If you limit your food intake to one meal a day, would this be a good way to lose weight?
by 
Ryan Ramsey
ANSWERS: 18
-
It would be a way to lose weight, but it would not be a good way. Not only would you lose fatty tissue, but you would also lose muscle and other tissues. The key is not to focus on losing weight, but on losing excess fatty tissue. The ideal way to do this is to lower your caloric intake by having a diet high in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains foods (pastas, breads, hot cereals, etc), and lean proteins (including nuts and legumes). As well, you should increase how many calories you burn by implementing a more active lifestyle that includes such things as going to the gym, cycling to work or even swimming regularly. There is no magic trick to permanently losing fatty tissue. A good diet and good exercise are what really accomplishes it.
-
This is the standard USDA would like you to reach (be it that if you actually followed this you would weigh 500 pounds!) but my point is only one meal a day is definately not good! here is the USDA standard issue food pyramid Bread,Cereal,Grain,Rice,Pasta 6-11 Servings Fruit Group 2-4 Servings Vegetable Group 3-5 Servings Milk,Yogurt,Cheese Group 2-3 Servings Meat,Poultry,Fish,Dry Beans,Eggs,Nuts 2-3 Servings Fats,Oils,Sweets. Use Sparingly Your Health:Priceless
-
Limiting food may cause short-term weight loss, but over the long run will reduce your metobolism. Eat lots of small meals throughout the day, always have good nutritious food in your stomach. With lots of complex carbs, you'll never feel hungry. Also, if you are seriously interested in losing weight, there is a ton of information out there for a good diet. Don't consider it going on a diet, but permanently changing the foods you eat. Unfortunately the USDA was heavily lobbied by the meat and dairy industry, so those have a spot on the food pyramid, whereas they should be eaten very little if at all. When looking into foods to include in your diet, pay particular attention to who funded the research you run across. And yes, I know I'm suggesting being a vegetarian/vegan, but after doing all of the research myself, I feel like this stuff should be common knowledge and easily accessable. A few names that may be helpful when doing research: Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Tom Robbins.
-
No. This approach may actually cause a weight *gain*, not a loss. Eating a single meal per day may cause your body to store more fat than it would have otherwise done. This is caused by the 'feast or famine' survival mechanism built into our bodies to protect us during periods of food shortages. It is not something that you have conscious or unconscious control over. If your body is tricked into 'famine' (e.g., during periods of irregular food supply or infrequent meals), it will store as much of the intake as possible as fat to help tide you over until food becomes more plentiful. If you pack enough calories for the entire day into a single meal or into a short period of the day (e.g., one meal followed by snack a couple of hours later), much of the caloric content excess to your immediate needs will be stored as fat. This will not occur if you actually starve yourself (e.g., ingest too few calories for survival), but that approach is inherently very unhealthy. It is better to spread your caloric intake over several smaller meals throughout the day.
-
I read recently (wish I could remember the link) that you would make it on 30% fewer calories if you could manage, or were forced, to eat only once a day; meaning that if you ate the same amount of food but did it only once a day you'd bloat up like a blimp. However, eating once a day might just be a fad diet, and they usually end up making you fatter.
-
No. People actually lose more weight when they eat a healthy breakfast (which many people skip) and when they eat 2 or 3 healthy snacks (nuts, fruit, yogurt, etc.) every day. Keeps your furnace burning!
-
I've always heard that more smaller 'meals' is actually better and there must be some truth to this as I am a snacker who rarely eats a large meal, but rather I nibble throughout the day. My total calorie consumption is about normal and my diet is relatively low in meat, fat, and processed food. If I went to one meal a day I would likely make it a 5,000+ calorie glut-fest and store it like a camel for the next 23 hours; not good for weight loss.
-
respectfully I do not agree, I have been following the one meal a day routine for 3 months now and it started out accidentally as I was beginning to have a lot of work to do during the lunch hour and would end up eating just dinner. Have never really woken up early enough to have breakfast so that was never a meal for me anyway. I have never felt better, I seem to have more energy and with about 5 minutes of light weights and few crunches have actually begun to gain muscle weight throughout my body. My abs are now more defined and at 27 I can finally see six packs making their appearance. I drink only water through the day and will have a light snack on a odd day but 95% of the days its just dinner. But seriously whatever works for you. Would not advise this for teenagers as growth needs nutrients.
-
at first you will lose some weight... But your body adapts and goes into starvation-mode, your metabolism slows down. So when you eat you can't burn it properly and you gain... This behaviour often leads to binge eating!
-
I don't think it would be healthy. In fact I have learned that eating more will make you lose weight. Eating 5 or 6 small low calorie meals a day will keep your metabolism going and your sugar level more even. you won't get hungry either. I know someone that has lost weight this way and never feels deprived.
-
Hi , I would like to disagree most of ur answers ,I'm 29 ,i found myself able to only take a meal a day usually lunch because of emotional stress...now i'm (4 weeks later) 5 kgs lighter n feel active ,I also drink water through out the day .
-
probably not as it would slow your metabolism and may cause bloating. i think eating little and often throughout the day would be better. as long as the food is healthy of course!
-
This will make you fat. Your body will lose weight for a while but it will get the message that it is in a famine. When you do start to eat normal again which everyone does, your body seeing that a famine almost killed it will then start to store all the food you take in more so then before and you will be bigger than before. The best way to lose fat not weight is to work out with weights. This will build muscle which require more energy to thrive and will naturally raise your metabilism. We already know the formula for success here. You just have to do it.
-
No. In fact that would put your body in to a starvation mode which would make your body store fat more. 3 balanced meals a day would probably work better and would be much better for you.
-
When I was in college I did this unkowingly, in a way. I was short on money, living in my own apartment. So, I was very frugal. I ate an apple or other fruit for breakfast as I was heading out the door to catch the bus to class. For lunch, I had the same thing everyday: KFC Spicy Chicken Breast, a Biscuit, Green Beans and a Pepsi. For dinner, I would have another piece of fruit and for snacks I ate a handful of peanuts sometimes. When I went to college, I weighed 199 pounds. When I went home to visit after 4 months, I weighed 120 punds. I did not notice I had lost it till I went home and my sister offered me a pair of jeans of hers to wear until my laundry was washed. She was always the skinny one. Amazingly, I could fit them. So, if you do the one meal a day thing, I would suggest that you make it your mid day meal and do eat something for breakfast and for dinner. And of course, seek professional advice, this is just a way of life I had to live because I was on a very limited budget.
-
No not at all. A good and healthy breakfast would keep you full all day and you have time to burn the calories till next day.
-
you will loose metabolism and gain fat percentage
-
I personally did this for two weeks, and I lost a lot of body fat (and muscle, because I didn't work out). I went from 147 or so to 142 in a week and stayed at around 142. My cheeks started getting really thin. My height is 6'3". I know I lost body fat because my waist got smaller and my ribs became more prominent. Try it for a week or two and see what happens. It may be different for everyone. You have to resist the hunger - every bite of food looks so delicious when you are 8 hours into the fast. The brain requires glucose via glycogenolysis, while the organs can utilize ketone bodies via lipolysis. So breakdown of muscle tissues happen when glucose and glycogen stores are depleted, but that shouldn't happen too much on a once a day meal plan.
RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC