Anyone tried eating one meal a day? Or fasting?

[HappyRambler]

Theres a 23.1 diet where you fast for 23 hours and eat all your food for the day in 1 hour.

Has anyone tried this? What were your results? Was it easy/hard?

Fasting is meant to be good for your gut and I'm hoping to lose weight! Only going to drink coffee, tea, milk and low cal fizzy drinks.

I’ve done one meal a day (omad) when I want to lose weight and to be honest it worked REALLY well for me.

I’d have one meal at 12-1 and then nothing until the next day, my only problem with this long term was that I struggled to get all my nutrition I needed (I.e 7 fruits and veg, protein) as the volume of food was too huge to eat at once. Also my daughters were picking up on the crazy way I ate and I could do without them having issues! I now sometimes omad if I want to lose 7lbs or so in a week which works well, but exercise and eat mostly unprocessed the rest of the time!

@TheGirlWhoLived Do you mind me asking how much weight you lost and how much you had to lose? I want to lose a stubborn stone! Not minding it coming off gradually just nothing seems to work at all... calorie counting... the 5.2 diet... weight watchers... hoping my body reacts well to one meal a day!

How many calories were in your one meal?
What did you drink? Im hoping a few coffees with milk and 1 sugar will be okay and keep me going until dinner time!

I agree re nutrition, just going to try load up on veggies/protein

I went through Ramadan doing 1 meal a day, at Iftar time. (I am a non Muslim but living in a Muslim country) and have continued to eat this way, which helps maintain my weight when interspersed with blow outs at hotels at the weekend and holidays. I am lucky my metabolism seems happy with this and I don't get low blood sugars or energy crashes (a colleague who tried 16-8 had to give up as she felt so awful if she didn't eat very 3-4 hours... She was very hangry too!)
Today I had a breakfast buffet in a very nice hotel (2 plates of hot food , some fruit and pastries) so won't eat again until tomorrow.

5:2 Thread number 85: No need to tell people you are fasting - just show them your results. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/fasting_diet/3576042-5-2-Thread-number-85-No-need-to-tell-people-you-are-fasting-just-show-them-your-results

Hope this link works. Soooo many useful tips on these threads.

Yes,not sure it’s a good idea though. I did lose weight. And yes, I also think it sets a terrible example. I just don’t lose weight unless I go really low calorie.

This was my diet when I was in my 20s.
I don’t do it anymore as my kids will otherwise copy me and I don’t want to set up this example where I only eat one meal a day whilst encouraging them to eat regularly.

I do this but not every day, I take the weekends off. My kids don't know I'm doing it as I just eat a normal meal with them in the evenings and eat 3 meals at the weekend. I've lost 39lbs and only have 4 to go until I hit a healthy BMI. I've found it so easy. I don't worry about trying to eat loads for my one meal because I know I'll be eating plenty at the weekend. I just have a normal, filling and nutritious meal. I do often add cheese or cream to the sauce to boost the calories a little but I've found I get full fast. I plan on doing this pretty much forever, it really suits me and I don't get very hungry at all anymore.

Eating one meal only per day sounds very disordered. Op how would you maintain once the weight came off?

I generally only eat one meal a day during the week and two at the weekend. I've done it for years.

It isn't a magic way to lose weight but it can work if you keep an eye on portion sizes. That is what I am doing now and losing a pound a week.

DH did this. I thought it was a terrible idea but I have to say it really worked!

Maybe I should try it but not sure I have the willpower or the energy to get through the day

Only diet that works for me as my stomach is a bit strange. If I eat breakfast it makes me so hungry and I end up eating so much crap all day. One meal at tea time is enough and keeps me content until bedtime. Wake up the next day and repeat.

Results are amazing too as a meal is probably 4-8 hundred calories each day. The intermittent fast pushes your body to burn fat cells too.

Yeah of course @HappyRambler
I started out (first time) at 15st 2 then got down to 12st 7lb in about three months doing OMAD, then following a normal gym and exercise routine I lost another 1st 7lbs but over a long period, then OMAD again got me down to 10st - which suits me!

I initially ate what I wanted for that one meal a day, between 1200 and 1500 calories, because I walk an awful lot and go the the gym/yoga, but then I was conscious that I was not eating the right sort of food and not incorporating enough good nutrients, mostly junk food (burgers, pizza, eating out at nandos/harvester etc), but because before the diet I was doing this AND having breakfast/dinner as well, it really worked.

The second OMAD was more successful in terms of 'healthiness' but I just found it tricker as I was just bored of eating on my own, bored of the kids finding it odd, and I found I had to cut calories down to about 1000 in order to see results.

As a fat loss method though, and for giving me a boost initially it is brilliant! I didn't drink any coffee as that made me hungrier, but I did have the occasional sugar-free energy drink if I was really droopy. Also I must add that I am a bit crap at diets and life is for living so probably twice/three times a month I had a big blow-out, or a night out, or a mahoosive one person picnic

Just be prepared for some.... explosive bowel movements once you are settled in, there's a thread on Reddit that's quite good if you google 'what to eat on the OMAD diet' it comes up somewhere near the top as far as I know!

Ive done this for about a year, I have a meal at around 8pm then no more food until 8pm the next day, I do drink alot of coffee and water tho and take vitamins, I started to try and shift a few pounds before my wedding and just enjoyed it and carried it on, ive stayed at 9st and im 5'7, give or take a few pounds now and again as I relax it at the weekend, I did speak to the doctor about getting the vitamins I need and she simply said take a multivitamin

@twattymctwatterson

I hadn't thought about that! I think once I reach my goal weight (1-2stone to go depending) I might start eating twice a day, healthy breakfast then dinner but stick to a certain amount of calories. I dont appear to lose or gain anymore weight eating between 1200-1800 so will prob aim for that

Congrats on your weightloss! That's amazing you lost that much in 3 months!

Yeah I think I get the temptation of not eating all day then thinking oh I deserve chips lol last night had asparagus, bacon, chicken, croutons, salad and caesar dressing and didnt feel too bad. Today will be the real test after having already done a day on one meal, already feeling peckish!!

Woah wait! When you say... explosive... I'm assuming you mean nothing for a while then a bit of urgency all of a sudden? We aren't talking explosive uncontrollable unpredictable diarrhoea?? Lol!

@TheGirlWhoLived

@megapants

I get hungrier the earlier I eat as well!! I read somewhere it's because it wakes up your stomach, that might be rubbish but makes sense to me!

@Oysterbabe

When you say you dont get hungry anymore was there an adjustment period? How long did it take you to get used to one meal? I'm feeling pretty hungry already and have... 9 hours to go until food!!

I’m the same as megapants and generally do not eat breakfast unless I’m going to the gym or like today when DD woke up at 330 and I know I’d otherwise be tempted by inappropriate things..breakfast makes me hungry.
I do 16:8 and have done a 24he fast as a detox which I liked but I did feel I just ate more afterwards
Anyway I don’t really use fasting for weight loss per se it’s more to control appetite; however it’s obv that a happy side effect of that is being less hungry and therefore losing weight!
It helps you not to be dominated by food and it does free up your time. However it works best if you’re low carb imo

Explosive as in half an hour after your one meal you will need to go. To phrase it as they do on reddit ‘expect liquishits’

OP I'm sure I have read something along those lines. Eating kick starts your digestive system, so as soon as you are done digesting breakfast your stomach is sending signals to your body that you need more food. Whereas with OMAD, by the time your body is hungry again you're already asleep which makes it easy. I'm sure the first 12 hours of a fast are hardest too which would explain why OMAD is so easy. You're asleep for the hard part and just have to keep busy the next day until you can eat again.