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.
Hell yes it works. At least for my mom and me. My mom is in her 50’s and looks fantastic. She feasts once a day, usually dinner. I recently decided I’d let the scale tip too far and have quit my pint-a-day liquor habit and stick to one small meal between 6-9, depending on whether I eat leftovers at work or cook at home. It helped me lose 20 pounds in a summer 4 years ago. I’ve lost 13 pounds in 3 weeks this time. My small meals consist of very small portions of a variety of tings- a lean meat, a tiny salad, and lots of vegetable. If I’m dying to eat, I will have a 50 Cent size piece of jerky or 1-2 mini plumbs. All our meals are home cooked, unless I treat us to pizza, which is the only bread I ever eat. If so, 3 slices of thin crust (about 400 calories). I drink lots of water. I’m not hungry, because thin feels better than any food tastes. I eat slower and enjoy my food more. I’m also much more mindful of what I’m putting into my body in order to meat nutritional needs. I started taking a multi vitamin just in case, too. I’m not bloated anymore, my stomach is always flat. I don’t have gas or cramps anymore. I feel better, my skin’s better, I’m clearer and more productive. I wish I would have gone back to my one meal a day habit a long time ago.
I have been doing this for 2 weeks and already, I feel positively glowing and can move easier! I confess, I wryly thought to myself – Why did it take me so many years to come to this realization that eating a meal once a day could solve all the battles Ive had with previous dieting. You are so right. I often listened to the breakfast crowd, telling me its not good to skip meals, even though I knew I didnt like breakfast in the morning. I prefer it, oddly, at night! hahaha Ive lost 8 pounds on it and I have 35 to 40 pounds left to lose! Thank you for being a positive light in the world of fitness!
thanks ava.
Well written article. Enjoyed this read, reinforced my thoughts on one meal a day! Thanks
thanks ash
Started about a month ago and the weight is melting off. I can’t stand to eat little meals. This allows me to feel full while keeping my calories under 2000. I need to lose a lot of weight and so far have lost 20 pounds in the first month. My energy level is great. When I reach my target weight I plan on increasing the calories to a break even point. I have not got one bad thing to say about eating once a day.
nice man, keep it up.
Yes eating one meal a day will eventualy make you lose weight. However, not just any food like its stated in this article. Ice cream and tons of fries and a bih steak. That’s junk! You can follow a one meal a day diet and it will work, but you neee to watch what you eat. Respect your macros, and eat healthy. Also, this type of diet works difderent for different people. If you are diabetic or other sickness, DONT do it unless you check with your doctor. The one meal diet is also called inremittent fasting where you fast for 23 hours amd eat in a 1 hour interval. Again eat healthy during that one hour. Meaning good source of protein, carbs, and good fats (lipids). Dont just eat whatever!
I never condoned a crap food diet. I said you can easily fit some of that stuff in (in reasonable quantities).
Two comments on this:
1) I’ve been doing this for several years now and the comment about eating the “big ass meal” once a day isn’t what I’ve experienced. As I switched to eating only 1 time a day, my appetite for that one meal shrank and my 1 meal is fairly small although satisfying. In fact, I find it very easy to over eat and feel ill if I don’t control myself, as your stomach shrinks when you fast. I’m assuming this is like someone who has had their stomach shrunk medically, who have to make the same adjustments. This is especially hard at restaurants where the 8 oz. steak is only $2 less than the 16 oz. I almost always get the bigger size, eat most of it, and then regret it by how horribly full I feel. This is just my observation. So hope it helps.
2)Based on the above comment, just make sure you’re getting all of your essential vitamins and minerals, even by a supplement. These are definitely necessary and certainly not the easiest to get by eating once a day. Plenty of pills and powders to do this, just research to make sure you’re getting something good.
Other than that, once you get used to this, it’s really very easy and I very rarely feel hungry unless except when I have alcohol. So far, so good.
Good luck.
I started to do OMAD by accident. Ended up here as I was googling if it’s healthy or not. Thanks for the article.
it’s perfectly healthy.
I’m already down four pounds eating once a day with coffee inbetween(with cream) tea(with honey) to maximize this diet and lose weight faster throw in some activity, weights, basketball, walking/jog/sprinting, I do a hour half to two hours of basketball every other day. You’ll lose weight even faster and be able to get away with eating abit more carbs/sugar and still be losing weight because nobody wants to be on a diet forever.
Hi Keith,
I LOVE how you write – straightforward and funny with the facts! I am just starting this now and an’t wait! Are you on Instagram as well? Trina
i do @fitmole but dont use it much
Hi Keith,
I feel inspired and ready to go to One Meal a Day fasting protocol! I have dieted on and off for the last 25 years! Up 20 lbs….down 10…up 5… down 30…etc. My downfall was not feeling satisfied. I think this will work since I don’t have to be so rigid with what I eat! Taking out the planning and energy that goes into eating during the day will really help!
Thanks bunches!
cool lemme know how it goes.
I absolutely love this one meal a day system!
I started with the 16/8 plan, it was good to get me started.
After a few months I learned that I was waiting later and later to eat.
Then someone talked about the one meal idea, and thought, I can do that! So I did, and it works so well for me!
I make sure I get my protein and veggies in, but I have a sweet tooth too! I don’t feel guilty at all.:)
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I am eating one meal a day I am from Barcelona so I have my meal around 8 or 9 pm
L will tell you how it works for me.
I just need to lose 5 kilos i have aready lost nearly 6 kilos on a diet of 1000 caloris a day
Do you imagine 1000 calories for four meal a day? really creacy¡¡¡¡
breakfast makes me more hungry and I become a eating machine ha ha ha
L feel much better eating one meal a day and so far no body knows ha ha ha
ok. I will tel you mor another day.
In August, I re-invented this diet myself. Now half October, I have already lost 22 kg. For me, that is half way. From ´morbidly obese´ to almost ´overweight´ now.
My variation is as follows: In the evening 2 chicken legs (or something similar), a can of strong beer, and unlimited vegetables, and some grain product in moderation, like a cob of corn. And quite a lot of exercise: no more electric bike for me!
It is relatively easy to maintain,´straying´ is still limited to one meal. One can eat the same food every day without ever getting bored by it.
am awfuly impressed by your article. i really want to loose some weight.i weigh about 74kgs and my target weight is 55kgs.i really hope this works
do it! It works
One meal a day works. Here’s how I know:
Growing up and all through my twenties and thirties, I ate one meal per day. Not sure why, but I did and I was always super skinny. I exercised 5 days a week. When I was studying martial arts, I had approximately 10% body fat. I’m a woman, 68 inches, and small-med frame depending who you ask. My stats were not usual for a woman my size and age.
I ate carbs, carbs, carbs. I thought Atkins was BS. I read the book and he mentioned it was geared toward those with different metabolisms. All the success that people had during that time (2000s) was due to low carb. No one believed me! Not even my personal trainer. My personal trainer convinced me that I should eat 6 times per day so I could lose more weight – because I wanted more muscle definition. What happened? Gained fat that took me 3 months to reverse.
But here’s how I really know: I got effin’ fat. Yes, I did. I moved to the south and got on board with the Southern thing and gained 20 lbs. At my height, and as a woman, it made bulky for sure. Busting out of my clothes. So what did I do?
Exercised 40-60 min/day and quit drinking – and went back to one meal per day. Except I eat mine at noon. The drawback to this, however, is if I don’t eat light, then I get afternoon fatigue. On the weekends, I’ll eat 2-3 meals per day. So I’m not really starving myself, and there is research to back my eating 1 meal per day, but then, 2-3 meals per day 2-3 days a week.
I gained 20lbs and I lost 25 and it only took about 3 months. Slow and steady – and no rebounds. It totally works.