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 do this, but not intentionally. Over the years I have gradually become a light eater so one big meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner is usually all I need for the day. I keep fruit, almonds, peanut butter crackers etc. on hand for a snack and drink plenty of water throughout the day. I don’t exercise much but I’ve maintained the same weight (give or take a few lbs) for a while.
So you’re actually able to have dessert every night with your 1 meal if you want? I’m thinking of doing thi as this sounds like it would suit my lifestyle. I’m never hungry in the morning so I don’t eat breakfast, lunch I’m not all that hungry either so I have a protein shake then (190 cals) and that keeps me going aswell as drinking alot of water and some tea, until dinner. This is why I ask you is it okay to have dessert or a biscuit or 2 after your meal, because I always have to have a big dinner so I’m not hungry going to bed later that night.
It’s about calories more so than the actual dessert or biscuit.
If it’s a 700 calorie biscuit, then probably not a good idea to eat it every night.
I’ve unintentionally been doing this for a long time. I have 5 children that range in age from 20 to 5 so school mornings are very busy as is everything else here. My weight stays about the same. I use to eat my big meal at night but now with school being back in its simpler to eat it in the mornings after I put the kids on the bus. I’m 5’7″ and generally stay between a size 8 to size 10. I could probably lose more if I could give up my soft drinks.
Will I actually lose weight doing this?? I want to lose weight but hate depriving myself. Will I lose weight?
If you do it right like i laid out, I would be surprised if it didn’t work.
I also need to lose weight, I tried the once-a-day eating plan before, but that plan stated that I need to eat a big meal at lunch, and nothing more ’till lunch the next day. Didn’t really work. What I’m wondering is the eating before bed, cause I’ve heard that eating before going to sleep isn’t good for losing weight. If you could explain that part it would be great. Thanks!
You can eat it whenever you want. The “before bed” thing is a myth.
Finally someone who gets it. You are essentially promoting the “If it fits your macros” way of eating. Frankly, it’s the only way to go. Figure out your macros and hit them however you want. One meal a day works very well for me. However, there are some days that I am just starving at lunch so I go eat. No big deal. I just track my food.
This nonsense of eating every 2-3 hours just isn’t feasible for a long period of time and eventually everyone falls off it. If you have a real job and kids and interests outside of the gym then you just don’t have time to prep 20 meals on Sunday night and then eat off them all week. Stop making it so complicated people. Your entire life will revolve around watching the clock so you don’t *gasp* miss that next meal.
And the whole “clean” versus “dirty” food is the worst concept of all. There are no bad foods, only calories. You body ONLY understands that 1 gram of protein/carb is 4 calories and 1 gram of fat is 9 calories. That is it. It doesn’t care if you get those calories from pizza or a burger or 10 twinkies. If you want to lose weight you determine your macros for safe weight loss (no more than 2lb a week) and then you eat at a caloric deficit while working out at least 3 times a week. You WILL lose weight eating pizza or cake or pasta or whatever the hell you want to eat if you use more calories than you take in. It’s simple math. The people who truly get in shape and stay that way for long periods are almost all eating this way.
The one meal a day method is the simplest way to track your calories and get all that good food in. Yes, you can eat a chick-fil-a sandwich for lunch (around 400 calories) and some fries (another 300 or so) and then fit in a 700 – 800 calorie meal at night. That works fine. Or you can eat an apple and a banana during the day and maybe a protein shake and then have literally whatever you want for dinner. Your choice.
The best advice I can give people is to stay the hell away from eating grilled chicken breast and broccoli and sweet potato all day every day. It will burn you out eating bland tasteless food and will ALWAYS lead to binge eating. The worst part is there just isn’t any reason to do it. It’s bro science and people who force themselves to eat this way like to feel superior to others because they are forcing down yet another hunk of chicken breast or salmon. No thanks, I’ll enjoy my greasy burger and fries and continue to build lean muscle and lose fat.
“You are essentially promoting the “If it fits your macros” way of eating. Frankly, it’s the only way to go.”
While I like IIFYM, it’s dangerous to look at it in such a “black & white” manner like your comment suggests.
Eating burgers and fries to hit your macros might work in terms of body composition, but it’s likely not optimal when it comes to overall health, energy levels, and mental performance.
I believe it’s still a good idea to make the majority of your diet traditional “clean” foods. And if you want to indulge at the end of the day with your fav foods, then feel free.
Oh Kyle, Kyle, Kyle! If only it was that easy. I keto-dieted my way down the first 40 lbs with very accurate macro counting only to find myself stalled for 8 months with 25 lbs to go. I have exercised, weight-lifted, calorie counted and still can’t break that stall to my healthy goal weight. So now, I’m seduced by Dr. Jung’s fasting regime and fast twice weekly while still counting my macros. I lose 2 lbs of water after the fast day, but regain it the following day. I know that f I were a man, this stall would not have occurred. My husband lost 40lbs and had to eat up to keep from losing more. He’s in heaven, I’m still in purgatory trying to figure out how to break this stall! One bright advantage to fasting is that my tinnitis (food and seasonal allergies) diminishes the next day too.
What was your keto diet?
I handle one meal a day fine. No hunger. No cravings. My concern is, though, that I’m not getting ENOUGH calories. I don’t enjoy big, honking meals. A sandwich and some veggies are plenty. Am I throwing my body into a metabolic meltdown?
Then throw in a few snacks/smaller meals during the day.
Is it fine if I have a smoothie (protein powder, berries,spinach,yoghurt,maybe another fruit and a bit of milk) instead of a protein shake occasionally?
On vacation at Disneyland, Florida, my sister and I discussed the diet we intended starting together when we got home. Our waitress, a tall, slender woman of about 45 yrs joined our discussion. She said she was once over 60lbs heavier until she ate only one meal a day of anything she wanted. She said, she lost it all w/o any exercising except for the walking and carrying of her normal 3-11 shift. She told us she felt “…Great! Not tired all day like I usually feel; I’m full of energy and happier!” I never tried it but my sister did. Her one meal consisted of 6-8 oz of Meat, large Salad, and an Apple. In two months, she lost 27 lbs. It changed her so much that her husband’s visiting brother thought she was a tiny, cute neighbor until he recognized his sister-in-law. She said that everything got better; her skin became lighter, firmer, and more radiant; her gums tighter; all-day-long energy; her “black cloud” lifted, and her hair grew like mad. So, is it worth trying? Yes, I believe so, but, I have yet to do so since I live with a big family that loves my cooking and me theirs!
This is basically the Dethklok Diet. google it.
All i see is anime.
HAHAHA — Best comment EVER
Don’t know what he was expecting me to see haha.
Can you still do this and chew gum or have sugary drinks (like mixed 50/50 with water) through the day? I’m asking because this diet seems to work for many people, so I’m thinking one reason this works is because sugar intake is limited?
gum is fine. BUt I would watch any liquids with calories more carefully. Diet soda or non calorie drinks are fine.
Have people in the comments mentioned if they drink diet soda and this diet still works? There’s so many comments I couldn’t find one like that. But I love this idea so much. I had no clue calories could mean so much.
Oh never mind. I used ctrl F on the second page and found a comment by Candace that’s perfect!!!!
‘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.’
And <3 this from her also:
' 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. '
Eating once a day is the only, and I mean only thing that has ever worked for me. I still monitor calories, but after a while I couldn’t over endulge if I wanted to. Huge daytime energy, which got me out walking again, and doing things I always felt to sluggish to do. I start my day with just black coffee, then it’s off to the races. I rarely if ever feel hungry. Simple, easy, and it works.
I just stumbled across this diet , I have always had a yoyo weight issue but when I tried to diet it was boring and I was terrible at it. So I was out fishing and drank a 2lt bottle of water and wasn’t hungry at all it got me thinking of diets that include water so I googled it and some were saying just drink loads of water but have normal meals I wasn’t really in to that so I found this 1 meal a day diet that I had been doing with out realising and come across this site , everything the guy says is true and I feel awesome not hungry but I drink lots of water during the day a good 2lt to 3lt a day and eat a good dinner not even a mega unhealthy 1 I walk 5 miles a day and been doing it just over a week and can see a difference in my waist and belly already gonna keep on this till October and see what the out come is good luck everyone – ohh I throw a cheeky treat day in on a Sunday for breakfast
I have never seen this type of “diet” before written like this, but have occasionally done this on my own- just because it felt right. I always thought it was crazy and some people were “worried” about me, thought that I had an eating disorder. (Little did they know that I had my friends Ben and Jerry waiting for me at home). I always noticed how much more energy I had during the day when I didn’t eat! Everything here is totally true, and I experienced it emperically first, rather than reading something and having any risk of the placebo effect kick in. But it really is nice seeing what I have experienced to be corroborated. I am definitely motivated to do this more often.
Thanks for the article!
p.s. Coffee is kind of a must in the morning for me, just for the appetite suppressant effect.
Hi
I have been on this diet for 3 weeks and I have lost 3kg (Yeppy!) I also started running 3 weeks ago. I have ben fine all along with lots of energy and feeling good until today. I was horribly hungry the whole morning so I decided to have lunch a, egg and polony the only food available at the staff canteen. Now I am sleepy and I feel tired, has anyone ever felt like this?
Hello,
I started this diet 2 days ago. I lost one pound. I feel energize and being hungry doesn’t bother me when I swim.
But i’m getting headaches when not eating at all during the day. I know you said try not to go over 200 calories but is it okay if i drink orange juice 170 calories and eat some dried fruit?
Thanks
then just eat something, and subtract from your daily intake.
The headaches will stop.
It is your body adjusting.
Try keeping some Fruit with you. I’ve found fruit works the best and is better than crackers.
In 30 to 60 days all your hunger pangs will go away and you will find much less food will make you feel full.
First 2 weeks are hardest, I lost 70 lbs doing this plan. I’ve been doing it for 10 years.
I never eat fast food anymore because I never get those hunger shakes anymore.
Some nights I don’t feel like eating at all, so I just have some fruit. Most supermarkets sell cut fruit in a continer. I always have one in the Fridge. Cost about 10 to 20 per week for the fruit.