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.
Reading all of this OMAD is very interesting. I’m on day two, and haven’t had my water yet; I’m still drinking my black coffee. I feel good, yet a bit uncomfortable, because it’s so new to me.
Is this odd that my tummy has flattened out already? I’m serious. If this is my results after only a day, I’m wondering what’s my initial weight loss number going to be next Monday? I’m excited because I know this will inspire me to get my workout mojo back.
I miss doing my pilates/ballet barre workouts and with the weight loss, I’ll be able to finally see muscle definition and to truly obtain that dancer’s body. I am 5’6″, female, size 8-10. That said, my clothes I haven’t been able to wear in years are size 6; some are size 10, but not the size 10 on a clothing rack; they’re designer size 10’s which mean their really size 4-6.
Heck! I bought ’em anyway and pretty soon, I’ll be wearing them again. Some still have the tags on them.
Here’s to success!!!!
Ok i been doing this ever since i can remember back to 1996 when i wanted to lose weight i usually would eat breakfast and at noon then fast until next morning, back in 2003 i read the warrior diet and started reading on IF that sounded really familiar to what i was doing with no name.
I am older now 44 back in 2013 i got separated and i did this for about 3 months i lost huge amount of weight and build muscles then i came back from Cuba and started a more conventional way of eating gaining it all back and then some.
I am back now IF but thanks to your article i am ready to give in and try the once a day eating pattern. Great article thank you.
Hi there! Thanks for sharing this article, it’s very helpful and worth trying.
I’ve been overweight since my early 20s.
After having my son I started working out 3-5x a day and eating healthy (6xday- 3 meals and 3 small snacks). Lost 25 lbs.. yay!
Although, after losing the abundance of wt I haven’t been able to notice any more progress. I hope I’ll be able see more results after trying out this method.
It’s been 2 days and I’ve lost 3 pounds so far…..
Thanks again for sharing!
okey i’ve started this diet for about a 5 days i feel like losing weight but nothing is obvious till now ! i will complete the one meal a day for 2months if i saw a result i will complete and if nothing happened n i stayed the same i will stop ! but first i wanted to ask if it’s okey to eat my meal at 2pm or 3pm ? i mean not at night ? i don’t eat nothing only at 2pm or 3pm i eat my meal till the next 2pm for the next day ? is it allowed ? or i only need to eat my meal at night ! and should i exercice ?? i’m olny riding the bicycle for 15min everyday ! answer me plz
ANY time is fine. Most people just do it at night because it’s mentally easier.
aaah thank you so much ! and i wont gain my weight back right ? i mean after i achieve my goal i’ll back to my normal life and start eating two meals a day i wont gain my weight back ??
If you can stick to it for the 1st 2 weeks it will get much easier.
Once you realize mentally that you don’t need to eat multiple times a day, and you body adjusts, you will find it very easy to stick to.
Buy some cut up fruit at the Grocery store and keep that around.
If you get Hunger pangs or that shakey feeling eat ONE piece of cut fruit and wait 5 minutes. You can wait 5 minutes for just about anything right?
I’ve been doing it for 10 years now. This works, everyone I got to try this always says how easy it is to stick 2.
The first 2 weeks are the toughest. Next 2 weeks will be easier
after 60 day’s YOu’ will just continue naturally. You’ll find that your stomach has shrunk and you wont need anywhere near as much food to feel full.
Best at night because it frees up time during the day and you sleep better on a full stomach.
Hi Everyone, quick update 2 and a half weeks in and I’m stuck on 4lbs loss, but have lost an overal 3.5 inches – very pleased. I lose weight real slow…and I don’t have much to lose so I’m guessing it’ll be a slow process for me. I’m losing, not gaining – so I’m happy! I have started going to the gym a couple of times a week and will try some home cardio workouts too. I fast during the week and Sat, but I have Sunday off – not obsessive about it, as I want this to slot in with life, not be just a diet short term.
p.s I noticed reading back that there is another LC on here…might rename myself LC2?
I’ve been doing this for about 15 years. I discovered it by accident. I agree with everything you say. I can’t do weights due to injury, but instead I go for long walks, which is another great way to suppress appetite and improve wellbeing.
Hi just stumbled across this post, very nice i’ve just been doing this diet for a short while wondering if there are any advantages and hoping im not doing it for no gain by eating so much in one sitting after not eating all day. But you have answered all my questions. I am a a truck mechaninc snd have quite a physicsl job doing 12 hr shifts but never run out of energy. What i have found is that by having a snack or meal replacement shake in between actually makes the fast more difficult, its like your body gets a taste and sends you hunger pains to try to get you to eat more, which sucks. I just drink water and coffee and find most days i dont even get hungry even seeing other people eating is fine. And you are spot on man dinner time is fucking awesome its delicious and you get excited when you know its coming and you want to eat like a medieval king but you find you get quite full fast and eat a pretty average meal and go to sleep very satisfied. Best part is because you have had your large meal at the end of the day you dont wake up hungry and skipping breakfast is a breeze. Great way to diet great post man thanks.
How long should one continue this “diet”? Or is it continuous? By accident I found myself eating once a day and realized how good it was doing not only to my feeling of well-being, but noticed the scale had slightly decreased.
It can technically be done forever. Nothing special about it, you’re just getting your entire day’s intake in 1 large meal rather than spreading it across multiple smaller ones.
can someone please tell me if this is actually healthy? I’m sure the weight loss happens I do believe it but this can’t honestly be healthy for the body, wouldn’t it overtime fuck up your metabolism and make your body go into starvation/fasting mode making you not be able to eat proper normal meals? also i’m reading some people eating whatever they want, high fat garbage foods and still losing weight (which is fine if that’s what they want) but that still can’t be healthy, because ultimately eating garbage is garbage, health wise , how would that contribute to anything other then long term illnesses about to come? I haven’t ever really heard of this type of diet before, I do want to lose weight myself but I am a little bit afraid to try this. I have heard of the military diet which is only done for 3 days out of the week or so then you eat regularly for the next 4 days but this 1 meal a day for a lifetime seems ridiculous and dangerous. please confirm for me, i may have to ask an actual doctor or nutritionist on this but I feel like there will be heavy bias from everywhere I go with this, instead of concrete hardcore scientific facts. It’s even harder to be accurate since everyone’s body is very different
The metabolism stuff is largely a myth. It takes much longer than a day to negatively affect your metabolism.
If you ask a conventional doctor/nutritionist if this is healthy, I pretty much guarantee they are going to say it’s not. Most are simply too ignorant.
I get more into the science aspect of it, if that’s what you’re looking for in this post – https://www.fitmole.org/8-ridiculous-myths-everyone-believes-about-their-metabolism/.
There are plenty of studies to show that this is not biased crap.
thanks for the response but that still did not answer my question regarding the garbage food intake. even with weight loss happening if you are eating notoriously unhealthy meals, heavy fats, junk food, wouldn’t that still be bad?
This diet was never about eating crap.
It’s simply about fitting the majority of your daily food intake into 1 meal. That’s it.
Of course you shouldn’t eat only crap. That goes for any diet, not just this one.
Please read my above post!
Ive been doing this diet for about a week and i feel alot better than how i used to! Alot of people had put me down by saying how unhealthy i was for doing this ‘one meal a day’ diet but if its making me happy I dont see the stress! My plan is to do this diet for a month and if i see any results ill continue on doing it 🙂
I started doing this because i didn’t want to poop at work i always eat around 5-6pm everyday once a day and when i get up around 5am the cup of coffee helps me poop at home i can go all day at work without having to worry about using the bathroom i hate using public bathrooms, im diabetic too..
But.. say 2 piece of cake would be 500 cal + 1lb steak 700 cal + 2 slices of pizza 500 cal + bottle of coke 240 cal + 4.5 oz pasta 400 cal + etc … would be roughly 2500 calories. The fat and carb contents will be staggering and accumulates while you sleep + starving will cause your body to store extra fats..
So if I were to eat once and still lose weight, I should not exceed certain amount of caloric intake.. which means I can’t eat as much as I want.. or.. I work out during the day to compensate. For some lab rats like me gets no time in the day to see sun light or work out..
Do you have any references or perhaps share about the type of food you eat?
The fat accumulation while you sleep + starving thing is a myth. As long as you’re in a deficit at the end of the day, you won’t gain weight.
You should read this – https://www.fitmole.org/what-are-the-best-foods-to-eat/ 🙂
Hi, I’m 16 years old and I want to lose around 30 pounds. I’m 160, I’m not that heavy but I’m chubby. I started with not eating at all but that drove me insane and I had to eat, so I looked up one meal a day diet. This seems almost too good to be true. I thought if you ate at night you’d gain weight? Is that a myth? I drink water through out the day too. And eat cereal and stuff like that for dinner.will i lose weight?
No the eating at night thing is a total myth.
To get through those hunger cravings, bring some fresh fruit with you.
It will take about 14 to 30 days for your body to adjust. Then you will find you Never get hunger shakes or cravings.
When everyone else wants McDs you will be able to say, “nothing for me thanks” or order a bottle of water.
This works. It really does.
Hey! So I’ve been doing this for 6 years now. This is not something I necessarily ever did to loose weight but rather to stay the same weight from high school to college. The only times that I strayed away form this diet i gained 30lbs each time. Once was because I tried to look more feminem rather than lanky, I just got fat. The other was whenever I was pregnant. I wake up every morning, drink 1-2 glasses of coffee, have a bottle of water at around 11 and then drink diet sodas or water throughout the day. For dinner I have very large meals, I can throw down. I’ll normally eat something like an entire plate of baked zitti or 4 pieces of pizza or like a big ol steak baked potatoes and some veggies. I also allow myself to drink wine and eat some ice cream or potatoes chips if I ever get the munchies every now and then. I’ve stayed at 123, at 5″8 since I was a sophomore in high school. Even after having a baby this year (I obviously didn’t diet during this time) I still dropped 30 pounds in 1 month. I’m moderately active, I don’t run but I go on short walks about 5 times a week. This is the only diet that has ever worked for me and I’m as healthy as a horse. I rarely ever get sick, suffer from headaches or even feel hungry. The best part about eating one meal a day is that you’re not taking anything away from yourself. I always felt like breakfast and snacks were just fillers to get me until dinner and then I wouldn’t eat very much because of my previous meals. I eat absolutely anything I want for dinner and I never feel ashamed about it. Now, I don’t always eat a big grease pit of food. I eat out about 3 times a week and the rest of my meals are homecooked and I don’t necessarily try to be healthy with them but I also don’t load on the butter. It’s great, because you can go out with friends and eat a big ol plate of cheese fries or some wings and be the only person at the table not feeling guilty about it. I’ve absolutely never had a friend tell me that they approved of this diet but they’re also in happy with their weight gain and the way their diets have previously worked out. Don’t knock it before you try it.
Also to add, I eat my dinner around 3,4, or 5 depending on what’s going on that day. This keeps me from getting too hungry during the day or night. Early dinners also allow you burn off more calories throughout the end of the day.