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’m 6’1″ and in December I weighed in at 220lbs. I was eating two meals a day. In my prime I weighed 175lbs. My lunch was an apple, a handful of raw almonds and a small glass of milk. Dinner was normal: veg, protein, grain etc. out of frustration I started skipping lunch. Now I eat anything I want for dinner and skip breakfast and lunch and its June and I way 195lbs. The initial 20lbs was within 3 months. I don’t exercise and sit in front of a computer all day. I do drink a lot of different things throughout the day. My dinners went from crazy junk food to making sure I eat from all the food groups. I could eat like this forever. I’m never hungry and I don’t have to waste time preparing food or going out.
I have been doing this diet , I thought it was my own idea as i have never heard of it 😉 I always used to feel tired in the day , not now, eat nothing all day , feel great , i have always found it easier to miss a meal rather than have a small meal , i do have sugar in my tea which i probably drink at least 6 cups a day , the trick is eat what you want for dinner but once you finish eating your done no snacking after you big meal , have dinner 530-630 pm , pounds are coming off , enjoy your food …..boom
I tried the eight hour diet last year. Eating my first meal at 1:30pm. An apple, some cashews and almonds, and an Atkins protein bar. For supper, whatever, just making sure I was done eating by 9:30pm. I went from 191 lbs down to 174 lbs with ease. Then of course, went off the diet and gained it all back. Now back on it for a month, weighed 179 lbs this morning and am thinking of going to the one meal a day plan instead. One thing I’m doing different this time is taking smaller bites, chewing slowly, and last, but not least, chewing fully, until there is nothing but a paste left to swallow. Huge improvement on my digestion and bowel movements. This type of diet works for me. Glad to see others out there getting success with these strategies.
I have been eating one meal a day for years….no snacks. The only time I eat is at night. I try not to eat processed foods or junk food, but if you give yourself and body enough time to adapt, you can eat some crap here and there and you should be fine.
I’m a Muslim and this is actually how we fast in Ramadan ( one month in the year ) except that we can have a little breakfast berore sunrise and then we eat nothing until sunset i always end up losing some pounds after that’s month so I definitely agree with this diet
Very positive and motivating…..thanks! And I agree about the cat pics online…..great way to spend a day!
Started the one meal a day plan about a I week ago……my scale says I gained 3 pounds but my clothes feel a bit looser……anyone ever had that experience? I am not stopping since I feel great.
one week really isn’t much time, could be water weight. I’d just keep at it.
I am currently on a bio cleanse and probiotic. Is it safe to take the bio cleanse and probiotic while only eating dinner everyday? I also drink 5-7 16.9 oz bottle waters daily.
What is a bio cleanse?
BioCleanse is a dietary supplement created by Plexus. It claims to relieve occasional constipation, support the production of collage, energize the body, cleanse the intestinal tract, oxygenate the entire body and help with weight management.
detox products are largely useless and scams.
Is this good for weight loss by the end of summer? I’m looking to lose about 40lbs by the end of summer and I have been fasting for the last 32 hours and I was reading this thinking it’s a good idea. I work out everyday (started 5 days ago) but I know that I’ll need energy to keep working out. Thanks for this article I think it will help me
Summer weight loss is no diff. than weight loss any time of the year.
Thanks Keith. I’m down 10 pounds already
fantastic
Hey, Suzanne, quick question. When did you first start this diet? How long did it take to lose that weight?
Keith,
I am excited to start this today! Being a stoner that partakes at night, that’s when I am the most hungry anyways! I can remember way back before I even started toking, I could never ever sleep at night with my tummy rumbling by following the no eating after 6pm bull shit. I am a amazon 5’11 215 lbs but last summer I was 190 which looks good on my muscular frame. I eat healthy and by healthy I mean whole foods with minimal processing, not necessarily low fat or low calorie. Being a morning coffee drinker, I am not really hungry during the day anyways. I get some exercise by playing roller derby couple times a month and sex 3 times a day but I am looking to add maybe 30 minutes of walking/running per day. I will update everyone of my progress. 🙂
Apart from the 2 cups of coffee with cream and no sugar (a first for me) and water, I only ate dinner which was 1 grilled pork rib with a double portion of rosemary green bean red potatoes, 1 piece of corn on the cob, and a large glass of sweet tea. I did get up in the middle of the night with tummy rumbles and had 1 teaspoon of natural peanut butter. How can I curb my ongoing midnight craving? Ive had them my whole life. Anyways, I walked yesterday for 30 minutes and had vigorous sex for 45 mins. This morning, I weighed in 212. 3 LBS LOST. I am sure its water but I don’t feel as bloated. Just keep swimming swimming….
ITS BEEN A WEEK AND A DAY AND I HAVE LOST 6 LBS. I CHEATED LIKE A MOFO AND COULDNT CONTROL IT THIS PAST SATURDAY AND SUNDAY THOUGH. IM VERY STRICT DURING THE WEEK. I AM GONNA TRY HARDER THIS WEEKEND. FOR INSTANCE SATURDAY I HAD VERY SMALL AMOUNT OF SCRAMBLED EGGS AND 2 PIECES OF BACON AND LUNCH I HAD 1/2 AN ORDER OF NACHOS AT THE WATERPARK, AND FOR DINNER I HAD STEAK, LOADED BAKED POTATO, AND BROCCOLOI….DAMN THE WEEKENDS….
While losing 6 pounds in a week is great, please don’t get cocky. You’ve lost a lot of water but sooner than later, it’ll taper off to 1-2 pounds per week and then 1 pound per week, and then you’ll have weeks where you don’t lose any weight at all.
Keep your expectations practical.
I’ve battled my weight my whole life, definitely not cocky….LOL
Also, not sure anybody else who is reading this might want to know, I am 35 yrs old.
I am glad you cam up with this! Now i can prove certain people wrong!
Up to how much weight can I loose tho?
This is no different than any other diet….you can lose as much or as little weight as you want.
Keith, How much do you think I could lose by August 4th (eating 1 meal a day) I’m currently 5’4 and 145 pounds… Thanks so much.
5-10 pounds.
I’ve struggled with weight my whole life, food has been my only addiction, at the age of 12 years old I ate once daily only and didn’t do any exercise at all, I lost a lot of weight. Now eventually I gained it back by the age of 14. I eventually went on a diet at the age of 19 after school was done, I went from 270 lbs down to 154 lbs. it was a rapid weight loss pretty much no carbs but I lifted weights for 3 hours a day and also done 1 hour a day on the exercise bike, so I was training 4 hours daily, but the problem was all of the loose skin I had from such a rapid weight loss, I was loosing 5 to 6 lbs a week. and eventually I gained the weight back and then some ballooning to 330 lbs. But on the once a day diet I was only losing 1 LB per week so my body was very tight, no loose skin.
If a person was to follow the eat once a day diet and was taking off 1 LB a week, and added in some training such as with free weights you could sculpt your body. The only problem I could see is if someone is very big it’s going to take a long time at 1 LB a week hence why people go for crash diets. At 1 LB a week for 12 months = 48 LBS but for someone that needs to loose 200 or 300 LBS. It’s gonna be a while.
Back after just over a month. I did not start the next day, because I came down with flu or something. Then family staying over not the best of times to start a new lifestyle. So I started june 24 weighing in at 109.2 kilos (ideal weight about 76 or 77 kilos). Ate just one meal a day, and made it a healthy, big and tasty one. During the day nothing but water and tea, and when having hungerpangs a small cup of espresso with a bit of milk. About two a day. This morning, after only 4 days I decided to weigh myself. I have very accurate German scales to .1 of a kilogram. I weighed 105.3 so almost 4 kilos in as many days. The first two days I did feel a bit dizzy and had a coated tongue. Now i feel energetic, sleep very well and have about two times a day when I feel hungerpangs. I silence them with coffee. Will keep all of you posted about the progress. But I am flabbergasted by the speed of the weight loss. Maybe my habit of hiking or cycling two hours a day has something to do with that? For those not metric, the weight loss was almost 9 pounds in 4 days. i am a sixtyyear old female with hypothyroidism by the way, the cause of the weight gain.
How do u keep from having hunger pangs during the day and headaches?
water, coffee, diet soda, masturbate.
I’m finishing up day 2 and feeling very good about this. I’m keeping to two firm rules. No eating until my one meal (that means no samples at Costco, no nothing besides coffee, water or tea) and no telling anyone I’m doing this for a few months. I’ve had false starts many times in the past. This time I’m going to wait until I have proof that this is the right plan for me.