Anyone else doing the 'one meal a day diet?'

[JustOneLastThing]

I am fat, obese to be precise. (BMI of 32). I have PCOS and insulin resistance but my biggest issue is I love food. From healthy to unhealthy-if its there I'd eat it.

I was feeling very stressed and lost my appetite-this had never happened before. I made myself eat once a day-a healthy but decent portion of food. I've lost just under 1.5 stone and can fit a load of smaller clothes.

I've kept going with it, because although the stress has gone, the realisation that I can cope well with one meal a day has remained.

What are the risks and benefits of this diet? Am I the only one doing this? I work shifts, my life is busy but I feel in control of food for the first time in my life.

I didn't even know this is a thing. What does your one meal a day look like - do you still have five full portions of fruit and veg?

I do the 5:2 combined with one meal a day (most days, at weekends I often have 2 meals, lunch and dinner), there is quite a lot of research into intermittant fasting type diets which have been shown to be particularly good for fat reduction (especially around the waist and internal organs) and for slowing down/reversing pre-diabetic states, because it seems to reduce insulin spikes. If you are interested head over to the 5:2 boards and the 'big' 5:2 threads run by BigChoc (an expert on fasting diets!) which have a lot of info about the benefits/research.

For me I do it simply because I find it an effective and convenient way to lose weight - I have always naturally been a breakfast (and sometimes lunch) skipper but for years bought into the myth that you must eat breakfast to lose weight - but all eating breakfast seems to do for me is means I have to get up earlier, kickstarts my appetite, and adds extra empty calories into my day that could be better used elsewhere , whereas I can quite happily go all day on just coffee and then eat a relatively 'normal' dinner (sometimes even with a dessert/treat after) and still lose weight. Obviously it won't work if you are the kind of person who is ravenous and non functional by lunchtime if you don't eat, but doesn't sound like you are? Things you do need to be aware of are:

-Be careful you don't let yourself get dehydrated, a lot of our fluid intake if eating 'normally' comes from food so if you are only eating once a day and then also forget to drink in the daytime then it's easy to add up feeling headachey/sick... a pint of water does then sort it out but better to sip throughout the day to stop it happening in the first place

-Don't go too wild on your one meal a day, for a while the system was working so well for me that I started eating really huge portions of my dinner, and/or having dessert every day or snacking into the evening (which I was still mentally counting as my 'one meal' but obviously is cheating really !). Alcohol can also be a bit of a killer in terms of adding in extra calories so watch out there, I only drink one night a week now. You can def have a pretty substantial meal and still lose weight but try and keep it healthy-ish and maybe limit treats/takeaways/alcohol etc to a few days a week?

-I found the hardest thing was explaining how I was eating to colleagues as sometimes it can be quite noticeable if you skip lunch at work for instance, and even when I explained about 5:2/one meal a day some people were convinced I was starving myself (particularly the starving by lunchtime brigade ). I generally find it easier to just not mention it at work and evade questions as far as possible (I do sometimes relax the system and have lunch if it's a special occasion like a leaving do, or make lunch my one meal of the day, although I then end up hungry in the evening so try to avoid!)...

For the pp who asked what the one meal looks like, on a non fast day I can usually get in a good amount of veg, not always 5 but sometimes more so I'd say 4-5 on average. A nfd where I haven't had lunch I eat 1000-1500 cals in a meal, so it can be a pretty substantial 2 courses. I am a veggie so usually have a portion of beans or pulses which counts as 1 portion, then maybe 2 or 3 portions of veg, and then usually have some fruit after as well.

A typical meal might be 3 bean chilli made with tomatos, sweet potatos, carrots, peppers and onions in it (3 portions) served with cauliflower rice or in a burrito with salad and guacamole (at least one more portion), perhaps with some cheese or sour cream on top, or a veggie curry with spinach, tomato and chickpeas (3 portions) with rice/naan and pickles, or veggie spag bol (2-3 portions) with garlic bread and a beloved MN big dressed salad (at least 2 portions) or white bean stew (2 portions) with crusty bread and steamed veg on the side (2 portions) or a spicy bean burger with sliced onion and tomato (2 portions), with coleslaw and sweet potato wedges (2 portions)... it does add up!

Then full fat greek yoghurt and berries or a couple of clementines or a fruit salad with soft fruit for afters gives you another 1-2 portions or sometimes I have cheese, biscuits and a sliced apple and pear as a second course.

I do of course sometimes have a blowout and have pizza and ice cream as my one meal (barely 1 portion!) but it doesn't everyone

OMAD is quite a thing. There is a Youtube channel about it called something like Six Miles to Supper. They have lots of viewers giving their experiences etc.

I'm making sure to get my five a day by adding veg to meals and having an apple and a banana every day.

Am hoping this is a sustainable change, the thing about reducing blood sugars is important. I'm at high risk of developing diabetes which scares me no end.

I do this but not as a ‘diet’ I’ve just always done it. I tend to have a banana or cereal for breakfast the one meal around 2. Maybe cereal or a banana again later.

I’ve always been size 8-10 and am a firm believer that we don’t need two proper meals a day.

I think you should carry on if its working and you are eating all the food groups