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.
Is it ok for a teenagers metabolism to do this diet
I wouldn’t do it if you’re under 17.
I have done this diet for 2 months now and have yet to even slip up, im dedicated and the diet definetly works, iv lost 14lbs in 2 months, people already saying im looking slimmer but i still got 2 stones to go…before this my diet was basically eat whatever u want and whenever but i used to exercise for like 2hrs a day but i wasnt losing any weight or gaining but obviously thats because i was eating alot, but since i read about one meal a day and started 2 months ago weights started to drop, i drink tea in the morning, have a good sized dinner and have water whenever i want and i exercise half an hr day because i dont have the energy to work out for 2hrs and dont need to, the diet truly works…but its far from easy, at night its the toughest i feel hungry as anything but how i see it, if i done 2 months without slipping up, im not about to now, you gotta have that dedication and you will see results, im seeing results but still have a long way to go.
I am 55 and have been a non-conformist, unorthodox and contraian my whole life. My mother found this out back in 1965 when she tried to force me to eat her nasty soft boiled egg and I refused. She shoved the spoon in my mouth, within 2 minutes I puked it all up on her floor, needless to say she never did it again. I love this one meal a day thing, after suffering from a serious eating disorder since I was 22, along with a deep spiritual life and meditation, this is the only thing that has helped me and I love it !!
I’ve broken all the ‘rules’ that are professed as gospel. You ‘must’ eat breakfast, you must go to bed early, you can not be a healthy vegan, etc, they are all baloney. Do what works for you and this works for me !
Im coming off of Protein Shakes, 3 per day. I want to start back eating one meal a day. Will it put weight back on me to start this after coming off of protein shakes, or would it be a problem to switch to that? Had sucess with the protein shakes, I just want to start back eating real food again with more protein since Im using weights and seeing some muscle tone in my arms.
Such a nice website, greetings from Spain.
I share your passion for intermittent fasting. As a kid I always was overweight, hungry and lack of energy (crashed metabolism). Then I knew about Leangains and everything started to improve.
Personally I have tried 3 meals a day, 2 meals a day and 1 meal a day. My favorite distribution is 2 meals a day, being the second the largest in calories and carbohydrates (just the opposite of general “knowledge” LOL).
It just works great and fits my preferences but I respect those who prefer 3 meals, or 1 meal. My opinion is you just have to try all of these distributions and guess which works better for you.
I have lost 10lbs with eating one meal a day at 3pm(not employed) and a bowl of cereal or oatmeal at 11pm. Now I have been stuck needing the last 10lbs gone and I’m stuck. Any suggestions?
last 10 always take the longest. Stay consistent.
I’m obese and am on a 1600 calorie diet, if I have two fruits and eat a 1400 calorie meal at night is this too much for a single meal ?
Depends on your current weight…
I am eating lunch and no breakfast or dinner and taking caralluma around 3pm to stop hunger pangs and give me some energy for the rest of the day. I only have to lose about ten pounds but it is really hard because I am post menopausal and had a hysterectomy. Women that go through that understand that your metabolism starts freezing up. Also I ate like a pig in Italy last year. Anyway, I will post how this works at the end of ten days because I am going on vacation again and all bets are off. I can go all day without eating if I don’t eat breakfast. Breakfast gets your digestion going. Fasting is really good for people. It is not dangerous unless you stop eating and then try to go work out like a beast. Use common sense and be safe. Don’t over indulge. Treat yourself to something you like every day. You don’t have to pig out on it. Just a few bites. Eat lots of veggies and fruit. It is not really about being skinny but not overindulging. My personal issue is that I am gradually gaining weight due to lack of energy from fibro and chronic fatigue. Most people with no physical ailments should be fine eating once a day in my opinion. Society is just bombarded with food porn these days. Food is medicine, medicine is food.
Cari
Have your thyroid checked. A lot of menopausal women having hysterectomies develop hypothyroidism. Your symptoms are a give away.
Who are you? Did you follow Fitness Black Book in 2008?
I’m keith lai.
Yeah I know Rusty, why do you ask?
Fantastic article. I am a 5’3 30 year old female and currently weigh 205 lbs. massively unfit and overweight. I started this one meal a day approach 3 days ago and feel great so far. Drinking on average 2 litres of water per day and about 5 cups of green tea. Evening meal is chicken, salad/veg small amount of carbs. (Fajita wrap last night). My time schedule is tight but I am fitting in 20 mins brisk walking and light weight lifting 5x a week. The majority of my weight is distributed around my waist (if you can call it that at the moment) and my thighs. I want to lose 60lbs ideally and would be really grateful for your advice… Any particular excercises I should be focusing on. And I cannot drink green tea without sugar.. How detrimental is this to the program and is honey a good alternative. (Can it be the normal honey you buy on shelf or does it HAVE to be raw/natural honey. any help would be much appreciated !
Sorry! Forgot to ask if you would recommend any supplements/shakes etc for me? And also please leave your Facebook if it is public! Would love to read any other articles etc
Depends…supplements only do just that, supplement your current diet.
If you have trouble getting enough protein for example, you would take a whey protein. Yes my facebook link is in the sidebar of the site, or if you’re on mobile scroll down a bit.
My work schedule right now is beyond perfect for this. Monday/Tuesday, Thursday/Friday I work out before my shift starts at 7am, have whey protein right after, and one titanic meal when I get home at 7pm…It feels fantastic! I’ve ALWAYS had a big appetite, and those small meals a day were just horrible. On my off days I still try to keep a fasting window between noon / 8pm, but don’t beat myself up if I’m off a bit since I’m home with my wife. It’s not easy to explain to others, but I just say it works for me. It’s ingrained in so many people that you just can’t survive on one meal a day, but I sure as hell feel better than I have in months. Thanks m8!
This idea was around in the 1960″s in a book called how to eat to love my Elijja Mohammed. You can view it online free
Is it ok to have a smoothie or something for breakfast then not eat anything until dinner? I struggle with normal diets. Eating 5-6 times a day is too much for me
I’ve only been doing this (eating one evening meal) for about a week and so far the results have been pretty remarkable. I’ve got a long way to go and I hope that I can stick to it. This method of dieting (?) is way better than the hundred other things I’ve tried. I like knowing that I can eat whatever the heck I want in the evening. Much more fun than cramming granola, yucky low fat yogurt and greens down my throat all day long. Down side?I drink a lot of coffee during the day, keeps the stomach from grumbling so much. Thanks for sharing what works for you!