Is eating once a day bad for you? Eating one meal a day is considered a form of intermittent fasting. And this restricts the number of calories you consume in a day and all your calories are in just one meal. This isn’t an advisable weight loss strategy because most people wouldn’t be able to sustain eating like that for an extended period of time.
Is eating once a day bad for you? iStock-photo credit: Jose Louis Gallego Aviles
And eating just once a day could potentially lead to eating disorders. Because you are eating in a way that is contradicting to how the how the human body yearns for food throughout the day.
One meal a day is known as OMAD and most people that choose this method navigate to only eating dinner for that one meal for the day. So, they don’t eat breakfast or lunch as that is part of their fasting.
You are going to have a tough time maintaining normal energy levels, while waiting until the evening to consume your first and only meal of the day.
Interestingly enough there was a 2022 research review study that had adults restrict calorie intake to eating only from 5pm to 7pm. This study led to higher body fat than eating 3 meals a day.
Another study done on 50,660 Seventh Day Adventist church members that were at the ages of 30 and over ate one to two meals a day. This study showed a yearly reduction in body mass index compared to those who just ate 3 meals a day.
One of the negative things about eating one meal a day is losing lean muscle mass because you are not consuming enough calories within the day. Outside of weight loss there have been some studies that have linked fasting to a reduction in blood sugar levels. As well as lower LDL cholesterol levels and a reduction of inflammation in the body.
Some of the negative symptoms that are associated with eating one meal a day are the following:
• Dizziness
• Low energy
• Irritability
• Nausea
If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or if you are a young child or teenage it is not advisable to do the OMAD diet. And also, if you are an older adult as well.
The Bottom Line eating one meal a day, is considered a form of fasting, but it is not a sustainable eating approach. It is not enough calories daily to support normal activity levels. So, eating like this is not for everybody and it is not the best long term wise when it comes to weight loss.
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References
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