Few people have yet to experience the glory that is eating one meal a day.
- No, eating one meal per day won’t make you fat.
- It won’t make you lose all your muscle.
- And it won’t screw your metabolism into the ground.
But it does allow you to feast like a fucking king every single night while eating your favorite foods.
And no, this isn’t a scam and there isn’t even any secret “guru” magic behind it.
It’s really just common sense.
But fitness and common sense is a lost art these days.
If you follow it, eating once per day JUST WORKS.
And if you’ve struggled with more traditional diets that make you eat 3-6 meals per day, then this may be the most stupidly simple way for you to successfully lose weight, ever!
If you’ve dreamed of eating 24 ounce steaks, with a mountain fries and ice cream, EVERY SINGLE night while still losing fat and building muscle then read on.
Eating one meal per day in a nutshell
The basic idea behind eating one meal per day is simple.
Every day, you eat one big ass meal (preferably at night). The basic idea is to get the majority of your calories in a single meal.
And during the day, you don’t eat anything.
However during the day you can eat 1-2 pieces of fruit or some protein after you workout.
This allows you to eat much more, feel fuller, and better adhere to your diet.
Remember, eating one meal a day is NOT magic
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When I first started eating one meal per day, I had this weird belief that eating once per day gave me the power to lose more weight than traditional diets.
While this might seem like the case, nothing could be further from the truth.
It might be nice to believe that eating once per day causes all these different hormones to change in my body that helps me to burn “more” body fat.
But that’s just not the case.
And insulin levels – everyone always brings up fucking insulin levels.
Don’t worry about your damn insulin levels.
Just focus on creating a calorie deficit – that’s the only way to lose weight and always will be.
Eating once per day just happens to be a great way to create a deficit that many people can actually stick with.
For example, let’s say you need to eat 2000 calories per day to lose weight.
Diet #1 has you eating 3 meals and 2 snacks.
Diet #2 has you eating one meal.
In the end of the day, calories are exactly the same.
You’re just splitting your calories up a lot more in Diet #1.
That’s it. There is no magic. Just simple math.
5 reasons why you should eat one meal per day
I originally came across the idea of eating one meal per day from the Warrior Diet back around 2008.
At that time I was brainwashed by all the “eat 6 meals per day or die” BS and the Warrior Diet was my first foray into intermittent fasting.
Hell, even Terry Crews does intermittent fasting.
I’m not saying it works for everyone, but if you love to feast every single day, have more energy, and potentially be 200x more productive during the day, then maybe this something you should give a shot.
Here are 5 reasons I recommend eating once per day:
Reason #1: Increased energy
How many times have you eaten lunch only to feel super tired 2 hours later? It sucks.
We’re all told lunch is supposed to give us this magic boost of energy, and maybe it does for some people, but I’ve found that most people just fall into a 2 pm slump where they eat lunch and their productivity shoots down the drain.
When you fast throughout the entire day, you experience this amazing surge of energy that lasts the entire day.
Reason #2: Never feel deprived when dieting
One of the many reasons people fail at diets is because they don’t get this sense of satisfaction with what they’re eating and how much they’re eating.
When you follow the conventional 6 meals per day model, you have survived on a couple of hundred calories every few hours.
At the end of the day, you just never feel satisfied.
You feel like something is missing…
Ironically, eating once per day solves this problem for most people.
The act of fasting throughout the day is a very powerful appetite suppressant, so when you have your massive feast at the end of the day, you practically feel “stuffed” every night.
Reason #3: More time & more productivity
Imagine how much more work you could get done if you didn’t have to worry about eating during the day.
No more worrying about that mid-morning snack, no more stopping at subway during lunch, and no more 2 pm energy slumps.
All this time you save can now be used to do more productive things that truly matter (like looking at pictures of cats online).
Reason #4: EVERYTHING tastes better
Fast the entire day, then eat a grape.
Just one grape.
I guarantee that grape will be the best tasting grape you’ve ever had in your entire fucking life.
Look, I don’t know the scientific reason for why food tastes so much better after a fast, and frankly, I don’t care.
But some of the best meals in my life have been after a long fast.
Reason #5: Because eating cake every night is awesome
Do you know what’s awesome? Cake.
Do you know what’s not awesome? Not eating cake.
Cake makes everything in life better but with traditional dieting, you aren’t allowed to eat cake, which sucks.
Everyone needs more cake in their life (scientifically proven), so why not have a slice…or two, every night.
When you only eat one meal per day, you can afford to have some cake every night since your calorie budget is so much bigger.
Is coffee, water, tea, or diet soda okay during the fast?
Yes, as long as it’s zero calories, it’s fine.
Coffee and tea is actually a great appetite suppressant.
Eat 1-2 pieces of fruit during the day
While it’s totally fine if you can go the full day without eating anything, a lot of people do get hunger pangs no matter how much experience they have with intermittent fasting.
In this case, you can have 1-2 pieces of fruit throughout the day. This shouldn’t add up to any more than 200 calories plus you won’t feel a huge drain in energy compared to eating something high in carbs like a granola bar or a sandwich.
I recommend 2 large apples due to the large fiber and water content to keep you full
Supplement with some whey protein after you workout
If you train hard with weights 3-4 times per week while fasting (and you should) and follow the 1 meal per day diet then you should consume some 100% whey protein powder after working out so you don’t go half the day without any protein in your system.
I’m not really anal about the post-workout “window of opportunity,” but it’s best to get some protein in within 2-3 hours after your workout.
Why 100% whey protein? Because it has the most complete amino acid profile which is great for muscle growth and recovery.
As for which protein powder is best? Try Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard.
The one meal per day approach might not work great for muscle building
You can absolutely build quality, lean muscle by eating once per day.
BUT…some people need A LOT of calories to put on muscle and if you’re supposed to eat 4000 calories per day, it’s going to be pretty hard for some to get that in one meal.
So unless you have a huge appetite, I would probably be better off splitting it up into 3-6 meals.
For more info on gaining weight and building muscle, check out these posts:
Eating one meal per day vs. other intermittent fasting protocols
Eating once per day is just one version of intermittent fasting.
And there are dozens of other fasting/feasting protocols out there that play with different fasting and eating windows.
But after looking at all of them, you’ll notice that the majority of them have the same underlying concept – fast for an extended period of time and get the majority of your calories in a small eating window.
Let’s look at some of the other intermittent fasting systems and how they compare to eating once per day.
One meal per day vs. 16/8 Leangains
If you follow Leangains, this means you’ll be fasting for 16 hours per day and eating for the other 8 hours.
During the 8-hour eating window, you’ll typically be eating 2-3 main meals.
There really isn’t a big difference between a Leangains style fast and eating once per day. The main difference is in the eating window and that all boils down to personal preference.
One meal per day vs. Eat Stop Eat
Eating once per day and Eat Stop Eat are not the same thing.
Many people confuse the two since they both involve 24-hour fasts.
Here’s the difference:
Eating once per day – Fast for 24 hours, under eat during the day, and get your entire daily calorie intake in one meal, every day.
Eat Stop Eat – Completely fast for 24 hours 1-2 times per week (no calories at all), eat a “normal sized” meal at the end of the 24 hour fast.
The problem some people might face is defining what “normal sized” means. It’s basically telling you to not eat until you’re stuffed and make sensible food choices.
But if you want to get more technical, your meal after an ESE style fast should be no more than 40% of your daily calorie intake.
Read my Eat Stop Eat review here.
ESE forces you to create a massive calorie deficit on your fasting days while the one meal per day approach simply changes up your meal frequency but you still get the same amount of calories every day.
One meal per day vs. 2 meals per day
Nothing different here besides meal frequency. If you want to eat 2 meals per day, that’s fine, just make sure your overall calories are the same by the end of the day.
Can you mix and match different diet & fasting approaches
Absolutely!
I am all about diet flexibility.
If you want to follow the one meal per day approach one day and do 2-3 meals per day the next, that’s totally fine.
For example, you can structure your diet to look something like this:
- Monday: 1 meal
- Tuesday: 2 meals
- Wednesday: Eat Stop Eat
- Thursday: 1 meal
- Friday: 1 meal
- Saturday: 4 meals
- Sunday: 1 meal
Remember, a calorie deficit is the most important thing to create when dieting.
So just because you’re following a one meal per day diet doesn’t mean you literally have to eat one meal per day, EVERY SINGLE DAY.
If you want to go out and have brunch on Sunday, then screw it, have 2 meals that day. Don’t be obsessive about this stuff.
Recommended Reading: The 1000 calorie diet
The one meal per day FAQ
I’ve compiled a list of commonly asked questions from readers about eating one meal per day.
Hopefully, this answers all your questions and gets you on the right path.
What kind of foods should you eat?
There isn’t any single food that you should or shouldn’t eat.
If you have specific macro/calorie goals, you still need to hit them. The only difference is you have the luxury of hitting them in a single meal so for those that like to eat a ton of food in one sitting, you’re going to love this way of eating.
But obviously, you need to get a hefty amount of protein, a good amount of carbs, and some fat.
So something like a massive steak, some roasted potatoes, a big ass salad, plus some cookies and ice cream would make for a pretty epic feast.
Recommended reading: “What Are The Best Foods To Eat?” Here’s Your Answer, Now Stop Asking Me
How many calories per day should you eat in my one meal?
I recommend multiplying your bodyweight in pounds by 10-12 to get your daily calorie intake.
Use 10 if you have 50+ pounds to lose or if you’re a woman. Everyone else can start with 12.
This is just an estimate. It’s impossible for any formula to accurately tell you your daily calorie needs.
How many hours should you wait before going to sleep after you have your big meal?
Doesn’t matter. Sleep whenever you want.
What does this do to the metabolism?
Nothing bad. Read this article on metabolism myths for more info.
How long can you eat one meal per day for?
As long as you want. This isn’t a quick fix diet.
Eating once per day is a real, long-term approach to dieting that can work for as long as you want.
Does it matter whether you eat your one meal in the morning or at night?
Nope doesn’t matter at all.
It’s a matter of personal preference. Most people do it at night.
If you eat your one meal for breakfast or lunch, you might feel sluggish and tired the rest of the day since you have so much food in your system.
Could eating one meal per day be bad for you? I keep reading other articles online that say it’s bad for you.
No it’s not.
Most people criticizing eating once per day are just woefully ignorant. Read those articles, and you’ll find it’s just people making assumptions without any real-world data.
Can I eat McDonalds for my one meal?
Sure, but I wouldn’t eat fries and Big Macs every night.
Use some common sense here.
You can still eat the foods you love, but you should still be eating mostly whole, nutritious foods for maximize your health and performance.
I love to drink coffee. Can I drink coffee during the fast?
Yup, coffee is a great appetite suppressant to use while fasting.
Can I add milk and sugar to the coffee?
I would stick with zero calorie sweeteners if possible. A splash of milk is fine, but don’t go overboard.
Is eating one meal per day guaranteed to help you lose weight?
Of course not.
It will only work if you put in the work.
I know the majority of you reading this are looking for some magic fat loss hack but eating one meal per day is not that.
You still need to make sensible food choices and you still need to be consistent like any other diet.
Nothing is guaranteed in life.
I tried this diet and it doesn’t work for me? What do I do?
Impossible to say. Maybe you’re eating too many calories. Maybe you’re not tracking your calories correctly.
It’s usually one of those two problems.
Why do you recommend the main meal to be eaten at night?
Whatever you want but try to make it sensibly healthy.
That means something like grilled meat, a carb source like rice/pasta, some veggies, and maybe some ice cream at the end is great.
Obviously food choices vary from person and culture, but use some common sense.
Can you drink alcohol while doing this?
Having one drink per night is fine.
Everything in moderation.
Should you exercise before or after your meal?
Again, it doesn’t matter.
It’s all up to you. Find what works best with your schedule and lifestyle.
Do you need to count calories while eating one meal per day?
I personally recommend tracking calories when starting out, only because it gives you an unprecedented level of tracking.
If you’re not losing weight, then you know exactly why and you can adjust calories accordingly.
I never want people to become obsessed with tracking calories, but it does give you a level of precision that you can’t get anywhere else.
But as you become more advanced and can recognize/estimate portion sizes more accurately, then you can back off from the calorie counting.
What if you get hungry when fasting?
Here are some tips:
- Drink plenty of water, black coffee, and tea.
- Chew sugarless gum.
- Stay busy and productive. People eat more out of boredom than anything else.
How much water should you drink?
At a minimum, enough to stay hydrated.
Also, if you’re pissing green, then you probably need to drink more water (and see a doctor).
The “8 glasses per day” recommendation is pretty solid.
I will say that drinking more water can help ward off hunger pangs.
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Have you tried the one meal per day diet? Let me know what you’re experience was in the comments.
I have being doing this lifestyle change for a week, I eat pizza and everything on my dinner meal and also the occasional snake like chocolate ect and lost 6 and a half pounds in a week !!! Never felt hungry at all x really recommend!
I’m 5’2 and right now I’m 196.5 pounds and I’m trying to get down to 120 pounds by August. During the holidays, I had went up from 200 – 204. I was able to take that off plus more pounds off, bringing me to 196.5 today as I type this. All of that was done by doing this diet here. I lost a total of 8 lbs, just in one week from doing this one meal at night. Yes, I did have the occasional fruit in the afternoon type of thing, but I made sure it was just one cup of fruit and I filled up on water. I also go to bed at an earlier time. As the guy stated, that he goes to bed at 2 AM or so. Most def you’re going to be hungry! That’s when the munchies start to kick in, at night! If you’re up that late and not doing anything but watching TV, then yes, you’re going to be hungry. The more you sleep, you can lose weight more. I do too feel the slump after lunch. I’m always exhausted if I eat a lunch, I’m guilty of this. I had lunch in school (college) I was there all morning until 5:30 and when I ate lunch, I just wanted to go to bed. I could no longer focus on my class lecture, because I just wanted to sleep. Now if you have a small lunch, then its fine. An apple and a water, some light fruit or a yogurt, is fine. Not a huge sandwich, some chips and a soda. Even a sandwich from Subway will make you slump during lunch, I’ve experienced this.
He’s not saying to do this everyday, but if you’re not really hungry and you’re dieting, why force yourself to eat all those meals? I have people now on MFP telling me to eat three meals a day, and I’m just not hungry. Mind you, I lost those 8 lbs with barely exercising. I just ate one meal a day and walked only for a total of 75 minutes. I had a cheat day today and still didn’t go over my calories or carbs, because I saved that to be my only meal for the day.
Healthy eating isn’t eating every certain amount of hours a day or every certain amount of hours. Why eat every 4 hours, if you’re not even hungry. That’s forcing yourself to eat.
I’m starting to work out next week and instead of weight training, I’m going to do pilates so that I can tone. I hope that doesn’t give me excess flab, but the cardio + pilates. I should tone and lose at the same time. I don’t know what I’ll eat before my workout, because I workout 4x a week for about 3 hours. If I do anything before my workoutx it’ll be a light fruit. I’m conscious of the protein bars because some of them have a lot of carbs. And I’m trying to remain under 100 carbs. Like the author of this article said, it isn’t for everyone, but it does work for some. I’m one of the some. So just because it doesn’t work for you, don’t bash the idea. And if it doesn’t, stick to what works for you.
After the weight I need to loose on this plan, how can I eat througout the day if I’m hungry but still maintain the weight I lost ? Also is this plan effective if I don’t necessarily exercise ?
You can eat however many meals you want as long as you’re in a calorie deficit.
You technically don’t need to exercise to lose weight but i personally think that’s a very stupid idea. You’ll lose muscle plus there are a host of problems with being inactive in general
It’s grate I lost 4 stone doing this over 2 years
nice job, marti.
This really works my hubby and I can across this method by accident! Two months ago we picked up our part fitted new narrow boat, we are living on the boat and have spent every spare minute completing the fit out in between work and family commitments.
We have fallen into only eating our evening meal as eating and cooking interfered with our precious time and lo and behold we have both lost lots of weight, not unpacked the scales yet, but we both need new clothes as everything is hanging off us.
Early on we used to have a cereal bar with our morning cuppa but this as since been forgotten and the only food we now have if needed is a handful of almonds or cashews.
Love this diet! I’ve seen it work for many, not having to give up all good tasting food and being able to somewhat pig out once a day. I had to give this a try so I’m about a week deep. But – My work schedule is nuts. I work mainly nights but am bound to have a morning and sometimes afternoon shift-ending, so my sleep schedule has to be inconsistent. One thing I’ve kept consistent is that eating window. My meal has been anywhere from 5 to 8 pm give or take….. But that’s it for the feast. Sometimes 5 pm is when I wake up and sometimes it’s my bedtime ( odd, I know). However that’s when I eat. Haven’t changed it. With my work and sleep schedule like this, do I just maintain that eating window or perhaps eat before bed every day, whenever that may be. I know this posted method and the warrior diet mostly lean towards fasting during the daytime and feasting at night though. Any thoughts on this? Sorry for length of post
It’s fine, you don’t need to eat your big meal at night. The whole point of this diet is to just get the majority of your calories in one meal, timing is secondary.
I’ve been eating like this for about 6 weeks now as I just got fed up of protein(Atkins) diet, and also I put on a lot of weight after giving up smoking. The Atkins diet is really great etc but you can still end up putting on weight with it if you eat too much. And that became my problem I started to put on weight with it. Now been doing the one meal late evening and I’ve notice a huge difference in everything, from having tons more energy during the day and the joy of eating whatever I want at night for my evening meal. And of top of it all I’m losing loads of weight, my jeans are loose, all my clothes are baggy. I haven’t weight myself as I’m going by eye. I have measured my waist though last week and I’ve lost about 4 inches in my waist. I’m spending less time and money worrying about food and it fits in perfectly with my family as the focus for everyone is the evening meals. Also would like to add I don’t tell anyone as people tend to try and sabotage others efforts a lot. So mornings is coffee and throughout the day tea both with full fat milk. Then have my evening meal around 9pm, I’m fast asleep by midnight! As the food knocks me out anyways,who needs sleeping pills when you can have a luscious well deserved hot meal! I’m sticking with for as long as I can as it feels more natural to me. 3 meals a day made me sluggish and ill.
Without knowing anything about this diet . one night a few weeks ago . I was laying in bed . berping and farting from just over eating. My prostate was fired up . and I was miserable low energy , no pep in my step . I made a decision to fast for 24 hrs . just water and a little yogert . and I couldn’t believe I did it. I ate a decent meal that night about 8:00 pm . I have been doing the same thing since . and I feel AWESOME much more energy during the day. I started at 340 lbs and am down to 333 in this short time .I love to cook I am a chef . and that’s how I got so fat. Always eating my delicious food . but now I focus all my attention two one killer meal each evening . so Keith you got it going on bud. Your info confirms I am on the right track . thank you very much .Ruben
No problem, glad it’s helping Ruben.
Been doing this 1 meal a day for 6months now and have lost 2 and a half stone, I’ve done no exercise up until 2 weeks ago where I have started sit ups and cycling to and from work. This diet really works and I get to enjoy any meal I like during my eating period which is normally 6pm
what race are you. what is your mother and fathers natural build. what is ur build? been doing this for nearly a year havnt lost anything jus putting on more. beginning to think im jus meant to train because my father used to be big but dont train so is fat
As crazy as this sounds this one meal per day works. I add exercise during the day.I lose 3 lbs per week. However, on weekends, eat two meals.
yup you’re not set in stone with this program. On some days you can eat 2 meals or more if you want. That’s the beauty of it.
I love this way of eating. I have lost 24 lbs since September 2015. I have been religious about it – only going off the diet 1 or two times and then only eating 2 meals/day. I don’t like to routinely eat 2 meals like on the weekend because I’m sooo afraid of not getting back on the program like I’ve done so many times in the past. I EAT WHAT I WANT. I STUFF MYSELF!! I like doing that. I’ve found, however, that as I go along on my new way of eating, it takes less to stuff me! I eat at lunch because I work and I live alone. I don’t miss eating at night because I have no temptations with another person’s food. I’m looking to lose another 10-15 pounds. It’s coming off slowly, but I have the rest of my life, and I know it will happen. I’m a happy camper.
I’m with you on that, I don’t do the two meals at the weekend as I’m a bit worried I will get to use to it again. As I like this way of eating (one meal a day) cos I have some weight I wanna lose and boy it works! Also I’ve notice as the weeks are going past that I tend to want proper hot balanced meals. I use to have a sweet/pudding afterwards but I’ve gone right off that now. In fact any type of junk food. Its strange, its like my body has informed my senses of what it wants! There’s a lot of food I’ve gone off, now I just want proper homemade cooked meals. And I’ve also found that I eat a medium size dinner and I’m completely stuffed to the brim. My stomach has shrunken considerably. I don’t exercise at all, lol. I use to with the high protein diet(daily). Now I may go for walks throughout the day as I love doing that. This way of doing my lifestyle I feel less stressed and less pressure financially and mentally. Because I think the food industry and society in general put a lot of fear into us. They put in our heads that if we buy there products we will be better-healthier…if wanna look good we have to get a gym membership to be better. Its all nonsense. I remember about a year ago I was moaning to my very skinny friend who is as fit as a fiddle and doesn’t go gym, on how I hate being fat, he said to me why don’t you just eat stop eating then? His words hit me like a ton of bricks! The I started to watch his eating habits, he eats very little and is very active, always up and down doing stuff. I know what he said is the obvious thing to do but we are pump so much false ideas when its all really simple in reality. His response and they way he lives his life was a real eye opener to me, he don’t buy into all that nonsense either. Anyway I hope to stick with this as long as I can. Thanks for reading my comments.
So glad i come across this as i started to worry that my diet was poor just by eating at night, ive lost a fair bit in the last few months due to fasting during the day and feasting at night 🙂
nice job
this method is good for people who are doing no/very less physical work during the day. like people with a sitting job.
but imagine a person who has to do physical work during the day, lots of walking etc, like a factory worker. he ll feel lack of energy if he doesnt eat. he need calories to work.
mr keith what are your views about it?
arvind
It’s true, if you’re an athlete who trains multiple hours per day, this might not be best for you.
But beyond that, it depends on the individual and what you define as physical work. Some might feel a lack of energy, others might feel fantastic.
For one this diet seems unsustainable but above all I can’t help but think that it’s dangerous too. Fasting all day and eating one meal will raise your blood pressure and disrupt your sugar/insulin levels. There’s so much research out there of how this pattern of eating is bad for you (weakened immune system, increased hunger hormone). Yeah you may get results(duhh you’re starving yourself) but I doubt most people are going to use their 1 meal a day to make a healthy decision.
As a matter of fact scientific evidence shows quite the contrary namely that fasting will improve insuline sensitivity, exactly what you want when you are obese or diabetic. All scientific evidence points to fasting being very good for your immune system, and resetting it. There have even been studies with cancer patients that showed that it improved their long term survival and lessened the harmful effects of chemotherapy. Eating sensibly is important, no matter if you are eating more meals a day or just one. But the people sabotaging their efforts by eating junk food, might still be a little bit better off if they do it in one sitting. It is impossible to eat as many calories in one sitting than stuffing your face the entire day.