One Meal a Day

[Lydia777]

Hi, I would be interested in hearing anyone's experience of this kind of intermittent fasting. I find that the more I eat early in the day, the more hungry I am. I think this would work for me as sometimes if I am really busy I end up doing it anyway and just having coffee throughout the day and dinner at night and I actually feel I have more energy on these days as I am not tired after lunch. Also, I eat a lot of carbs but not going to change this as I tried keto before and its just not for me at all-I eat lots of vegetables though! I have about a stone to lose but thinking more long-term. Anyone find it worked well for them?

I don't see a problem if you can manage it, but I'd be careful to make sure your one meal is a good one, e.g. Plenty of veg rather than just fish and chips haha! Make sure you drink plenty of water throughout the day not just coffee

I did it and it worked really well for me. I steadily lost 3 stone of baby weight.

Just eat when you like don't overcomplicate it with rules and timings

I definitely couldn’t do it as I get hypoglycaemic if I miss meals. I’d rather cut down generally & have regular but smaller meals.

The only way to lose weight is with a calorie deficit. Any diet or method that you follow that makes you lose weight is successful because it causes you to eat in a calorie deficit.

If you look at your BMR & TDEE you should be able to work out how many calories you should eat per day, if you want to do that.

Intermittent fasting is great and definitely does work for some people who struggle with snacking or eating when they may not be hungry just because it’s a meal time.

However if you do decide to do intermittent fasting & then have one meal that is say 1000 calories & then have snacks which equate to 1000 calories, then it’s unlikely you would lose weight as you wouldn’t be in a calorie deficit. Ultimately you can eat at whatever time you want as long as you’re in a deficit. I do appreciate that a lot of people may not want to calorie count & if that’s the case then definitely give intermittent fasting a go! If you lose weight then you’ll be eating in a deficit anyway!

I’m not an expert at all but I have struggled to lose weight in a meaningful way for the last 15 years, trying pretty much every method under the sun & I have lost 50lbs now in the last 5 months - calorie counting & intermittent fasting.

I personally feel intermittent fasting is an amazing tool - recommend an app called Fastic to track it as that really is helpful & also free! It doesn’t work for everyone but it’s worth giving a go 😊.

I started when lockdown began on OMAD and have lost 23lb ... should of been more but I am lazy

I do it and love it. I eat early in the evening as like you, if I eat earlier I get hungry later.

I'm restricting calories and eating v low carb at the moment as I am losing weight. Once at target, I'll up the cals a bit (but keep to Mediterranean diet type stuff).

My husband lost five and a half stone in 18 months doing OMAD twice a week. The one meal he did eat was huge but consisted solely of fish and vegetables. The rest of the week he just ate normally and restricted his alcohol intake.

I do so this, but not everyday, and it works quite well for me. I do 5:2, so on fast days I only eat dinner, and on other days of the week when I know I'll be having a big dinner (e.g. if we are getting a takeaway or going over to MIL's house for dinner) I'll skip lunch to save room, or just have a very light snack like some fruit or a handful of olives or veg sticks at lunchtime. Occasionally, particularly if I'm busy I'll forget to eat lunch altogether and just have an ordinary dinner and it doesn't seem to hurt as an occasional thing.

The thing that would make me nervous about recommending it as a permanent way of eating would be (a) most people do feel hungry in the daytime at least sometimes, and consistently not eating when hungry and then eating huge meals when you do eat can lead to patterns of disordered eating, making it hard to recognise normal feelings of hunger and satiation and (b) it is quite difficult to get enough healthy calories in at a single sitting without resorting to junk food. Most people even if trying to lose weight would need to be eating c.1200 calories a day (some would need to eat a lot more if tall or very active) which is a lot in one meal - a typical portion of a healthy meal like a homemade curry with rice, side salad and then fruit and yoghurt for afters would probably only be pushing 750-800 calories, so you might then feel the need to eat some chocolate or biscuits or something after dinner and might be at risk of gorging too much or ending up feeling over full and sick. Whereas if you'd had a bowl of veggie soup and a roll, or a salad or an omelette with vegetables plus some fruit at lunchtime for say 300-400 calories, you'd probably still be able to have the same dinner but you'd feel more satiated, and still potentially have room for a small treat if you really wanted?

But then again, if you find it works for you and is sustainable in the long-term then why not?

I do OMAD, because it fits with my lifestyle.

I work at home first thing in the morning, so wake up and have a cup of tea and write, then go for a long run with the dog, across lunch time, so say 12-2. Home, shower and then off to work at 3 - 10. Can't eat at work. Then home to a good meal and bed.

I'm using it to keep off the four stone I lost over the last year through calorie counting and running. My eating got disordered during that time and I was restricting food, now I know I can eat what I like but only in the evening, which makes me less regimented. Sometimes I eat over my calorie allowance, but that's usually adjusted over the next few days.

But whatever works for you - and as long as calories in are less than calories out, you are going to lose weght, whatever method you choose.

Yes, it works. You just need to be in the right headspace to get going. I do it but also have a homemade protein shake mid morning. I end up doing kind of a 5:2 in reverse, Sun- Monday no more than 1200 over the day and then Fri & Sat are my mini blowout days. I lost just over 4st in 6 months. Size 16 to an 8. I also walk and walk and walk. I'm happy, healthy and fit.

I do it, but not to lose weight, but my wife has started doing it and is losing weight.

For me it just works. We regiment our meals so much that we eat whether we are hungry or not. I'm never hungry in the morning, and if I eat breakfast I always feel bloated.

I generally have lunch, unless I'm really busy. I missed lunch on Sunday, and my only meal was dinner. But that is rare for me. I'm usually feeling hungry by lunchtime so I eat. I often have a healthy breakfast cereal for lunch with lots of fruit, as it is easy and I find it keeps everything healthy inside.

Dinner is whatever. I have no restrictions.

I find I may lose a pound here or there if I exercise a lot. Otherwise I stay the same.

But it feels good. It feels nice to be hungry and look forward to a good meal. I find before I just used to eat to a rota and never appreciated food.

Halloween will mark three years since I’ve adopted this routine. I initially adopted it as a way of dealing with general anxiety - I felt it gave me a secure framework - and I’ve never looked back. It’s my daily routine, but, I treat it with the same flexibility that is needed in other areas of life. I’ll “break” the routine for special occasions, surprise situations and/or when my body obviously just needs it. I think, more than anything, it’s helped me attune to my body and its requirements (not just metabolic!). Every person is different, and the only “right” way is the one that’s best for you. All the best ❤️

I've been doing 16:8 for a while now, but am generally moving towards more of a 20:4 pattern so I have one meal at lunchtime and a snacky thing (so I don't feel deprived of anything) in that time. On nights where I go swimming and train hard in the evening, esp with the outdoor water temp dropping I have a small snack (protein bar or oatcakes) after.
One weekend day I choose to not restrict hours.
DH is now trying OMAD, but using a 200 cal shake morning and lunchtime to ease into it.
For me, I much prefer having one really good meal (and always getting in 5 fruit and veg portions a day) to three small ones, and find this way I don't eat mindlessly or feel hungry in my eating hours

I do this mostly. I find it quite easy to do. I miss breakfast - have approx 100 cals raw veg as a snack about 2pm - then eat 1200-1300 cals as an evening meal.

I have days off which can be planned or impulsive. I've lost 1 1/2 stone and I have another stone to go.

Thank you very much for the feedback. I do think it might be better to just eat less throughout the day overall but I am a real all or nothing person and feel restricted when I do that-I would prefer to be able to eat a bigger meal later instead. I also tend to be far hungrier when I eat early.

It probably depends on the quality of the food you eat in the evening. My dad did this for years, only ate in the evening as he was too busy in the day. He ended up with really bad type 2 diabetes that really damaged his eyes, feet and organs. He now has many tiny meals a day and is doing better. Can't be good for the metabolism to go on empty all day, boosted by fake energy in coffee, then have a heavy dose of carbs in the evenings.

I don't think it matters really how often you eat as long as you give the body what it needs because that is what matters.

So yes have one meal a day but if you do you have to make sure that it contains the vitamin and minerals and calories etc your body requires to function healthily.

I think that is why lots of people on this thread are mentioning other smaller things they have in the day or evening because it's hard to hit your full quota of nutritional needs within one meal just from a portion size alone stance as a lot of the most nutritious foods are calorie light (like veg and salad etc) so the portion needed in one meal may be too big to feel comfortable.

Basically if you think of food as fuel rather than pleasure then you can make decisions on what you eat and when you eat it to properly "fill the tank"
Once you have that down you will see where you can build in the pleasurable aspects or social elements to food so you won't be constantly ignoring that part or refusing things like a lunch with friends or a glass of wine when you fancy etc which will be likely to make you think bugger it I can't be bothered anymore because it always feels like a slog.

I have exactly the same approach for the same reasons. Eat breakfast and I'm hungry all day. Eat lunch and I'm hungry all afternoon. And I too have less energy rather than more if I've eaten.

So I have one (sometimes more, sometimes less) nutritious meal in the evening. And a lot of cups of tea during the day. Works for me.

I've only ever had one meal a day for around 20 years now. Nothing to do with losing weight I just never feel hungry until about 8 in the evening.