggle with breakfast. Recently I have cut the breakfast. My tummy seams calmer. Don’t get puffed up, I have energy. And the weirdest thing of all,..I don’t feel any hunger at all.
Of course I want to lose some extra pounds, but not too many. Cause that’s not the issue.
This is, for now at least, relief to my body!
Greetings Joo
I have tried sooooo many so called DIETS…lost only a few pounds then watched my weight loss stall as I kept right on dieting!!! Felt miserable during the whole process too!!!My current weight is 214 lbs and no matter what type of diet I try nothing has worked for me except the 1 meal a day eating plan!!! I did a little experment, several months ago, I started eating 1 meal a day and during the 2 weeks of eating that way, I lost 10 lbs and felt the best I ever felt, Believe me it works…. Nothing was hard about it, it was me who decided to starting eating 3 meals a day plus 2 healthy snacks, which by the way I have felt horrible body wise and have not lost 1lb Starting again today with the 1 meal a day process plus 30 minute of treadmill walking per day and will come back every so often to post my results! Blessings to each of you who are embarking on this great way of eating!!!
Day nine on eating 1 meal a day have lost 5 pounds and 4 ounces so far. I am doing low impact aerobics and strength training with weights so that I wont lose any muscle weight. I am not having any cravings because by eating 1 meal I can still enjoy my favorite foods and I also take multi and fiber supplements as well.
Can I eat once a day but at lunch time? Not a dinner time?
Thank you !
You sure can!
Hello,
I’ve tried many diets, exercised 5-6am but due to other circumstances I couldn’t do it anymore 😔 I loved going to walk early in the morning, it’s the only way I lose weight quick but unfortuantly I can’t.
I want to start eating once a day. My question is can I eat breakfast I read of dinner? Please let me know. Thank you so much
Carol
Hey Carol, it really does not matter what time of day you eat your one meal. As long as you are only eating once and not snacking the rest of the day, pick whatever time works best for you!
Thank you Neil,
I am now eating once a day since I started doing it. I’ve been feeling good. 🙂
This is awesome!!!
This way of eating makes so much sense to me. Only day 5 but not as hard as I thought it would be. I really look forward to my evening meal. I tend to eat healthily but had a terrible time with snacking. I have learnt that once I start eating during the day I find it really hard to not think about food and want to eat all day – I’m reasonably slim but have put on a stone in the last few years. I think this could really help me get back to where I should be, improve my health and still enjoy life! I’m hoping it does get a bit easier as I’m REALLY hungry today, but I’m going to dig deep! This has been my go-to web page every time I feel my determination evaporating – Thank you!
In a rush to get to work this morning I messed up my lunch so had a tantrum and decided i’m only going to eat once a day as I am so fed up of constantly thinking about food and what I am going to eat for breakfast and lunch, So when I googled the health issues I could have with this way of eating, I came across this website and now I cant wait to actually try it! I love food but dinner is the one meal of the day that I actually enjoy so I really hope this will work….something needs to!
Thanks for turning my mad moment into something that could actually work! Happy Monday all 🙂
I need to start this.Save you a tons of money as well.Specially if you live here in NY. Wish me luck!
i lost 150 pounds in 5 months using this method. dont overeat at your single meal. most of my meals where just a couple of sprigs of brocolli, some lettuce, and maybe half a cup of rice. i would suppress my appetite during the day by drinking heaps of black coffee. once a week id treat myself to bacon which i really love.
i weight about 135 pounds now and feeling great.
Wow. Inspiring. Great for you!!
Honestly, that sounds absolutely horrible, but different strokes.
Been eating only one meal every day with one to two days of complete fasting a week since may. I have gone from 210 to 170. I am now working on 48 hours in a row of fasting every five days. So one meal a day for 5 day and then a full 48 hours food free. I love it. I haven’t really been food shopping since May. When I do eat I still only eat half of what is on my plate. At this point I am eating way less than 1000 calories a day. I sit for at least 10+ hours a day so my calorie needs are limited. The bummer deal is that eating is no longer a social event. It pains me to even have to spend a dime on food. I am so over eating in general. My goal is to get into the 150s. I am only 5’4.
I think you should be careful with only eating one meal a day and also fasting so frequently. If you aren’t committed to this way of eating for life, you will end up as with any “diet” weighing more than you did before you started. I’m not an expert… I can understand intuitively how eating one meal a day could be a working and healthy plan, but adding in days of complete fasting seems extreme and dangerous! Please be careful.
That being said, I’m a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Observing a monthly fast (24 hours) is part of our religion. We believe it helps us spiritually, and is also an opportunity to give to the poor the money we would have spent on food (with encouragement to be as generous as possible!). I think it’s a wonderful spiritual tradition that helps us achieve greater self-mastery as well as spiritual blessings, like help with problems we or our loved ones are facing..
wow I am going to give it a try because I am overweight for my height and my weight. although I love food and I also love cooking.I need to lose weight and be smart with all these testimonies.m coming to share mine by December. oh God in Heaven please help me.
Yup this works for me. I drinks lots of water during the day. And eat some fruit .
Hi im on day 3 and apart from a few pangs its going well. Have to say im kinda used to the one meal a day diet because we do that 1 month every year during ramadan where we cam go 19odd hours without food and water so to be able to drink fluids is a bonus! Yay! Wish me luck!
Wow this has really worked for me 2 and a half stone in a month and fitting into clothes i havent been able to since before i was pregnant 6 years ago felt amazing to go shopping and look in the middle section rather than the end i became depressed hungry anxious and lost lots of confidence with my weight but now lots more energy and can feel the weight flying off and feel so much more confident instead ov buying lots of junk as a treat for doing well ive bought new clothes and pampered myself with the money i have saved eating out and takeaways walking has helped me alot and i feel great keeping myself motivated ready for month 2 🙂
I have read just about every comment posted here. I am glad to see, I am not the only one who is tired of trying to figure out what to eat day in and out. Being concerned with how many carbs per meal blah, blah, blah…
Congratulations to all of you who are enjoying the success and making it a lifestyle. It makes total sense eating one good meal a day. I know my ancestors didn’t have the luxury of 6 small meals a day but had that evening meal which is the one most cherished in my household as well. Thinking about it, none of them carried the weight I keep allowing to make contact with my body either. So that says a lot to me.
I have been considering this for a few weeks now and I am ready to get started.
I have cut out sugar and gave up wine for 30 days (on day 10 now). I am 213 today and 175 is my goal that will be accomplished. I will keep you posted on the progress. I am so excited to have found this site.
Started this diet (without researching it first) 6 days ago. In the first 4 days I lost 11 pounds and over the past couple days I have had more energy than I know what to do with and my jeans are feeling looser. No noticeable physical change as far as appearance goes just yet but I feel like I may need to shop for new clothes soon.
I am drinking water almost nonstop throughout the day, light snacking (a few walnuts) every few hours and after I eat dinner I get full so fast.
I started at 250 pounds, yesterday I weighed in at 239 pounds and my goal weight is 135-145 pounds. This is pretty exciting!
Woaahh…!! Y so effective?? This is just an answer to my problem,, I started it 6 days already and without having weighing scale ..I admit it I lost very much of weight .. I’m become thinner and feel confident to myself.. For those who did not try in this easy and effective method of losing weight, I recommend u to try this asap .. 🙂
Can you really eat anything on your one meal? Cause I ate dessert and now I’m somewhat worried.
Can you really eat anything on your single meal? Cause I ate spaghetti for my single meal and now I’m kind of worried 🙁
I love this technique ..pretty impressive and effective
This works perfectly for me. I have lost 40lbs in five months using this one meal per day method. I prefer eating it during lunch instead of dinner. it works great for me. Please make sure to drink water through out the day and remember to take multiple vitamins.
I have Fibromyalgia and Ehlers Danlos. I cant tolerate gluten and I am prone to bloating as my stomach is too stretchy and its hard to digest food. Its vital that I maintain low weight as being even a couple of pounds over, puts pressure on my already knackered joints. I have tried, like many of you, many different healthy eating regimes and I remember doing the one meal a day thing back in 2013 before I was diagnosed and feeling amazing. Yes, it was hard to start with as you are still craving foods. (not unlike quitting smoking). But I feel drawn to trying this again. I feel confident that as well as helping with weight management, it will also give my tummy the break it so desperately needs! I am interested to see what impact (if any), it has on the general inflammation in my body. I read an interesting post on here, by someone with rheumatism and they experienced some relief from the pain. I shall keep you posted. Good luck to you all and do you find that the majority of the people who knock this method of eating are usually over weight?? Just a thought……..
For you I would look into food combining in conjunction with the once a day eating. Good luck
Hi. I was wondering if you could choose your daily meal at different times of the day. For example, could I eat a giant brunch on Sunday, or choose to have a big late afternoon meal (2-4pm) like in Europe? Also, the blood type diet says some people are better suited for meat (Os-hunters)and some people are better suited to nuts/berries (A/Bs-gatherers). As an O, I can’t go a day without meat without feeling off. I’m wondering if some people’s systems are better suited and designed for the one meal a day way of eating. Research on this would be fascinating. Anyway, I’ve eaten this way in the past and never looked or felt better. It suited me. Since trying to eat 3-5 meals a day (always an exerciser), I gained 20 pounds in two and a half years. I can only lose weight excercising excessively and compulsively when I’m eating that often every day. I have always hated it, end up over-eating, and have been very unhappy. So happy to find this information today. Back to eating in a way that’s right for me and FEELS right for me.
Would I be able to drink coffee with a touch of skim milk through out the day?
Will this affect my weight loss? I’m starting tomorrow! Thanks!
Let me first of all tell you that I agree with your philosophy and myself, have eaten one meal a day (at night) for coming up on a decade straight. I simply have no appetite whatsoever throughout the day & the thought of food repulsed me. In addition, I do NOT eat any junk foods, and my nightly meal averages around 1000-1250 calories. I engage in high intensity exercise daily (60+ minutes) and do not consume alcohol, have diabetes or any other negative physical condition. With that being said, in 2006 (when I began this “diet”) I weighed 130lbs, did not exercise, & drank 6-8 cans a day of Mountain Dew! Now, 10 years later, my 5’8″ frame has ballooned to 189lbs! Despite repeated efforts to lose weight (including eliminating soda pop) I am lucky if I can drop 1-2 pounds a month, and if so, I plateau out at 180lbs. So, why is it that my strict adherence to this “diet” has resulted in gaining nearly 60 pounds?
Please read Jason Fung book on obesity.. you can also find him on you tube. Good luck
Because you eat too Little. You must eat 1800 calories, minimum.
Hi, I am a 205lb guy and 5′ 6″ and I am looking to get down to 190lb as soon as I can, but with in reason. I was wondering how many calories can you eat if your doing the one meal a day only diet and how long dose it take to see results?
Thanks
Comments Much Appreciated
I like the idea and the comments really shows that this is a working plan so I am up for it..just I don’t have a scale to measure my weight but I am positive about it..I know is gonna work…
I am wondering how a person can do this when they are exposed to food in their face? My husband buys muffins and other “junk” and is hard to resist for me. He has a high metabolism and does not gain weight. I am 5 ft 4.5 inches and weigh 148-153 lbs. Just want to lose around 20to 25 lbs. to feel/look better. Thanks.
Be strong, have will power for 2/3 days and then you will do it easily. Be around food and not be tempted.
I’ve done it,
I just grab a serving or two of whatever they waved in front of me during the day, (provided I really wanted it) and I tell myself I’ll get to have it later during my meal. I put it aside and fully enjoy it as a treat after my meal!
Hi Janice, it´s all about your mindset. Once your body is used to it, it won´t border you what your husband brings home and waves in your face.
In the mean time, you could ask him to help you by not waving food in your face.
And know that, although your husband is not overweight because of a fast metabolism, that does not mean he is healthy. A lot of people confuse being thin with being healthy but that is not the case.
Good luck!
I agree with the mindset theory…i recently started the one meal a day plan on Saturday 5th November. i told myself i was not going to eat regardless of the temptation…i usually could not do without eating breakfast or lunch. i had a headache that day, i locked up all beverage and locked up the kitchen, i cleaned up my environment but night time felt like three days away! lol., i had no where to go so i slept through it and read a book
Anyway, when i pulled through the first day, i lost a whooping 1.2kg…(i weighed 72kg on friday night) i just stepped off a weight scale people and i weigh 66.85kg today which is my Day no. 5!!! that is a 5kg weight loss. My birthday is on the 19th and i plan to look amazing. it works and i will yell it on a mountain that this plan works…
I drink 1.5 litres of water mixed with 3 lemons and some honey all day. Then I eat my dinner at 7:30pm with multi vitamins. I have not been able to add exercise to my routine yet but I am more energetic than usual. I have lost 11 pounds in 8 days. I weigh 284 pounds right now. This diet is awesome. First 2 days were painful but now iam ok.
Gonna try this method today.
Will update you after a week..
I’ve been doing this for the past week (as of today). Sometimes I get a bit hungry late at night, but I’ve been pushing through it. I eat somewhere between 1PM and 3PM, and try to have a liesurely meal over two hours–not gargantuan, but I hate rushing through 1-hour meals. This way, I get to prepare a nutritious meal and still have a healthy dessert (fresh fruit). Also, since I’m done by 4PM usually, by the time I go to bed I’ve already accomplished “much.” I find on waking up I’m just not hungry.
I’ve been reading that caffeine can dampen appetite for some, but research studies don’t corroborate it. So I just drink something flavorful in the morning as a no-calorie treat–coffee, tea… And I really like that I have to prep food, cook, and wash up dishes only once a day. Within a half hour of finishing eating, my kitchen is clean again. I don’t mind the major effort cooking and cleaning (I used to hate both) because it’s only once every 24 hours.
I discovered that starches are very difficult for me, even eating just one meal a day. Today I experimented, cut out starch, and ate high-fat, moderate protein (sprouted beans), and high fiber (vegetables, fruit), but no bread or pasta or rice (all which I used to love). I felt MUCH, MUCH better.
This plan is so simple that I never want to stop. I’d like to die eating like this–little/no deprivation; just delayed gratification. And I find that I’m spending about $5 a day on food, including beverages (coffee, tea)! That’s unheard of where I live. And I’m going to take this article’s author’s advice and start adding in some physical exercise. I want to see how it affects my appetite.
Couldn’t agree more with all the proponents of the one-meal-a-day lifestyle. One of the best things I’ve done in my entire life.
Good health to everybody.
Been doing this diet for 2 weeks and lost 14 lbs. Got another 11 pounds to go to reach my target weight by 20 december. I think i can just about do it!! My 1 meal consists of meat , abd vegetables followed by fruit and yoghurt and at least 30 minutes exercise every day, walking, football or cycling. I am finding it tough i cant lie but am determined to make the weight . I will be back here on December 20 look out for my post!
Just to update I just realised I didnt give you my starting weight which was 14 Stone 4lb on 19 Nov. I initially lost
1 stone in 2 weeks which is a crazy amount but i since plateaued and i now weigh 13 stone. My target is 12 stone 7 by 20 Dec which i dont think i will make. I am now struggling to rid myself of my belly fat which is the hardest bit to get rid off!!The last 7 days i have lost nothing even thoe I have intruduced some HIT exercise to my exercise routine. I am not sure why i am sticking at this weight because last time i got down to 12 stone 4 albeit around 2.5 years ago. Maybe its because im older 55 now!! Never mind my body is looking trim, got a boyish body now and just bought some 32 inch slim jeans which i look good in so cant complain. i will report back on Dec 20 as i said. Its still a great diet!!
Hi guys I said I would report back on December 20 . Any how, to cut along story short I didn’t make my target weight of 12 stone 7 yesterday but did manage a respectable 12 stone 9. However I had to revise my strategy as the weight stopped coming off. So I decided to go on to the hospital diet which is a 3 small meals low calorie diet (which equates to about 1000 calories a day)
. The change in eating plan tricked my body into metabolising the belly fat although some of it will be water!! So over all I am pretty pleased with myself so far. As regards Christmas I will be back on to eating 1 meal a day for 2 days then back on to the 3 day low calorie diet. My target final weight is 12 stone 7 by 31 December. That’s about as low as I dare go as I am looking thin in the face, although loving my flat stomach. Merry Christmas everyone. Update you Jan 1.
I was just thinking about the amount of pounds I have lost in the time period. 23 pounds dropped in 32 days. Not bad going eh!!! hard bit is going to be next year keeping it off and developing a life plan. I will advise next year what I will do.
Hi folks said I would update on January 1. Been tough over Christmas but I didn’t go crazy. My weigh fluctuated over the days as one would expect. I didn’t lose any more weight but didn’t put on any either so finished the year at a respectable 12 stone 9 only 2 pounds short of my target weight. My next target is to hit 12 stone 5 by 1 February. However I might be too thin at that weight! I now have the middle aged dilemma of do I stay a few pounds over weight as my face might be too thin! At the end of the day if I get too low I can always put a couple of pounds back on. It is easier to put weight on than take it off. Happy new year.
Hi guys its me again. The good news is that I have put no weight on since I last posted. The bad news is that I ate a bit more during the month so didn’t meet my target weight. So 12 stone 9 is still a good weight for a 55 years old guy. I treated myself to some lovely clothes in the January sales, tight fitting designer shirt and a couple of pairs of slim fitting trousers together with some lovely shoes. fit me like a glove and I felt a million dollars. Its great having a flat belly and I have no intention of going back to the old me. Still want to lose 2 pound minimum and see were I go from here. Back beginning of March. One meal a day is the best diet both physically and mentally.
Hi guys reporting back as I said I would. Today I weigh 12 stone 7pounds, a very respectable weight for a 55 year old man medium frame. A total weight loss of 25 pounds so far. I still got a small amount of belly fat but to be honest I am just about there. Now its a case of permanent life style changes and not letting things slide but I can whole heartily say that this diet works.
Hello! I’m starting today! I need to lose 30 pounds! I’ll use this as my journal! haha! I need to report! I’m starting at 165 … My question is May I eat 1 slice of Pizza and a salad as the one meal once a week? I need pizza….. haha!
You can have pizza and salad but make sure you have lots of salad. Maybe have some fruit and yoghurt after too!!
I’m 17, can I try this? I see so many different opinions on the subject, some will say your are still growing shouldn’t do it, other’s say its good, I really wanna to give it a shot but I really don’t wanna gain a chronic problem or something like that, Do you recommend to a 17 years old?
It all depends how sensible you are. If your a person who is mentally strong I would go for it. However, if you suffer from a mental illness or have a tendency for bulimia I would say no. I have suffered from mental illness myself last 10 years but am improving and mentally strong. Your choice, maybe consult your doctor or an elder first as you need plenty of discipline but the results are worth it.
I started two days back, I need to lose 22 pounds as first stage.
I want to ask, what can make my lose fast at least 2 pounds a week??
I noticed that, my lose in grams like 100 grams,200,300 not more
so please tell me if there is ideas to lose faster
I am not exercising till today and I am eating carbohydrates like pasta and bread
I meal a day in the evening, exercise HIT exercises are good, cut down on sugar and carbs, more protein in your diet. Don’t go overboard though! Your weight will drop off.
I was on a different diet a few years a go. It worked but I hated the food (most of it) and didn’t feel happy eating 5-6 times a day. It made me miserable even though I was losing weight. I started the one meal a day diet in 2015. I was weighed at the hospital (I have really bad stomach problems) and weighed 69kg. A month or so later after doing this diet I was at 64kg. The nurse asked me how I lost all that weight in such a short time. I probably would’ve lost more but I love energy drinks. I came across this diet on another site and wanted to try it so I could eat what I want to. My stomach doesn’t hurt as much now unless I eat something that effects it. I have a question though. My thighs are still really big, mainly the front upper part. Does anyone know how to get rid of the fat on there?
If you follow the diet you will lose weight everywere, not necessarily in the time order you want but nevertheless it will happen
I’m about 150 pounds and five feet four inches tall (female)
Im very self conscious as i have a high body fat percentage, very large love handles and a muffin top on my tummy.
I started this only yesterday but feel as though i have gone through enough “training” by mostly grazing small and healthy meals for the past couple months, fluctuating between 156-160, then dropping to 151 or so and am leaving this comment in hopes that within the next 5-6 months I’ll have dropped 20-25 pounds and can share my results! One meal a day with my current appetite due to my social life and being a student, seems quite doable as long as i keep the right motivation. Anyone wanna join me today? I’ll keep you posted😊 good luck everyone!
Can you eat fruit if you become hungry throughout the day ???
No. I only have the one meal and have only water in between.
I’m starting the one meal a day tomorrow. Currently at 185 lb.
hello everybody , i just started this 8 days ago approx. lost 2 lbs and my stats are 5’8 and weigh 174 lbs (male) goal weight is ( 158 lbs )
I’ve tried different ways and different diets i always seem to fall of the wagon and gain the weight back , but eating one meal a day i no longer have to think about food for the rest of the day i eat my meal around lunch time 2-4 pm , when i do get hungry at times i drink water .
but i was wondering if its okay to eat some french fries, rice and salad with chicken breast mushroom cream sauce somedays i have a couple of slices of pizza other days homemade cheese beef burger with fries., ??
i workout 3 times a week just do couple of pushups setups and squats. takes about 15 minutes.
i also wanted to ask for how long does someone goes eating just 1 meal a day? after reaching ideal weight and wanting to maintain it.
You can eat what you want within reason. Just dont go over board!!
its up to you how you maintain your weight you can either keep eating 1 meal a day taking in your maximum daily calories or divide your mdc into 2 or 3 meals. My tip is to weigh yourself every day. If you pig out one day, cut back the next!!
I started Jan 18th at my highest weight 86.5! So far I am loving it and would recommend it to friends… Especially that I realized you are less tempted to eat when you don’t eat! But healthy snacks and small portions all day is torture – leaves me hungry and not knowing where to draw the line. I would end up eating all my day’s calories in snacks. This way of eating lets me enjoy meals with family and friends, not have to explain what I do or don’t eat, not have to cook separately or have special recommendations if I’m going to someone’s house… I don’t feel deprived! Love it. Started walking 30 minutes as well I’ll come back and update everyone here! Keep your stories coming!
*requirements not recommendations
I weigh 65 KG on plateau and on a Low carb high fat way of eating, i have started today, i only eat at 13:00 and i think i will cope since high fat meals keeps me full for longer. i will update my progress in a month. My goal is to weigh 55 by April (my birthday) wish me luck.
I did this several years ago and lost around 80 pounds and by sticking to this plan kept it off for several years. Recently I’ve been trying the eat every few hours idea and it just doesn’t work for me. Going back to one meal a day.
Hello can I drink squash (sugar free) throughout the day or will this hinder weight loss?
in 2014 I lost 90 LBS (257 lbs to 167 lbs) doing alternate day fasting. That’s a strategy where you eat anything you want one day and then fast the following day, consuming only coffee and water. The diet worked great for 10 months but I just couldn’t sustain it over time. I started with one cheat day and progressively started cheating here and there until eventually the diet was blown and I gained all the weight back, plus some.
I’ve since moved on the 1 meal a day strategy, which is a twist on the alternate day fasting plan I found great success with previously. I’m finding this plan much more effective in terms of my hope that it can be sustained.
Hey everyone I’m about to start this one meal a day from tomorrow and I’ve just wondering does anyone recommend what’s the best time to have your one meal a day at;):)
Hi everyone, I started yesterday, eating one meal a day. I weigh 188.4Ibs I’m 5’9.5 and a women;( I did well yesterday and today and I already feel so much better. My goal is to do this for the next 6 months and lose 45-50pounds ( which equals out to 2 pounds a week) hopefully by August. I’ll be 138Ibs to 143Ibs. I’m currently going through allot and I know I need to have my body right to have a clear happy mind. For maintenance weight once I get to my goal, my plan is to eat fruit or yogurt for break fast and lunch and stick with a meal for dinner of what I want but usually meat and salads and drink lots of tea. Through currently I’m having only water all day and one meal. I want this to be a lifestyle change. So today is feb 28th let’s see what happens in 6 months.
I’m doing something similar to this but not quite the same. I have two protein shakes a day- one in the morning made with GNC protein, almond milk, and a lot of ice to make it thick (230 calories). This seems to tide me over until like 2 or 3pm when I have my second shake- premade GNC shake (170 calories).
At dinner I have pretty much whatever I want to eat but I don’t over-do it. Maybe 1000 calories worth of food or less. I’ve lost 13 pounds in two weeks. Starting h/w was 6’3 290 pounds and I’m 277 as of Saturday. I may be less now.
hi I started today and yet to see the results . I have tried so many diets and ended up falling off the wagon
now day two and feeling fab
oh by the way starting weight is 90kg and target weight is 75kg , will update whenever there is progress
Hey someone help I started this yesterday now on my second day. So far my body has no problem with fasting it’s just that I’m worried i’m not eating enough because I tried eating three plates but managed one and a half I’m the type to not count calories I just eat to get full but now that I changed to one meal a day I noticed I’m eating less. I’m also a serious soccer athlete I lift 3 times a week always doing skill athletic training for soccer and rest once a week. I could mentally do this everyday no problem but will this really be good for me as an athlete or no? Shouldn’t it just be enough for me to eat a lot in one sitting until I’m full or will I lose muscle since I’m training a lot.
Hey. You shouldn’t push youself to eat more in that one meal. I also had those concerns so I now a vegetable juice before my dinner, that gets rid of the worry of not getting the right vitamins/minerals. If you make sure you have a balanced healthy meal and you feel good then have trust that you will be fine. Good luck
I’m just re-starting once a day eating. I did it before last winter and was really surprised. I’m usually very cold in winter as in our house it’s not all heated, but with eating once a day I didn’t get overly cold. My energy stayed up. Once a day eating is sooo simple, and I look forward to a satisfying full meal at night! I found that after a while my capacity for food even once a day, was way down and I was satisfied with way less food. Anyway, don’t know why I went off it!! This time I’m determined to stick with it. I’m not going to talk about it much with other people as they do their best to talk you out of it!
I have been doing this for months and I am almost back down to a 25 BMI. I have done this off and on my whole life, but sometimes cave in to social lunch pressures. My blood sugar is normal again (it always crashed during the day when I eat lunch) and my blood pressure is right on the money. Once you get past the first 3 or 4 days, it becomes normal again.
I agree with others that the stigma is hard to overcome and it is easier to just say I already ate lunch. This is not a diet; it is just better for my overall health and I can eat whatever I want within a 1-hour window.
I started this 9 days ago and lost a total of 10 lbs at weigh in this morning. I had 70 (now 60) to lose. Here is how I do it: I have no food that I can have in the house–I’m allergic to peanuts so everything my adult daughter has here has got peanuts in it.
I have no snacks–Nothing to fall back on. Around 8pm I go out to eat at a sit down restaurant every night. I have a small steak or fish. I talked to the chefs there and they only cook the bare meat. No added salt or butter or any of the other goodies they put on in a restaurant. They do lavish with herbs though!
For sides, I shun the potatoes and have 2 different servings of low calorie veggies and I have a side salad with no crackers or croutons–that’s pretty much lettuce and carrots and onion and a couple rings of green pepper and a few cucumber slices. I bought Walden Farms Zero Calorie salad dressing which I take with me. You can get that a number of places. I get it at my grocery, but Amazon and Ebay has it too.
That’s my dinner. Portion sizes if a steak is 6 oz. if Tilapia, probably 10 oz. I stay away from chicken because I’m on a low salt diet due to high blood pressure. A lot of chicken is injected with salt.
Oh I forgot to tell you about my dessert! With my dinner they give me a piece of dinner bread. I tell them to give me half the dinner bread (it’s like texas toast). And so I get a half of dry texas toast and add one of those little jelly cups they have in restaurants on top. That’s dessert and it’s delish. There are no temptations to get the rest of the toast like at home because I’m eating out. I vary the taste of the dessert by choosing different jellies.
So the meal is delicious AND it’s a treat because I get to eat out. For all I was paying for the box systems where you eat the food and lose weight, it’s not that much more expensive. BUT I never lost any significant weight on the systems. I lost it on strictly following the diet.
What do I do if I get hungry (and I don’t any more….just in the beginning)? I drink a calorie free drink. That’s all that’s in the house. The kitchen is closed. I drink a lot of filtered water. I like to keep fluoride out of my diet, so I use my zero water pitcher and drink a lot of water, calorie free tea and calorie free coffee. If you doctor your coffee, Walden farms also makes a calorie free coffee creamer, but I usually drink coffee black. .
I went serious on the diet because I had never been that heavy before. Now I have 60 more to lose and I don’t know if I can lose as fast as I did in the first 9 days. I may change the meal some in case it gets boring, but so far so good. I usually eat the meal as late as possible, usually 8, mainly because I like to go to sleep with a full belly.
Others find a heavy meal mid-day works for them. The nice thing is if family flies in, I can go out to eat with them for whichever meal and have a good healthy meal, but that’s all I will have that day. I can change the time of the meal if I want.
The point I’m trying to make is that for your one meal, you don’t have to eat pizza and junk food, the very stuff that got you and me to this point. Since we need a lifestyle change, why not start it now? So I leave the table stuffed, but I’m stuffed with food that is good for me and prepped without adding a lot of calories and salt.
I am going to the gym because I sit a lot all day. It’s just around the corner from me, so I walk there. I usually use the treadmill and power walk on it and I lift a few of the lighter weights. I don’t hardly break a sweat, but the exercise seems to lift me up. I sort of hate to miss it if I’m too busy. I’m generally over there and out in 30 minutes.
I’ve never lost 10 lbs in 9 days before, so this is amazing. When I get to my goal weight, I might go to 2 healthy meals to maintain. I was on diets where I was eating 6 or more times a day. I didn’t have time to worry about that much food and it was training me to snack when I wasn’t on the diet. No, this way is so much better. Only 9 days in and I’m convinced.
Update. Was losing, but not as fast as the first 9 days, so I decided to change things a bit. I moved dinner to 6PM so I could get an extra energy boost for a later night work out. I was slowing down after the 10 lbs, but now I’m losing like I did in the first 9 days with this slight change.
I also started eating at another restaurant and also let the chef know what’s up. I have a steak or fish and low cal veggies. And I don’t get dinner bread with it, but with the double portion of low cal veggies (like broccoli or squash), I’m too full for the dessert anyway. I suppose if I feel like I want a dessert, I can go back to the other restaurant and make one out of my dinner bread or just order it at the new restaurant. It’s just not important now.
This has been brilliant. One HEALTHY low cal meal, have it at the restaurant, no leftovers allowed to come home with me. And NOTHING in the house to fall back on. There is absolutely nothing I can eat here. And it’s a fallacy that I have to have something if I feel dizzy or light-headed. If I feel a little dizzy (which is rare), I sit down and have some filtered water. I think a lot of this dizziness is caused by dehydration.
So after 14 days and 14 meals, I have lost 15 lbs. total on this diet. I have 55 more to lose. My clothes are already loosening and it’s just been 2 weeks. This is incredible. The doc is going to be so surprised when I go back.
I tell myself: Just think! If I perform the same as the last two weeks, I’ll be 30 lbs down in just 4 weeks. In the next 4 weeks, I’ll be 60 down, and I only need to go down 70 total, so I’ll actually be in a nice swimsuit this summer. Something I won’t be embarrassed to wear. That’s the reward for not cheating. And it’s worth it.
So grateful for this diet. It sure saves time and money (even with eating out) and I eat healthy food that I love.
Sometimes I get really hungry if I work out too much. I have cut back workouts, and that helps some. I’m still losing and sticking with it, but when it’s time to eat, I’m pretty ravenous. I had to make myself slow down and chew the food more carefully. I’m still sticking with food that’s good for me. This is working, so I don’t want to tweak it too much. The hunger problem I thought would be gone, but it comes and goes and it seems to have to do with physical activity.
Gotta have my eyes on the prize….and that’s a decent weight this summer and getting into a swimsuit I’m not embarrassed to wear.
OK, that’s the vain side talking. I’m also hoping to be healthier. My blood pressure is already going down. When I go to doc will ask if I can take a lower dose of it in future.
I want to be like you. Losing pounds and feeling great. I am on the diet. I work 5 days a week, so my meal is at lunch time. I eat at whatever time in the afternoon on my 2 days off. I have a doctor visit in 15 days and I hope to surprise my doc as well. I am currently 184.3 sat 5ft1 and would love to weigh 118 pounds before Valentine’s. Day 2020. Can’t wait for these pounds to drop on this Omad diet.
Going to try this starting tomorrow.
I originally started out on a ketogenic plan, have stuck with that, as it keeps my pre-diabetes from going full blown.
I then moved to a 16-8 intermittent fasting schedule, then to 18-6, then to 20-4.
Now I’ve arrived at 1 meal a day, just by experimenting with how I feel, blood tests, glucose monitoring and it has remarkable benifits.
Occasionally, if a brunch, luncheon, bbq/picnic or Sunday breakfast with the family rolls around, it’s enjoyed and I move on.
After losing 136 pounds in just over a year, diabetes no longer looming, triglycerides way down and off both high blood pressure medications, I’m calling this a success.
When I see friends still struggling with 6 meals/snacks a day with little to no results from the effort..well..
Wow Lin, you’re such an inspiration!! Congrats on losing that weight. I agree with you, I see people struggling on the 6 meals a day and I did it too, and it’s hard to lose when you eat so often.
I’m really happy to see how this has helped you. I kind of went on how I felt too and I tried a lot of things. Also my blood sugars (I was pre-diabetic when I started this diet) are very good all day long and even post-meal they go up a bit as they should, but then resolve nicely. I stopped checking daily now because my blood sugars have been acting normally.
Back when I was eating 6 meals a day, my body could never rest from having to produce insulin all day long. Now it only has to worry about one sensible meal and whatever sugar my body produces on it’s own.
Thanks for posting on this. You’ve made my day seeing another success!
Would it be okay if I ate just 3 nature valley oats an honey bars plus drink 2 bottles of water a day?
Honey, that’s 570 calories a day.
Besides most of that being sugar and carbs, as those bars are essentially candy bars, 570 calories a day is firmly at anorexic levels. That means your body is not getting the energy (not to mention nutrients) it needs to function at a basic level. While you could probably keep that up for a week or two, you’d feel like absolute garbage and as SOON as you started eating regularly again you would gain the weight back.
The point of the One Meal a Day plan is that you eat your daily calorie allowance during one pre-determined period daily. The thing is, that calorie allowance STILL must be enough to keep you healthy and happy. Meaning you need to eat at least between 1000-1500 calories, depending on your current weight, age, sex and activity level. To lose weight, you need to have a calorie deficit. That means you need to burn more calories than you take in. If you’re overeating now and taking in 3,000 calories per day, if you drop down to 2,500 (which is still plenty), you’ll lose weight.
Again three Nature Valley Bars a day is not only not sustainable, it’s unhealthy and won’t help you lose weight for more than a week or so. You need to figure out how many calories per day you’re eating now and reduce that by 200-300 calories. Whether you eat all your food once a day or in smaller meals, the key is to take in fewer calories. The One Meal a Day plan helps people who find themselves unsatisfied by smaller meals throughout the day. It’s not meant to be a crash diet. Any time you commit to taking in fewer calories than your body needs (VERY different than taking in fewer calories than you’re currently eating, in most cases), you’re setting yourself up for failure or even an eating disorder.
And to clarify, that 1,000-1,500 calorie figure I gave above is for a slender, sedentary woman. If you’re a highly active male, that number is going to be potentially much higher.
I eat one meal a day as a lifestyle, but allow water, tea (no sugar), protein drink (100-200 calories) during the day until 3pm and eat one meal no restrictions. My body won’t let me make it till 5pm. I ensure I include veggies, fruit, meat, breads, dessert. I do pay attention to calories to ensure I don’t use the meal as an opportunity to binge on everything. On weekends my meal will be a little more quantity. It works great for weight loss and maintaining.
have been doing this 4 days and have dropped 4.5 lbs. started because i was too busy at work to eat and dropped 2 lbs. felt more energetic and alert than ever, looked in the internet and found it is a diet. i am a sugar addict and this diet is perfect because you are only focused on one meal and dont need to make food choices all day. i never felt hungry before this diet and ate out of stress, craving, comfort. not any more. it makes you eat to live, not live to eat, drink lots of water and green and herbal teas. the one meal is a sandwich on the go or whatever healthy leftovers in the fridge for late lunch. also drank a vegan protein drink last night when i felt hungry. dropped .9 lb overnight
Help i’ve been doing this diet for 1 month. Dropped 1.8 kgs in the first 2 weeks then put on 0.2 kgs- horrified and unhappy! 1 drink 1 glass of wine every evening. Could that be it? I have 2 cups of tea with milk to break my fast- at about 5pm Have some cold meat to snack on curry and rice for dinner and a biscuit and tea after- stop eating at 8pm. Am having water and black tea during the day. So confused.
Started with this 1 meal a day plan yesterday and already I’ve lost 0.8 kg (almost 2 lbs) which is amazing! I want to lose around 22 lbs (10 kg) in about a year, so I don’t really set out strict goals for myself. I just want to make a change that I can maintain for the rest of my life for once. One of the other big reasons I am doing this is because I truely am addicted to eating. My diet for the last month has been eating crisps, fried food, chocolate, loads of alcohol and just everything stuffed with sugar and carbs. It made me miserable! I didn’t eat only one of those foods per day, but mostly all of them on the same day. This caused a weight gain of 5 kg in a short period of time. I feel sluggish and tired every day and my parents told me that I had to go to the doctor’s to check for Pfeiffer’s disease. Another reason to start OMAD is because I eat large, very large quantities of food. I never feel stuffed until I get sick, so as other repliers have also said: 6 small (micro) meals a day is complete horror for me.
So yes, yesterday I started with OMAD and I feel AMAZING. I realized that hunger pangs are temporary and that they are gone after 15 minutes or so. When I was eating that delicious bag of 1200 calorie crisps in the afternoon, I would still get hunger pangs, so what is the use of stuffing yourself all day long then? Also my energy levels today were pretty high and I managed to walk 11,000 steps on an empty stomach.
What is difficult, however, is to eat the required calories per day. I try to eat a lot of vegetables and fruits for the healthy nutriënts but also I try to eat at least 70 grams of proteins each day to try to prevent muscle loss.
Keep you updated about my progress!
Xo
started this diet 2 weeks ago and if lost 16lb I love it was starving first week but my second week I was fine can’t wait too see the end result 😉
I’m starting today. Sounds too good to be true.
Thank you all for your comments.
I lost 7kg over the past few months whilst doing HIIT exercises 6 days a week and intermittent fasting 18:6 but my weight loss stalled and I lost motivation.
I have been doing OMAD for the past 12 days but I have not lost the amount of weight some people are reporting. I lost 2 kg within the first 2 days, however weightloss has been rather slow ever since and I think I have lost another half a kg in the last 10 days. I do admit that my OMAD consist of whatever I can grab but always include a protein, a fruit, a veg and dessert. I don’t think that I go over my calories intake as I feel full pretty quickly. I am wondering why the weight is not dropping off faster?
Some people have reported incredible weightloss in a short amount of time, did anyone experience lose skin?
You can absolutely lose weight on this diet. However it does not mean that this is a healthy way to diet. People should always look at both sides before following a new diet.
There are some negative effects to be aware of.
Two studies found that It can raise both blood pressure and blood sugar higher than the typical 3 meals a day plan. In other words it can set you up for diabetes stage 2
It also lowers your immune system as a third study found
Not to mention the lower amount of minerals and vitamins you will get. And don’t just say “Well I will take a multi-vitamin/mineral everyday then” Because even that might not be enough to compensate. Plus it puts an additional strain on your wallet. Good multis don’t come cheap…good food could be a cheaper option in the long run.
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/negative-effects-eating-one-meal-day-3296.html
Yeah I know, Some people will say “but it worked very well for me.” I am not saying that it won’t work…it does and has for many. But that is not the point I am arguing. Is it HEALTHY for you in the long run? Based on the available evidence…there are drawbacks you would do well to consider before starting or staying on this diet
Has it worked for the past 30 years since Ancel Keys told us that fat and saturated fat is bad? And then all the grocery stores filled with junk low fat sugar laden food. Has it hellped us or put us in the worst situation of 1 in 3 people overweight now? The diet associations tell us to eat 6 meals a day which taking us to grave sooner than our time to die.
Hello everybody,
I did this last year and it worked well considering that I ate anything I wanted in a 4 hours window. I lost about 15 lbs in about 4 months doing it only during the week. That may not seems a lot, but, like I said, I didn’t do good because I used to eat chips before dinner or grab a slice of cheese here and there while cooking. I stopped the OMAD because I started to run, and I felt too hungry to maintain it. Then, in a matter of weeks, I put on the 15 lbs back and then some because I was always taking a little bite here and there (and I had stop running due to illness).
Tomorrow, I will start the OMAD again, but I have a slight problem. I don’t really want to tell my husband about it. When he learned that I did it last year, he told me that it was not good for me, that it was not sustainable, etc. So, I thought of doing it only during the week, so he wouldn’t notice (that’s what I did the last time), but at the same time, I think it’s the thing that can help me with the cravings and the weight and prefer to be transparent about it.
Is there anybody who had the same problem? What did you do?
Also, we’ll go on vacation with 2 other families next month and I don’t want to feel judged by my choices (I’m the only one who is overweight, except one guy), but I don’t want to throw the towel for the entire week either.
I’m really convinced that it is the best way for me to lose the 40-45 lbs that I have to lose. It was pretty easy to follow last time. This time, I will stay away from chips and walk 30 minutes every lunch time at work (to avoid the questions and to keep moving).
If you do not wish to tell your husband about it, yet wish for transparency…why not tell a supportive friend or two? Then you have accountability and transparency…and once you lose about say 20 lbs or so you can tell your hubby and display your weight loss as proof positive that your diet works.
As an aside, were I you, I would engage in some other activity besides walking. Maybe a gym or some home fitness equipment/videos if you can’t afford the money or time for a gym. Walking will definitely burn calories, but it will soon plateau as your body gets used to it. Also as I said above…watch the vitamin/mineral issue. You don’t want to wind up in the hospital due to a serious deficiency in either or both.
Milimelo, I saw your comment and feel the same way. My wife loves us eating together. I am all for it and sometimes she wants to have breakfast and dinner. Breakfast is nice but just she doesn’t wrap her head around what i’m telling her I want. I definitely think family and friends alike when I tell them about this it’s like saying UP IS DOWN, AND LEFT IS RIGHT. I think (not to sound like a conspiracy theory) but too many things in our day to day we don’t look into and ask WHY but instead we’re too use to or comfortable.
When it comes to your Husband I wouldn’t suggest lieing, or if it’s a must perhaps say you’re taking your lunch, or grabbing it while at work. Maybe have a designate friend to eat your meals for you instead ha no one can complain about free food right.
When it comes to a vacation or family and friends, it’d be helpful to have your husbands support and back you. I’m from hispanic culture where me telling my mother n law, 3 tacos is plenty is already a big deal. much less trying to tell them no rice and beans please haha. Without coming off insulting. My wife knows this so she supports me and doesn’t let them lash out or make me feel guilty about it.
I think your husband support is the biggest thing. I sat down and told my wife please this is what I want to do I don’t want you to stress or feel bad. The best thing to do is to do your research and allow him to do his. plenty of articles and youtube videos where this is helpful to people. if anything maybe ask him to try it 1 day see if he’s a skeleton by Dinner, or if he realizes some of the perks. at the end of the day results are what matters. Go get a physical or at least check your blood pressure and see what you are on day 1. then try it for a week, then 2 weeks..,.continue to monitor and track actual physical results and make a deal with your husband, if we hit trouble or my health deteriorates i’ll stop. I definitely understand telling people this out of the blue is hard, but bounce back with “what research other than I grew up like this, have you done that we have to eat 3x a day”?
Another Idea I had for you on vacation was bring a shaker, tell people you are taking a slimfast or on some “protein diet” for 1-2 of your meals a day”. protien shakes are a lot more socially acceptable. What you put in the shake can be nothing more than perhaps crystal light and water. or just water 😉 no one will know the difference and you’ll look fine because you eat the 1 meal with the family a day.
Is window eating of 11-2pm considered Omad? Or it means the food in your plate that you can only consume,then after that no more eating.
Sorry a bit confused.
I decided this was the best way to try to lose weight. I am about 20 pounds over weight but would like to drop 40 pounds. I remember when I was younger I hardly ever ate. My normal was eating 1 meal a day . I am on day 3 going strong, I’ve lost about 2 pounds so far. I weigh 155 hoping to get back down to 115.
I started eating 1 meal a day 8 weeks ago. I eat at 8pm with a1 hour eating window and then eat again at 8pm the next day (24hr). My dinner meal is a lean protein and a salad or steamed vegetables. If no more than 700 calories. I drink 2 litres of water every day and 2 long black coffees during the day.First thing in the morning I have 2 multi vitamins, 2 vitamin B tablets, 2 Garcinia Cambodia,and 3 tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar.
In the 8 weeks I’ve dropped from 156.7kg to 142kg. II love this program it definitely works.
I have been reading all these comments and I have started OMAD once again. I have done this before and lost 100 lbs. in three months. Do not worry about what you eat in the beginning of this diet. Your stomach will shrink in time. You’re energy levels go up and you will feel so much better. I was under so much stress in a bad marriage that I gained my weight back. I now have had triple bypass surgery and I have diabetes., I recently went back to OMAD and I have lost 16 pounds in about 3 weeks. Eat what you want in that window of eating because your body lets you know what it needs. I drink bullet coffee in the morning and green tea and water throughout the day until 6:30 p,.m. (window of eating) in the evening. I will have broth or bouillion if I get hungry but I have not had it as of yet. I can tell my body is changing. I eat from 6:30 p.m. until 7:30 or 8 p.m. This is the easiest way to lose weight that you will ever encounter. You’re energy levels will come up also. Stick with it. Good luck everyone.
Willing to give it a go. I am 59 years old. Morbidly obese 165 cm. 145 kgs. Type 2 diabetes. It appeals to me, this way, easy less bothersome, cheaper. Question is, how on earth does one cram from 800 cals. up in one meal. Even I would have a hard time doing that. Saying so, any way, I have focused on this, and from this day, 8th January 2018, this is my goal. I will log in and chart my statistics, if any one is interested lol. Here goes…..Lynette
I started yesterday at 245lbs. My goal weight is 189lbs. My weight today is 242lbs. 3lbs down already. I will weigh again on Friday. I plan to do an Omad keto type program.
I started omad Monday 3/5/18 and today is 3/14/18 I started at 167 pounds now I am down to 163 pounds, I Have lost 4 pounds in 9 days. My goal weight is to get down to 150 pounds by march 31st! I drink coffee and water and lunch I eat whatever then I workout for an hour a day cardio and weights. I’m happy that the pounds are falling off, I have tried 3 meals a day but that’s more stressful. I’m content and will continue to follow this plan until Im down to 145 pounds.
Hey all, I started Omad on New year 1-01-2019. I weigh 102.1 kg. My goal weight is 55-60 probably in 5months. I am 167cm.
I hope this works and soon will be updating my results.
this is the second day, so far so good. however I eat and drink nothing except water(when I feel thirsty or weak) during the entire day.
And I eat my meal under 1000 calories sometimes under 800. I exercise at least 3 days a week by jogging or cardio.
And I hope the results will be good in 7-10 days .