If you only eat one meal a day will you lose weight?

Here are a variety of opinions and experiences (in no particular order)

1. This is coming from someone who has battled Anorexia...you will lose weight but it will be your muscle. When someone restricts their nutrition intake dramatically the body goes into starvation mode and holds onto fat and slows the metabolism. It is NEVER a good idea to only eat one meal a day. You will ruin your metabolism and be extremely tired all the time. A healthy exercise plan is the way to go and eating at least 1200 calories a day.

2. You should be eating 4-6 very small meals a day that include 'fat burning' foods if you want to really lose weigh. Eating only one meal per day would actually slow down your metabolism (your body goes into starvation mode) and this will cause you to gain weight in the long term. You can learn more about the thermic effect of eating small frequent portions of 'fat burning' foods, at the bottom of this page, listed under Related Questions.

3. Yes, one meal per day might well cause weight gain. Scientific research shows that eating one meal per day will slow down your metabolism This means that the calories you eat will be stored. Your body automatically goes into starvation or famine mode and stores calories, so that there are energy reserves, in times of severe food shortage. In this case, your body does not know that the famine is self-induced by you eating only one daily meal. Lose weight the smart way. Eat six small feedings, do cardio exercise. You will lose weight in a healthy way.

4. Every metabolism will react differently to this idea of one meal a day. However, you need to understand that if you are not getting the proper nutrition, your body will react badly. This will be worse if you are doing the one meal a day thing because your body will burn muscle tissue before it will burn fat. This will destroy your metabolism in the long term. There's a basic biological thing. Everyone has a unique metabolism, so there's no one single answer. For most people, though, if you have a normal or slightly fast metabolism, you body will be "waiting" for more food 3-5 hours after the single meal. When you do not provide it with any -- even a tiny snack -- it gets desperate and begins to "eat up" muscle, rather than body fat, to get the needed nutrition. In addition, your body begins to store fat more aggressively because it does not know when the next meal is coming. Therefore, in the end, most people will end up with poor muscle tone and extra fat in its place.

5. I ate one meal per day for 2 months and lost 12 kg. I was exercising every day too. I ate veggies, fish, or chicken. I have never felt better. I never obsessed about food but just ate once a day. I did experience some hunger pangs in the beginning. After a week I had so much energy, my skin was so clear, my concentration better than ever before and I felt so good about myself.

6. You may lose weight in the short term but positive long-term weight loss is about how much and what you choose to eat. The weight loss and skin improvement is due to cleansing. I never recommend eating less than three to five times a day (small portions that include fat burning proteins). Do not let four hours pass without eating a small plate of food. This will train you not to starve and then binge or eat out of boredom. If it's an occasion you're preparing for, don't starve yourself you may feel good but that's because your stomach is flat. Drink fluids and take supplements these help moodiness when changing diets.

7. No, eating only one meal a day is BAD for your health. You do not need to starve to lose weight. I did it, and lost 20 pounds. I eat lots of food, but the food is healthy. Just eat healthy, get your butt off the couch, lift weights, and you'll see yourself get slim and buff. It is not good to eat one meal a day because your body will think that you are starving and then you will start storing food as fat. Eat 5 to 6 small meals a day and work out. That is working for me.

8. With a goal of 10 pounds in mind, I decided to have just one meal per day. My dinner consists of 1000-1200 cal of fruit, veggies, rice/grain, legumes, tofu/seitan etc. (I'm vegan). I lost 9 lbs in 4. 5 weeks. I have no idea if this is unhealthy or healthy, but I am thrilled to have lost the weight. My husband has now been on it for 3 weeks and has lost 8 pounds.

9. I tried, this weekend, one meal - a super huge brunch. No physical outlet and 1, 5 liter water. I am feeling fit physically and very Zen in my head. For me it works and is not so hard to follow for a few days. It is better eating one correct meal a day to lose weight than following unrealistic diets that are focused on eliminating essential nutrients. I recommend a balanced one meal including all the food categories.

10. One meal a day is bad for you and it is almost impossible to fulfil all the daily nutritional requirements in just one meal. I think that the "I eat one meal a day lady" is unwise and may end up with health problems. I doubt your doctor thinks you are the healthiest person alive. The brain needs more food than one meal a day to function properly.

11. I've been eating one meal a day for over three weeks now and I have lost five pounds. I drink a lot of water and green tea (it takes your hunger away). I run for 40 minutes every day and with just one meal I feel so healthy! It takes patience and strength for the first two weeks just to get used to this type of eating, but it is worth it. When I feel hungry, I go for a walk (or run) and drink a lot of water or just take a nap.

12. Will you lose weight on one meal a day? The answer is: you might, or might not. Biologically, all you need for weight loss is a caloric deficit; that is, you need to eat less than you metabolize (burn). This is true for all living organisms; there are no exceptions on this planet. If that one meal is fewer calories than your diurnal (daily) metabolism, then you will lose weight. If that one meal is more than your diurnal metabolism, then you will gain weight. If they are equal, you will neither gain nor lose. Whether you eat once a day or 10 times a day, weight loss is dependent only on the caloric deficit. If there were an exception to this anywhere on this planet, then we could eliminate starvation, which is simply a prolonged, extreme caloric deficit. This is well understood in the diet, health, fitness and medical arenas. After this is understood, then we move on to what kind of weight are we losing, is it body fat or lean muscle mass. But that's for another discussion.

13. I have tried many ways. This is the easiest way I have lost weight. I find that I lose weight quickly when I eat only one meal a day. I can see a change in less than a week fitting into clothes (not on a scale). It is hard to get started but once you get use to it, you don't want more than one meal a day.... in fact more feels worse. I am going to start this again tomorrow since I have been stuffing my face for a month. I work out at the gym every other night.

14. I started eating one meal a day when I weighed 210 lbs. I did it for almost 2 months, felt great and lost a lot of weight. However, I had a lot of weight to lose. I suggest trying one meal per day for about a month. Then slowly add your meals back in to your diet. If you also try chewing your food for 20-25 times for better digestion. If you are a member of a gym try hula-hooping and lots of running. Getting involved in plenty of sports can also help.

15. I keep reading responses from people telling other people that they will be fine if they only eat 1 meal a day. Well, bluntly, who are they? Are they qualified? What kind of educational or professional background do they have to be able to say that? Personal experience is not enough. They have only been doing it for 2 months. They have no idea what damage they did to their body in that time. Unfortunately, that's how people are now. They will do silly things to their bodies for years and then want their weight off yesterday. Therefore, they do more silly things to their bodies like eating one meal a day. Come on people! There is a reason that specialists, physicians and nutritionists would never recommend this. And one thing I persistently tell my clients is that it didn't take them a month to put the weight on, so don't expect miracles in a month. Wake up people!

16. As a Certified Personal Trainer and Nutritionist, I am shocked at what I am reading about eating one meal a day. I own my own personal training studio and I am also a nutritionist. I would never condone this. In fact, most of my clients come to me eating way too little and I make them eat more often and usually more calories. They all succeed! The ones who refuse to eat more may or may not lose weight. But they never like the way they look. Their body fat is usually very high so they are very flabby. Skinny is not healthy. A healthy percentage of body fat is what you should be going for. I eat at least 5 and sometimes 6 times per day personally and my body fat is around 18%.

17. It's not just about consuming less calories, it's about what kind of calories you are consuming. Also, I have to agree with the fact that those of you eating one meal a day are really messing with your metabolism. If you are young, you are going to have a really hard time losing weight when you are middle age because of the stupid things you are doing now.

18. Unless there is a medical reason for doing so (such as multiple food intolerance/allergies), do not resort to eating only one meal a day for weight loss. This will significantly slow down your metabolism, which is the opposite of what you want. Moreover, this will make weight loss increasingly difficult for you in the future. If you wish to burn excess body fat, increase your metabolic rate. The higher your metabolic rate, the better (and the easier) you will lose (and avoid) excess body fat.

19. To increase metabolism, eat a meal about every three waking hours (5 or 6 feedings per day). You will not be eating more food; you will simply be spreading it throughout the day. Each of those five or six feedings should contain at least 15 grams of unprocessed protein (from natural sources) for a female or at least 20 grams per feeding for a male. It's important to drink plenty of clean water- at least 3 quarts daily. Among many other benefits, water will help your body to process proteins. Just by itself, eating this way, while avoiding processed (refined) carbohydrates, is one of the best ways to increase metabolism (specific types of exercise are other excellent ways)

20. How does this work? Well, in terms of its "thermic effect" protein is powerful. Protein has twice the power as either of the other two macronutrients, which are fats and carbohydrates. In other words, your body has to work harder to digest proteins than it does to digest fats or carbohydrates; this means that your body will use more calories (energy) in the process of digestion and absorption. In addition, eating sufficient protein throughout the day will keep you in a positive nitrogen balance. A positive nitrogen balance indicates that your body is building lean muscle tissue. Maintaining a positive nitrogen balance is crucial because lean muscle is your metabolic furnace that will burn extra calories 24 hours a day. Therefore, building muscle (through strength training) will increase your metabolic rate and losing muscle will slow down your metabolic rate.

21. Our body has the best adaptation mechanism . If you eat only one meal, then your body will go into starvation soon. When the body goes into starvation, it will asses its calorie expenditure. To retain a pound of muscle per day (even if you sleep 24 hours) you need somewhere around 50kcals. But fat does not need any calories to survive. So, your body will start losing muscles to compensate the calorie deficit... and you wont lose not even an oz of fat. The net result will be loss of health.

22. To learn more about the thermic effect of 'fat burning' foods, see the page links, further down this page, listed under Related Questions.

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