One meal a day

[Ohaider]

what are your thoughts on it other than "it's unhealthy," in terms of metabolism and mood and alike? I'm speaking in temporary terms, not as a lifestyle or anything obviously. The idea sparked interest when I reckoned it'd save 4-7 bucks a day, which could definitely come in handy until full employment

theeeenks

[Reach]

Well, how many calories do you plan to eat in that one meal? I've eaten one meal a day in the past and have been fine, but it has to be a huge meal and should contain most of your micro and macronutrient needs for intake.

I don't think it messes with mood or metabolism too much if you time it correctly, though it's not exactly easy to do. If you eat too early you get too hungry in the afternoon, but if you eat too late your mornings usually suffer a lot.

[DarknessXoXLight]

i've been living off one meal a day (on an average day, like skipping holidays or special occasions) for two? years now. it's terrible lmfao i guess it'll save you money but you basically just feel like shit all the time and you get tired over nothing. you'll get headaches all the time too, idk, if it's temporary i guess it won't be too effective to your health but... i still don't recommend it because you're not gonna be in good mind very often.

[Guest15937]

I've been doing it for about two months, and I honestly don't feel any worse. I haven't been hungry in five years though (seriously, I've literally forgotten what hunger feels like), so I may not be the standard for this. I certainly haven't felt any of the effects DarknessXoXLight described.

[SCWolf]

If you can manage to get all your calories for the day in one meal, good work.

If you can deal with the massive shit that comes after, also good work.

Shouldn't really make a difference though. It would make a difference if you're counting macros, because it would be pretty much impossible to get all of your daily macros in one meal. Unless you're a monster when it comes to eating or something.

[MosaicMan3]

We discussed this in another thread and I think the consensus was: no better or worse for you than multiple meals as long as you get your macros, and calories. And doesn't negatively affect your bowels.

[Ohaider]

Thanks for responses. Is it dangerous in terms of weight loss and skinniness if the one meal I consume isn't efficient in terms of nutrients? i'm hoping the one meal can just be like your average fruit serving/veggie serving/protein/milk, ideal to those that eat 3 a day

hoping to not just take that extra 4-7 dollars a day and add all 4-7 of it on the one meal, but rather save it

[MosaicMan3]

No, you're more likely to retain water weight, and possibly slight weight gain, because you will be fasting for 23 hours every day, and your body may prematurely go into a catabolic state. More or less meaning that you body will stop/slow digestion if fear it will starve.

But once you do this long enough your body will in fact regulate itsself

[SCWolf]

I highly doubt anyone who is hitting their daily macronutrient targets is going to go catabolic after 23 hours of fasting.

[mr_candy]

Or...... budget properly and have a balanced diet that you know, spread throughout the day....just a thought because food isn't expensive. I spend like 4-5x more on accommodation than i do food a month.


A literal shit ton of rice. Bulk chicken breast/legs w.e is cheapest, potatoes, beans, oatmeal, milk, eggs and green stuff... all cost fuck all.. what's funny? You'll save money and get leaner

I reckon if i ate properly i could eat pretty well for 20-35 usd a week and if you can't afford that, LOL!


or google, i did and found this. Pretty interesting actually.

https://uhs.berkeley.edu/whatseating...ollarsaDay.pdf

[RNGRX]

I lived off one meal a day for quite a while. It personally affects my mood and makes me less likely to want to do things. For the first while it sucks as you feel hungry all the time and can't do much but later on you start to forget what being hungry is like until you get nauseous. That would be the new sign for "I need food." It's not a major impact on anything for me but it's noticeable.
Also if you stay home all day and do this then it's not really noticeable at all.

[MosaicMan3]

Originally Posted by SCWolf

I highly doubt anyone who is hitting their daily macronutrient targets is going to go catabolic after 23 hours of fasting.

Possibly, this brings up a good question I'm going to ask a colleague of mine, (a dietitian). "In a perfect world, and a person eats 1 meal a day that is perfectly macro'd, and meets all nutritional need. Will this cause premature catabolism, or will there be virtually no difference compared to eating 5 or 6 meals?"

Will post results tomorrow.

[Tidus810]

As mentioned, limiting yourself to one meal a day can be a little dangerous if you aren't making absolutely sure that you're getting all of your daily nutrients. For prolonged periods, if you're regularly missing out on some given vitamin or mineral, you may develop some of the symptoms related to (insert vitamin here) deficiency. A type of B1 deficiency for example, Beriberi, can cause weight loss, mood changes, muscle weakness etc...

[TheThong]

Originally Posted by DarknessXoXLight

i've been living off one meal a day (on an average day, like skipping holidays or special occasions) for two? years now. it's terrible lmfao i guess it'll save you money but you basically just feel like shit all the time and you get tired over nothing. you'll get headaches all the time too, idk, if it's temporary i guess it won't be too effective to your health but... i still don't recommend it because you're not gonna be in good mind very often.

Pretty much this!

I actually get pretty grumpy when I'm hungry - and then I don't feel like doing anything cos I'll just get more hungry/grumpy. Haha. And I guess with the headaches thing, if you drink a good amount of water throughout the day you might be okay! (Unless you're only planning to drink water once a day too...).

[25thhour]

I eat a meal replacement in the morning (Boost plus Protein) and then I will either eat at the dining hall at around 3:30, probably a good 1.5k calories, and thats it. I don't like eating, I find it wastes time during the day.

oh and now, every time I eat I get wicked diarreah about 10 minutes later... Bleh

[Ohaider]

thanks mosaic. Kind of strange how if you stop eating 2 of your 3 meals a day, you'll gain a little weight... Huh, oh well better than turning into a pole

Thanks for responses perples

[_Zenith_]

I'll just leave my two cents in here on what I've experienced.

I used to eat regularly, breakfast, lunch, and dinner along with healthy snacks along the way (like assorted fruit) and I was sitting ~210 at that point and it's been nearly 2, maybe 3 years.

Nowadays, I find myself only eating dinner, and maybe having something small at some point, depending on how hungry I find myself.

The weirdest thing I'd have to say is that from doing this and I'm definitely not as active as I used to be (now I pretty much sit inside my house all the time unless I have to do something with my father or I go out with friends) and I'm sitting ~177 and still dropping.

[Ohaider]

what made you randomly satisfied with one main meal a day though as opposed to 3 prior? did you actively decide to not eat as much or did it just happen naturally

[_Zenith_]

Originally Posted by Ohaider

what made you randomly satisfied with one main meal a day though as opposed to 3 prior? did you actively decide to not eat as much or did it just happen naturally

To be honest, it happened Naturally. I found a correlation between losing weight and the desire to eat. Don't get me wrong, I do feel hunger, but it's not as critical is it used to be where now I can last two days without eating something and it doesn't bother me.

Dinner isn't even that big, but it's a meal, like last night I had Fajitas with Rice and Beans and had around 5 of them so it kind of evens out from not eating for a few days.

Also not to mention there are more important things, like making rent and making sure the car runs fine as opposed to food (in my opinion)

[MosaicMan3]

So the consensus from my friend (the dietitian, is "there should be no health concerns when eating a single meal per day, as long as the individual gradually adjusts to this new life style. Any rapid change in diet could cause Hypercatobolism, or a stop to their metabolism (temporarily)."

Long story short, one meal a day is completely doable, just go from 3 meals, to 2 meals and a snack, to 1 meal and 2 snacks, to 1 meal and 1 snack, to just 1 meal...

Moreover the cost would be equivalent if you are eating your daily calories and nutrients in one meal. It's literally no different than taking all of your current meals and putting them onto one plate.

If you're trying to shop cheap here's my general shopping list.

Tuna $.94/can
Pasta $.80/lb
Rice $1.20/lb
Oats $2.50/2lb
Ground Chicken $1/lb
Broccoli $1.75/lb
Bananas $.75/lb

ect.. those are just a few examples...