Lose Body Fat By Eating Just One Meal Per Day?

Yes, yes, yes! Eating one meal a day is a surfire way of remaining lean AND HEALTHY! I have been doing it for nine years. I started eating one meal a day because I was having difficulty losing weight after the birth of my 4th child.

At first, I was hungry (of course) much of the time. I refused however, to give into the hunger. My resolve to loose the weight was stronger than the temporary "comfort" of filling my stomach.
I just found something else CONSTUCTIVE to do while the hunger pangs went away. After a week I was already down 1 dress size and before I realized it I was back into size 4 jeans.

Remember now that this was NINE years ago! I'm still a size 4. At my last annual physical my doctor said (incredulously) that I had not gained even 1 pound since my last physical. I've had my blood pressure taken, an EKG, and my colesteral levels measured and all have been in the 'very healthy" range.

I am never tired except at nine o'clock at night when I fall into a wonderful restful sleep for 8 hours following a usually hectic day.
I also drink quite a bit of coffee. I've never spoken directly to my doctor about my coffee drinking, but for me, maybe not for everyone, coffee seems to perk me up and calm me down all at the same time. One of my kid's 4th grade teacher told me that she had been an undiagnosed ADHD sufferer as a kid and that coffee did in fact have the "calming" effect on her. Like a negativ charge against a negative charge.

Anyway, I digressed there about coffee, but coffee is for me an intregal part of sustaining the one meal a day eating habit.
Here is the bottom line on my thought process on this subject: Dieting, in the sense of any kind of plan that one is following to lose weight will never work unless it is adopted as a way of life. People should EAT TO LIVE not LIVE TO EAT. It really doesn't take that many calories to LIVE.

It is the psychological resistance to the idea that "I'll never be able to eat a grapefruit size piece of cake again" that keeps people from eating and living healthy. Guess what, once you INTERNALIZE the idea that you'll NEVER be able to eat a grapefruit size piece of cake again you WILL be able to never eat a grapefruit size piece of cake again EVER.

So anyway, eating one meal a day has worked for me for nine years.

LST

Linda,

I don't follow the one meal thing per day 100%, but I eat over 75% of my calories at night. There are certain times during the year that I do eat just one meal at night…mainly in the summer, if I am going to the beach.

I really wanted to highlight the Warrior Diet, to let people know that they certainly don't need to eat 6 times per day. People take that as the gospel to lose fat and can't see any other way.

I drink green tea throughout the day, but I'm sure coffee works great as well.

Thanks for the comments, by the way…they are very helpful and prove once again that many of these so called "truths" are completely false.

Rusty

Rusty, I'm intrigued. Do you know the biology behind this? How does this work? And what's the reason behind you eating most your cals in the pm?

It feels more natural fo me to eat my calories at night. After I eat a big meal I get tired and then I want to sleep. By not eating much during the day…I have sustained energy and never feel tired. At night, I sleep better because I don't go to bed hungry.

The biology behind this:

Sure in Ori's own words…

"Briefly, when people practice overeating after undereating, their body changes to a more thermogenic and highly metabolized state. The brain receives a signal that it should elevate metabolism in order to burn the extra energy coming from food. On the whole, when one overeats after a controlled fast, nutrients are assimilated at a greater rate, there is an acceleration of the anabolic process of repairing tissues and building muscles, depleted glycogen reserves and intramuscular triglycerides (special high octane fat fuel in the muscle) are replenished, there's an increased secretion of dophamine, thyroid hormones, and an elevation of sex hormones. If overeating is practiced regularly, your body's metabolism will remember this, and while adapting to these daily big meals, it would most likely become metabolically faster and more efficient than before."

More Science behind it…

Recent studies by Dr. Mark Mattson, Professor, Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, and colleagues at the National Institute on Aging (2003) have shown that mice who followed intermittent fasting (one day fasting followed by overeating twice the amount of daily calories the next day) were surprisingly provided with substantial benefits including increased life span, reversal of diabetes, and increased resilience to age related brain damage. Researchers speculated that the cycle of fasting-overeating affects the brain similar to the way physical exercise affects muscles.

Wow, thanks for that information. One question though, I know you said you might drink protein drinks and that during the day, but how to you keep from getting headaches during the times you don't eat anything for so long. I instantly get headaches when I try to skip a meal. Any suggestions?

Yeah…I have heard of that before. Have you tried drinking Green Tea in place of a meal? I don't know if it helps with headaches, but it easy for me as far as hunger goes.

I wonder if your body would eventually adapt to this diet and not get headaches after a while. Anyway…I'm really not sure about the headache deal…kind of puzzling.

I just thought of another benefit to this diet…the money saved!

Rusty

Wow. For awhile I have been disgusted by the "American way" of eating, as I call it (I am American by the way)… but I mean how everyone seems to live to eat, instead of eat to live.

I eat pretty darn healthy and although I didn't believe the "6 small meals/day" gospel that "experts" have been preaching… (mainly b/c I do not believe in spending hardly any money on food, as it just comes right back out, LOL) But I have thought that I need to FUEL my running/strength workouts I do in the afternoon/evening and I need to restrict calories at night (except for a small protein shake to repair muscle).

I've been wondering why I have hit a plateau, even though I vary my workouts. And I thought it was b/c my metabolism dropped.
So Ori's idea makes a lot of sense to me.

I do remember the lovely high school days of skipping breakfast, skipping nasty cafeteria lunches, easily focusing on my schoolwork, and sailing through my XC practices… then going home and pigging out!!!
I'm only 21, but I would love to be one size smaller as I was back then!

Of course I don't plan on bingeing through the night, but now I realize I don't have to eat before my workouts! (it made me feel sick anyway)

Rusty, I just stumbled upon your site and I absolutely LOVE it! (I LMAO when I saw your James Bond pic!)
And I also loved the info on HIIT.. I certainly did not know about HGH before now.
Keep up the great work! I'll be checking in often.
~neely

heyy im starting to try the one day a meal diet . im 15 years old . i have been on this diet for 5 days now and i used to get hungry all the time but now im beginning to not feel hungry at all. how much weight would i lose after 6 weeks of being on this diet, including doing excersize ?

Well…it depends upon how much you eat for your one meal. It also depends upon how much you exercise. Make sure you read about the aerobic exercise program I have outlined on this site. Click "aerobic exercise" over to the right under the "Categories" column.

You're still pretty young, so make sure you really need to lose the weight…we don't want to give anyone eating disorders…okay? Make sure you include vegetables and healty foods in your one meal.

All that being said…it is possible to lose up to 2-4 pounds per week on any sensible diet if someone is very active. So in 6 weeks that comes out to 12-24 pounds.

I was looking for something different, I have tried so many "diets"
I lost a lot of weight on Akins but I made me feel yuck. I ended up gaing half of the 70 lbs back. This new way of eaing sounds like something that could really work for me but is drinking propel okay during the day because I am not a fan of tea or coffee, its really the only thing I drink other than regular water.

Propel would be fine…it's only 10 calories, so you could drink 10 of those in a day without any impact…plus it gives you a flavor and might help satisfy any cravings you have for sweets.

I actually love fasting during the day…you give your digestive system time to clear out and you feel great once you get used to it. I don't do this every day…or all year round, but there are certain times during the year when I will eat in this manner.

Thanks for this article, it might save me. I just started the one meal a day only yesterday, I ate about 1200 calories at l:00pm in the afternoon and I lost 4 pounds in one day. Im so excited. I was previously dieting before yesterday and I was eating 3 times a day on a low fat, low carb diet and lost 40 pounds in 6 months which seemed like forever , yesterday I ate what I wanted and felt great all day and only really got hungry around 9pm which i just kept my self busy. Wish me luck, I have 50 more pounds to go, and hopefully its this easy!!

Julie,

I have a theory that the more you eat, the hungrier you get…it will take you about 2 weeks or so to get used to eating only once per day.

If you can possibly do it…try to eat your meal closer to 5pm or 6pm…it is tough to fall asleep when you are hungry. You certainly don't have to, because everybody is different…it is possible that 1pm just "feels right" for you.

Here is a quick diet tip to kill hunger.

Eat one apple (I like Fuji apples best) and drink a diet soda.

The apple has only 60 calories and the soda has none. The pectin in the apples gives you a feeling of being full…for some reason, the diet soda along with the apple makes you feel really full.

This is my "emergency kit" in case I get the urge to eat a bunch of junk food.

Darn it…now I got to write an article on this!

Rusty

The past couple of weeks I've been feeling really guilty about eating a lot at night. I don't like eating breakfast and I skip lunch most days (but I do eat an apple and sugar-free fudge pop) because I am busy taking care of three boys. I drink a class of diet green tea with mango, pop in a piece of sugarless gum and hit the gym. When I get home, I like to eat right after, so I have about 200-250 calories right after exercising. Then I eat a huge meal (1500+ calories) at around 10pm. Sometimes I feel like I'm binging almost!! It makes me feel better that their is some science behind this way of eating. So as long as you are within your calorie range you will you maintain weight right? There's no data saying that if you sleep right after you eat or that you eat all your calories at once, they won't be used and stored as fat??

Thanks!
McKinsey

McKinsey,

You shouldn't feel guilty at all for eating at night! Seriously…that whole "eating late at night will turn to fat" is a myth. I love it when people tell me this!

As I write this reply…it is midnight and I just scarfed down 2 large fish tacos and a bowl of non-fat yogart. I will be sleeping in less than 30 minutes and I promise you that none of this will turn to fat!

The reason why this won't turn to fat is I was following the principle of under-eating during the day…so when I eat a larger amount of food at night it puts my body in an anabolic state.

But just to keep things simple…eat less calories than what you burn each day and you will burn fat! I don't care when you eat those calories.

I really appreciate all the comments to this post, by the way! I've been inspired to write a Part 2 to this "One Meal Per Day Diet Plan". I get pumped when I feel I'm helping people learn the truth about how to get fit.

Here is the link…or you can click "Dieting for Fat Loss" in the Categories Section of my blog.

One Meal Per Day Warrior Diet Revisited

Cheers!

Rusty

Thanks! Im glad you told me this for last night I could not sleep and I was VERY hungry so i cheated with peanuts and only lost 1/2 pound more but now Im armed. Thank you soooooooooooooooooooooo much! I will be writing to you daily to let you know how its going. Your my angel, I've been praying for something to work.
LOL
Julie

Julie,

Definitely update us here…maybe every few days, tell us how it's going for you. I know this will be helpful to readers who are considering this type of diet.

Yeah…I don't ever like to go to bed hungry. The reason why you can't sleep is that being hungry gives you energy…that is why it makes sense to under-eat during the day, when you want that energy.

Rusty

Rusty,

Define "overeating." Two fish tacos and a bowl of nonfat yogurt does not sound like a lot to me…You said that 75 % of your calories usually are consumed at night for you right? Just wondering.

Thanks!!

McKinsey,

Yeah…yesterday's meal was smaller than most, but they were Large fish tacos (I made them with burrito-sized flower tortillas and quit a bit of fish along with cabbage and ranch dressing).

I basically just eat as much as will satisfy me…that is probably the hardest part of getting certain diets right…you have to learn what works for your body.

Some nights I eat quite a bit more. I hope that helps…it doesn't hurt to mix it up a bit.

Rusty

Yes, that does help a lot. Thanks!!

Hi McKinsey,
Yesterday I ate junk food for lunch, I couldn't help it, I've been soooo good for close to 6.5 months now, and I ate at Mcdonalds. I had a big mac with no dressing on it, and a large fri and a small reg coke. Im happy to report that I lost another pound . That is 5 and 1/2 pounds and today is only the fourth day on this one meal a day . I was previously doing a low carb, low fat diet for 6 months and it was easy but boring and seemed like the weight was taking forever to come off. So far so good on this one meal a day. Last night I was hungry again and I had a can of diet root beer and i was totally fine and could sleep. I also ate my food at 2:00pm.
Hope this helps! Have a great day!
Julie

Julie and all

I'm glad you are having some success! I am not really looking to lose weight right now, I want to maintain. It's just hard for me to eat during the day because I am so busy and I look forward to "chowing" down at night. haha Make sure you are eating enough calories though to get you through the day though. This is such a cool site!

McKinsey,

I'm glad you like the site! It is less than two months old…I was hoping to bring some entertainment mixed in with top-notch advice. I'm liking it that people are commenting on posts…this is what the Internet should be about…the sharing and discussion of great ideas.

Will you do me a favor?

Please vote for one of the "Jessica's" on my recent post? So far Jessca Biel is winning (this will make sense once you read the article…LOL).

A Butt Like Jessica Simpson? Yes Please!

Cheers!

Rusty

HI Rusty,
Im down 6.5 pounds now . Last night I didn't have any diet soda just plain water so i think Im starting to get used to this way of eating and Im ready for exercise. Since Im eating at 1 to 2pm every day what do you think is the best time for me to exercise ?
Thanks for the help !!!
Julie

Julie,

That is great that you are doing so well with your diet! I typically suggest to people that they exercise before they eat, but I'm not sure if that is possible with your schedule.

If you exercise before you eat, once you do eat a lot of those calories will be used to restore glycogen in your muscles…also you will be in a calorie burning mode. This is just a great way to insure that you will stay lean.

If you can't exercise before you eat, then do it about 5 hours after that meal. That way you will be working out on an empty stomach again and get the great fat burning benefits.

Here is a post I made that explains this:

Burn Much More Fat in Your Next Workout

Hope that helps,

Rusty

Hi Rusty,
Another pound gone !!!!! That is now 7.5 pounds. I really hope this keeps falling off for it will be the easiest thing ever! Im finding that Im not eating as much as I did when I first started, Im starting to get full faster and I just don't feel the need to eat, so that is awesome. I haven't started the exercise thing yet but will on Monday for that will be one week of me on this as of this coming Monday. Just wanted to keep you and everyone else posted.
Have a great weekend!
Julie :):)

Hi Rusty,
Today is Sunday and tomorrow will be one full week but I am now down 9 pounds!!! Another 1.5 pounds lost today I think because I had a fruit dessert and not a junk food dessert . Anyways I already feel better. I think I will try to post something every day for I know that would help me if I was thinking about starting a one meal a day .
Thanks again!!!!

Julie,

You are kicking some butt. Great Job! You will find that once you get closer to your target weight, that you will lose at a little bit of a slower pace, but you will definitely get there!

Awesome Job!

Rusty

Hi Rusty ,
Bad news, i was so busy yesterday that i forgot to eat before 2 and i ate at 4:30 and now i just woke up and i gained 1/2 pound
. And I ate the same thing I did yesterday? Any advise?

Thanks!!! I still have 41 pounds to go!

Julie,

When you lose weight…you will take "two steps forward and one step back"…until you reach your target weight. What I mean by that is that you will often times lose 4 pounds and then gain back 2, then lose 6 pounds and gain back 3, etc. It is rare to get to your ideal weight in a linear fashion.

Don't worry about the 1/2 pound…this is perfectly normal.

Rusty

okay, thanks! I did not know this. Thanks Rusty

Julie–also…weight fluctuates daily! If you have sweat more one day or eaten foods with sodium (salt) in them, it will cause you to retain or lose water. I would suggest you to weight yourself every few days and make it more about being healthy and how your clothes are fitting. Regardless…you are doing great!

Good news, lost 1.5 pounds so that is 10 pounds total loss so far, 40 more to go. Im going to take your advise and stay off the scale for the next few days, wish me luck !!!!!

Rusty-

When I posted my comment back on July 15, I did not look at the materials you were referring to written by Ori Hofmekler. On that day, I had jumped online to do a search about eating one meal a day to see if there was anyone out there doing the same thing as I was. I found your post in that search and just felt compelled to comment.

I just read everything posted here, re-read your post and visited the links you have to Warrior Diet info. Just wanted to add a couple of thoughts after doing that. Can't believe I missed the very important element of the one meal a day needing to be eaten a night to have the desired result. I didn't even bother saying that my routine has always been to eat my meal at night.

For me it just kind of worked out that way 'cause when I started eating one meal a day I had small children that I drove quite a distance to school. I would just get up, have some coffee, get the kids ready for school, pile them in the car, drive them, drop them off and then swing by Starbucks for my favorite drink: a Venti, all ice Americano. In other words: four shots of espresso over ice (I add a bit of whole milk). This keeps me going all day until I pick up the kids from school when I get another of the same thing! Then I'm good until dinner when I usually make something great. Something I can really enjoy, flavorful. I love cooking light magazine and many of the things I make for dinner are recipes I've found there. I don't worry at all about the caloric content except that philosophically I don't like red meat but I have 4 kids and they like hamburgers and spaghetti w/meat sauce so I have to make those from time to time. Then I usually have some little sweet to eat like a ramekin of choc. chip mint ice cream or a couple of cookies. If my pants are tight , I skip the sweets. p.s. I always drink milk w/dinner (organic) I never drink soda (o.k. twice a year but always diet).

People usually look at me sideways when I tell them that I only eat one meal a day and have been for 9 years! I have my own business, I manufacture fitness apparel actually! One thing I don't usually do is schedule meetings that involve eating during the day. I will say something like, "I can GO to lunch with you but would you mind if I just had coffee or ice tea." If I really want to enjoy a certain restaurant with someone during the day, I skip my meal at night.

Kudos to Julie for losing 10 lbs by eating one meal a day! Julie, may I say something honestly to you – If you don't think of what you are doing as a"LIFE SYSTEM" you will surely back track. Changing your psychology at the same time you are changing your habits is critical and not that easy. That is where many people fail. When you come to the realization that you can't
GO BACK many people freak out. You just have to view yourself as completely capable of maintaining this for the REST OF YOUR LIFE.

Also, to the 15 year old – you are too young to be making a decision to eat one meal a day. I have a 15 year old daughter and I would never allow her to do what I do. She can make that decision for herself if she wants to after she is completely grown.

So anyway yes, for me, eating my "life generating nutrients" at night is the way to go.

LST

Hi Linda,
Thanks for the advise, I appreciate it! Everyone is so nice and loving and helpful on this site, with so much help and advise I now know i can do it and will do it. I truley enjoy eating one meal a day, i can't tell you how much better i feel on every aspect of my life. Im like a new person with so much energy.
Thanks everyone for the support !!!!
LOL
Julie

Linda,

Yeah…I was hoping everyone would go to Ori's site and read more details about this. A lot of website owners don't like to send people away from their site, but if I feel a person has really specialized knowledge…I like to link to those sites.

Are We Inherently Night Eaters

Here's the last paragraph as a "teaser" to visit Ori's site. The guy is a true "trailblazer" when it comes to nutrition:

"The premise of the one main meal per day – at night – goes against all industrial interests. It means less money spent on breakfast, less on lunch, less on commercial products and less on doctor bills. An army of nutrition experts would tell you that this goes against any conventional dietary approach and doctors recommendations. Regardless, this is how humans are supposed to eat and if they don't, they will suffer the consequences like most people today do."

Linda…What is cool, is that you are naturally eating this way anyways. I'm the same way. I'm extremely busy during the day and food just slows me down.

Great advice to Julie by the way…I completely agree with you.

Thanks for all the comments guys. I love it when people help each other. I'm lucky to have a generous readers.

Rusty

Thank you so much!

I've been eating this way for 5 months and i've never felt better. I eat a huge meal at about 1am and I sleep well, and detox all day, it's great.

I started a website to show people the advantages of eating like Primal Man called Caveman Power at http://www.cavemanpower.com/ and so far the response has been good.

It seems that we have a lot in common, and i'd like to thank you for campaigning for better health. Your website is an inspiration – it's nice to see somebody who "gets it".

Rusty-

Thank you for the link to Ori's blog. Tnx also for picking out really powerful quotes about the scientific theory/data on why eating one meal a day works. I NEVER KNEW THERE WAS ANY THEORY/DATA AT ALL UNTIL NOW. Like I said above, most folks that I tell (and I don't tell many) that I eat one meal a day look at me like I have an eating DISORDER. If I put my faith in what Ori is saying I can think of the one meal a day/my system as an eating ORDER.

Years ago (10+) when I did eat 3 meals a day I did feel sluggish after lunch. I just muddled through my work with this feeling and I am sure I was not as effective as I could have been. That slowness, that lack of mental alertness, it's a bad feeling. I'm conjurring up that feeling just sittting here thinking/writing about it. Ugh! It's the same feeling I get if I dare eat anything in the day.
Just like you said it slows you down.

Some people might argue that the slowing down is good, but I say WHAT FOR! If you are otherwise completely healthy and according to Ori (and you) more than ordinarily healthy on a one meal a day system, the state of being highly energized is fabulous.

Also, you've seen the latest news circulating the internet about the average life expectancy in the USA falling in the latest data published, have you not? Cheif culprit: OVERWEIGHT AMERICAN ADULTS! That sad fact can be attributed to "industial interests". If expert medical advisors told people to let's just say, EAT LESS (not even going so far as to recommend anything as radical as one meal a day) that would have a dramatic impact on any (Western) economy as your quote from Ori aptly points out.

Oh gosh, I'm spending too much time going on and on here. Have to get back to work.

One last thing, Matthew – I took a look at your website. Very nice!
I need to revamp mine soon maybe you can help.
LST

Wow! It is great to hear all the comments…it's probably only a matter of time until this type of lifestyle gets some "press." With all the other diets and fads out there, I'm surprised this one has never surfaced. I googled this topic because I had never heard anything about it before. When I go back to college in a few weeks, it will be hard to maintain this type of eating though…college, food, and socializing all go together, but we'll see!

Thanks everyone!

Matt…your site is really well put together. Hopefully you will get a few visitors that get here through my site. I will go back and read some of your articles later today.

Linda…the reason I don't like to follow mainstream advice is that the majority of people wind up in poor health pretty early in life (doctors included).

I'd rather learn from a fit and healthy person -vs- an out of shape doctor any day of the week. I'm not a big fan of taking pills as a quick fix, like so many others do these days.

Thanks Rusty

wow lot of comments on this post…I couldn't read all of them.
So in order to lose weight you have to create a calorie deficit this is inevitable right?
What makes me wonder is that the TYPE of food you eat does influence or not your ability to burn fat as long as you stay under your calorie range?
I remember my friends and I had an argument about junk food.
they were convinced that eating junk food makes you fat no matter what.
I said it's simple mathematics if you undereat(it can be only junk food) you will lose weight.
I heard about a fitness expert who wanted to prove this theory by eating only McDonalds products. He had a journal very well detailed, calorie consumption, daily activities, sports…
He created a huge calorie deficit each day so he got lean BY EATING ONLY JUNK FOOD! Of course it's not healty because after few weeks he had a pretty high colesterol but he proved his point.

So what do you recommend people who want to burn fat should they concentrate at the first place on the quality of food they eat or the quantity of it?
I experienced no weight loss when i ate very healthy but didn't cut much calorie.
Now i eat ice-cream and other "bad" things i don't moniter the type of food only the calorie intake.
It works well!

I agree with you that monitoring the calories is the best way to go for the most part. You could get lean by eating junk food, but it certainly not healthy.

One thing to try and monitor to maximize fat loss is to avoid a spike in your insulin levels…this can happen with healthy foods or junk foods.

Sugar can cause a spike in your insulin levels…so can white rice, baked potatoes, and numerous other healthy or junky foods.

The problem with high insulin levels is that your body thinks there is a lot of energy available, so it should start storing fat instead of burning it. So basically high insulin levels halt the fat burning process for a while.

Basically different types of sugars is what causes insulin levels to spike…

You know what! I'm going to write a post about this, because I think many people will find this advice very useful.

Just Finished! Here's the link… How Healthy Diet Foods Can Keep You From Burning Body Fat

Thanks for the great idea!

Awesome Questions Buddy!

Rusty

you're welcome!
i read most of your articles and i'm convinced you are giving great advices for FREE. That's why most people give credit to your articles because you don't make a business out of it.
By the way you're pretty unique with your ideas about getting an attractive body most sites, "experts" concentrate on gaining muscle unlike you.
You are filling a gap in the industry!
Thanks for your enthusiasm!
I'll try to make you busy with my questions in the future:)

I read all the comments on this site. It's great knowing that I'm not the only one that does this, my friends think I am crazy and must be hungry. I started this way of eating a couple years ago not knowing that others did it too. I feel a lot better just eating once and not so tired, and my insomnia stops completely while eating on this schedule. Julie….how are you doing, you are my
motivation! I gained some weight and so started this schedule again, lost 6 pounds in one week so far. It always works and could probably keep the weight off if stayed true to it. Very hard when you are social though, everyone gives you a hard time. I think they pick on you too eat because it justifies their overeating!
My question Rusty is, I love white wine, can I drink it and consider it part of my lunch (I eat 2-3pm) even though I don't drink it until later at night? Thanks for any comments, good luck Julie!

I read all the comments on this site, too! I am a registered nurse and for years have told my patients, what I have been taught is proper nutrition–to eat 5-6 small meals a day. I have been on almost every diet plan and yes, I lose weight for a moment, but never really keep it off. I think extremely low fat diets or no carb diets are the pits! They make life a BIG bore!

Well, to make a long story short, about 20 years ago while working at the hospital, I started to eat one meal a day, by default. I was so busy and frequently used my lunch time to take care of other things rather than eating. I remember having a conversation with the Personnel Director who lost over 30 lbs. She told me that she did it by eating one meal a day. At the time, defying what is the"politically" right way to eat, I started out on the one meal a day lifestyle. I lost over 30lbs myself, in about 3.5 months and never looked or felt better. I had normal blood pressure, perfect skin, hair, and nails. I abandoned this way of eating for many years.

Well, I have come back! I started last week. I have lost 5lbs so far. It has been hard to break the habit of eating at specific times, especially lunch, but I am learning to fill my time with other things, much like I did 20 years ago. I sip pure juices and spring water during the day and dream about my dinner meal. I eat everything until I am SATISFIED!

Rusty, thanks for this website and thanks to all the bloggers!

Thanks,

Margery

P.S. keep up the good work Julie!

Sarah,

I don't think a glass of white wine will do any harm. Wine has health benefits and if you love it…by all means drink it.

Margery,

It is great to hear from a nurse. Sometimes people in the medical field are slow to adapt to new ideas, since they have spent so many years teaching a certain way of doing things. It is great to hear from someone in your profession who is willing to think outside of the box.

I'm with you about the bland no carb diets…or the chicken salad with vinegar dressing type diets. I'd rather eat much less often, but eat what I like when I do eat!

I actually worked with a Vietnamese gentleman who ate just like this. He would drink tea all day long and then just eat dinner with his family when he got home. He was 54 years old and didn't look a day over 35. When I asked him why he ate this way…he said "eating makes you tired…so you can't work as hard". For the record, he was the hardest worker I've ever met as well as one of the heathiest people I've ever known.

Rusty

Thanks for the help! Glad to here I can still drink my wine, it's my only quiet time with the help of the Sopranos. (yes I am watching in 2007) I am very very phobic about eating at night, even though dinner is around 7pm, and I don't sleep until midnite or so. Margery, you don't have any problems eating at night? Have you ever tried just eating a lot at luchtime instead?

We are planning on a vacation for labor day with friends, and it will be really hard just to sit and not eat dinner at a restaurant.

The other thing is that I can only consume about 800 calories in one sitting and I am almost never hungry later…so…that is only around 800 cal. per day. Is this still safe?

Hi Sarah!

I don't have any problems eating in the evening. I look forward to the feeling of relaxation after eating and working a hard day, so I prefer evenings. I have in the past switched my meal to mid-day for social reasons. It works out too, but for me, the evening works better. I think if the general principal of intermittant fasting for 20 hours followed by a period of four hours of eating is followed I believe it does yield great results. That's what Ori states in his website.

Rusty, I am interested in the comment you made about your former co-worker who looked so young for his age. I am particularly interested to find out more about this. This lifestyle can add longevity to one's life.

I did a Google search on this and found and interesting article if I may share it.

http://www.humananatura.org/viewarticle.php?article=168

Hey, Rusty, one more thing….kind of comical!

I had an craving for a Reuben sandwich with lots of Guldens mustard and a salad yesterday. I read Matthew Emery's website, specifically where he recommends that you use your senses to really experience your food. He recommends smelling, looking, tasting, and feeling your food. I happened to stop in a local diner who makes the best Reuben's in the area. When my food arrived my waitress caught me really looking, touching, and smelling my food. I think she thought I was nuts! But let me tell you–what a pleasure it was! I could only eat half of the sandwich because I was so satisfied.

Margery,

That link to the article on one meal a day is amazing! Thanks a bunch (anyone reading this…feel free to share links that pertain to the topics of the posts…as long as it isn't "spammy" I'm cool with links).

As far as Hung Le (the Vietnamese gentleman I worked with) goes…He did many things right. He kept his total calories low each day, he drank a ton of tea and usually a cup of coffee in the morning, kept active all day, and ate his main meal about 2 hours before bed.

They have shown that lab rats have much longer life spans on low calorie diets. I really enjoy doing activities on an empty stomach. People with low energy need to give this a try…they just have to get used to the first two weeks where their body is adapting to this new diet.

Matthew has a really neat website…I'm glad you visited it. He has these crazy videos where he makes his friend run over to a tree to do chinups, then does pushups on the ground, and picks up a big rock for overhead presses! I love this stuff.

Here a link to his site again:
http://www.cavemanpower.com/

Note: I've never met him, since he lives on the opposite side of the globe but there is a lot of useful advice on his blog.

Rusty

It is a great article Marjery, and the CaveMan site is too! Thanks!

Thanks Rusty!

Glad you like the Caveman workout. It's very rough around the edges, but the idea was to capture the spirit rather than the science of what we're doing… which you've understood completely

We're getting into Plyometrics quite a bit now – and the results have been inspiring. We're a big fan of Tabata sets too.

It's all about putting the "work" back into "work-out"

Margery, I was going to share that link to humananatura too! You beat me to it. LOL Great info at that site and visually beautiful as well!

Rusty-

About lab rats and the Vietnamese gentleman. You've just brought up another MAJOR benefit of low calorie systems of eating! Isn't it cool that living a lifestyle that makes one lean, aids in building muscle, and helps one be more attractive also EXTENDS LIFE.

I just joined a Yahoo Health Group who of people living the CRON lifestyle. I don't know if you are familiar with them or not but for anyone who isn't, CRON stands for Calorie Restriction/Optimum Nutrition. This is all about HEALTH and LIFE EXTENSION not FITNESS TRAINING per se. They are a serious bunch who have READING REQUIREMENTS prior to posting. They don't want to have to explain over and over to new folks just what the program is all about so they ask folks to get informed before you chime in. However, anyone can join and read their articles/posts. Pretty neat information and quite specific/scientific. I have not read their guru's book yet, it's called Beyond the 120 Year Die by a Dr. Walford but I have read Healthy Aging by Andrew Weil, MD and Age Right by Karlis Ullis, MD. and recommend both. Here is the link to CRON:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/CRsupportgroup/

Super added benefit of a reduced calorie lifestyle!

Linda,

I'm going to look into this group…as well as lookup those books. Thanks for the great info!

Rusty

Hi all,

This is a really interesting site. I now realize myself that when I fast for spiritual reasons, I am my best physically, mentally and spiritually. I agree with everything written on this site. I have been looking for a new nutrition plan to drop 10-15 lbs. I think I will start this one meal a day program tommorrow. Thank you for the info. I will let you know how I progress.

Reu

Reu,

Thanks! I'm trying my best to find "alternative" solutions that work for weight loss.

You should have no problem dropping 10-20 pounds with this diet. I always feel better when I eat less. I wish more people gave this a shot.

Note…make sure and go over to Ori's site for more details on this nutritional plan.

Cheers!

Rusty

Hi Everyone !!!
Just wanted to give my update, 24 pounds lost total . Yipie, Im becoming the women I know I am !!!! Thanks again and I will keep you all posted!!
LOL
Julie

Julie,

That is wonderful! I love hearing success stories! Keep us posted and keep losing that weight.

Great Job!

Rusty

Hey Julie!

Great job! Let us know some tips that you have!

I myself have lost another 3 lbs, now totalling 8lbs! Itsn't this lifestyle great! As the weeks pass, you will find your appetite changing as well as your habits!

Yippie!!!!!!

Margery

hi everyone…im 22 years old and have been on EVERY diet conceivable and am still 19kg overweight the idea of 1 meal a day has been playing on my mind for a while now, and after reading this site i feel so comforted knowing that lots of people do it, and have lost weight successfully!
I have a few queries though….

1) can you eat carbs at night if your 1 meal is dinner? i have constantly been under the mentality that carbs are bad

2) how regular are people who eat like this? i have to make a trip to the loo once a day or i go crazy! i cant stand the idea of all that crap sitting stagnant in my system

3) everyone who has mentioned they eat like this say they have unlimitless energy etc etc…in the past when i have gone for more than 6 hrs without eating, ive gotten very cranky, lethargic and my blood sugar goes haywire, unfortunately. If i start eating 1 meal, will these symptoms happen, and if so will they go away after a while? and how long will this take?

also…i am wondering whether the 'limitless energy' everyone is having is due to the ketogenic effect of limiting calories? i hate that feeling of being light-headed and in a daze when i havent eaten…did anyone else overcome this successfully?
thanks!

Katrina,

Great questions. The feeling of being light headed is because your body is used to burning food for energy…since you don't have food (carbs) in your body, you will feel a little light headed.

This will go away after a 7-10 on this diet. Eventually your body will learn to burn your stored body fat for energy and that is how you lose weight.

Here is something interesting that I've never thought of before…every person I know that is having difficulty losing weight, has this "light-headed" feeling you describe when they go without food. It completely makes sense…they haven't trained their bodies to use their body fat as fuel! I think once you do that…you will finally experience weight loss! This might be the only diet that will "force" your body to do that.

As far as what to eat at night…you can eat basically anything you want. The rule of thumb is stop eating once your thirst is greater than your hunger. Go to the bottom of this page and Ori will explain his "rules of eating" http://www.warriordiet.com/

As far as being "regular"…your digestive system will feel healthier than it ever has!

One last thing…you can eat tiny amounts of food (the less you eat the better) during the day…"During the undereating phase, one should minimize food consumption to mostly raw fruit and vegetables, soups, and small amounts of light protein foods. "

I usually eat a low calorie protein shake in the morning at some point and an apple with a glass of water a few hours later.

Here is an article I did on my Fuji Apple strategy:

How Fuji Apples Can Help You Slim Down Your Fat Butt!

Hope that helps!

Rusty

Hi Rusty,

THANKYOU…that was brilliant advice! I am going to start this way of eating tomorrow…whats even better is that I LOVE Fuji apples but haven't eaten them for ages.

Would you believe, I haven't actually experienced true hunger for months now? I just eat alot every few hours to prevent that light headed/dazed feeling we have been discussing…so I really hope I'll be able to get that hungry feeling back that I know is burning fat.

Unfortunately, I really don't get a chance to exercise at all, and I won't be able to start a fully committed exercise program until the end of next month….will this affect the way I lose weight?

Katrina,

You will definitely be able to lose weight without exercising. Exercising really comes into play when you are close to your ideal weight and need to lose that last bit of fat.

Just start off dieiting and begin execising when you get the time. You should see great results!

Rusty

Thanks Rusty….I will definitely post back here in a little while and let you know how I go

To Julie and Margery:

WAY TO GO GIRLS! It's so nice to hear about successful results. Stay strong!

After I'd been eating one meal a day for awhile (6-8 months), I started to feel pressure from the outside to CHANGE BACK to the way I was living before. In the early days my husband and I shared an office. My husband would say at noontime, "Let's get out of here. Let's go to lunch." or he would be out of the office, on his way back, and call to see if I wanted him to bring me something to eat.

I found it very hard to either go along for the outside lunch and just have coffee/ice tea or just sit with him (after asking him to bring me just an ice tea). Especially when I was so energized by living my own plan of eating. I wanted to STAY BUSY and avoid situations where I would feel bad if I were not participating fully. Many times, about going out to lunch, I would say ,"I'll just stay here and get X,Y, and Z done." or about bringing me something, "No thanks, you don't need to bring me anything."

My husband started to get angry that I refused to go out to lunch or sit with him when he can back. He started to put pressure on me to CHANGE BACK. Of course he loved the SLIM me and of course, underneath it all he wanted to spend time with me. However, sometimes people will try to coax you into doing what they want in increasingly aggressive ways. My husband used to accuse me of not caring about him by going about my business instead of sitting down and having "LUNCH" with him. This hurt!

Of course we all have life situations that must be negotiated, so I sat with him and sipped my coffee or tea and talked about stuff at least half of the time. I had to make that compromise for the sake of my relationship. For me though, once I was in the state of being highly energized it was difficult to sit still. I felt and I still feel like I accomplish so much during the day, which makes me feel GREAT about myself.

So my point is, people may pressure you into CHANGING BACK but if you have the awareness that this might occur you can prepare yourself in advance to be strong when and if it happens.

Hi Margery & Katrina,

I too have tried every diet in the world, but they did not work only because I could not follow them. I am addicted to junk food, fast food, Im so busy with my business that I have little or no time to help myself when it comes to eating healthly.

But the amazing thing is, I finally now can take care of myself. Truthfully once I started this one meal a day, the first two weeks were a fast food lunch and I ate it between 1pm and 2pm in the afternoon every day. I still eat at this time.

Rusty told me to drink diet soda at night if I could not sleep or if I was hungry which did help me get thru it.

I also found that by drinking the one can of diet soda I would loose only a 1/2 pound for that day or nothing, but that was so okay with me for I am seeing daily proof that my weight is just falling off of me. I knew that it was just falling off a little too fast. So when I want a diet root beer I will have one .

I also go to sams club and buy 6 cases of crystal lite every week, it has orange which tastes like orange juice, and over crushed ice its awesome, and rasberry, and lemonaid. All are just great, and its i think 5 calories.

After the two weeks of eating one meal a day of JUNK, and seeing my body in the mirror I just wanted to start eating better. I feel like this is a sience class and the subject is my body, and I have to montior everything I do to see what works and what does not work, as far as counting calories or fat grams, no I do not do it and eating a big mac at mcdonalds with lite sauce and a large fri and a hot fudge sunday and a small reg. coke sounds like a lot of calories and a lot of fat which it is , but that junk food got me thru the first few weeks.

I can say Im now sick of it and Im eating at pamaria bread or subway for lunch with no fries. I do not want fries, can you belive it!!! I seem to get full very fast.

My goal was originally to only loose 40 pounds, but seeing its so easy and Im so happy, and life is great, and this time its all coming off, I am going for the full 65 that I really need to loose.

I can't believe all the years I lost, my entire 20's gone, because of being overweight. Im one who they always say, "oh you have such a pretty face". Whatever.!!!! Who cares!!! I want them to say WOW, what a hot body and at 35:). I will be 35 in Jan 08, and that is my goal, to be 125. Im 5.8' and I think that is a good weight. Maybe 130, not sure until I see how I look.

Overall, their have been some hard times like parties, or going out to dinner with family. On those days I do not eat my one meal a day, I just eat at dinner or at the party and that is all i get, its at a different time, I do not loose any weight but I just stay the same. Oh, and I drink wine or beer at these events too, so Its just wonderful.

Thanks Rusty for your site. Happiness is just now pooring into my life and its been very long over due.
I love you!!! Thanks soooooooooooooooooo much!!

Talk to you soon on my update
LOL everyone!
Julie

Oh and on the exercise thing , I havn't done too much, just walking about 1 hour 3 times a week and that is it.
LOL
Julie

Julie,

I am absolutely pumped that you are losing weight like crazy! I do my best to give out great information that actually works and doesn't just sound good on paper.

You will experience a serious confidence boost when you are in great shape…it will pour over into all other areas of your life. It is because of people like you, that I post to this fitness site as much as possible.

Kick Butt Julie!

Rusty

I have just stumbled across yous site and I like what I am hearing.
For years I have been eating "normally".I am not particularly overweight and I am very active during the day but Ive found that
eating during the day simply makes me tired.For example ,yesterday….and this is true…….I and some friends were half way up a mountain(I live in Scotland) getting battered by the wind and rain.I was feeling great and loving every minute of it.We decided to stop lunch.I ate two light sandwiches.No problem!I followed it up with an 'energy bar' from my local health food store.It contained nuts and fruit and was all held together with honey.It was very heavy and very high in calories…presumably to provide
energy.Half an hour later I would willingly have thrown myself
off that damned hill.I was exhausted,depressed and asking myself
what the hell I was doing there.I have known for years that this is my reaction almost any calorie intake during the day.So now that I have found your site I intend to 'go for it' and I will keep you posted.Good luck to everyone…Lawrtence.

Lawrence

LOL I love the way you describe your noontime meal on the mountain. Yeah! I am so with you on that. There is an element of "depression" in that feeling.

Also, yeah, energy bars are MARKETED on the premise of providing energy.

Lawrence,

That is my experience exactly! If I was on the mountain, I would have maybe packed an apple and water. I think our bodies are meant to sleep after big meals…that is why I eat my bigger meals at night before bed.

When I was kid, I would play all day without eating and I had abundant energy. I was starved when I got home and ate a big meal at night…I was very lean then and full of energy.

This strategy works!

Rusty

Hi Julie,

I read your post 6 posts above and thought OMG…thats me too!
I've ALWAYS been the one who gets the 'what a pretty face' comment…arrgghhhh!!!!! Its so frustrating being 22, having friends who are all a size 6, and being fat who cares about the face!

Ive been doing the one meal a day for a couple of days now, like you I eat around 12-2pm instead of at night, I find that I get hungry (woohoo! lol) around then, and don't feel hungry for the rest of the day….

I haven't really lost any weight yet (i know its only been 2 days) but how soon am i supposed to see a change? also, when i have my big meal i notice i have a biiig 'spare tyre' around my waist, will this go as i lose weight but continue to eat big meals? Rusty, maybe you will be able to shed some light on this.
Cheers,

Kat

Rusty~ Do you know a good site to find out how many calories your body needs daily. I am an athlete, so I exercise a lot, and I also have classes all day long, so I am only able to eat late at night. I don't want to lose but I don't want to gain either, so I am trying to find out what my daily calorie in take should be. I want a site that's a little more than just using that formula I've heard about before in biology class (haha).

Thanks!

McKinsey,

Glad you asked:

This is the best "calorie calculator" I have found:

http://www.hpathy.com/healthtools/calories-need.asp

You will enjoy this helpful tool!

Rusty

Kat,

Two things are happening right now:

1) You body is "learning" how to burn fat as fuel. Chances are, if you have had a tough time losing weight in the past, it is because your body isn't good at using fat for fuel. Right now it still "thinks" that you are going to feed it soon, so it is still holding on to the fat you have. Once you do a few more days of this, your body is going to adapt by burning fat for energy. So right now you are re-training your body to burn fat for fuel instead of food for fuel.

2) Your stomach will gradually get smaller by eating only one meal per day. Right now, you just have a larger capacity to eat since you have been eating throughout the day. This will change and you will eventually get a smaller stomach and require less food to feel satisfied.

Hope that helps,

Rusty

Kat,

Two things are happening right now:

1) You body is "learning" how to burn fat as fuel. Chances are, if you have had a tough time losing weight in the past, it is because your body isn't good at using fat for fuel. Right now it still "thinks" that you are going to feed it soon, so it is still holding on to the fat you have. Once you do a few more days of this, your body is going to adapt by burning fat for energy. So right now you are re-training your body to burn fat for fuel instead of food for fuel.

2) Your stomach will gradually get smaller by eating only one meal per day. Right now, you just have a larger capacity to eat since you have been eating throughout the day. This will change and you will eventually get a smaller stomach and require less food to feel satisfied.

Hope that helps,

Rusty

PS: Read this recent post, if you haven't already. It explains this in detail: Burn Fat on Demand By Getting Hungry

I'm trying the one meal a day diet because I just gave birth to my 2nd child. I weighed 203 at the time I gave birth and 183 2 weeks later. I guessing most of that was water retention. But I visited relatives this past weekend and I ate some fast food, which I feel very guilty for, but i'm back on track now and I will keep you posted on my success!!

LaKesha,

Give it a shot and make sure you keep us posted on the results!

Rusty

Hi All,

I have just started this diet and only eat one meal at night but do eat an apple and two satsumas during the day. I drink only hot water and occasional cups of tea. Will me eating fruit during the day slow down the weight loss?

Thanks,
Tracy

Tracy,

Feel free to eat a bit of fruit. That is what Ori Hofmekler recommends, so it should work well.

Rusty

Hey Julie,
We are so alike! I am 35 also, but 5'5" and trying to get to 120-125! I can't beleive you lost that much weight so fast. I have lost 8 pounds in the two weeks which is still good. The diet soda really slows things down for me too. I was eating a lot of Mcdonalds also, love the fries, but started eating Subway without the chips and just water. I feel much better! I eat around 12-2pm also, and eat grapes at night if I get hungry.
Katrina-Good Luck, it gets a lot easier after the first week and the light headed feeling does go away.

P.S. Julie, I still drink the wine and beer too sometimes, and don't feel it reverses anything, the beer is pretty filling though.

Thanks Rusty,

How much weight loss can I expect to lose on average. I appreciate that at first it might be significant but as an average rule on this diet what would it be?

Thanks,
Tracy

Tracy,

The rule of thumb is this:

The more weight you need to lose, the more weight you will lose per week.

If someone needs to drop 50 pounds they could lose 2-4 pounds per week. If another person needs to lose 5 pounds they may only drop 1 pound or less per week.

I guess an average would be 2 pounds per week, but that is hard to say for sure.

Rusty

Hi All,
I stumbled upon this site because I have been eating this way for a week(not intentionally!) I was sick with the flu and I didnt have an appetite for any foods the first couple of days except light things like fruit or soup.I have been hungry once a day and usually have noodle soup and/or banana.I am no longer sick but still eating this way BECAuse this way of eating is making my mid-day blahs go away.I would eat and eat so much during the day I would be so sleepy at lunchtime it was ridiculous.With this way of eating I am not hungry,I feel in control and I have went from 187 to 179 already.I am 5'3 1/2,small boned and the best weight for me is around 125-130.Even my husband is noticing my weight loss!! Eating this way makes me have more energy and I feel sure that I will accomplish this weight goal again but I will also maintain it this time.I am 26 years old and I am looking forward to getting my body back!! And way to go Julie!! I'm on your trail:)

Tamara,

Great comment! I used to get super-tired in the middle of the day by eating a big lunch at noon.

You may find that you will eventually get in better shape at 26, then you were in your teens…I know that is what happened to me when I began eating this way in my early 30's.

Rusty

Thanks Rusty! Another 1lb lost this morning and I am energized enough to dust off the ol' elliptical. lol My big goal is to be in the best shape of my life when birthday 27 rolls around in April AND to be toned as well.I am tired of going to the beach and sleeping in the hotel room, eating room service:) Its not fair to our kids and they were beginning tp notice.I want to be the mom running out on the beach,playing volleyball WITH her family not on the sidelines.For everyone else I say just give it a go.I actually stumbled into it but I kept it up because its making me actually feel 26 again!! I feel the real me coming back!

Tamara

Hi! I've been a reader of this site for a while now.

Let me start of by saying this. I love this site. Before I stumbled upon it I was doing one meal a day. my highest weight was 252 lbs and I easily went down to 242 lbs in a little more than a week! I was so happy. When people asked me how I did it, I told them I was eating one meal a day, usually after 6 pm. Bad idea. I should have known people wouldn't readily accept this way of eating. I let them talk me into eating 5-6 mini meals a day. Well, I didn't lsoe any weight eaiting that way. That lead me to overeat. I'm a compulsive-obsessive eater. Once I put something in my mouth, I can't stop. An hour later I eat like crazy again. But then guess what? I didn't lose any weight of course. But I didn't gain any back, either! Which made me wonder if it really WAS water weight loss. I would think it was fat loss.

I dunno how people can eat 5-6 mini meals a day. How can they take the time to do that? Most of us lead busy lives and have busy schedules. My energy takes a dip at 3 pm if I eat throughout the day. Eating one meal a day, usually in the evening, I have so much energy. I can focus on other important things like my classes and work.

I weighed myself this morning and I weigh 239.5 lbs. My goal is to get down to 120 lbs (110 if I can in a healthy way). I'm only 5 feet tall, medium frame. Like many ladies here, I spent my whole teenage life overweight and unhappy. I'm 22 now (gonna be 23 next month) and it's time I took life in my own hands.

I can't weight to see where I am weight-wise by next Friday

Thank you for this great site, Rusty! And congratulations to all you people who have followed this way of eating and lost weight

Way to go Amber!! I don't have as much to lose, but I can tell you that I have used this way of eating many times. It always works, and I'm not tired during the day (unless I eat too early). For social reasons, sometimes I get off track. But as Julie said you can just eat your one meal at that event and that's it. The biggest problem I have is friends and family. Always think you're starving (maybe because they are?) so they force food or comments on you. I usually don't tell anyone the life change I've made, just that maybe I already ate or something. The first week take a little adjusting to, but with the extra energy, you can keep busy and soon it's time to eat. Hope this is encouraging, good luck!!

Tamara,

That is awesome. I want you to feel good about going to the beach as well…the beach makes me happy, so it is something that you don't want to miss out on in life. If the posts and comments by the readers here help you get there, then it is definitely worth my while to keep writing every day and reach as many people as possible.

Amber,

You message resonates with A LOT of women. You are still super-young, so just do what it takes to get fit…I'm rooting for you! Seriously…you have one life to live, so you might as well make it as fun as possible.

Sarah,

I completely understand where you are coming from when you tell people you are only eating one meal. For me, my friends only see me at night when I'm eating my big meal…they are shocked that I can stay so lean, while eating quite a bit of food in that one meal.
I once told them that I eat only one meal a day and they tell me how unhealthy it is. Now I keep this info to myself!

Great comments ladies!

Rusty

Rusty you are so right, you almost have to keep it to yourself. I think it is so great that you are so inspiring and encouraging. Most fitness "gurus's" wouldn't care as much about keeping people motivated, more of just trying to get their message heard. Thank you!

Morning, all! I lost 2 lbs since yesterday and now I'm down to 237.5 lbs. Woohoo! And I didn't skimp on last night's dinner, either. I had some lentils and bread and a big bowl of cheerios.

hi everyone,
Just wanted to say that I have been making great progress, I do not weigh myself but solely judge based on my clothes. I was only eating one meal a day around 5pm and drinking diet green tea and water through the day. I am going to start adding a small protein shake in the morning after I exercise and then a small shake at lunch time (Musclemilk protein) with my main meal between 4-5pm. Do you think that this is a good way to go. I an trying to drop 10-15lbs in the next 5 wks.

thanks Reu

Hi all,
Just stopping in. 176 as of this morning!!! Couldnt be happier and I have went down a dress size also:) People are noticing and commenting but I choose to keep my method to myself.In my family eating is sacred and they would surely think I am coo-coo/anorexic so mums the word…..lol

Amber,

Right on…it does work once you let your body adapt. I haven't had cheerios in ages. I like the frosten ones!

Reu,

That will work very well. I do something similar…usually a tiny bit of protein in the morning and even less at around 1:30pm…then I don't really eat a meal until the evening. This helps keep me at a low body fat and high energy level year-round.

Tamara,

What is great about this diet is that it keeps working until you reach your target weight. That is awesome that you are dropping weight. Good idea not to tell the family…it takes a looong explanation for anyone to understand the principles here!

Keep on kicking butt!

Rusty

People love this post:)) Most popular post on your blog!

Yeay…I could start an entire blog on just this diet alone. It is controversial, yet extremely effective!

Rusty

I'm 16, and i have the perfect body everywhere accept for my ab and love handle area and a small waist. I've been on tons of different diets with my mom (47) trying to become leaner. She is not very overweight herself but she lost a few pounds from every diet and then stopped losing weight.From this- she lost a lot. I, on the other hand, exercise for 3 hours everyday running at least 4 miles and on the OTHER diets i hardly lost any weight. We both were tired of the "tiny meals" thing, so we tried the warrior diet. It's been four weeks, and I feel better all the time, i haven't gotten sick at all. Other posts said they got hungry, but i never did. And the diet fits my schedule but i eat at 10 because of my soccer schedule. I can pretty much eat anything i want and i stay slim.

And i snack on nuts and eat alot of water.
and i'm not afraid to go to mcdonalds after practice anymore : )
love the diet!

I've been following this for 5 days now, i have lost 3kg (im australian – i think its about 1kg=2 pounds roughly) It is my 5th day today and i hate the daytime, i find it so hard to stop thinking about food and my body feels 'weak' from what i have read i spoze this is going to change once i get used to it, dinner time is joyous, i feel like myself again, nice and full! I will post again in a week and let you know how its going.

Lisa
26
119kg

Nona,

That is great! As far as that last little bit of fat. If you do soccer on an empty stomach, that is basically High Intensity Interval Training. You will eventually burn off that last bit of body fat.

Here is an article I did on High Intensity Interval Training, which is basically the type of workout you get playing soccer.

An Aerobic Workout Program That Forces Your Body to Burn Fat

You will reach your goals!

Rusty

Lisa,

The hunger and weakness does end eventually. It is weird…at some point you just aren't as hungry and then you really begin to lose that stubborn body fat.

Rusty

i m jessica ,from italy , i m not too fat but i want try this
diet,even if i tried before but i felt very dizzy and weack during the day ,i cannot continue to eat a lot because i don t feel well with myself and i m not able to accept my body shape(i m short and not too slim)… good luck to everyone … best wishes …

Jessica,

Welcome! I need to visit Italy some day. All of us in the U.S. have a dream of a romantic trip to Italy during our lifetime.

Thanks for writing a comment and please, update us on your progress. I bet you will do well with this diet.

Rusty

I have done the one meal a day before and I am now back on it and I have lost 5 pounds this week. I like what Linda said about it being a lifestyle and not a diet. Diets will fail but lifestyle changes last. I mostly eat fruit throughout the day and my kids are looking for something to eat when they come home from school, so I cook and it my meal at that time. Usually about 4pm. I do not eat anything else but fruit and water for the rest of the evening.

Hi Sonja -

It is so funny you mentioned the "LIFESTYLE" aspect of eating one meal a day, today of all days. Last night I was reading Healthy Aging, by Andrew Weil, M.D. AGAIN and he talks about just that in the capter I was reading.

Let me pull out two quotes I found meaningful. He said, "Contemporary eating habits are cause for great concern. Fast food has replaced meals cooked at home. Refined and processed foods fill the shelves of supermarkets. people jump from one fad diet to the next and health care professionals are not much help, because their education in nutrition, if any, was inadequate".

And:

"Most books that come across my desk are diet books, intended to help people lose weight. It should be obvious by now that diets don't work, except in the short term. By definition, diets are regimens that you go off of, and when people go off them, lost weight is almost always regained. The main predictor of success with any diet is whether people stick to it." He goes on to talk about his own plan for healthy nutritional intake.

But I was thinking what makes a person stick to something. What change is needed in ones psyche to have enough motivation to adopt a reduced calorie plan of eating for a lifetime.

To me you have to make extreme negative associations in your mind about the habit that you don't want to keep doing. Like if you are trying to quit smoking let's say, I've heard it recommended that you look at photos of highly deseased lungs from a lung cancer victims in order to make a negative association really graphic.

So if someone is trying to become lean and fit they need to make extreme negative associations in their heads about being overweight. One only has to start thinking about the scary things that can happen to you if diabetes goes uncontrolled and you can begin to have some serious good reasons for not becoming overweight.

Good luck to you!

Linda,you are so right! This may sound stupid, but if I wake up with a feeling that I may revert back to my old lifestyle, I do have to have a reminder. Most of the time I get this feeling if I just lost a few pounds and I think those extra snacks won't matter! Don't laugh, but what I do is just put on tighter clothing (the skinny clothes from the back of the closet) and wear them. Usually the pants are so tight I don't eat and the mirror and the ugly way I feel is enough to psyche me out and keep me well on track. Like I said, don't laugh, but it does work for me! Thanks for the intellectual advice, that's what I love reading.

Hi all. I kind of had a bad week and didn't try as hard as I should have.

I'm still at 237.5 lbs. I tried the one meal a day thing and it worked fine… until my classes got more hectic and I was getting 3 hours of sleep. I was drowsy throughout the day so I thought I'll get some energy from the food I eat. Which I did, but only for a couple hours. Then I was drowsy again and then had more food. Vicious cycle.

But I've got things under control now and shouldn't have more problems. I'm going back to one meal a day. I love how I feel throughout the day when I eat like this. And just need to force myself to get more sleep. I'm going to report my loss next Friday.

I'm glad you have a forum/comment area thingy for this. If you go to a weight loss forum and tell them about how you're losing weight eating once a day, they become so unsupportive. It becomes very discouraging and depressing. I mean, sure, yeah, okay, 5 meals a day may work for them but why is it so difficult for them to accept that it's not for everyone?

Sarah-

Yeah, I can so relate to that. That's exactly how I tell if I need to forego my end of the day sweet. If my jeans are a little tight I don't eat the sweet for a day or two.

Also, when people ask me why I only eat one meal a day, I have an irreverent comeback. I say, "I don't want to look like the side of a BUS." They usually laugh a little bit. Seriously though I really think the negative assaociations a person makes in their head need to be as BIG AS A BUS, in order to be acted upon on a consistant basis. Especially when someone is trying to change their behavior. The change needs to be viewed as a LIFE IMPERATIVE.

Linda,
I so agree with you. A few of my negative assocations are my father is diabetic and overweight, my mother has lost weight and is petite but is still Type 2 diabetic and my grandmother, who for as long as I can remember has been diabetic. I was taking her to dialysis 3 days a week for a long time until she fell and broke her hip a few months ago. She also had a sore on her foot that would not heal and they just amputated her leg about 2 weeks ago. That is the one thing that she never wanted to happen. Also I like to put up positive things like a picture of what I want to look like. Also one thing that I do is set my mind on not eating meals during the day by keeping busy and I know that I will be able to eat later.

Can I ask you a question?

How do you deal with day time cravings? I know keeping busy is one thing but what if you find yourself absolutely free with nothing to do?

My problem is that the minute a bite of food passes my lips, I'm in trouble. Whether it's fruits or anything else that's healthy. I'm a binge eater and eat completely out of boredom (but not an emotional eater. I actually lose my appetite when I'm stressed or sad). That's why it works out best for me if I eat at night, usually 9 pm, 'cuz I go to bed at 12 or 1 am, not full but not craving anything else, either.

I feel like such a weakling for not being able to control myself. Do you guys have any tips for dealing with cravings? I'd rather eat when I'm physically hungry, not when I'm craving something.

Amber,
Believe me, if I can do you can do it. I am the queen of going out to eat. I like to try every restuarant and sample all the items on the menu. I also love to cook.You have to make up in your mind that I will not eat that. Also if you are bored, you are going to have to find a hobby, like reading ,sowing,gardening,volunteer work, etc. You have to have a plan. There is a saying, " If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." I know what I am going to eat the next day. Most successful people in anything are busy people or productive people. If you stay busy you will not think about food. When I am busy I will forget to eat. I only get in trouble when I am not doing anything. Also find other ways to treat yourself. Massages, bubble baths, movies, go shopping with friends, etc. One more thing. If it is not in the house, you can't eat it. I do not buy sodas and sweets and have them around the house. I have lost 50 lbs and this is the basic of it: I walk one hour everyday. If I can not walk, I do a step aerobics tape at home. I walk before I eat anything. I am hungry after my walk so I come home and eat an apple or orange and water, which usually kills the hunger pangs. I don't eat most the day. If I want somethng, I will eat and apple or orange. Now I am eating when the kids are out of school around 4pm. Fruit and water thereafter. I hope this helps.

Amber,

Reaching any goal is basically the same…2 steps forward and 1 step back. This is especially true with weight loss!

What I mean is that you will lose 6 pounds, gain back 3…lose 8 pounds then gain back 4. If you concentrate just on the short period of time that you are gaining weight, you will be completely discouraged!

Over the long-haul you will reach your goal, but it isn't a linear process.

About the weight loss forums…they try to tear me up in there as well…LOL! You aren't the only one. I am supportive of everybody's point of view. I think there are many, many ways to reach your fat loss goals.

Sonja gave out some great advice. Also…the more weight you lose the easier this becomes.

Rusty

Sonja -

I'm sorry about your grandmother. That is so sad. So you know first hand what overweight can lead to. It is also so good that you think positive too. I do too. I'm in the garment business so I'm always browsing fashion magazines and catalogs and that helps keep me on track.

Amber-

I'm trying to remember what it was like to have cravings while I was losing weight. I just stayed busy, period. If I didn't have anything to do I created something to do, like go online, read a book, call someone, help at the kids school, sew something, knit something, anything. ANYTHING except eat. There are so many things to find joy in other than eating. The comfort that comes from eating is so fleeting. (I'm a poet! LOL)

You know NOW I'm just trying to maintain my weight, I don't need to lose anymore but if I do crave something, I make sure I get some of whatever I'm craving and include it in my evening meal. I'll think about it and make a special trip to the store for it. That's important. It's nice to reward yourself with something you want after you work hard. Just make sure the reward doesn't blow your whole day like eating a whole carton of Ben and Jerry's!

Don't label yourself a binge eater either. Banish that thought from your head. You are a normal person who is now going to limit your caloric intake to a lower than AMA recommended amount for the sake of your health and the way you look. That's all. Eating is not really that important in the grand scheme of things. You just need to do it to survive. It's all the other things you do in life that make up your life.

You are not a weakling. You are very strong for attempting to do what you are doing. I give you so much credit. Stay with it!

Dealing with daytime cravings is only a matter of wanting the final result (a trim new you) more than you want the food at that very time. I suffer very much with this, i am not one who thinks very far ahead most the time (thanks god for my husband- he thinks SO far ahead) and the only thing that is keeping me on track while i am going crazy with hunger and cravings is the thought of me being all thin liek the old days and my husband giving me that LOOK which i noticed i am just not getting anymore.. THAT fuels me.. along with the thought that the longer i do this, the easier its going to be. I too am home all day (got a 1 year old girl) and i feel like im there sitting on my hands staring at the clock half the day! Find your fuel.. use it when you have a crave attack.

HURRY UP DINNER TIME!!!

PS 5kgs gone so far

You guys are great, thank you all for the advice. You're right, I should just find something to keep me busy. If there's nothing to do, I should create something to do.

I'm going to keep this up and weigh only once a week. Even though I'm losing somewhere between 1-2 lbs per day, I start thinking, "Hmm… I'm doing so good, it won't matter if I eat more." So Friday's will be my weigh-in day. Now the difficult part is trying to keep away from the scale. Lol.

I'm also a fast-food junkie. At home we don't keep any junk or whatever. That's one of the reasons why I eat at 9. I tell myself I can have anything as long as it's after 9 pm. And I'm usually at home by then so the only thing to eat is healthy stuff at home.

Admin,
I want to thank you for this site because it is so hard to find supportive people to encourage you and talk to you about eating habits and weightloss. I know alot of people who want to lose weight but wont go walking with me. One thing I discovered is that if you are going to do anything don't let it be contingent upon other people joining you. Sometimes I have someone to exercise with, but most of the time I do not. I like Nike's slogan, "Just Do It".

Amber-

Excellent idea about weighing yourself once a week. If you could go longer than that before weighing yourself, even better. You will have more success if you don't put a great deal of mental energy into "how much you are losing". Put your mental energy into keeping busy.

Amber, You're gonna get there! To that place where there are no cravings and you're not hungry all the time. When you do eat your meal, put some of your favorites in there (I eat a chocolate pudding cup with my one meal sometimes) then you don't feel you are giving up everything. This doesn't have to be the strictest regimen, but mostly healthy and calorie concious. I can agree with Rusty that you will lose five gain two etc. The salt is my biggest enemy. To stay busy………CLEAN!, even if you are not a neat person, just clean anything. Time flies and you'll burn extra calories. Even if everything is already clean, clean again…baseboards..windows..organize closets…anything. I have three kids, so there's always something to clean, and I don't necessarily like it. Reading and watching tv just doesn't work for me. Good luck!

Hi Everyone! It is so nice to hear positive experiences from people who are eating one meal a day. I keep hearing all the time "eat 6 meals a day". Well I'm neither hungry enough to eat 6 times a day nor do I have the imagination to come up with enough variety to stick to it. I have been eating one meal a day for a week now and I feel great. I usually eat my meal at lunch time…around 1:00 pm or 1:30 pm. This works great for me. At first, I felt sluggish, but now that my body is used to it, I have more energy than when I ate 2-3 times per day. Plus I don’t have any junk food or snack cravings! I only eat healthy foods and I drink organic fruit juice and water….no sodas. (Of course I found out how unhealthy sodas are a while back and ceased drinking them then.) I also started exercising….at least 30 minutes of very brisk walking 4-5 times per week. The funny part is I actually look forward to it!

Anyway, I can already feel a difference in my clothes and it’s only been one week. I’m looking forward to continued success. Julie, I am proud of you. I was so excited when I saw your posts. Wow….24 pounds within a month. That is phenomenal. I’m sure people have been asking you what you’ve been doing and I know they almost can’t believe it. With all those diets and get-slim-quick pills out there, it’s nice to see that people are doing it the natural and healthy way.

I wish everyone much success!

So here's my problem….

I posted a long time ago…when this site was fairly new. I am a competitive runner, so I have to be careful about what I eat. Here's my problem. I feel like I am gaining weight on this diet because when do eat my large meal, I binge and eat everything in sight. It's like, when I get started, I can't stop. Like you said Rusty, calories in, calories out. How do I figure out how much I should be eating at one time? I have also heard that if you eat more than your body can handle, the body stores the excess food/nutrients as fat. Is this true?

Thanks so much!!!

Well I don't know if this will help, but it has worked for me. They say that it takes 20 minutes for your brain to register that you are full or satified. So when you eat you should eat a plate of food and wait 20 minutes. Tell yourself when the time is up I will eat again.When the 20 minutes is up, you will probably not be hungry.I believe when you are eating everything in sight , you have not given your brain time to register that you are satisfied. Just a suggestion.

True, eat slower…..I can only eat about 800 calories at once, and you can't be eating much more than that. But if I eat slower, I feel full sooner (about 15-20 min.) then stop, changes to around 500 calories. Also, eat the vegetable and protein first then the carbs and then fats. Vegetable soup first with your dinner, and you will probably be too full to eat all the carbs and fat at the end. I heard about the storing of excess as fat also…Rusty..any comments??

Mckinsey-

Since you are a competitive runner I would think you would probably need to eat a bit more on a one meal a day plan than folks like me who just want to stay slim and don't work out strenuously. But it certainly would not be good for anyone no matter how much they work out to BINGE eat.

I have a fairly active lifestyle but at this moment in time I'm not involved in any fitness regemine. With that in mind, an evening meal for me would be to just eat what I like, but I don't ever eat huge quantities or eat til I'm stuffed. Normally I just have a regular dinner like grilled salmon with herbs (or an amazing cucumber dill sauce with a base of plain yogurt), garlic mashed potatoes and a green vegatable like green beans or broccoli (or salad). I may, if I'm super hungry have seconds of something but I don't gorge or pig out. Also I have two glasses of milk, cause I don't want to develop osteoporosis like my mother. Then I have a little sweet as a treat like one small scoop of ice cream or a couple Pepperidge Farms Mint Milano cookies. Then I'm done.

Mckinsey,

Linda has good advice here. You are exceptionally active, so you will have to adjust.

Even Ori recommends small snacks throughout the day. Mainly raw fruits and vegetables. These just have to be really low calorie. You kind of have to fine tune to see what works for you.

I am also very active, so I drink a low calorie protein shake in the morning and an apple around 1:30pm. I typically workout at around 6:00 or so…then eat a decent sized meal at around 8:00.

I like being slim and toned, but if someone wanted to have more muscle mass…they would need to tweak a few things.

Ori has great info on his main site as well as his blog. I respect his intellectual property, so I can't really give out info directly from his book… http://www.warriordiet.com/

Mike Mahler has a really, really great 2 part interview with Ori Hofmekler right here…

http://bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler49.htm

This is a must read for those interested in losing weight like this!

Rusty

Rusty, can I ask you something? Or anybody else, who would like to answer, that's good, too. People following this way of eating are open minded so I know they'll look at this question as open mindedly as they can, too.

What do you guys think of fasting as a method of losing weight? Not long term fasts but, say, 3 day fasts? Where you eat nothing and consume only water? And then break the fast on the 4rth day and then get back to it on the next day, fasting for the next three days after that. I've heard both ends of the story. What do you think?

Amber,

Great question! You can lose weight quickly over the short term if you do it properly…and you can safely and effectively lose WAY more than the 1-2 pounds per week that most people recommend.

Lyle McDonald is a guy that not many people have heard about, but he is basically a nutrition genius. I am very well read when it comes to nutrition…and this guy's knowledge when it comes to nutrition is insane!

He has a book called "The Rapid Fat Loss Hand Book: A Scientific Approach to Crash Dieting"…This may be the most cutting edge diet info I've ever read (equal to Ori Hofmekler's one meal per day diet).

Here is the link:
http://bodyrecomposition.com/store/Bookpages/rflinfo.html

I own the book. If I ever feel the need to drop 8-15 pounds in two weeks…I use this diet. I have only used this diet once about a year and half ago when I was about 8 pounds heavier than I thought I should be. I actually lost 12 pounds and I was rediculously toned.

This is THE book to have if you slip up and need to quickly get back on track.

Quick summary of the diet without giving away the contents of the book (I am carefull not to give away intellectual property, since this is how he makes his money):

1) I ate two chicken breasts per day and cabbage soup at night
2) I drank green tea like crazy
3) I did this for 14 days

Note: He explains in great detail how metabolism slows after doing this for too long…and how to cycle the diet, etc. He also has university studies to back up his methods…this has to be the best written diet book that very few people know about.

So Amber…to answer your question…don't fast all the way each day. Boil or bake three boneless chicken breasts each day and eat nothing but that for two weeks. Take multi-vitamins during this time. It is also okay to eat cabbage, salsa, and chicken broth..and green vegetables.

I ate a chicken breast in the morning, a chicken breast for lunch covered in salsa, and chicken soup at night…it consisted of one chicken breast, chicken broth, sliced cabbage, cillantro, and jalapenos. It was a tough 2 weeks, but I dropped weight at an extremely fast rate.

You can definitely take this approach for two weeks on and one week off. If you have a lot of weight to lose, you can do two to three weeks on and a few days off, etc.

Lyle McDonald is WAY outside of the fitness mainstream and he is an inspiration to me. I'm going to try to eventually get an interview with him, but I now he isn't extremely accessible right now.

Rusty

I just wanted to check in with you all. I have been lurking around this site for the last few weeks. I started the one meal a day two weeks ago tomorrow. I am down about 7 pounds and hope to lose another 20-25 this way. Depending how I feel I will add a healthy lunch back in and see if I can maintain. I've never been a breakfast eater, but have given up the cream in my coffee-which I love! That has actually been the hardest part of this.

Anyway, I just wanted to say hi, and let you know that I admire the free thinking at this site, and the courage to rock the traditional boat, which we can all tell by looking around us, is not working! I am amazed every day at the hugeness of our society. Myself included, of course.

The one question I have is for the ones doing this one meal for weightloss…after the initial loss that is so dramatic then does the weight loss go in spurts? I have weighed exactly the same for 3 days now. I wonder if I should expect to see a steady slow loss or a plateau followed by a couple pound loss?

thanks for any help you might have!

Lori,

Yeah typically when you lose weight it goes in spurts. Sometimes you can get stuck at the same weight for days…ocassionally you will even put a pound or two back on. Over the short term this looks bad, but over the long term you will still lose weight.

As far as going back to having a lunch and still being able to maintain…this will work, just as long as the lunch is healthy.

Thanks for the compliments about this site. The whole goal here is to step out and explore things outside of the mainstream. If people try them and they don't work that is great…but at least they will get exposed to different methods they may or may not have heard about before.

Cheers!

Rusty

Thanks Rusty! I was starting to get scared that I had hit the dreaded "starvation mode" hahah! Sorry, but it has been engrained…I feel great eating like this and have the energy to walk the dog, and the best part is, I go to bed at 10 pm and sleep through the night until 7. That hasn't happened to me in years. It's not every night yet, but I am hopeful!

good luck to all! Lori

Hi everyone,
congratulations to all who are using the info Rusty provides on this great site to better the way they feel and look.
I have probably tried every so called logical "nutrition program" in other words DIET, and i can honestly say that although you get results with most ways,by far the most powerful is the warrior way(one meal a day at night).
I now practise this way of life and have finally broken the shackles of diets.It is a way of life and after you adjust to this way of eating the sense of freedom and the outstanding results will have you wondering why you didn't trust your instincts earlier.
Great little tip for everyone trying to lose body fat is to consume 3-4 litres of pure water everyday.Most of the time people say they are hungry,they are actually thirsty.Oh, and all the extra walks to the bathroom help burn those calories too.

Rusty,
Thank you so much for this web-site. I read every post and am so excited. I just started yesterday 9/25/2007 and feel great. I have about 60lbs or so to loose. And like everyone else I have tried all sorts of diets and still haven't had any luck at loosing weight. They are just to hard to follow. I honestly believe I can do this. It just fits my schedule perfect. Actually I have to do this. I am 21 and have been severely depressed since I was 16 about my appearance. I am finally reading to loose weight and get back to being the person I once was. Rusty you may have just saved my life. Thank You So Much!!!!!!

I do have a question. I am taking some diet pills to help with the hunger pains for the first couple of weeks until my body gets use to the one meal a day. Is that ok?

I will keep everybody posted on my weight loss!!!

Good Luck to Everyone!!!
Leslie

When you get a headache from not eating, it means your blood sugar is dropping.

Last night I was helping my 15 yr old with an AP American Literature assignment and I came across a couple of very interesting parargraphs in an Autobiography by BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

I don't have the book here with me right now, but later when my daughter comes home I'll pull out the quotes and post again. Did anyone know that Ben Franklin was a vegetarian for a good portion of his life! The thing that really struck me from his writing was that he basically ate very little early in the day and took in the bulk of his nutrients late in the day. He talks of being energized, not using those words of course but the way he describes it, his language and tone are so cool. More later…..

well Im glad to hear this actually works because i used to eat this way for most of my life
but now im afraid of it because I would consider myself somewhat of an endurance athlete – lots of running, biking, hiking, etc
would it still be safe to eat this way if you're an endurance athlete?

PS would it help to 'keep your body guessing' by simply eating most of your calories 1nce per day but at any time of the day or is it most effective before you go to bed?

Linda,

Benjamin Franklin was a smart man. I really think too much food during the day can weigh you down. There are people who I work with that eat massive meals for lunch at around noon. I have no idea how they stay productive for the second half of the work day. Come to think of it…they don't!

Reymundo,

What Ori recommends is to keep your body guessing by mixing up what you eat in the meals…specifically the macronutrients like carbs and protein. It is still probably ideal to eat these meals at night…but maybe one night you would eat more protein and less carbs and another night a moderate amount of each, etc.

Rusty

Her is the quote from Ben Franklin:

"When about 16 years of age, I happen'd to meet with a book, written by one Tryon, recommending a vegatable diet. I determined to go into it. My brother (he lived with his brother) being yet unmarried, did not keep house, but boarded himself and his Apprentices in another family. My refusing to eat flesh occasioned an inconveniency, and I was frequently chid for my singularity. I made myself aquainted with Tryon's manner of preparing some of his dishes, such as boiled potatoes, or rice, making hasty pudding, (hasty pudding is a cereal with grains, milk, brown sugar or maple syrup) and a few others, and then propos'd to my brother that if he would give me weekly half of the money he paid for my board I would board myself. He instantly agreed to it, and presently found that I could save half of what he paid me. This was an additional fund for buying books but I had another advantage in it. My brother and the rest going from the Print House to their meals, I remain'd there alone, and dispatching presently my light repast, which often was no more than a bisket, or a slice of bread, a handful of raisins or a tart from the Pastry Cook, and a glass of water, had the rest of the time til their return, for study, in which I made the greater progress from that greater Clearness of Head and quicker Apprehension which usually attend temperance in Eating and Drinking."

The book Franklin is talking about is by Thomas Tryon,
The Way To Health, Long Life and Happiness, or a Discourse of Temperance, written in 1661!

Anyway, I found his quote to be very supportive of eating little during to day and experiencing greater "clarity of mind".

Linda,

You are right, Benjamin does describe this very well with his use of the English language. I believe a lot of people ate like this in the distant past, because it does make a lot of sense.

Rusty

Hi again everyone!

I haven't checked in for awhile as I've been very busy!
Rusty, I have a question for you….I had an argument with a friend a few days ago, I gave her the basics of night eating and she said that it was REALLY bad for sleeping patterns…
her argument was that if you go to bed on a full stomach, blood will rush to your small intestine to process the food, thus away from your brain, and reducing the quality of your sleep (as you blood isn't there to assimilate into other parts of your body)…apparently it has been shown that people who sleep on a full stomach have a reduced quality of sleep, more restlessness and do not reach the state of deep sleep (alpha waves?) or something like that..
what do you think about this?
BTW i personally haven't seen if this is the case…as I haven't started doing the one meal thing yet *guilty smile*
I started out, but had to prepare for important exams and couldn't put up with the headaches during the time.
Now that I have all the time in the world to start up…I was wondering if you could answer the above question?
And also…it's been 2 days since my exams finished, but I'm finding it hard to "get in the zone" and start doing the one meal thing…when I wake up I'm thinking about food constantly!
Any suggestions? Thankyou!

Kat

Katrina,

I have never heard about food disrupting sleep patterns at night. I'd be surprised if this was the case. I feel great the next day and seem to get my best sleep after a meal. I did find find mention of in one place on a Google Search to not eat excessive amounts 1 hour before you go to bed. I guess if you are in doubt, just eat your meal 2-3 hours before you go to sleep.

As far as getting hungry before your one meal. Ori recommends snacking on fruit. Why don't you just allow yourself nothing but fruit throughout the day and just cut back a bit on your main meal. Eat a decent amount of fruit then over time you cut back a little on the fruit.

Rusty

Here is what Ori says about fruit: "There is no substitute for the phytochemicals that you get from fruits and veggies and it does not tax your digestive system. The sugar that naturally occurs in these fruits is bound to the fiber and has a very low glycemic index."

Hey Rusty,

Thanks! That info was very helpful…with that eating late at night thing, my friend showed me this TV show called "Whats Good for You" (I'm Aussie, and this used to be a popular show a few months ago) which talked about what affects sleep…that being said, they were also sponsored by lots of different companies and were very big on the "3 meals a day plus 2 snacks"…!! Oh well.
Well this is officially my first day, I love starting on the 1st day of the month, wish me luck!

Kat

Good luck Kat! If you have a way of making green tea you may want to pick up a couple of boxes. It definitely helps ease the hunger especially at first.

Rusty

Hi all! Same here, Katrina. New month, new week, lots of possibilities. I haven't been serious about eating one meal a day but today I am. Can't wait to report my loss next week! Starting weight: 237.5 lbs.

hello all!

love the site. started my 1 meal/day diet today and am looking to lose about 30 pounds in 2 months. is this possible if i stay strong? im a dancer, and dance about 12 hours a week. tonight i just had a grilled chicken salad after class and that worked for me. is it best to incorporate carbs? i know ill lose more weight if i stick with protein which i dont mind, but are carbs part of this process?

thanks so much!
sachi

ps- it is DEFINITELY better to eat after my classes than before, is it not?

Katrina-

Ever since I started eating my "life sustaining nutients" at night, I have never slept better! Rusty said something about this above, or it was in Ori Hofmekler's info about the naturalness of the body wanting to rest/sleep after eating hence that drowsey feeling after lunch.

As for those that still think that resting will turn the immediately unused calories to fat, it really is just a matter of HOW MANY calories one is ingesting in TOTAL – NOT when one eats (also the QUALITY of those calories). I've been doing this for nine (ten in January) years. I'm 48 years old and weigh 125 and I've been the same weight for all that time.

ok, I'm gonna have to mix it up. Tomorrow will be three weeks of one meal a day, i lost about 8-10 pounds the first two weeks and then not an once in the last week.

i am going to change my one meal to lunch instead of dinner to see if I can get over this hump. has anyone done this and had any luck? I hate to do it, because i have been sleeping better than I have in years eating this way.

Linda,

Thanks for the comment…yeah, I think the body was meant to sleep after large meals. That is why they take siestas in Spain. I completely agree with you about total calories are what counts. They have done numerous studies showing that eating at night isn't what causes people to put on fat.

Lori,

An alternative would be to eat a little throughout the day and then a lighter dinner at night that is more strict. Try the mid day thing if you want and see if it works for you. I have a tough time with that because I get lazy after eating a larger meal.

Rusty

Thanks Rusty! I will let you know how it turns out. I'm going to do the eat at lunch for the rest of this week and then transition back to in the evening over the weekend.

I know what you mean about getting tired after eating. That part has been really nice too, no carb overload afternoons. I think it will be hard to not eat in the evenings, but will try to keep busy. I still have 25 pounds to lose, so I don't want to give up the fight! This weight that I am at now is my "standard" settle in weight, so I think it can be hard to get past.

4 pounds in 2 days. woohooooo :]

id really appreciate if someone would respond to the questions in my last post! thanks!

Rusty,

Si, si si!!

Sachi,

Sorry I missed your comment. Thanks for the compliments…I'm always pumped to have new people comment!

Yeah you can eat carbs along with protein.You should definitely eat your meal after you classes, not before…if possible. You should be able to lose 30 pounds in two months if you really set your mind to it.

Cheers!

Rusty

Hi Sachi,

Good news! You can eat anything on a one meal a day eating plan that you want!

Bad news (well it's only a little bad news)! You just have to limit HOW MUCH you eat.

I love carbs – well, I love food for that matter! However, I've made a commitment to stay slim, so I try to incorporate all necessary food groups in the meal that I eat at the end of the day.

I make sure that I'm eating a little protein, a little carb, a little veggie, a little fat (as little as possible), and a little dairy. (That is if I can help it) If I can't help it for some social reason, I get right back on my plan the next day.

That is why I like eating one meal a day – 'cause I can eat whatever I want. ONE TIME A DAY.

Hey
I was just wondering if anyone was going to respond to my post. I havent weighed myself yet but will this weekend and let ya know.
Leslie

Leslie,

Sorry I missed your question on diet pills! Everything I've read about Hoodia is good. It seems very safe and is a good appetite suppressant, so that would probably be fine for a while, but I would eventually try to do it without the pills.

Rusty

pS: Here is an article about Hoodia that I posted on this site: Hoodia

this site really is the best fitness site i have ever come across. everyone is so warm, friendly, HELPFUL and supportive!! thank you rusty and linda for your advice. i usually get out of class around 10pm, then it takes me about an hour to get outta there and home, so I'm eating around 11. All my life I've been told this is wrong but the proof is in the pudding (just as long as you only eat one a day! It's great to know I can start eating carbs again! I'm 19 years old and haven't eaten carbs comfortably for years. I know they're your source of energy, and I've always known it's all about HOW MANY you consume, but when it comes to food, like many people, I have a compulsive personality. Once I start eating them I can't stop and feel like I can make up for lost time… very unhealthy I know. Which is why I'm quite excited to be on this plan. It rids me of my binging tendencies because I KNOW I can only have one reasonably sized meals. No snacks, nothing. It really is easier than anything else I've tried. I think most people really need to have a strict diet plan in order to achieve success. Otherwise you (at least I do) think "oh this little granola bar won't hurt. Now that I've had that I might as well have some popcorn, etc, etc.

Tonight I ate a big bowl of mixed greens with some tuna mixed with a bit of soy sauce, a bit of chili sauce and some olive oil as dressing (TRY IT – I'll never go back to fatty unhealthy dressings, all you need is olive oil, a bit of herb salt and fresh pepper – yummm). I didn't feel the need to incorporate bread or anything. It filled me up after not eating all day. Plus I get some carbs/dairy from my coffee.

Linda, would you mind illustrating what one of your meals looks like?? Amount is crucial of course.

I'm going to wait and weigh myself once a week as not to get too obsessive, and I'll be sure to keep you posted! Thanks again for the help! :]

Lori,
I eat my one meal at lunch and it has worked out great for me. I eat fruit and drink juice in the morning and suprisingly I haven't been hungry. Apples are great in filling you up. One apple can even fill you up. Even though I eat my main meal at lunch, I don't eat a very large meal, but I eat basically what I want until I'm satisfied. The positive thing is that I don't crave junk food anymore since I've started this one meal a day regime. I eat meat, veggies, and sometime a few carbs. I drink a lot of water and juice. No sodas, diet or regular….they are both VERY BAD for you! In the evenings, if I get a little hungry, I drink more water. I also exercise every evening and that really cuts out any hunger. It makes me drink more water. This has been working wonderfully for me and better than eating at night. But it has to be whatever time works better for you.

I haven't weighed myself, but my clothes have been fitting better. So I can definitely see progress. This keeps me more motivated.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and keep up the good work!

hey all would eating one meal a day help me to get some fat off so i could restart my old hobby of boxing? im 12stone 10 and need to be 11stone 5 or lower, doe anyone have a eating plan that i could look at to get a idea of what i could or should be doing? please help

thanks for reading

ok, this morning I drpped 1.5 pounds getting me over the hump I stcuk on for over aweek. By mixing up the time of day I ate my one meal for two days. I guess it still remains to be seen if the loss will stick, but I am hopeful! I will eat my meal at lunchtime today, and then on the weekend I generally eat around 3-4 and will transition back to eating in the evening again next week. Hopefully I can use that trick again if I get stuck again.

I am down 11.5 pounds in 3 weeks. 24 to go….

Linda, what kind of coffee do you drink? Do you put anything in it? (cream etc)
Just wondering.
I'm really interested in this one meal thing.

Does this way of eating actually work? What size portions are you having on a evening meal?

Ash,

Read this two page interview with the originator of this diet. Believe it or not…it actually works very well!

http://bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler49.htm

Cheers!

Rusty

PS: I eat about a 800-1,200 calorie meal…usually pretty healthy, but sometimes "Happy Hour" food.

Rusty-

Wow, great interview! Great information! Eating one meal a day, at night, has made sense to me, of course, but it is so cool to find scientific information to support it.

Sachi-

You will surely become lean/slim following a one meal a day plan. The catch is that you'll have to commit to reducing your total caloric intake for a very long time. Once you start and get the desired result you can never GO BACK unless of course you are willing to gain all the weight back. How tall are you?

You said you are a dancer. So you're ahead of the game by participating in a physical activity. So many folks, (including me right now) aren't as active as they should be. My two daughters are dancers also. Dance is a great sport/art!

You asked me to illustrate what a typical meal for me might be and I'll just tell you about last night as an example. Last night was kids night (I have 4). My kids like hamburgers (and all the usual kid food) so I made hamburgers with freshly ground lean meat. I cooked them on the stove in a pan sprayed with Pam. I bought Oroweat Country Potato buns (I hate the Wonderbread variety, too tasteless and small). I buttered the buns with BUTTER. Yes butter. Since I eat one meal a day I don't forego butter in cooking unless in a particular recipe it doesn't matter if I use it or not or if I feel like it or not (if that makes sense?) Then I served the hamburgers with slices of tomato, and avacado. We all drank 2% milk (the kind with no growth hormones). I had one hamburger and two glasses of milk. After that I had one small scoop of vanilla ice cream with a bit of Hersey's choc. syrup. That was it. So I got all my food groups and I did not gorge myself. Oh, during the day yesterday I stepped out of my normal behavior and got a vanilla almond biscotti with my coffee on one of my two trips to Starbucks.

Anne-

…..and about coffee. I drink my hot coffee black and my Iced Venti No Water Americanos with a little whole milk. I won't touch those fancy drinks at Starbucks with all the high fructose corn syrup and whipped cream, etc. I drink a lot of coffee during the day. I do also like ice tea so if I stop at let's say Mc Donalds to get one of my kids something, I'll get an ice tea w/lemon, no sugar instead of my afternoon coffee.

Good luck to everyone who is trying this. I am particularly interested in knowing how you all are perceiving the changes in your energy levels during the day.

Not a bad read at all he really know's his stuff and it's all been found out by him being in the forces and going without food and being taught to go through the hunger stage, it's also good to hear that you won't lose muscle mass on the Warrior diet.

I've been browsing through the site reading the posts and other peoples comments, it sure is a cracking site and a great blog by the owner.

I'm looking for something to keep me lean and keep that toned look, after reading this site this looks like the one to go for, many days I go without food due to work reasons then have a meal when I get home at night, to be honest when I do this I feel much better, I'll be giving it a go as from today, oh by the way I hit the gym 6 times a week doing weights and cardio.

Ash,

Yeah…read my last post which further backs up the idea that it isn't necessary to eat all the time:

Another Study "Questioning the Logic" of the 6 Meal Per Day Diet Plan

The mainstream guys hate this type of stuff! I guess the reason I like to expose people to this stuff is that the "6 small meal approach" just doesn't work for everyone. If it does work, that is Great…but there are alternatives. I can never get lean unless I eat fewer meals…I know there are TONS of people like me.

Rusty

Well it's day 2 of my plan and all is going well, yesterday I was flagging a little when 2pm came but I carried on till I ate my meal at 4.30pm. Today has been the same, this morning I went to the gym and did my workout, I've just had my meal at 5pm I feel as though I've been eating all day, I've got a little treat for later by the way of some melon, grapes and some sugar free jelly.

Well, I read the site and plan to start this way of eating. I am 53 and have tried most of the diets out there and now weigh almost 200 lbs and am 5 foot 5 inches. I need to lose 50lbs and remember back when I was 21 and did this type of one meal plan for 40 days more as a spiritual condition however, I lost 25 lbs doing so and felt great. I did eat lunch and had a glass of milk for breakfast and no in between snacks and only tea for dinner. That might be a little tough now that I'm older but, I think I am now ready to try this way of eating again and hopefully, it will be a life change.

I will keep you all posted and thank's to everyone for sharing with one another and inspiring me to take control of my weight again in a sane manner. I too am an emotional binge carbe eater which is a deadly combination. I yo, yo diet or bunge cord diet most times which is not healthy. The one that had always worked for me was Scarsdale but, it is very hard to stay on it and you always feel like you are depriving yourself and the weight comes back real fast.

I plan on doing this again for 40 days and see how I do and then will keep on it until I've reached my goal weight as long as I remain healthy.

Thanks again for all of the tips and encouring stories.

LKlein

Linda – I am ready and willing to drop my caloric intake for a long time. As I said, I am a bit compulsive when it comes to food so I want to change my life once and for all and never have to worry about my weight. Of course it's always a struggle, but I am ready to make the change. Unfortunately I veered off course since "starting" the plan last week, but I'm back on as of right now and the truth is, I have to take the weight off in two months. There's a job offer involved… shooting a commercial in Berlin (I'm American but teach dance in Vienna) so I MUST drop the weight by mid-Dec. I'm 5'7 and weigh about 165 pounds. I'm of course very muscular, but in the past year I've gotten thicker and I don't like it. I'm ready to be slim again and feel good about my body when I dance and in life in general. Do you honestly think I can drop 30 pounds (I looked very fit at 150 so I think 145 would be perfect) by mid-Dec if I follow this? Also, is it truly better for me to eat as late as 11 after my classes as opposed to before?? I know that's what this website is all about… eating your meal later, but it's just so hard for me to believe.

Everyone keep up the good work! I'll keep posting.
Sachi, starting weight : 165 lbs

typo : i weighed 140 at my best so i want 135 ;]

Sachi-

Wow how cool, teaching dance in Vienna! I would love to hear how that transpired.

You know, I'm not an expert on eating one meal a day. I just starting doing this on my own almost ten years ago. You are 5'7", so am I, and I weigh 125. I would think, unless your metabolism is radically different from mine, that you could reach your goal within your two month time frame, eating one meal a day. You are phsically active so I think it should actually be easier for you.

All the best,
LT

Linda -

If you have 2 kids, have been doing this for 10 years, are 5'7 and weigh 125 pounds (WOW!) you are in excellent shape and are indeed an expert on this diet. :] I would say after a year you'd be an expert! 10 years – I'm hoping to have the same strength. I'm sure once you get used to it it's much easier, especially knowing what would happen if you go back to your old ways.

I traveled thru Europe last fall – 3 months, 14 countries, backpacking without any real schedule or even a return ticket home. It was the most free time of my life. I had just graduated and decided to go at it alone. Vienna was the 3rd city I visited, and I took a salsa class where I started chatting with the owner. 15 minutes later I had been offered a job to come back and teach when I was done with my travels in January of this year. So I bought a return ticket home for Christmas, spent a month basically sleeping, then came back Jan 15 and spent my first 3 months as an au pair teaching dance 2 nights a week. After establishing myself a bit, the opportunities just kept coming. I now teach at 5 different establishments Monday – Sunday. I have 4 days off until December when I go home for 2 weeks. This is why I need to lose the weight – I left my first love back in Maine and want to look even better than when I left. :]

So that's my story. Thanks again for your help. Day 1 : success.

Best, Sachi

People with great motivation like that are the people who get really fit…that is why Hollywood actors and actresses have the ability to transform their bodies for big movie roles. If you knew that 10 million people were going to see you in a swimsuit, I'd bet you would get in the best shape of your life.

Strong motivation almost makes your job easier in a weird sense…it is what will drive you to get really fit.

I have no doubt that you will look great,

Rusty

2 pounds in the first day. i feel great!

ive ate a half a cantaloupe when i woke up (i HAVE to eat a little fruit everyday or i feel terrible) and now im headed to class and will eat my chicken salad when i get home. one more question : is eating under 1000 calories per day unhealthy?? if i can do it, which i know i can with this plan, isn't the goal to eat as few calories as possible so im burning way more hence the weight coming off?

ps- i definitely got the job in berlin =D. ill be shooting a commercial the 6th-8th then flying home the 11th where hopefully i will blow everyone away with my toned figure ;]

thanks for everyone's support! sachi

Sachi,

I don't think eating 1,000 calories per day is bad in the short term. Once you reach your target weight, you can increase to a more natural level.

Rusty

Sachi-

AWSOME about the commercial and about dropping 2 lbs.

Here's wishing you continued success!

LST

Well i thought i would let ya know how i am doing. I started on 9/25/2007

Hey Rusty

I just want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for publishing this website… ive always wondered if eating one meal per day wouldnt work better… but then you get these people that are so paranoid with girls becoming size 0 that they take valuable information like this off the web. And fill your head with stuff thats gonna happen to you if you skip a meal…

Cos im afraid of damaging my metabolism… and i know what happenes when you come off a diet – even just for a week..!

Not everyone wants to be size 0 – just their own ideal weight…

Ive also tried loads of diets and things… but they just dont work.
So im going to give this a real go as of tomorrow…

Im actually quite excited – because i can honestly say that i believe in this…it makes perfectly sense )

PS: Just a quick question… im not a fan of skipping breakfast…. and i love fruit. But i cant eat my meal at night and include fruit in it… so would it be bad (of affect my result) in any way if i eat like a banana or apple for breakfast? Then my food at night…

Thanks so much again…

Enjoy your night )

Much Appreciated

Doné

Hello Again…

I apologise – i should have done some research before asking my question from earlier…

I read up on the warrior diet… and a little confused. It says there that you are allowed to eat raw veggies and fruit during the day…
(which kinda answers my question of before – hehe )

What is the reason for allowing fruit and veg during the day..? Im actually just trying to find out if you'll get better results by skipping most of those or do they promote some type of "reaction" in your body needed for this type of diet?

And the overeating phase: its says (on the website i read it from) that it is important to follow the rules.. which is start with the salad, then continue with lean meats and veggies, then finish of with your carbs. Is that how im suppose to do it?

Thanks a million again

Cheers

Doné

Linda,

I've been trying to follow the one meal a day plan but I think I'm over-doing it on the amount of food I eat. Can you post a few more typical day's meal examples for us? It's really very helpful to see how you eat. What types of foods, amounts, etc.

From the one example you posted it looks like you eat about 1000 calories a day or less. Is that about right? And do you keep track of calories or protein or anything like that and try to keep to a certain number or do you just eat what you feel like?

Thanks
Rania

Done'

You don't necessarily need the fruits and veggies. It is just a great way to detoxify your body by providing vitamins. The nice thing is that fruits don't tax your digestive system. The impotant thing about fruit and veggies is that they have beneficial phytochemicals that you can't get from pills. You don't need much…maybe an apple or two or a banana and a carrot, etc.

If you think about it, this is how our ancestors most likely ate…just picking fruit and berries during the day…and most likely ate meat "after the hunt" at dinner.

I still get good results by eating a bigger meal in any order, but I may eat salad first followed by meat and then carbs to see if I notice a difference.

Here is a really good interview with Ori…that will probably answer even more questions:
http://bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler49.htm

Have a great one!

Rusty

Hi Rania-

Don't laugh. I don't know how to count calories!

Happy to try to answer the other part of your question though.
Firstly, let me say that as an "overiding" philosophy for selecting anything I eat, I think about food groups. I think back to grade school nutrition and put a little bit of every food group in what I eat daily – that is if I can help it. If I can't help it for some reason I don't stress about, I just go right back to the food group thing the next day.

Even before I started doing the one meal a day thing, there was a period of 12 years that I did not eat red meat at all. That was from about 22 yrs of age to about 34. I kind of gave up not eating red meat because I felt my growing kids should not be forced to forego red meat and I was too lazy to prepare separate food!

Anyway, we eat a lot of chicken. I have a cookbook entitled "365 Ways to Make Chicken"! Some of the more adventurous recipes for chicken I've found in The Silver Palate Cookbook. There is a recipe for Rasberry Chicken that is killer. It is basically sauteed boneless, skinless chicken breasts with a fresh rasberry/shallot sauce. I serve it with Uncle Bens Long Grain and Wild Rice (it comes in a box). I use butter in the prep. and some veggie like frozen mixed vegatables or fresh or frozen green beans or those peeled baby carrots (par-boiled and then sauteed in butter and brown sugar). I'll have one chicken breast, 3/4 of a cup of rice and as much of the veggies as I want. Also I always drink milk because it gives me dairy and calcium.

Good luck trying this eating plan.

Well it's been my first week on the the plan and everything is ok, I look more leaner, my viens are more visable and my body itself feels a whole lot better, I've lost in the region on 3lbs in weight, my skin feels tighter and my muscle defeniton is 20% better. I don't feel hungry now, I did when I started it last Sunday but after a few days I was ok when my body got used to the plan.

Only one thing though, about 2pm I feel like I'm going to have a carb crash, to stop this I have half a glass of skimmed milk.

Well, I started my one meal a day on Monday and had coffee with skim milk in the morning and then around noon would eat an apple with diet coke with vitamins and then around 3:00 or 4:00 I would have a protein myoplex shake and then eat either chicken, steak, fish and a salad for dinner with no bread or rice etc… but, would have two large glasses of red wine. I slept like a baby and got a lot of work done during the day.

Today is Saturday, six days later and I've gone from 200 lbs to 191 and I feel a lot better and plan to keep going on this way of eating over the next six weeks and just see how I feel and what I am able to accomplish. I haven't started a real exercise plan as my son called me in the middle of the night on my cell and I managed to trip and hurt my leg to the point that it will probably take a week or two to recover. I can still do core exercises however and plan to start that as well.

I hope to get down to 150 which is a good weight for me and then I can finally get back into my size 10 expensive suits and leather skirt. Fun, fun.

Is it alright to have the wine? I also added a few handfuls of cashews last night after dinner as I wasn't quite satiated. Does that have an affect.

Another question. I really don't want to eat breads and those type of carbs is that going to hurt my metabolism if I don't? I may later afer I've lost more weight but, for right now, I feel much better eating more lean. I do enclude cheese like fresh mozerella in my salads and take some suppliments.

Thank you,

lklein

Iklein,

You sound like you are doing all the right things. A glass of wine is actually a great antioxidant and won't hurt at all. Snacking on cashews isn't a bad idea if you don't eat too many. I have an extremely toned friend that snacks on dark chocolate covered cashews, because dark chocolate is also an antioxidant. Cashews also have a bit of healthy fat and protein, so they are a good snack.

Rusty

WOW…This is a really great site. I came across it yesterday by accident. I have read every post fromt the beginning to end. I have been thinking about doing a one meal a day plan, and have even tried it in the past, but wasn't sure if it was good for me. After reading this site and all the posts. I am in…I actually kind of started it a couple of days of go without trying to because I did not have an appetite (the flu)…I have been drinking Naked Juice in the morning and eating one meal around 4pm..and drinking lots of water..my body feels lighter. I am officially starting today realizing it. I googled eating one meal a day last night and accidently found this site..This is just what I was looking for…I starting reading all of the post last night and just finished this morning.. So far I have had the Black and Blueberry Rush Naked Juice and lots of water…It is quite easy so far. I don't know it this is because I have already been sord of eating like this for the past couple of days or because I am getting over a cold…We'll see how things go. I want to lose 30 pounds… Wish me luck. Thanks to everyone on this site for all of your stories and updates. Keep doing it..It is all very motivating…

Linda love your posts….Rusty u rock for starting this site..!!! I will keep you all updated on my progress!!

Laney,

Thanks for the compliments…I just do my best to "get the conversations started"…comments by you guys is where this site really becomes valuable.

It is great to hear people who are using these methods to hit their goals. There is a lot of great info on the Internet, but often times it is next to impossible to find. My goal is to bring these advanced and alternative fitness tips here on one site…and then we all discuss these strategies.

Oh yeah…I do my best to keep it a bit "tacky" as well! It is harder work than you would imagine…LOL!

Rusty

Hi Rusty…lol….I am sure it is hard work….

What type of protein shakes do you think…What do u think of the Advantage protein shakes and bars…They are low in Carbs and Sugar..The shakes are about 160 calories and the bars are 240.

On some days would it be safe to eat a protein bar during the day?? I love the Advantage Chocolate Peanuut Butter ones…

sorry meant to day what type of protein shakes do you drink..

the bars have 240 cal
2 grams of carbs
1 gram of sugar
no sugar alchohol
19 grams of protein
10 grams of fiber

I like Myoplex Ready to Drink Shakes (these are the ones in the cartons that you just shake up and drink).

42 grams of protein
18 grams carbs
310 calories

If I drink one of these in the morning, I do my best to not touch food until dinner time. My goal is to eat 300-400 calories or less throughout the day, then I can eat more for dinner.

I also drink Designer Whey protein on some days instead, which has much fewer calories. If I drink that in the morning, I will eat a light snack around 12:00 or 1:00pm.

Advantage bars are great. Feel free to eat one every morning and one mid-day on the days you are exceptionally hungry.

Rusty

Hi Rusty

Thanks for the info…Well my first day is going great.. I lasted until 4pm to eat my one meal. Hopefully as this lifestyle of eating progresses each day I will be able to last longer for my one meal. I will keep u all posted…Good luck to everyone and continued success…..:)

I am glad to come across this website. I have been a yo yo dieter for the past 13 yrs. Most of my past success has been accredited to a low calorie diet of eating foods that I normally would not eat and lots of exercise. Needless to say, I could not keep this way of eating and gained the weight back. Last year, I combined Weight Watchers and Exercise and lost 25 lbs. But the constant planning and calculating food became too much. I found myself finishing one meal thinking about how much I could eat on my next meal. Food became my every thought.

After coming across this site, my mind went back to a time when I ate one meal a day and manage to keep my weight down. I was really into fitness at that time and began listening to the hype of 5 to 6 small meals a day. During the day when I fell off track, I felt like the day was wasted and would skip exercising. I soon found myself weighing more than ever.

I have now been back on the 1 meal a day for 3 days. As of yet, I don't find it to be hard. My true test will come when I go to work tomorrow. My weight when I started was 195.

I STARTED TO POST THIS POST BUT SOMETHING HAPPEND AND I HAD TO LEAVE BUT WHAT I MEANT TO DO WAS LET ALL YALL KNOW HOW I WAS DOING I STARTED THIS DIET ON 9/25/2007 AND AM DOING GREAT I DIDNT KNOW HOW MUCH I WEIGHED WHEN I STARTED I WEIGHED IN A WEEK AND HALF LATER AND I WEIGHED 197LBS I WEIGHED SATURDAY AND NOW I WEIGH 189LBS SO FOR A FACT I HAVE LOST 8LBS BUT I PROBABLY LOST MORE SINCE HOW I DIDNT KNOW HOW MUCH I WEIGHED WHEN I FIRST STARTED SO I THINK I HAVE PROBABLY LOST MORE LIKE 10LBS. SO NOW I HAVE JUST 50 MORE POUNDS TO GO SINCE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE REALLY LOST ANY WEIGHT I AM JUST SO EXCITED AND AM CHANGING WHAT I EAT TO MAKE IT EVEN MORE HEALTHIER BUT GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE I WILL KEEP YALL POSTED ON MY PROGRESS.
LESLIE

Denise-

Yeah, I so totally hear you about Weight Watchers. The planning, BUYING, and calculating food is THE big problem with "DIET PROGRAMS". Weight Watchers is a BUSINESS.

Another great thing about staying slim on a one meal a day plan is that it doesn't require spending an excess of money. Heck, if you are eating only one meal a day, it costs LESS to follow this way of eating. Think about what would happen to the food industry if everyone decided to only eat one meal a day!

Hi Denise…Good luck today at work. I know what u mean about being a yo yo dieter…I am tired and exhaustes already of not knowing what to do. Every week some new fad comes out. So far I like this wway of eating. It is less stressful and doesn't leave me mentally drained. I have noticed a slight increase in my energy. From previous post it should even get better once my body gets adjusted. I am doing good so far today and have me a fuju apple and a banana for when a I get hungry. It is 9am here and I am not hungry yet…so far so good…Good luck to you today…Be strong!!

I like the myoplex lite drinks that only have 170 calories which I usually will drink at lunch or in the afternoon so that I can eat what ever I want for dinner.

I can really feel a difference in my weight and it just seems to be coming off easily which is great. I will keep you posted as I plan to weigh in once a week.

thanks for all of the advice.

lklein

Keep it up Denise, I found it hard for the first 3 days but I'm well into it now.

Just an update, I am eating 1 meal a day for weight loss. I have been doing it for 1 month (with the exception of a couple weekend days- when i blew it!) and I have lost 10-12 pounds. I am very pleased with it, and it has been relatively painless. I did have an almost two week "stick" at a weight where I have been before, kind of a natural sticking point for me I guess. I made it over that by switching the time of my one meal for 3 days from dinner to lunch.

So, I plan to do this for another month (deciding a month at a time) and will this month watch what I eat for the one meal. As long as I don't eat out, I make pretty good choices, but I have pretty much let my portions be what they my! I will try to limit myself a bit. I hope to lose another 10 pounds this month.

Lori,

Very cool! Thanks for sharing…these types of stories are motivating for everyone. Losing 10 pounds in one month is pretty outstanding.

Keep it up!

Rusty

hey guys,

unfortunately, some bad news from my end. last week everything was going great, i lost 5 pounds in 3 days (dancing 3-6 hours per day, drinking coffee and eating only a portion of fruit in the morning and a salad at night after my classes – just arugula, grilled chicken, some bell pepper and olive oil as dressing) and was really feeling great. then friday came, and i had a friend over for dinner. i figured as long as it was my one meal that day it wouldn't be an issue. we had delicious chicken fajitas and margaritas with ice cream and toppings for dessert. saturday i ate the leftovers, and then cheated a bit thruout the night as i could not sleep (ate some chocolate, etc… id say another 500 cals) and last night i had a salad, risotto rice and 2 macaroons after. i also drank 3 glasses of red wine. in those 3 days, i somehow managed to put the weight back on… PLUS A POUND!! please help. im not sure if it's because i added in the carbs and hadnt been eating any carbs at all before that other than the milk in my coffee… or if it was really just the increase in calories (which could not have been too drastic – i kept the portions reasonable) but im freaking out and i know that stress is the WORTH thing when trying to lose weight. guys, i need to drop these 30 pounds in the next 9 weeks. if it means only eating a chicken salad every single day until then, than so be it. but everyone else seems to be able to handle the carbs no problem, as long as the caloric intake stays down. please, tell me your thoughts on this.

im going to cut out the milk in my coffee and start drinking more water on the days i dont dance (on the days i dance i go thru about 2 liters easy)… and unless someone has a different/better explanation for my weight re-gain, ill stick with my one salad per day. i also take vitamins and eat little bits of fruit in the morning to keep the nutrients in.

looking forward to any responses,
sachi, 164 – 159.3 – 165 pounds

hi sachi,

as i was reading your comment, i thought DAMN this sounds just like what i used to do! honestly, i think your getting too stressed about how much you have to lose and how quickly you have to lose it.
i went through exactly, and i mean EXACTLY the same thoughts and the sort of foods your eating now until about a year ago. trust me when i say IT DOESN'T WORK!!!! i think because your so physically active, your body is craving nutrients and just by overindulging a little, its retaining water and also holding onto as much fat as it can!
its important to be careful if your so active to at least get some form of carbs into your diet. DON'T think of this diet as a low carb atkins style diet (which is what i always used to do with any new diet). basically, if your going to have the coffee and fruit through the day, thats fine…but for gods sake have a proper dinner! that means, some veges, meat, bread/rice/pasta…cooked in oil or butter for your fat, and maybe a small dessert.
think of it this way, if you eat a proper dinner like that, you won't be craving unhealthy foods (ie chocolate etc) a few days later when your body starts to realise its lacking nutrients.
im finding it REALLY hard to readjust my mindset to eating properly, that is that it is really ok to eat meat and bread in one meal, AND drink milk…i think my stomach isn't used to these food combinations and i have been having a little trouble.
but i think, if you can start eating like this, you'll find that you have more energy, and won't reach that carb crash after 5 days.

hope that helps! and im certainly going to take my own advice too

kat

Sachi,

Kat gave excellent advise (thanks Kat). First off…that weight you gained back was probably a bit of water weight. To be honest part of that weight you lost in the beginning was also water weight.

So right now your body is in the process of learning how to burn fat for energy. The first one to two weeks on this diet are really just a preliminary phase. The real fat loss results will most likely happen 7-10 days into the diet, but the good thing is that it happens quickly from that point on.

Just like Kat said, you need carbs for sure. Eat a bit more moderate at night, so that way you can stick to this diet. It is tough to do anything long-term if it is torture…basically just eat a well-balanced meal like Kat recommended.

No need to stress…you will do fine

Rusty

Hi Sachi….I totally agree with Katrina. Ever since this whole carb epidemic came out. I was so afraid to eat carbs. I did a low carb diet. I lost weight, but once my body went into carb withdrawal and I hate every carb in sight I too would gain like 2 to 3 pounds in a day. I agree that since u are restricting carbs from your diet most of the time, once you do binge on carbs your body is holding on to them. I could be wrong, but speaking from experience. I personally think it is better to eat a little bit of everything without over doing it and then u won't feel like u are depriving yourself and go into any binges…I truly wish you the best. You will bounce back. I am so looking forward to hearing Rusty's comment because I have also done this in the past. I can totally relate what u are going through. Good luck!!!!

Hi Rusty or anyone…I also have a question…Is it ok to eat nothing (not even fruit) but water and tea throughout the day, or should I eat some fruit…..

Yesterday I lasted until 6:30 for my meal…was proud of myself. It is 11:16 am today and all I have had so far is water and tea and doing pretty good..:)

Wishing everyone the best of luck

Laney,

You can just drink green tea and water and eat just that one meal. That is a strict "warrior" diet and it works extremely well. Some days I do this when I know I am going to a happy hour on a Friday, or when I am spending the day at the beach, or the day I go to the beach, etc…

Another version of the warrior diet is to snack on a little fruit and maybe have a little bit of protein earlier in the day.

As far as eating a bit of everything for dinner. I play it by ear…sometimes I will do 3-4 days in a row where it is pretty strict, other times I will have a few slices of pizza.

Bottom Line…you gotta live…I like this diet because you can eat pizza, drink beer, eat nachos, etc…I just would eat pretty clean most of the time.

Hope that makes sense…and thanks for being so supportive to the other readers.

You guys are great!

Rusty

I always keep one day for a re-feed, my re-feed day is on a Saturday or a Sunday depending on how I feel. You need a re-feed to raise your leptin level to help your body burn the fat again after a week of light eating.

Hi Rusty…Thanks for the information. I am going to try the strict Warrior version for the few days and see what happens…but will have some fruit on hand in case of an emergency.

For a protein snack for the other version, is a handful of nuts okay.

I have been trying to eat fairly clean with my one meal. Well lol except for a couple of bites of cheesecake. I too like this diet because u can have things like nachos, pizza and a burger from time to time without feeling guilty. Can u give some examples of eating clean meals…..

Sachi…keep us updated sweety…..things will get better..:)

Laney,

Sure here are some sample clean meals that I like to eat for dinner. Note…I am a bachelor, so I don't eat a big variety of food.

Steak Fajitas…8 ounces of beef, cut into strips, bell peppers, onions, cilantro, squeeze some lime juice while cooking. Wrap up into 2-3 flour tortillas along with salsa.

Fish Tacos…Microwave a pack of "Gortons Grilled Fillets Lemon Pepper Flavored" Microwaveable fish fillets (you guys have to buy these at your grocery store if they carry them). Two fillets only have a total of 200 calories, 6 grams of fat, and 34 grams of protein. They taste amazing and you just microwave them for 6 minutes. After I microwave the fish, I put them in corn tortillas that I microwave to warm up and soften. I add chopped cabbage and a little ranch dressing. I usualy eat a bowl of steamed rice along with it.

Scrambled Eggs mixed with Sweet Potatoes…I take a sweet potato and microwave it for about 4 minutes until it is most of the way cooked, but still firm. I chop it up and throw it in a frying pan and brown them a bit. I toss in egg beaters and make scrambled eggs mixed in with the potatoes. It sounds unusual, but I like the flavor.

Salmon over Brown Rice with Brocolli on the Side…I have a rice steamer, so I usually steam up a bunch of rice at the beginning of the week and add it to dishes. I buy "Gortons Grilled Salmon Fillets"…I am Gordon's biggest fan. 200 calories total for 2 fillets, 410mg of healthy omega 3, 32 grams of protein. I just basically microwave the fish and put on top of a heap of brown rice along with brocolli (which I also microwave).

Spicy Chicken Cabbage Soup…I actually did this for a diet once and it worked great. I recommend this if you want to be strict, but are sick of eating chicken salads. Heat chicken broth in a pan…throw in chopped cabbage, jalapeno's, cilantro, 2 chopped cooked chicken breasts. It sounds bland, but tastes surprisingly good. I try to see how spicy I can stand, by chopping in various hot peppers. Spicy food seems to satisfy my hunger really well.

I won't win any fine dining awards any time soon!

Rusty

laney, linda, kat, rusty and everyone else who contributes to this site :

may i just say, you all are such inspiration to me. to be honest i have NEVER felt such support from anyone while dieting. i feel like i have a little family here :] thank you all so much for your responses and advice. hearing that you have been thru the same ups and downs, and how you got passed the bumps in the road which frustrate me to the bitter end… well, it helps more than i can say. the fact you all take the time to help people you dont even know is truly remarkable. special thanks to you, rusty, for making this possible. today i am in great spirits indeed. =D

after really thinking about this past weekend when i re-gained the weight, i realized i had fooled myself a bit, as i often do when it comes to dieting. i definitely ate many more calories on all 3 days than the 3 days before – of COURSE i gained it back. yoyoyoyoyo. and rusty you are absolutely right about the water weight. on the days i dance for 4-6 hours i drink up to 3 liters of water and sweat out even more than that (im drenched when i come home at night – ive always been a "sweater" =P) so im sure that had a huge role. you will all be happy to hear i am back down to 161 lbs… 4 lbs gone in 2 days… and i took everyones advice and had potatos, green beans and wiener schnitzel =D for my meal yesterday (with my coffee thruout the day of course), and yesterday added avocado to my salad for some healthy fat and a slice of whole wheat bread, a glass of milk and some fruit for dessert so i got in my good carbs. i can see now that by cutting out carbs daily, my body stored them over the weekend because i NEEDED them. its really very sad that practically everyone is so scared of carbs considering they are what most of the healthiest foods of all consist of (i.e. fruit, bread, etc)… its just so hard to get past the hype of recent years when everyone tells you "cut out carbs and you'll drop the weight."

i am sticking with this and feel sensational about it. i would also like to report my energy levels have gone way up in the past week, and the cravings are subsiding. 9 weeks to drop 26 lbs. ive got this…. with your help. :]

thanks again to you all,
sachi (161 lbs, goal weight : 135 lbs)

Hi Rusty

Thanks for the info. You have given me some good ideas. I love fish tacos…I have to try the Gorton Fillets, and the salmon too.Will pick some up this week and try the fish tacos…Also I am the same as you. I love spicy foods….Yummy!!!

Hi everyone!,
Im new here and hopefully this will help me with my stuggle. I have about 50 pounds to lose and am willing to try anything!!. I have tried SOO many other diets, but becuase I had no discipline or motivation…i just ended up gaining more weight. I started yo-yo dieting 5 years ago when I only had to lose 15 pounds…and today, after all the backfire…I have balooned up, and have to lose 50 pounds.!!!
I am desperate …I have a goal to lose all this weight by the end of January 2008, apx 15 weeks. I plan on walking/jogging for 10 miles on the treadmill every single day , and eat one meal of a chicken salad for dinner. I will drink unlimited amounts of water/coffee/tea throughout the day.
Do you guys think this will work?
I would appreciate any feedback

Ruby,

That should work fine, but don't totally starve yourself.

For your treadmill workout try this. Jog for as long as you can followed by 5 minutes of walking…then jog for as long as you can again…followed by 5 minutes of walking. Alternate this and try to improve until you can jog the whole 10 miles.

This is an effective way to perform cardio for people who can't jog the whole cardio session. By the time you can jog for 10 miles without resting, I guarantee that you will notice a drastic change in your body.

Rusty

Linda,
Your post re-inspired me. I too,..lost alot of baby weight doing the one meal a day. Diets seem to be a temp. fix,.. I always find that I'm "teasing" my taste buds when I eat any solid food during the day. Nibbles turn into dissaster,..and I've always known what works,..but fell prey to the media and false claims about having to eat grains,.and 3 squares. I'm determined to go back to eating only dinner… I too, have noticed that coffee relaxes (because it's warm in the stomach) and uplifting at the same time. My 2 questions are: Do you use Coffee creamer in your coffee..or do you drink it black? (I"m lactose intolerant and drink mine with creamer… ) …and…. are you doing any exercise,.. if so,..aerobics..?
Your comments inspired me. Thank you.

156.4… 7.6 pounds in 9 days.

id say its safe to assume this diet really works. =D also had 3 glasses of wine last night and a martini and figured i wouldnt lose anything…. well i DID. for everyone's info im eating one portion of fruit at least 2 hours before i go to dance, then eating my meal when i get home. drinking lots of coffee thruout the day, with a little bit of artificial sweetner (terrible for you i know but i wont use it forever… ill go back to raw sugar when i reach my goal in 2 months) and a bit of low fat milk.

good luck to everyone! sachi

Hello all-

This week is killer for me. I'm out showing my line and working furiously to finish a couple custom projects.

Keep your faith!

Hi Sachi…I am so happy for you. You are totally inspiring me as well…Keep up the good work and keep us updated on your progress.

Rusty I have to say I am so happy with this diet. I so far have lost 3 pounds, and my energy is through the roof.. Usually when I get home from work I am so drained. Last night I was cleaning and doing the laundry. Normally I struggle and do a little bit each day. Also at work I had this enormous amount of energy. It was funny. I work for a hospital and we always have food around. Reps bringing food and desserts all the time. Yesterday there was pizza and I did not want any. I was actually craving a salad for my one meal…this is awesome… I am at 188.6 and I want to be 155… wish me luck…:)

Laney,

You have good discipline to not eat all that free food that is offered to you. I'm glad that nobody brings me food!

The extra energy is pretty amazing isn't it? It is weird, because you think you would be tired, but quite the opposite happens…you suddenly gain energy.

Great Job!

Rusty

Hi Rusty, Laney, Sachi, Linda and everyone else

today was officially my first cheat free day im sooo happy i made it! i haven't been able to start properly for all this time, as ive had to acclimatise to eating normal meals, as well as being scared of having that hungry feeling…i hate not eating, as i get quite cranky if i haven't eaten (i realise this is a hangover from being used to eating all the time).
i had a really bad energy low around 4pm, but pushed through it to have dinner around 7.30pm. ive been having that lightheaded/dazed feeling since about 1pm, and right now have a really bad headache which is not too good
i managed to make it through the day with a little fruit, some green tea and water…hooray! dinner wasn't too healthy but i only ate one meal.
Rusty, will my headaches/lightheadedness go away soon? Its weird because i wasn't truly hungry at all during the day, it was more my energy levels that went right down.
since today is the first day ive been able to do successfully, i guess this is my day 1! need to lose 20kg before the end of january 2008.
start weight: 75kg, goal weight: ~55kg (sorry to all of you using the imperial system, im not familiar with it) hehe

kat

ps – linda, best of luck with work!! you have the strength to push through, and we all believe in you
pps – sachi, you are definitely an inspiration for me too! to be able to dance for that many hours and still keep up the eating is amazing
ppps – rusty…your still my hero

Rusty,
Thanks for the advice! It sounds pretty doable and the daily challenge of switching between walking and jogging could be the trickj to keep me motivated.
I will keep you updated and hopefully in bout 3 months Il be able to put a picture up of a slimmer sexier me ; )

wish me luck
thanx
Ruby

Kat,

It will take around two weeks to get used to this, but your body will adapt. Try to up the green tea intake in the mean time.

Thanks for calling me your hero…LOL! All I'm doing here is trying to get great and positive discussions going on how to look sexy…if that qualifies me as a hero, I'll take the compliment.

My favorite "Hero" song…there are tons, but I like this one best. This is David Bowie at Glastonbury in 2006 (they have HUGE music festival every year)…this video is really cool, because it shows highlights of the festival over 30 years along with 2006 live to Bowie singing Heroes. Bowie is still completely hip after all these years.

Rusty

Hi Rusty….wow this new way of eating is so awsome…Well I told you in an earlier post that I work for a hospital and we always have reps bringing food all the time. At least once or twice a week. Well yesterday they brought fish meals…Fried red snapper, filet of sole and shrimp w/ fries, hush puppies, macaroni salad and potato salad. It was too hard to pass up this time and I decided to have my one meal at lunch. I had 2 pieces of fish, fries and macaroni salad, then a very small piece of cake for dessert. When I woke up this morning I was scared what the scale would say to my surprise it showed 186, which means since Wednesday I lost another 2.6 pounds…Was so happy. Went for a 90 minute walk this morning. Had so much energy. Afterwards I went to the grocery store to get the Gorton fish filet u spoke about..Gonna try the fish taco's with rice for my one meal today. Will let u know how I like them… Just wanted to post for more inspiration to others.

Hi Sachi..how are things going.. Looking forward to your next update.

Kat…Congrats on making it through your first cheat free day. As days progress it will get easier and easier. Your hunger will change and your energy leve will change. Keep us posted and good luck…

Ruby good luck. I to beleive we will see a new sexier u in 3 months…Good luck…:)

Hi Linda…Hope everything finished fine this week with your work, the showing of your line, and other projects…Good luck!!

Hi Suzy… Welcome and good luck…Like u, once I start snacking it turns into disaster…I totally know how u feel… Good luck…

To everyone else…good luck with your journey and keep us all posted with your progress. We all can help each other…Have a Happy Saturday!!!

and Rusty….Kat is right u are our HERO!!!!!

Laney,

See…you have the right idea…give yourself some flexibility while following the principles. You are doing great!

All the positive and supportive readers that I have are the true "heroes".

You guys are great!

Rusty

Greetings all!

Work was great this week, although I'm a bit tired after it all now. I still have a bit more to do later, so I'm really going to eat LIGHT TONIGHT! (Poetry, don't ya just love IT!) LOL

Sachi-

Sorry you had a bad few days last weekend. Please try to be patient with yourself. I think you will continue to do well if you lower your expectations about all this and try to get O.K. with the worst case scenario. By that I mean, consider the worst that could happen: You don't lose the weight. Now your immediate reaction might be – I'll die if I don't lose the weight. That's becuse you have so much emotional investment in what you are thinking is going to be the outcome when you go back to Maine in December.

So I would think you need to put the whole thing in perspective. Of course you won't die! If you keep to your one meal a day eating plan, and it sounds like now your in a groove, you will definitely loose SOME weight. Now if you can get O.K. with the idea that you will definitely loose SOME weight, even if it is not all the weight you want to lose at this time, you can relax a little. I think you'll then be surprised at how well it will go.

Katrina and Laney-

Thank you soooo much for your sweet words of encouragement and support. I soooo appreciate it.

Suzy-

I drink my hot coffee black and my 4 shots of espresso over ice w/a little whole milk. If you could avoid using those non-dairy creamers in your coffee, I would. Read the label. I forget what's in there but I think there is High Fructose Corn Syrup in it. I'm going to check my husband's container of the stuff again, but it's not good for you.

As for excercise- I know the"experts" don't count chasing after 4 kids a fitness regimen, but I like to think of it that way! LOL
Good luck and thanks for the compliment

Sachi-

Just re-read what I wrote above and hope you don't think I assumed too much. I also don't mean to psychoanylze you. I'm not qualified. I have been through so many life experiences though and I've found it helpful to try to reduce the emotional intensity around any challenge I face.

Especially with the one meal a day thing, and this is really for anybody who is trying it or plans to try it, I really would try not to even think the word DIET. I would think of it as a plan, a system, a routine, or whatever phrase you want that doesn't conjure up stressful feelings about having to LOSE THE WEIGHT FAST.

Hi everyone. I have one question. Do all of you exercise regularly? I was just wondering if anyone has lost a lot of weight eating one meal a day without exercising on a regular basis. Thanks for all of your comments.

Lynne

Lynne,

You can lose body fat without exercising. If you create a decent calorie deficit with diet alone, it does help you lose weight. You will definitely get quicker results with diet AND exercise, but diet alone can definitely work.

Rusty

So far i have lost 15 lbs in a month with out working out but i do plane on starting a exercise plan very soon. I do believe this is the only diet for me it has been very easy for me and i do plan on doing this as a way of life. Good luck Hope this helps
Leslie

Hi,

Does anyone have problems with their sleeping habits with this diet? I am finding out that I cannot sleep early (I have to get up early to go work). Deep sleep does not come until very late at night or early next morning, this makes getting up early next to impossible. If anyone can commnent or offer suggestions, will be greatly appreciated. Other than this, this lifestyle is excellent!

Thank – Harvey.

Hi guys!

Well today is officially a week since I got the hang of eating 1 meal. And I have lost 3kg (i believe thats 6.6lbs)!!!!!!
Its actually more like 6 days of eating this way, because I cheated and had a huge lunch AND dinner 4 days into it but that didn't stop me (the old me would have gone, right, im off the wagon, so id better pig out tomorrow…no more of that)
Also, i didn't do any exercise whatsoever, yep thats right, NADA. I was amazed after looking at the scales today! Is what ive lost considered to be a good rate at losing weight? in the past I'd be super ecstatic at losing this much (and sometimes more), but I'd be starving most of the time. Not this time!
OMG IM SO HAPPY THIS WORKS!!!!!!!!
So, does anyone have any ideas on fast tracking their weight loss? Exercise perhaps? and if so, what kind? Should I cut out the dessert? I really don't want to because I have such a sweet tooth! Rusty, do you think if I lose any more a week it would be too much? or should I eat the same and start exercising?
Leslie, congrats 15lbs is amazing!!! Good luck reaching your target weight.

Love you all! And keep up the good work.

Kat

PS – Sachi..where are you?

I have been reading your comments and noticed a lot of people have been losing weight from this plan. I have been trying it for the past 2 weeks and still haven't lost as much as most (just 2 pounds). I also do the HIIT 4-5 days a week. I drink lots of water throughout the day and 2 cups of coffee a day. And I usually eat my meal around 6pm everyday. So maybe my problem is the food I eat. Can anybody tell me what, when and how much I should eat to lose more weight on this plan?
Tasha

Harvey,
I don't have a problem sleeping. In fact, since I've started this plan, I have been sleeping much better and deeper. What type of food are you eating? That might be the reason that you can't fall asleep/sleep deeply until late. Just a thought….

Lynne

Harvey,

Maybe it is the timing of your meal. Try it an hour earlier or an hour later if possible. For me it really helps me to sleep better. I can't sleep when I'm hungry, but get amazing sleep after I have eaten a larger meal.

Rusty

Tasha,

Give your body a couple of weeks to kick into fat burning mode. Other than that…maybe just reduce the portions a bit.

Here is a sample of my one meals…I posted this further up this page, but I'll just cut and paste again.

Steak Fajitas…8 ounces of beef, cut into strips, bell peppers, onions, cilantro, squeeze some lime juice while cooking. Wrap up into 2-3 flour tortillas along with salsa.

Fish Tacos…Microwave a pack of "Gortons Grilled Fillets Lemon Pepper Flavored" Microwaveable fish fillets (you guys have to buy these at your grocery store if they carry them). Two fillets only have a total of 200 calories, 6 grams of fat, and 34 grams of protein. They taste amazing and you just microwave them for 6 minutes. After I microwave the fish, I put them in corn tortillas that I microwave to warm up and soften. I add chopped cabbage and a little ranch dressing. I usualy eat a bowl of steamed rice along with it.

Scrambled Eggs mixed with Sweet Potatoes…I take a sweet potato and microwave it for about 4 minutes until it is most of the way cooked, but still firm. I chop it up and throw it in a frying pan and brown them a bit. I toss in egg beaters and make scrambled eggs mixed in with the potatoes. It sounds unusual, but I like the flavor.

Salmon over Brown Rice with Brocolli on the Side…I have a rice steamer, so I usually steam up a bunch of rice at the beginning of the week and add it to dishes. I buy "Gortons Grilled Salmon Fillets"…I am Gordon's biggest fan. 200 calories total for 2 fillets, 410mg of healthy omega 3, 32 grams of protein. I just basically microwave the fish and put on top of a heap of brown rice along with brocolli (which I also microwave).

Spicy Chicken Cabbage Soup…I actually did this for a diet once and it worked great. I recommend this if you want to be strict, but are sick of eating chicken salads. Heat chicken broth in a pan…throw in chopped cabbage, jalapeno's, cilantro, 2 chopped cooked chicken breasts. It sounds bland, but tastes surprisingly good. I try to see how spicy I can stand, by chopping in various hot peppers. Spicy food seems to satisfy my hunger really well.

I won't win any fine dining awards any time soon!

Rusty

Congrats Katrina and Leslie!

It's been crazy here in Southern California this week! If you been watching any news, you guys know there have been some bad fires. Last Sunday the fire that was named the Agua Dulce fire or Buckweed fire started about a mile from our house (downed power lines). Winds were 80 MPH!! For about 15-20 mins we were packing photos, financial stuff etc. After that though it was evident the wind was blowing the fire Southwest of us so we didn't have to evacuate.

A number of our friends called to let us know that we could hang out with them if need be. Two hours later the fire was bearing down on those same friends. Then it was us, calling them, to offer our home. So strange.

It is so sad to see so much devastation and gut wrenching to think about all the folks who lost their homes. You know, we don't have any TV's in our home because we feel like there isn't much of value to watch. Monday night, however, we went to our little local Mexican restaurant and we were watching the news there. I had to look away after awhile cause I get upset to see how the media can expolit someones abject sadness by returning with them to their non-existant home to get their first reaction. Another example of industrial intrests being more important than human interests. Just like we see in the FOOD industry.

Contiuned good luck to everyone!

I plan on starting to eat one meal a day tom. Are there any hints or tips you fabulous people can give me to help me be successful?

Kit,

Allow yourself to snack on fruit until dinner. After a while you will need less and less fruit to make it to dinner. I like having an apple and green tea.

Also…feel free to have a low calorie protein shake early in the morning. The main thing is that you need a decent stretch to allow yourself to get hungry. You need your body to get into a "fasted state" in order for this diet to be effective.

Hope that helps!

Rusty

How long does it take to get into the fasted state?

Tasha,

It really depends upon the person. I feel like I've done well if I haven't eaten anything for 6-8 hours.

Rusty

Day one went alright but I do have some concerns. I was able to get by until dinner with 3 pieces of fruit and a lot of green tea. However, I ate a lot for dinner (8 inch veggie sub with cheese and mayo, a bag of fritos, and a milky way) and could have eaten a lot more. Will my appetite eventually decrease because this seemed like a lot of food and I didn't feel full after it? Any advice?

Kit,

It took me about 3 weeks before I started craving a more reasonable amount of food. My meals now are only about 50% than a normal meal. If I ate 2 fish tacos in the past, now I have three. When I have a chicken salad…I'll cut up two chicken breasts. Also…I try to make the meals pretty healthy 2/3 of the time.

One thing I don't mention is the money you save eating like this. I wish I would have done this in college. I would have saved money as well as kept awake during my lectures…eating lunch always made me sleepy back then.

Rusty

WOW… I'm totally shocked by the sheer amount of comments this article alone has! Looks like you got a lot of people excited about this one, Rusty

Today i've started with the one big meal a day plan too… Well, not too strict. I'm still going to eat lighty during the day and a normal meal with a nice dessert during the evening. I've basicly copied your example from another article, so it's like this:

7:00 AM – eat a brown slice of bread with cheese and drink a glass of milk

01:30 PM – eat some fruit like an apple or orange

02:00 PM – eat another piece of fruit

06:00 PM – eat a regular meal

…Not sure if I can resist the urge to grab a cookie in the evening or something, but luckily these a tasty *and* very low on calories.

Hi there.

I started this one meal a day dealio after I saw this site a week ago. I started on 10/25 and to date, 10/30, I have lost 7 pounds.

Once I went on this pilgrimmage in Spain and it was walking for an average of 6-7 hours a day (550 miles in 33 days) and I only ate (well pigged out) once a day. At the end of the day when I finished walking. I ate sometimes some fruit in the day but not much. I lost a lot of fat and got very lean.

I should have known this is what simply works for me from that experience. However…I gained all that weight back and am now making an effort to lose it again. Of course I dont walk for 7 hours a day now (working like people do). I walk maybe an hour everyother day or so.

I am noticing that it's a little harder to fall asleep at night though I have limitless energy during the day. I have really followed it pretty rigorously, Amazing Grass Green super food in the morning, water all day, and then one meal at night which I pretty much will allow anything.

What else can I do to help sleep?

Remon,

Yeah…I have over 245 comments on this post alone. It is very popular. I do my best to encourage people to comment as much as possible. I really enjoy the interaction between readers. This diet gets easier and easier the longer you are on it. Glad you enjoyed reading it!

Christina,

Try to slightly change the timing of the last meal…maybe an hour earlier or an hour later and see how you respond. For me it has the opposite effect, I sleep better than ever…but everyone is different. I want to go to Spain…I'm completely jealous!

Rusty

hey everyone! sorry i disappeared… i was in the czech republic all of last week (prague and cesky krumlov…sighhh) and poland this weekend. have to admit, i didnt stick with the plan while abroad. i didnt cheat too much, but we drank ALOT of alcohol and ate breakfast most days. i just weighed myself and im at 160, so 5 pounds less than when i started 3 weeks ago after going on and off a few times. im down to 6 weeks before the commercial shoot so i WILL NOT stray again. i simply cannot, and have accepted that for the next month and a half im not going out, traveling, etc… nothing to shake my focus. i think another 15-20 pounds should do just fine, and im very optimistic about being successful. =D

keep up with your inspiration stories, all! ciao, sachi

I have two main concerns right now…well, one kind of is a result of the other. So, I strayed today and ended up eating a lot for both lunch and dinner. I guess the fear that my metabolism will slow down if I wait so long to eat caught up with me. I just need concrete proof that this is not the case. My second concern is how should I go about getting back on track? Thanks for the help!

Hey Kit,

It's not like you're not allowed to eat anything before dinner. Just eat lighty during the day. Just try eating less for breakfast and lunch and somewhat more during dinner. I just eat one slice of bread in the morning, fruit for lunch, and a normal dinner in the evening. I was a bit hungry during the afternoon, but not so much that I couldn't resist eating (a lot). Besides, just grab an extra apple is your feeling hungry or something, it's low on calories so it shouldn't be a problem

Next week I shall post an update of how much I lost in one week. Starting weight is 181 lbs (82kg). Good luck everyone!

Hi Rusty and everyone else whose input I’ve been reading and learning from 

I’ve been silently reading this site for a couple months but am finally trying this. (today is day one!) I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t on a diet, except when I was doing D1 rowing in college, and now I’ve packed on the weight, have tried weight watchers but lost like 3 pounds in a month, but I find im constantly over eating under the idea I should never let myself get hungry. (clearly not working..)
So I just wanted to, like so many other, say thank you for this site, and I’m looking forwards to giving this a go!

Quick question…I keep getting nauseous when I drink green tea on an empty stomach. (Ha, third time today, probably should have learned, but kept thinking it’d be fine the next time) Should I go caffeine free?
Also, I read that a couple people mentioned they lost more when they cut out the diet soda. I’m a huge diet soda junkie (like you used to be as I’ve read) does this slow progress down?
Sorry one more, lastly, I have kick boxing until 9 tonight, but haven’t eaten since 12, should I just grab an apple as a snack and tough it out until after?
So many thanks

Jules,

Don't cut the diet soda just yet. Go on the diet for a month or so while drinking diet soda when you get hungry (I know…not the most "politically correct" piece of fitness advice, but it is what I would do). Once your appetite get used to the diet, ween yourself off diet soda. To be honest, it won't slow down your progress…but you may have to get dentures at a young age (terrible for the teeth)!

Also…eat a bit of fruit as a snack…an apple has around 60 calories, you will burn that in 10 minutes.

One more thing…green tea isn't a must…I just personally like it.

Thanks for finally commenting!

Rusty

Does the time of day that you eat the meal make a difference in weight loss or gain and does it have to be very consistent? Will eating my one meal at 4pm one day and 7pm make a difference?

Kit,

If anything, changing the timing of you meal could be better…just to keep the body guessing. I would generally eat aroung the same 3-4 hour period, but I don't think it would hurt at all to vary the timing a bit.

Rusty

Thanks Rusty,

I know you eat your meal later in the day. Would I lose more weight if I ate it earlier? I'm up one pound after eating my meal at 8pm which but I'm TRYING not to worry about it and brush it off since I weigh myself first thing in the morning I figured it might just be food still in my system.

Hey Rusty,

I have a question. You said that you can create a calorie defict by either not eating those calories, or by excersizing. I don't want my body to go in starvation mode, but since I still live with my parents, I don't have a ton of influence on the amount of food I eat during dinner. So, imagine that I eat a daily total of about 1000 calories, which is kinda low for that day. I go excersicing that day, and burn 600 calories. Does that mean that the end amount would only be 400 calories for that day? (1000-600). The reason I ask this is because I certainly don't want my body to go in 'starvation mode', so i'm wondering if low calories + lots of excersicing can actually cause that.

Kit,

Give yourself about two weeks on the diet before you decide to change to an earlier meal. If you are eating really close to bed time(1 hour or less before bed), you might consider eating a little smaller of a meal…maybe 75% of the calories you are eating now…then add a small breakfast each day as well.

The main thing to keep in mind is to allow your body to get hungry and then eat until you are full later in the day.

Remon,

If I remember, you said that you are pretty slim already. You will want to eat a bit more than someone who needs to drop a lot of weight. If you weighed around 150 and you are slim, you would want to eat more than someone who is 150 and is 20 pounds overweight.

The way daily calories work is a little different than you described.

There are a certain number of calories you naturally burn in a given day. This is called your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Here is a good site that has a tool which will give you an estimate of that:

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

So let's say that your BMR is 1,500 calories. That is how much you burn excluding any activities. If you ate 1,500 calories and weren't physically active, you would stay at your same weight (this is simplified…it doesn't work out exactly like this).

So again let's say that your BMR is 1,500 and you ate 1,500 calories, but now you did a workout routine that burned 600 calories per day. You have created a Calorie Deficit of 600 calories. That makes sense, because your BMR and calories consumed balance each other out exactly…so any other calories burned would put you into deficit. If you want to lose weight, you want to be in a deficit either created by eating less than your BMR…or eating around the level of your BMR and burning more calories through exercising.

Starvation mode isn't created by a deficit, but by eating way below your BMR for extended periods of time.

Hope that helps!

Rusty

Hey Rusty,

Thanks a lot for the comments! Believe me, i'm NOT slim, my love handles are quite obvious Below are my current stats:

Height: 1.74m / 174cm
Weight: 80kg
Age: 19

LOL! I've used the calculator the wrong way which gives me a WHOPPING BMR of 2777!! The correct outcome is 1902.

Is there a rule of thumb when it comes to starvation mode? Somekind of formula to calculate the absolute minimum amount of calories BEFORE your body kicks into starvation mode?

Today i've eaten about 1500 calories, but I burned about 400-500 calories as well (not entirely sure, it's an estimate) through riding my bike and doing HIIT. That's a bit overkill, isn't it? Since i'm already 400 calories under my BMR or so it seems…

I usually ride my bike to the train station daily (except for the weekend), which takes about 20 minutes. This means that every day I get 40 minutes of excersize, not counting my bicycle or HIIT routine. Should I drop that bicycle ride so the deficit doesn't get too large? It's a bit hard for me to consume extra calories in the evening, so thats why I ask.

Sorry for asking a lot of questions, but it is really important for me to know. I don't wanna screw up my diet or body, y 'know? Any advice would be more than welcome!

Also, I reckon that you need to recheck your BMR and adapt to it as you lose weight? Obviously my BMR would be different if I weight 75kg instead of 80kg.

I am in need of advice. I can't seem to follow the one meal a day plan for more than two days at a time. On day two or three I'll wake up starving even though I have been eating most of my calories in the evening (between 4-6). So, I'll eat a decent breakfast (I'll start with fruit but eventually eat other food, about 1200 calories) just to make the hunger pangs lessen not even completely go away. I plan on not eating anything else until dinner tonight and plan on having a comparatively small dinner to get back on track. How can I avoid this from happening again?

Kit,

Why don't you start out on two meals a day…but make that first meal smaller than the evening meal. Eat 1/3 of your calories in the morning and 2/3 of your calories in that evening meal. You will get close to the same benefit, but it just isn't as extreme. Once this becomes easy, you could alternate it with days where you don't eat anything until dinner. I'm certain this would work well.

Rusty

Note: Don't eat that first meal as lunch. It is still important to have maximum time in between your two meals if possible. Eat that early meal as soon as you wake up.

Thanks Rusty! I was thinking about doing just that and it's good to know that you agree.

Hi!
I just wanted to report that I've been on the one meal a day diet for 10 days and have lost 8 pounds. Most of it was in the first 3-5 days. The last few days I've only lost a pound. So I'm assuming that the first part that I lost is water weight. Also, I read that it takes around 3 weeks before you actually start losing body fat. Is this true? Will I have to wait another week and a half before I start losing again?

Also, I really screwed myself over last night. I had a big meal and was actually full but not satisfied. So I ate some cheese slices and then a kiwi and couple bites of mashed potatoes (the worst, i know). So I think my body is completely adjusted but my brain is not…I guess that takes time? I'm still proud of myself, that's the first day I "messed" up. Yay!!

I have a quick question. Is it alright for me to eat a piece of fruit about 2 hrs before my meal if I am starving?

Christina,

You are doing fine. You will probably lose 2-4 pounds of weight per week going forward, so one pound every few days is par for the course. It certainly is possible to lose at a faster rate, it just depends upon how much you have to lose. Typically the more you need to lose the quicker you will drop the weight. The closer you get to your target weight, the slower it goes.

Hope that helps!

Rusty

Kit,

A piece of fruit isn't going to hurt at all. Feel free to eat that piece of fruit two hours before your meal. The diet will still work well.

Rusty

Hey Rusty,

May I ask you to please comment on my previous two comments? I'd hate to push you or anything but, it's just… really important for me lol. So could you pretty please answer my questions? =D Sorry for being such a whiner!

Remon,

Sorry about not getting back to you. Yeah, you do need to adjust your caloric intake as your BMR gets lower.

I think what you are doing as far as diet and exercise will workout well for you. You will be forced to burn body fat. I don't think there will be a problem at all.

As far as Starvation Mode goes…I have a post on that which also has a link to an article which covers this. It isn't an easy thing to guess when your body will go into starvation mode, but I don't think you will have a problem at all with what you described.

Here is the post: Skipping Meals Will NOT Slow Your Metabolism and Cause Weight Gain!

Hope that helps,

Rusty

Hi Christina-

Congrats! You are doing great! Rest assured that if you keep doing the things you are doing you will lose body fat. I wouldn't worry at all about a couple pieces of cheese, a kiwi and some mashed potatoes. Those are good "cheats". At least you didn't down a carton of Ben and Jerry's!

The hardest thing will be the mental aspect of making this change. I have seen over and over in my friends a true desire to lose weight, followed by an "excitement phase" where their resolve is strong and they are making progress. Slowly but surely however, their change back mode starts to kick in. They start thinking, probably subconciously, that they REALLY DON"T WANT TO DO WITHOUT ALL THE WONDERFUL FOOD THAT GIVES THEM PLEASURE. That's pleasure with a major capital "P".

PLEASURE needs to come from the inside and the PLEASURE of eating great food has to be replaced by some other PLEASURE inducing thing.

Continued good luck!

Hey Christina,

You have a good point! I too always suffer from an "excitement phase" followed by a gradual change back to my old habits. The excitement phase is now over for me, but this time i'm forcing myself not to slip back to my old habits. This plan works because it allows quite some freedom in the evening. And everyone knows that the evening is the time when the urge to chow down really kicks in! So far this has worked great for me! Personally i'm quite strict during working days, and a little more loose in the weekend.

Thanks Rusty for the advice. My problem was definitely my portion sizes. I reduced them a lot and now I have lost 7 pounds. I have also switched from HIIT to walking 6 miles a day around the track (much easier on my knees). I hope I can keep losing. My goal is 30 pounds. Thanks again.

Hello all!

Started this diet today after lots of research over the net.
Hoping to lose about 6 kilos (think thats about 10 pounds) and also doing at least one hour of excercise daily except sundays.

Decided to leave a wall post in hope of some support LOL!
Wish me luck
Lola

Hi everyone!
I was wondering if any of you eat your meal before noon. Thanks!

Hey Lola,

If you are unconditioned it would be better to start with 30 minutes of exersize a day, and increase the duration of the exersize when you are not losing weight anymore. Also, I would start with 3-4 times a week instead of doing it 6 times a week. It's a lot of exersize to start with, you body needs to ease into it you know

& Kit:

The way I eat is:

- Light breakfast @ 7:00AM
- Light lunch @ 12:30PM
- (Big) Dinner @ 18:00

I try not to eat anything between these three meals, but only dinner can be called a real meal though An apple or something between meals doesn't hurt either

Tasha,

Great job! Yeah…HIIT isn't the only form of aerobic exercise that works. People were getting lean long before HIIT…using traditional steady state cardio. Sounds like it is a great choice for you. Awesome job on losing 7 pounds. Very cool!

Lola,

Welcome and good luck! You will do very well with your approach. I can't wait to hear about the great results!

Kit,

Remon described the way I eat for a large part of the year. Two light meals and 1/2 to 2/3 of my daily calories in my meal at night after my workout. If I don't workout that night, I will eat a little less for dinner. Right now I'm doing a pretty strict one meal a day diet…this post is so popular that I have to join in the fun!

Everybody else…thanks for offering great advice and great support!

Rusty

Hey Remon,

I have always been very very active and have been going to the gym for a few months now, I think the reason I wasn't losing weight was because I ate SO MUCH, I ended up gaining a little more! Do you still think 6 days a week at the gym is too much? Im no expert and dont mind the advice.
Also drank too much this summer so been cutting down on those aswell.

Today was my secong day and so far so good.

Im going to thank Rusty in advance because for once I feel someting positive will come of this new eating pattern.

Many thanks guys

Thanks Rusty and Remon van der Pol. I was wondering how much everyone typically eats at their one meal and if you all ate a lot when you first started but then your appetite decreased? And if so how long did it take for your appetite to decrease? I know Rusty said it took him about three week, but that seems like an awfully long time to eat this way and not see significant results. I ate 3 large chicken strips, carrots with ranch, and a huge rice krispie treat made with golden garahms and chocolate (and I mean huge) and could have eaten more which worries me. Any advice is appreciateed because I really want to make eating one meal a day a way of life but am having my doubts about it working. Thanks!

Lola,

Six days per week is a bit much for the long-term, but not bad for a short-term push. You could probably get away with exercising 6 days a week as long as 2 of the days are pretty mellow. Once you are down to your ideal weight 4, or maybe 5 days would be more realistic for the long-term.

I have no doubt that you are going to lose that weight. I have you e-mail address (since I'm the admin) and will track you down!

Cheers,

Rusty

Kit,

I LOVE Rice crispy treats…and Golden Grahams is such a good cereal, it should be considered a drug. It HAS to be a heavenly combination! Also…I'm totally into the chicken strips with ranch also…if you tossed in Salsa Verde Doritos -or- Salt and Vinegar Pringles…It just might be considered the perfect meal!

You may want to start of with the 2 small meals and the one bigger meal approach…then go down to one small and one big…then go down to one big meal. Right now it sounds like you are torturing yourself a bit. Let your appetite decrease and then work to the one meal approach.

You gotta ween yourself off the tasty stuff a bit (don't go cold turkey)…but maybe replace one of the junkier (yet heavenly) foods with a healthier alternative -OR- maybe you just eat that type of stuff twice a week and really healthy 5 nights a week.

Just some thoughts,

Rusty

PS: Now I'm craving some chicken strips and Doritos!

Thanks Rusty,
I think I'm going to try the two small meals and one larger meal and then ween myself of the two smaller ones as you suggested. How small should these smaller meals be? Thanks again.

Kit,

Try to eat over 1/2 of your calories in that final meal…so 1/4 daily calories in meal one and 1/4 total calories in meal two.

Note:When you do decide to cut out the next meal, make sure it is the mid-day meal…so you get used to a longer time fasting.

Rusty

Hi everyone,

I just have to say that I LOVE what everyone contributes on here. I feel like it's a little easier because we're all kind of doing this together!

The last couple of days have been a little rough. I seem to be eating bigger meals but not because I'm hungry. So, I'm still pushing through that psychological stage. I'm not hungry at all during the day but I think I'll try changing up my eating times…i still don't think eating before lunch is a good idea though, I think, psychologically, it would be too long to go during the most common eating times without food. Argh!

Also, I'm wondering if walking for an hour would be less beneficial than say bicycling for an hour (on a stationary)? I know it would probably be beneficial to do both but I can only handle so much change at once…any ideas?

Cristina,

I think in terms of calorie burning, bicycling for an hour is probably the most efficient option.

You should probably try to build up the cardio work slowly though…….I would start by doing alternate days; one day 1hr walking and one day 1hr cycling until you build up enough stamina to either only cylce or even do both!
Im no expert and everyone is different but I think building up your cardiovascular endurance slowly is better and safer.

hope this helps

Hi! I am 17 and 5'3 and I weigh 110 pounds. I would like to get down to somewhere between 98 and 100 pounds. Do you really think that this diet will work well for me? I never eat breakfast and rarely ever eat lunch so I think it would be easy for me to do this diet. What exactly do I need to do during the day? What should I eat at night? And is exercising 3 times a week for 2 hours enough? because that's what I'm currently doing. Thank you!

Hi Shannon, you are currently at the absolute lowest healthy weight for your height, actually you are below it. I know you don't believe people when they tell you that you are thin, but please listen to them, they have no reason to lie to you. If you honestly think you need to lose weight than please seek professional help asap before things get bad. I don't want to sound like I'm preaching to you but I was once the exact same way and I wish someone would have told me to snap out of it and talk to someone. It would have saved me so much trouble and I wouldn't still be having problems 3 years later. I just don't want you to make the same mistake I did and have dieting back fire on you when you really don't need to lose weight in the first place.

Shannon,

Yeah…I gotta kind of agree with Kit. You have the same proportions as Eva Longoria…and she looks amazing! You probably are at the ideal weight…and like Kit said…maybe about as low as you would want to go. I think you should focus on maintaining that weight while getting in great cardiovascular shape.

Kit,

Tell me when you want me to remove your e-mail address. I'll leave it up as long as you want, but if you get weird e-mails I'll pull it for you (the net is a strange place at times…LOL).

Rusty

haha…Thanks Rusty, feel free to remove it.

Hey Lola,

I'm quite positive that I eat too less at my big meal. I live at my parents and don't have a lot to say about evening meals so I can't make them bigger. I'm throwing in some low fat cookies after dinner to get some extra calories. It works and I still lose weight! Also, it satisfies my craving for sweets for pretty much the rest of the evening also, which is good

It would be a good thing to calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) at http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
This shows you how much calories you will probably burn throughout the day if you are INACTIVE. It would be a good thing to try and eat close to your BMR. Just make sure you don't get above your BMR by a great deal, especially not on off-days

Kit,

I pulled your e-mail address. This post gets way too many visits for you to have it out there. Most people are normal, but believe me…there are some strange comments that I moderate that never see the light of day on this blog.

Seriously…there are some poeple out there with problems…LOL!

Rusty

hey im back! been doing pretty good with this… im down 10 pounds!! or at least i was yesterday and then last night something bad happened. yes you all can guess what it was. i havent dared to look at the scale because im sure i gained some back. (i need to just stop drinking alltogether until im at my goal weight)… is this really going to affect the process?? or should i stop stressing and just pretend it never happened? im just wondering if i should cut more calories for the next weeks. thanks for any advice you can give me!

cheers to you all (with my non-alcoholic beverage lol) sachi

Sachi,

That is great you lost 10 pounds! Don't worry about occasionally having drinks. You will get faster results if you don't, but you have to live life. Get back to what you were doing to drop those 10 pounds and you will lose 10 more.

Great Job!

Rusty

Hello everyone. It's really fascinating to read everyones comments and how everybody is dieting. This is my first day on the one meal a day diet. I used to do it all the time, just eat one meal a day. But now im eating… and eating… and eating. And not small amounts neither. I was very small before, a perfect size 6… if that!! But now I've put on a fair bit of weight which is really noticeable on my stomach. I have a Christmas Work-do mid december, so I'm wanting my perfect body back before then. I work 7 days a week and have done for the last 6 months and this is when most of my weight has come on. I haven't eaten anything today and plan to have a chicken soup when I get home from work. Then, I'm going to go play squash, for the first time! Going to exercise ALOT and not eat ALOT! Hehe. I'm always so so so tired and that's the only thing I'm concerned about. Will this make me more tired? I think I can do this diet if I really push myself. I'm feeling ok today. Clutching onto my bottle of water for dear life and drinking lots. I'm not worried about weight loss on scales, I just care about the way I look. I would become a tad obsessive if I knew my weight or monitered it, so im keeping well away from those. But yeah, that's my life story and Im looking forward to hearing how everyone else is doing with this.

Take care peeps,

Candy x x x

Candy,

You will actually have more energy on this diet! I swear that digesting that food all the time is what is making people fatigued. It can take a couple of weeks to see really good results, because you are training your body to burn body fat for energy instead of calories from your meals. Once you get in the zone, you will become a fat burning machine and can get as lean as you desire.

I'm excited for you,

Rusty

Damn, I still have quite some trouble to force me NOT to eat anything between lunch and dinner… hehe, I need to be more strict, otherwise it won't work I guess. I know that you can snack of fruit and all, but I mean sweets I really need to force myself not to eat them during the day

Remon,

Just burn more calories than what you eat and you will do well. If you are dying to eat sweets, try your best to only eat them immediately after a workout…and maybe only 2-3 times a week.

I continued to lose body fat a few years ago, even though I ate a small bag of Skittles after working out (I don't recommend that…I would have had even faster results without Skittles…I just want you to know that all of us struggle with the same cravings). It is better to have protein and carbs right after you workout…not just carbs.

Rusty

Hey everyone. I have just spent the last hour reading all of your comments and i am really inspired by your motivations to reach healthy weights. About a year ago i began eating only one meal a day in an attempt to curb my bingeing habits. It did work and i lost about 20lbs which was great and i felt so much more confident about my body. The problem is that when i went on a family holiday in july, well it was an all inclusive hotel and i ended up eating three meals a day again ( they were extremely healthy though and i actually ended up losing weight on holiday which is kind of weird as most people gain on holidays lol). Anyways when i got home from my holiday and realised id lost more weight by eating three very healthy meals than i was losing previously on one meal, i continued eating three meals. The problem is though that as my body got used to eating more again it also became hungrier and hungrier and i my bingeing habits returned…with a vengeance. I cannot control the bingeing while maintaining a three meal a day lifestyle.. i dont know why but eating that often just sets off the trigger to binge. So, as of today i am planning on returning to eating one meal a day. I am currently 165lbs at 5ft8" and i hoping to ultimately get to 126lbs so thats a total of 39lbs. I am not going to incorporate exercise into my plan until my body has gotten used to having one meal a day again. I will be having my meal between 5-7pm. I was just wondering though, how many calories should i be consuming to lose the weight as i am planning on only having my dinner which is usually between 600-900 cals but i will not deny myself fruit inbetween meals if i really need it.

Lucee

Oh just wanted to say to Shannon, you are at a perfect height for your weight, please do not think you need to lose any weight as you dont and to do so would be unneccessary. I say this from experience as i used to be a good weight for my height and i was slim, but being tall i always felt 'bigger' than everyone else and so i always thought i had to be thinner and this has actually led to me gaining about 40lbs. I only wish now i had realised at the time that i was thin, but hindsight would be a wonderful thing.

Lucee,

If you do only wind up eating 600 calories for your one meal, make sure and include 300-400 calories in fruit during the day. I really think you don't want to dip below 1,000 calories in a day. To be honest…you should be closer to 1,200 given your current size and your goals.

Rusty

Hiya!! OooOOOh dear I was so tempted to induldge in my usual curry today but I resisted. Thanks very much for the comment Rusty, I really appreciate your feedback!

Very random question. What does everybody think of baked beans for a diet?? 3 days ago I just had chicken soup for dinner and that whole day I was feeling really drained. I had some for breakfast 2 days ago early in the morning and then had a salad at night time. And today I had a slice of toast for breakfast and a salad for dinner. And I'm doing a fair bit of exercise. I find it hard sometimes to work from nothing in the morning as my body is used to having SOMETHING in the morning. I feel a bit better when I eat in the morning, then I can last the rest of the day without eating, then have something to eat in the evening.

Compared to what I was eating before this is a massive drop. I was binge eating ALOT, crisps, curry, everything I could get my hands on! Now I'm sticking to the healthy foods (makes a change!! ). I just hope im not eating too much for it to not have much impact?

Thanks for the followup, I'll keep you posted of my success (hopefully! )

Can somebody please give me some ideas of meals I can eat? Would be really handy as I can't find anything online x

Candy,

I still need to a post about meals…I swear I'll get to it…promise!

Why don't you stick with eating a meal in the morning and a meal at night? I think the whole idea is to let yourself get hungry at some point during the day, but some people will actually do better if they eat a bit in the morning…especially at first. If you ate in the morning and went 6-9 hours in between meals, you will get close to the same effect (plus you won't torture yourself).

Give it a shot!

Rusty

PS: Baked beans aren't bad calorie wise and are acually pretty low in fat if you get the right type. They have a decent amount of sodium, so drop them from your diet a week or two before getting into a swimsuit, as you will hold more water than normal when you eat high sodium foods.

hi guys,
thought i would let you know that my jeans and shirts fit better then they did a week ago!

not sure how much or if ive lost weight because im trying not to obsess with the scales but i can certainly feel my body changing a bit…..not as hungry as i used to be!!!

this is going very well

I was wondering about how many calories a day everyone here eats. By the sounds of it, it is a really low amount. Thanks.

I should mention that I'm basically starting one meal a day tom. and am looking for advice since I don't want to my metabolism to slow down (huge fear of mine which is why I have been secretly sabotaging my efforts to eat one meal a day) and I know it will if the calories are restricted too much. Thanks everyone!

Lola,

Great job! This diet does work and it actually becomes more effective after a few weeks.

Kit,

Here is a starting point…take the weight you are aiming for and multiply that by 10. So if you wanted to get down to 120, you would eat 1,200 calories. See how this works and then adjust if necessary.

Rusty

I just visited this site for the first time today. I have "unofficially" been doing something similar to this for about a month. I will eat one medium-largish meal at once, maybe 70% of my daily intake. Then about 20% about two and a half hours later. I usually have a piece of toast to start the day. Plenty of fluids throughout the day, water and milk, but also soda. I haven't worried about the pattern so much as WHAT I'm eating, which is usually fast food for my big meal. This isn't planned, I usually eat my big meal when I am hungry, which is also usually when I am not home. I don't count calories, as I usually don't know the calories unless they are listed on the package. I would like to "OFFICIALLY" start this program, as in do it purposefully rather than circumstancially, and would like some advice. Thank you!

Jen,

Make sure and drop the soda. If you can't go cold turkey, then replace it with diet soda. Ideally if you snack during the day, eat a few pieces of fruit.

If you want to work into this slowly, then eat 3 meals per day…just make sure no more than 30% of your calories come from those two meals and that 70% of your calories are in that final meal at night.

You WANT to allow yourself to get hungry on this diet. The food you eat after a period of fasting is well absorbed by the body. Stick with a healthy dinner most of the time, but allow yourself to get full at dinner.

This would be a good starting point,

Rusty

Just a quick question: If I have eaten my 12 'o clock meal (one or two pieces of fruit) and then take another piece of fruit at, let's say, 4 'o clock. Would that ruin the 'X amount of hours without eating to lose fat'-effect? Or is it just about the basic undereating principle that really matters instead of having to fast for 6-9 hours or so? The reason i'm asking this is because it's quite difficult for me to eat no calories at all from 12 to 6 The main reason is because my work can be quite boring and inactive from time to time, which makes it really hard to put your thoughts on other things than food.

Remon,

I believe in being flexible depending upon different circumstances. You will probably do well doing exactly what you described. You probably won't want to eat quite as much for that one meal, but I'm sure you will do well with the calorie deficit that you create each day.

Give it a shot…I bet you will like the way that eating fruit on an empty stomach makes your body feel!

Cheers!

Rusty

Hi everyone,
I know I asked this question before but only Rusty replied. How long did it take all of you for your appetite to change and for you to get fuller faster? Thanks!

I just stumbled upon this article while I was doing some research. After watching several family members shed pound after pound while using this method, I have decided to try it out. I was so worried that I would be unbearably hungry going all day without eating but it wasn't bad at all. This is Day 2 but I have to admit that my one meal is alot larger than it should be. Nevertheless I feel great!

OoOOH dear I will try and stay away from those baked beans then. Hehe. Finding it hard to find meals to eat. Salad. Soup. Salad. Soup. Salad. Salad. Salad. Soup, seems to be the general pattern emerging. Here's a question, is homemade chicken cassorole good for you? Of course with veggies, etc.

I'm eating alot less, and I'm eating alot smaller amounts. Not *really* noticing much difference but havent been doing it for that long. I'm feeling very hungry at the moment so thought I'd distract myself by leaving a post!!

Also Rusty, another question. Is too much salad a bad thing? I've been having lots and my colleague who has been on numerous amounts of diets said too much is not good as its mostly water. If you eat too much, the water will just store on you and you wont be able to get rid of it. How much truth is in this?

Thanks so much for all the advice. It's nice to hear the truth from somebody who really knows what they are talking about xx

Low calories??? Low carbs?? Low fat?? What do I need to look out for?

At the moment I will not eat anything which I can't can't calculate the calories in. That's what im really focusing on. Are carbohydrates something to avoid? And what amount in grams is a healthy amount of fat for a meal? I'm being very picky with what I'm eating, and I'm struggling to find food to eat.

How many calories approximately are in a salad? Quite a big one? With lets say, chicken, lettuce, tomatoe, pepper, onion… just healthy veggies?? I know it's quite a silly question but im finding it hard to calculate my intake when I eat a salad.

I've only got a month to go until I need this weight OFF! The weight I have on is all in the "middle of my belly"… hopefully you know what I mean by that! That's where I seem to be really holding the weight.

Sorry for all the questions but im becoming so so so lost. xXx

Hi Candy,
I think Rusty will be able to help with some of your other questions, but in terms of too much salad and storing water..(in my opinion) wouldn't worry. while too much salt can make you retain water and see higher numbers on the scale, it doesn't effect the real weight you are losing. If you really want to lose the water weight before an event or night out, lay off salt for a couple days before and have coffee or light (fewer calories) cranberry juice (both are diuretic) and surprisingly water! If you are dehydrated too much your body stores more water

in terms of calories in a salad, when counting, i wouldn't worry about lettuce, bell peppers etc. but..
tomatoes for one whole, guess around 30 cal, whole green or red bell pepper, also around 30-40, one whole medium onion has about 40-50, chicken if its boneless/skinless breast, guess 120 for 4 oz raw (then it depends on how you cook it ) (these are my estimates. if you really want more specifics, you can google it or go to calorie-count.com)

also, no one gained the weight they are trying to lose from too much lettuce or tomatoes, or at least I know I sure didn’t! personally, I don’t worry about veggies like that, but focus on making sure to count add-ons such as nuts, dressing, cheese etc. but sounds like you’re working hard to do that already!! : )

I hope thats a little helpful! (after too many years in and out of nutritionists’ offices I have too much brain space wasted on calorie info

Candy,

I get my best ideas from readers…You have inspired me to write a post on salad!

This will clear up a bunch of questions.

Rusty

This is VERY interesting! When I was a bit heavier than I wanted to be due to no exercise for Uni exams, I only ate late in the day, with say, a small sandwich at 4pm, and a normal meal at 8pm. I lost a 1lb a day for a week. Also, I wasn't even feeling hungry!

I stopped this when I found out that it was supposedly bad for me! Now I know if I need to lose a few lbs, I'll do it again then!

hey,

Im 14 years old. im not really aiming for abs or anything like that, but i want to lose the extra bodyfat i have, and im wondering if im old enough to follow the warrior diet or if i should stick to 3 meals a day.

Wasif,

You are probably too young to mess around with altering your calorie intake. You should eat on a regular basis to make sure you get all the proper nutrients. Young people like yourself are better to eat often, but eat small meals. Your nutritional requirements are higher at a young age.

Rusty

"How long did it take all of you for your appetite to change and for you to get fuller faster?"

It only took me 3-4 days. This way of eating seems really natural to me. I always wanted to eat more at night in the past, and it was really frustrating trying to lose some weight but feelng the need to eat 5-6 meals a day.

I have a glass of soy or rice milk when I wake up. An apple and a cup of carrots mid-day, and then a fair meal at night of vegetarian protein and vegetables. I also have a piece of dark chocolate here and there in the day. I used to think there was something wrong with me because I would always have periods (or days!) of cloudy mind, which is really hard if your job requires constant thinking. Since I started eating lightly in the day I haven't had a minute of dull mind. It's fantastic!! Plus, I really like the periods of undereating, the feeling of an empty stomach. It's so much better than feeling full and lathargic.

Rusty, you rock for creating this site, and you have fun pictures!

Star,

Thanks for the compliments. I DO take pride in having great pictures! It sometimes takes me 30-60 minutes to find a good picture, but I think I find some great ones.

I want this blog to share advanced information, but have a sexy playful vibe to it…not a weird "hardcore" vibe with oiled up people posing in their basement do the "most muscular" pose.

I like look at attractive people, so why not fill the site with them (along with sarcastic comments)?

Glad to have you as a reader and contributor!

Rusty

Hi Jules. Thanks very much for the post. I was very confused when she started saying too much salad wasnt good for me. I was thinking "oh my goodness, all this eating like a rabbit for nothing! " I don't eat any fruit and never have, but ive started drinking cranberry juice so I suppose thats good. Thanks for approx amounts on calories in salad, makes me feel alot better And that is very very true "no one gained the weight they are trying to lose from too much lettuce or tomatoes"

Thanks that's been very very very helpful. I feel 10x better now. My calorie intake is pretty low then, I've only been doing this about 6 or so days now, no effect yet but fingers crossed the weight will start flying off.

OoOooh! Yet another question! Last night my boyfriend who is dieting with me gave into temptation and had a pudding… :O *shock horror*. Admittadly it was a weight watcher one, but there was 5.6g of fat in it!!! :O Surely thats bad?? In a healthy youghurt there is 0.1g?! :O

Thanks very much for the reply xxx

P.s) Rusty, a post on salad seems like a good plan. Will stop people like me asking the amount of calories in lettuce ;P x

Thanks Star for answering my question. It is very comforting to know that it didn't take that long for your stomach to adjust and for you to get fuller faster. I keep getting scared that it won't happen so I'm not sticking to it.

Hi Rusty,
I have a quick question. With my busy ever changing schedule and social life, it is impossible for me to eat my one meal at a consistent time. Any suggestions?

Candy,

A weight watchers pudding is probably fine. A little bit of fat in your diet is actually a good thing. As long as it wasn't 300+ calories, you will be fine eating one of those. Yogurt is probably the superior snack, but eat pudding also if you enjoy that.

Kit,

If you can eat close to the same time generally, you will do fine. I eat my big meal as early as 5 and as late as 9:30…it works for me.

Rusty

Kit,
I think a lot goes into making us hungry. Adjusting to eating this way, and stomach shrinking will definitely have an affect. But other factors such as sleep and stress, will also affect your hunger levels. I've been allowing myself to sleep until I naturally wake up which helps me have a good energy level all day, and not feel the need to eat for energy. If you feel hungry, have a little bit and then wait a while. I eat 100 calories of fresh fruit or vegetable and have either water, tea, or diet coke. Then I wait a while, always the hunger goes.

Oh good. It was 161 calories I do believe. x

I would just like to update everyone. My boyfriend has been doing this diet for a week now and he has lost 6 pounds!!! Im so proud of him. He's not enjoying the food im making him eat (salad every night) but hes definitely losing the weight. Im not sure how much weight ive lost as I did weight myself at nightime to get my initial reading. But I do believe ive lost 4 pounds Which is fantastic. Well on my way.

I guess my problem Rusty is that my big meal is anywhere between 10:30 am and 7 pm. On the upside it is getting easier for me to go longer periods without eating! I find that after the first hunger pang has come and past (after about an hour), I lose my desire to eat.

I should mention that I've been using this inconsistency as an excuse to eat more than once a day and not follow one meal a day.

Kit,

You can eat a slightly smaller meal and then eat a bit of fruit when you get hungry. No need to torture yourself. It took me 2-3 weeks to easily go all day without eating. Now I'm visibly getting leaner each day. It is actually working better than I imagined it would. I still do eat a bit of fruit on days when I have extra hunger.

Hope that helps!

Rusty

PS: Good job Candy!!!!!!!

I have been reading the comments and this sounds like this might work for me. I do have one question. How many calories should you aim for in the one meal?

Terry,

I think the diet works because you eat a different amount each time. Some days I probably eat as low as a 600 calorie meal and other times closer to 1,500.

I forget if you told me how much you weigh and how much weight you have to lose. If you have to lose a lot of weight, you can get away with a large calorie deficit and get great results. If you are close to your target weight you have to be careful.

Let's say you weight 200 pounds and want to get down to 175. I would recommend eating a bit of fruit in the morning and maybe a 800-1,200 calorie meal on average at night. Once you got down to 185…I would make sure to stay closer to 1,200-1,500. Once you hit your target weight, you would obviously be allowed to be a bit more flexible.

I'll make a post on a method I use to determine if you are eating too few calories each day.

Have a great one!

Rusty

http://health.msn.com/…GT1=10603

Hello everyone. I'm not doing very well this this anymore. I can't find things to eat. I'm getting really paranoid about eating homecooked food because I can't calorie count. My weight is at a standstill at the moment. I've gone without breakfast today to make up for some nibbles I had late last night, (lettuce, onion, pepper). I'm struggling. I've got less than a month to go and I really need to stick at this. Please can somebody reccomend some realistic, very healthy meals? This is starting to really get me down as I can't find ANYTHING to eat and if I do eat something with quite a bit of fat in it or something homemade which I cant calorie count, I feel awful. Soup is getting boring. Salad all the time. Please, somebody help me. I need information on food to eat for RAPID weightloss. Within the next month. Please! Help!

And when I say nibbles last night I had already had dinner. And I did have quite alot of onion, lettuce, and pepper. Ate it at a silly time but was so so peckish

Hi everyone,

I just started on Monday. I have about 15 lbs to lose and usually eat very healthy meals, but crave snacks throughout the day. I have always been heavy and have trouble keeping a consistant diet/workout routine because of my schedule. You are all working very hard and are a great inspiration to me.

Good luck to everyone in the States with Thanksgiving! The pumpkin pie is already calling me…

Liz
23, 5'10", 170 lbs

Sorry Star. I forgot to thank you for your earlier response to my post. So, thanks.

Also everyone,
I seem to need an extra push to be successful and usually I team up with a friend and we hold each other accountable but no one else agrees with this way of eating (and I don't blame them since I'm skeptical and haven't been able to stick with it for more than a day to see if it works). I hope to prove them wrong and be successful. How do you hold yourselves accountable?

Candy, Liz, and Kit…

This way of eating isn't for everyone. You actually can do extremely well eating 3 meals per day…or even 6 times per day. There are certain people who just naturally don't like eating all the time (I am one of those people).

I'm the sort of person who would rather be full at least once per day than eat extremely light meals of 200-300 calories.

I don't want you guys to feel tortured by this way of eating. It really isn't meant to feel so extreme. I have no problem doing it, because it is close to the way I like to eat anyway. I care about my readers and I just don't want people to struggle and get down on themselves.

Give it a shot, but if it is too tough…try another diet approach. I hope that makes sense. This does work extremely well, but it isn't for everyone.

Rusty

I've stopped eating breakfast in the morning nows which is an accomplishment. Lost another pound which is great. =) My boyfriend has lost 9 pounds now. Go him!!

Candy,

That is the right attitude! Just take it one step at a time. I know it sucks, but your boyfriend will drop weight quicker than you. Women have it tougher when it comes to weight loss. You will hit your goals, if you have the right mind-set.

Great Job!

Rusty

OoOoh! There goes another pound Yet another one gone. Slowly but surely hehe. He's bigger than me and he's got alot more weight to lose so it's understandable he will lose it quicker. Been eating lots and lots of seafood salad. Had it last night and same again tonight. I've missed breakfast again (which is good). Really am feeling the hunger pains but fighting through it. I'd do anything for a big cheesy pizza or a calorie filled curry hehe must resist temptation!

Candy,

It sounds like you are doing great! I love pizza as well!

Rusty

Hey Rusty,
I have been reading your posts since New Years Eve 2006. I found it by accident, was looking for Brad Pitt Fight Club workout.

I am so glad that I found your site! I have wanted a Hollywood/male underwear model body since I was a teenager. I actually didn't start doing exercise untill I was 20 because I didn't want to look like Arnold. I have never been over weight. I am 6' and about 155lbs. Most fitness magazines and sites are geared toward "Loosing your bear belly". I want to be really ripped, tonned and tight. Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon ripped or Brad Pitt in Fight Club like I mentioned.

I am 26, I work out 6-7 times per week in the mornings. I start with pilates, then 30mins weights (2 day split), then 30 mins high intensity interval training on a stationary bike, followed by 15-30 mins steady state cardio on the bike. I have been doing low rep heavy weights for 3 set 5-8 reps (since I read your post on this type of stength training).

I eat oatmeal with honey and a whey powder drink after workout.
Two hours later I have blueberries and pumpkin seeds.
Two hours later I have a big spinach and bell pepper salad with mackerel, brown rice and a toasted pitta.
Two hours after that fresh carrot juice.
Dinner is Wild Salmon, steamed broccoli and asparagus with brown rice.
Then before bed I have another protein drink.

Between this and the exercise I am very lean and tonned but dont have the hard ripped look. My abs are visible and toned.

Also I injured my achilles tendon twice last year and was on crutches, so I try to be carefull. Unfortunately I am back on crutches since last week, from doing jump rope, just pushed too hard to fast.

I have a few questions:
1) Do you eat after you work out? (Since you eat your meal at night).
2) Do you take supplements/vitamins? and if so with your meal?
3) Is there anything you can reccomend for me to get really hard and ripped? (one meal diet?)

David
Dublin, Ireland.

starting weight 177, height 5'3"

this is my second day of eating this way..both days my one meal has consisted of 1500 cals (ACK!) Im hoping the calories naturally come down and I start craving healthier foods. My weight this morning was 175.5, I'll be back in the morning with my second weigh-in.

Thanks Rusty.

David,

That is awesome you found my blog! I love having people who comment on a regular basis. Most people don't really know my background of why I started this in the first place.

Quick background:

I began writing articles to be published on the Internet about one year ago. I believe I wrote 20 articles in 3 months and submitted them to Ezine Articles and a few other article directories.

I had a unique twist on getting in shape, since I believed that most fitness sites were either too hardcore with a weird vibe, or just fluff websites with really basic and elementary fitness tips. I wrote a few articles to see if there was a demand for this type of website. I was BLOWN away!

Those 20 articles were getting spread around like crazy! People either hated my approach or enjoyed it. To make a long story short, those articles were viewed over 100,000 times in a very short period (actually quite a bit more than that…that was just from visitors to the Ezine Article site).

I felt like there was a demand for this type of site, so I created it in late May of 2007. It is still a young website, but already has a Page Rank of 4 in Google (if you know what that means). I'm still pissing people off on a regular basis, but that just helps get my name out there. Every time a big site mentions my name or links to my site, it just gets stronger in the eyes of Google.

Okay enough about me…LOL! Probably more info than you wanted to hear. I'm just proud of how good my little site is doing…I feel like a proud parent!

Your questions:

1) Do I eat after I workout? I now have a protein shake right after I workout…followed by a meal an hour later. I workout at 6:00pm at night after fasting all day. The only time I really eat is during that one to two hour window after I workout…this is very effective! On days that I don't workout I don't have the protein shake, I just have that meal. Also…on days when I'm extra hungry I allow myself to eat some fruit as a "cheat meal" (I can't believe I consider fruit cheating, but it tastes spectacular on an empty stomach).

2) I don't currently take vitamins, but I'm looking into it. The only supplement I take is that protein shake after working out (Myoplex Strawberry Flavor by EAS). I think supplements can definitely help, but I like to take them 3-4 months out from summer for maximum effect. I'll talk about this in a later post…because many supplements should be cycled to get the most out of them.

3) If you have low body fat, but don't look ripped them I can only recommend one thing…strength train while maintaining that low body fat level. Also…why don't you even go a bit lower on the reps for a while? Try this…grab a weight you can do 10 times and do it 5 times…then grab a weight you can do 8 times and do it 5 times…then grab a weight that you can barely get up 5 times and aim for 5…do that same weight for two more sets. When you can do 3 full sets of 5 reps then increase the weight the following workout.

At some point when doing this "3 sets of 5" strength program, you will reach a sticking point. At this point, I want you to warmup by doing 2 sets of 3 reps and then pick a weight you can only do three times…and do that for 4 sets. That 4th set may only be a single, but once you can do that 4th set for three reps…increase the weight on the following workout.

Note: Lift each rep at a slow rate and also rest adequately in between sets. This low rep approach will give you the density you desire…similar to Jason Statham from the Transporter, or Bruce Lee, etc.

Hope that helps…I appreciate all questions and comments!

Rusty

Myst,

Great job! Keep it up!

Rusty

Thank you Rusty =).

So all, speaking of, is anyone else doing this out there? Im 173.5 today. Ive bounced around from 171 to 185 for 2 years, looking forward to hitting new numbers..translation I want that 169 badddddd. lol. It signifies real progress.

I have a small frame, my weight goal is 110? 130? No clue really, the lightest Ive ever been was 127 and that was 16 years ago. Im looking to get my dimensions at 34D 24 34 maybe…32D 23 33? Im currently at 38DD 34 40. Of course Im looking for the health benefits of getting this weight off but the promise of a brickhouse made for sex(is that inappropriate to say here? lol oops) body is a strong motivator. Im one of those "oh you have such a pretty face-chicks". I want the body to match dammit. lol.

So far this is proving easier to me than any other way of eating I have done, eating for me triggers eating and Ive suffered from brainfog and chronic fatigue for years. Im already noticing enormous improvement in mind clarity and energy…hoping the weight drops off as I keep on.

I uh..locked myself into giving a Xmas Gift that involves lingerie? =/

lol.

Be back tomorrow.

lol@hardcore with a weird vibe. heh @pissing people off on a regular basis. =D

and Rusty youre on page 1 google for me today, dont know if thats dependant on whats typed in on the search engine or not but yeah yesterday the site was coming up on page 4 (how I originally found you).

wth @ link sorry LMAO edit that for me will ya please so it doesnt link or just delete this comment and the one before. thankyabunch.

Im fixating! It doesnt matter if it links huh, except for that its irking me. My issues I'll deal. LMAO Erase these three or not. What about em weird vibes huh..sheesh. Mind clarity and energy its a dangerous combo, people.

sigh.

lol.

Happy One Meal a Day Eating. Im really off now, be back in the morning.

Thanks alot Rusty.

I'm gonna start doing that stength program straight away!

Do you think I would benefit from doing the one meal a day diet? To help with hardness. My body fat is about 5%. I have wondered for a while if eating so often is actually putting a strain on my body, by not giving it any breaks?

By the way I work out at home.

David,

If you body fat is at 5%, I wouldn't touch your diet! A body fat percentage of 5% is amazing! I want you to eat the same way, but get as strong as possible over the next 6 months while staying around the same bodyweight. Do that and you will begin to transform your body.

Keep us updated!

Rusty

Myst,

I couldn't delete all your comments, because you made my day! It reminds me of when I leave voicemails for people…I ramble on and wish I could have worded stuff differently, etc. We are very much alike in that respect.

I love to help women feel sexier. If this one meal day diet helps you in that way, then I really feel like I'm accomplishing something important here. I have been surrounded by women my entire life and I know that your self-esteem is much better when you feel attractive. Women who feel attractive allow their personality to blossom as well.

Feel attractive, wear lingerie, look sexy!

Rusty

Ah I made your day huh Rusty..SEE now youre indebted to me. I didnt planned it this way at all. lol.

What? There is no rule on your site that says I cant flirt with the admin lmao.

Anyways got my meal cals down to 1000 today, be back in the morning with the weigh-in. Night all, rest well, sweet dreams.

172.5 today, have a great day everyone.

Myst,

I bet you will get below 169 soon. You can do it…it is just a mental barrier. Then you will be well on your way to lower numbers 125-130 range eventually.

Rusty

I happened upon this website yesterday. I read all the comments and I feel like I'm part of the family. I recently had my 3 child and at birth I weighed 215lbs 6 weeks later I weighed 194. So, I thought good I'm losing at a nice rate. 2 weeks later I weigh 201lbs…I'm thinking God! I actually gained 7lbs in 2 weeks. So, I went looking for something, anything that could help me when I found this website. I actually hadn't eaten anything at the time I found this website yesterday so I thought this is as good as a time as any to start. So, I did and I ate a good dinner last night consisting of Baked chicken breast, Corn (frozen not out of a can) and rice w/broccili. Today, I haven't eaten anything, but I did have a cup of coffee and I've been nursing the same bottle of water all day. Tonite, I will eat some fettucini alfredo w/ shrimp and broccili. I'm actually looking forward to this. I work in an office all day and am not around any food and although everyone in my office (6ppl) eats together I don't feel the urge to induldge so hopefully this will work for me. Please wish me luck

Charlotte,

You will do great with this diet. It is really simple…allow your body to get hungry and it will have no choice but to burn fat for energy. Seriously…you don't even need luck.

Welcome to the family!

Rusty

Wow its been 6 days since my last comment. I have been on a standstill with the weight (at one point I put on a pound… but I understand that body weight fluctuates!) But I have an exciting update, I weighed myself this morning and have lost another two pounds. Wohoo! Hehe. Alot of people are commenting me and saying I've lost weight and that I look great. Makes me want to continue with this even more!! My perfect pancake belly body is well on its way and will hopefully be back in time for 17th december. I want to look HOT! I am around 10 pounds away from my goal weight. If im being really really overly amibitious I am 15 pounds away from my goal weight. I suppose im looking to lose around 10 in the next 3 weeks or so and then lose the rest slowly. As you said, its best to lose the last bit slow so you don't put it all back on. Will keep you updated on the progress.

Good luck Charlette

Day 3,

I weighed myself this morning lost 3 lbs. down to 198 I assume it may be water weight, but what a rush!!! Hopefully, at least for a while I'll keep losing at that rate. This is awesome

Wow ive been doing this diet for 20 days!! time sure goes quickly! blimey!

Charlette,

Great job sis…yeah, some of that is water weight, but it is a great sign that things are heading in the right direction.

Candy,

You should be able to drop those last 10 pounds in 3 weeks and then like you said…take longer to drop those last 5.

Rusty

I hope so. Would be great if I managed to do that. Well done Charlette. hehe a pound a day

Hi all
have been lurking on this particular page for some time wondering how to start eating in this way, as I know I feel better if I eat less, but boredom and social pressure have gone against me…until I found the perfect way to start…TONSILITIS!

two weeks after a vile bout of tonsilitis I now only eat anything substantial in the evenings, feel fine through the day, and have lost a lot off my large pot-belly. I start the day with a cup of tea, no milk but with a teaspoon of manuka honey in it, then coffee or water until about 6 or 7 in the evening. No light headedness, no shakes around mid-day, which I used to get (worst after eating a fruit based breakfast) and more energy.

As a chap prone to chubbiness this is a lovely way to lose the poundage as I can eat lots in my meal time, and any craving I had for sweets and chocolate have also gone…in time for Christmas! ha ha
plus my bird has commented on my extra energy and less weight…..all helps at age 50..that's painfull to write down, can't do anything about that though!

Will update with weight and measurement data, but in the meantime have fun with this and happy holidays

I have been reading the comments here for the past couple of days, and I like what I am reading! I have been drawn to eating only one meal a day for a long time. Intermittent fasting and the positive results of the studies being done concerning this pattern of eating are really impressive. I am willing to give it a shot, but I'm not certain I will be able to do it successfully. Deep down, I know it is the path I should take. Now convincing my growling tummy is another thing!

I would like to know if it is necessary to eat low carb most of the time or if it really matters. I'm sure it is important to eat nutritious foods, no doubt. I have low carb dieted for three years and have lost and gained, lost and gained, and battled the binge monster constantly while trying to eat six times per day. Throughout all this, I have come to regard any carbs as 'evil'.

I'm willing to try this, and the people here have given me hope that this may be my answer.

Carol Ann

Ashley,

You sound like you will do great with this way of eating. It certainly isn't for everybody. I can't wait to hear your results!

Carol Ann,

Carbs aren't evil…they are tasty! I avoid any long-term way of eating that discourages carbohydrate consumption. I don't know how people go without carbs! As long as you keep your daily calories in order, feel free to eat carbs…inlcuding deserts.

Here is an example of what I ate last night…

1) Chicken
2) A Large bowl of steamed rice (carbs)
3) Cooked frozen corn (more carbs)
4) Large piece of raspberry pie (more carbs)
5) A scoop of vanilla ice cream (more carbs)
6) A banana right before bed (more carbs)

Note: I worked out before this, so I allowed myself a few more calories. Also, some nights I'll just eat a massive salad with chicken breasts. Keep your body guessing, but eat until you are full and include carbs.

One last comment: Low carb diets are good for getting in extra good shape for an event such as a tropical vacation or a wedding, etc…but low-carb is a bad long-term way of eating.

Hope that helps,

Rusty

Sorry, delete that previous comment!

Here's what i meant:

When u say:
"grab a weight you can do 10 times and do it 5 times…then grab a weight you can do 8 times and do it 5 times…then grab a weight that you can barely get up 5 times and aim for 5…do that same weight for two more sets. When you can do 3 full sets of 5 reps then increase the weight the following workout."

do you mean?:
5 x weight i can do 10 times
5 x weight i can do 8 times
5 x weight i can barely do 5 times
5 x weight i can barely do 5 times
5 x weight i can barely do 5 times

So that the first two sets are like warming up the muscle and the 3 sets of the weight I can barely do 5 times is the actual strength part?
When I eventually increase the weight do I still start of with 5 reps of the weight I can do 10 times and 5 of weight I can do 8 times?
Do I do this for each exercise i.e. each of the two chest exercises, the two back exercises ect.?
I'm guessing this wouldn't be considered high volume because the first 2 sets aren't taxing the muscle?

David,

You have the right idea…those first two sets are just a warmup. You are only doing 3 work sets. You wouldn't need to do the same warmup for the second exercise. So for chest, you would only do that 2 set warmup on the first lift. For your second lift, you would do a one set warmup…grab a weight you could do 8-10 times and do it for 5 and then go straight to the heavier weight.

I'm glad you mentioned volume. This workout is medium volume to begin with, but over time you are decreasing the volume (doing sets of 3 reps or 2 reps…down the road). What makes it really effective is that you will continue to progress for a long time, because as soon as you hit a sticking point you are backing off on the volume a bit.

Hope that makes sense!

Rusty

PS: When you get stronger, I wouldn't increase the weight on the warmup sets. You want to save your energy for your work sets so keep that weight as a constant.

Yeah ok, that's what I thought. Thanks.

Oh by the way I was watching the movie "Trading Places" last night and decided to Google Jamie Lee Curtis (If you recall the movie you'll know why)… anyway it turns out that when she was training for and shooting "Perfect", with John Travolta, she only eat one meal per day. I just thought that was interesting.

Ok, I'm done making up excuses not to follow this way of eating. I think I'm finally ready to make a commitment because I know I have so much more energy when I eat this way. I'll be posting frequently to let you know how its going.

Hey everyone. I've been gone for a few weeks….been busy getting people started with my online business and everything.

Here's the deal. I started eating one meal a day a couple of months ago. Now when I started, I made lunch my only meal. It was a healthy meal, but I wasn't losing any weight. I was even exercising regularly. I didn't snack much…I've never been much of a snacker anyway. I thought that as long as it was one meal a day that it wouldn't matter when it was eaten. I read over and over the numerous posts about eating the one meal at dinner time. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. The thought of going all day without eating a meal was agonizing to me. I just knew I couldn't do it. Well, I tried it and I like it! I've seen more results eating dinner within 2 weeks than I've seen in over a month when I was eating lunch. Since I eat fruit and drink water in the morning and afternoon, I'm not tempted to eat out like I used to be. Then on my way home, I'm always looking forward to dinner. I never eat out at dinner especially during the week. So I eat healthier and it's not so hard on my pockets either. My clothes feel looser since this past weekend! This blew me away. People have been noticing, too, which is very encouraging. I don't know how much I've lost, but I can definitely feel it in my clothes. A few days ago, I wasn't feeling like I was getting any results. I was almost at wits end, but I said hey I'm going to hang in there. Then I said to myself, if I don't do this, what am I going to do? It's working I just know it. Then boom today the results started to show. This proves that I just needed to be patient and know that my hard work will pay off threefold if not more. This is just the boost I needed to keep me on track.

What I want to know is has anyone else eaten their one meal at lunch previously then switched to dinner and then saw better results? I'd love to hear from you.

Talk to you later. Keep up the good work everyone!

Lynne,

Weight loss is never linear. It usually happens like this…lose 4 pounds gain back 2, lose 5 more pounds and gain back 1, lose 10 more and gain back..then stay at the same weight for 2 weeks and then lose 7 more, etc.

In the short term it looks like things aren't working at times, but keep doing the right things and you will hit your goal in the long-term.

Great job at changing to eating at night…I think this is probably the best time to eat if possible.

Rusty

Rusty,

Thanks for the feedback. I do know that weight loss is not linear, but I had been eating one meal a day at lunch for over a month and was not seeing any results. That's what was discouraging. I was even exercising and not snacking. I should have seen some results within a month. However, I've seen more immediate results in a fraction of the time when I switched to eating the one meal at dinner. It is working great for me now.

Lynne

Lynne,

I completely misunderstood ya…I thought you were stuck at the same weight eating your one meal at night. It looks like it is working great for you.

Very Cool!

Rusty

Hi Lynne -

Way to go! I'm so happy for you. So glad you tried switching to eating at night. I'm convinced, after reading Rusty's, Ori's and (sorry Rusty) Humanatura's information about the evolutionary aspect of eating at night, that it is evolution-arily (did I just make a new word or does that word exist) meant to be.

When you said that you said to yourself, "What else am I going to do?" I got chills!

That is exactly how it was for me. What else can you do but reduce the TOTAL amount of calories you consume! PERIOD. There is nothing else to do and that's the thing. It's so HARD to swallow that reality. I've seen so many people who want to get around that simple and basic TRUTH.

And now you've found out, by personal trial and error, that it is best to consume those limited calories at night. Awesome!

All the Best!

LST

Just wanted to say, I've been eating this way for 25 days (minus 5 days of thanksgiving vacation in the middle) and I've lost 8 pounds. I feel really fantastic. This weight loss is from the eating schedule alone, I have an injured foot and cannot exercise right now.

Star,

You lost 8 pounds in a month…that is great! Once you are able to get active again, this will be even easier for you.

Keep it up!

Rusty

ive tried every diet there is,i mean every diet.low carb,high protien ext.im now at 220 and 5'9".way to heavy.altho im a pretty muscular guy with a big gut.whats really surprizing is last yr i took on a job were i worked really hard during the day and didnt eat breakfast or lunch.icame home jogged 2 miles and worked out for 20 min . i then had a large meal with my family at nite.i went from 235 down to 184 in about 4 months.people didnt eveen regonize me,in a good way.girls told me they had never noticed how cute i was before.lol.i was thin tooned and had tons of stamina.i always heard that eating 5 or 6 meals was the best.well it proved desaterous for me.i started a new job and went back to eating 5 or 6 small meals aday,then dropped to 3 square meals.well now im back at 220 and my high bllod pressure has came back.even my doctor tells me that if i go back to eating one meal a day i will go in to starvation mode.well i truly beleive taht the reason i was so healthy and strong and lean was because of my once a day eating habbit.iv started back yesterday and went all day with out eating.my wife and i went to eat a hudge burito and after not eating was the "the best damn burito"i ever ate.i luv to feast,so this works perfect for me.
i wish everyone luck,thanks shane
p.s. i also forgot to say im a vegetarian as well.

Shane,

I think a lot of doctors are "stuck in their ways". They aren't always open to new approaches. This isn't always the case, since there are some great doctors out there as well.

I don't follow the advice of most doctors, because I am in better health than most of the doctors I talk to. I never get sick, I always have high energy, and I have only taken prescribed medication twice in my life.

Here is an article you will enjoy about "starvation mode".

Skipping Meals

Have a great one!

Rusty

thanks rusty,you know after reading that article i really believe that the whole diet thing is just about money.the ones that want you to eat 6 meals a day usually want you to eat their potein bars and drinks.so the more you eat the more money they make.same thing with the adkins diet,its all about products that taste gross.well this is my 2nd day and i havent ate sinse yesterday at 6.im like so exited that when my wife gets off work we're going to eat,it really helps me respect food.cause when i do get to eat i really enjoy it.millions of amerians tke food for granted.its way to convienient.anyways thanks for your respnce rusty i really feel like im back on track
thanks shane

oh yeah one more thing:)is there a work out plan you follow?id luv to have something different to do in the gym.ive been doing body for life,but now i know the six small meals aday thing he preaches is wrong,im lso not sure about the work out.lol

Shane,

I wouldn't go as far as saying that the six-meal-per-day approach is wrong…it is just based on flawed logic. You can still lose weight on 6 meals per day, it just isn't the most effective route.

My main argument about eating every few hours is that your body will always burn "food calories" for fuel. If you let yourself get hungry by eating less often, your body will be forced to burn body fat for fuel.

I try to give general guidelines for working out, but it looks like I need to do a detailed post on example workout routines. Here are some general principles to follow.

Muscle Tone vs Muscle Mass

Here is my favorite cardio routine

Interval Training

Here is my favorite Ab Routines:

Planks

Breath of Dragon Exercise

That is start anyway!

Rusty

Hiya. Quick update. Party is only 3 days away. Admittadly, im not the weight I was aiming for, but boy, I can see the difference. My weight went down dramatically (wohoo) but then went back up I understand it fluctuates, so I am taking it nice and slowly now. I feel alot better about myself now and the difference is definitely noticeable. I can strut at the party in my cocktail dress with style and confidence now. I haven't been sticking to the one meal a day every day, soemtimes I have a light breakfast (havent today!) but missing out all the snacks in the day has really helped. I had a look at a curry I had almost every day as a light dinner last night. 49% of my daily saturated fat in one meal, bah, ridiculous. Im never eating that filth again. Anyway speak soon, well done every1 xxx

My BMI has gone from 23.17 to 21.63 (sometimes a bit lower, but my weight fluctuates a bit but this is what I am 95% of the time) Everybody keeps commenting how amazing I look, I feel fabulous. Before everyone was saying I've put on alot of weight! (charming!) What's everyone elses BMIs? It's facinating to hear about how others are doing. My fabulous perfect amazing ideal weight is 1 stone away (this will take a long time to reach but im in no rush). My lifestyle has completely changed and im loving every second of it. Although im not as low as I would like to be for this party, I look x10 better! I will have to post some pictures soon x

… all this talk about food has made me hungry! Doh!

Candy,

You are making me hungry as well! Great job on the progress so far.

Now…Party Like a Rock Star!

Rusty

hi candy,dont know my bmi,but when i eat once a day and work out hard,i was down to 12% body fat.i went from 235 fat to 184 cut.when i started eting 3-6 meals again i gained all of it back:(so now i know for sure this is the right way,once a day keeps the fat away:).im glad i found this site,its been very helpful.rusty seems like a really knowledgable guy,hes also helpful and friendly.thanks again all and good luck

I started with the one meal a day eating about 4 days ago and lost a couple of pounds already. But, my hormones got the best of me and I ate lunch today. I was so starved for some reason. I will get back on the wagon tomorrow. I really like the way I feel when I stick to the plan. I have tons of energy and I am happy.

Good job Candy on your weight loss!!

Jean,

You are getting results quickly, that really helps in motivation. Great job!

If you ever get the temptation to eat again during the day, eat nothing but fruit. It is actually allowed in the Warrior Diet. When you eat a bit of fruit in a fasted state, you will feel a rush of sustainable energy…it is crazy.

Read my post on this:

Fruit Facts

Cheers!

Rusty

Hiya Shane. Yeah I definitely agree that this method of eating works. 3-6 meals a day doesent work for me! "once a day, keeps the fat away" ~ I love it! I worked out my BMI online There are some useful calculators online

Thanks very much Jean! I give in sometimes and have breakfast or a lunch. I think everybody does! It hasnt effected my weight so it's not a bad thing if you do once or twice. (or about five times in my case )

The big day is tommorow – p a r t a a a a a a y!!

xx

Rusty,

I was just curios about what you are eating now. Do you stick with the warrior diet? What are some things that you eat for your one meal.

Does anyone have any suggestions on binging?? I was doing so good, but now every time I eat, I can't stop!! My mom brought my family some fudge…. help!!

Jean

Jean,

Yeah…I'm sticking to the Warrior Diet for now. I occasionally eat fruit mid day or in the morning, but that is it. I'll talk more about meals, when I have more time. You are basically eating healthy meals like chicken, rice, vegetables, etc…in greater portions.

Also…your body will begin to crave less food after a month or so on this diet. I ate like a pig my first 2-3 weeks as well. No worries.

Rusty

"Never heard of Warrior Diet". But had been practicing without any knowledge of the impact of One Meal a day for the last 10 yrs. Still continued with one meal a day. My wife and family members had been pressing me to stop this one meal a day which they say will lead to acidity and ulcer and things like that. They even took me to various doc and they (DOC) only say take small chunk during day time. I don’t hear and still practice my one meal a day. So to prove that my point is right searched through the internet for one meal a day. Every site I’d been saying that we have to take small short food which is good but till I came across one of blogs which describe about warrior diet. I also drink ( weekend 2 large whisky / vodka) and smoke about 5 ciggis a day which I know is wrong which I’m planning to quit. My diet goes like food with lots of veggies and avoided Meat. Reduced fatty item intake, Have at least 4 cups of white coffee. Drink about 2 ½ + ltrs of water during the day.

Advantages I had faced in taking one meal a day
1) Good sound sleep
2) Freshness thought the day at work and home
3) Feel charged and energized all through the day
4) Drink lot of water as it’s the essence of self purification which removes toxins that we consume through food and smoke from pollutions while traveling.
5) Control mind and body
6) Aging factor at 35 yrs I don’t look like 35, I look like I’m 25 yrs may be its genetics may be its because of the last 10 yrs of my eating habit.
7) I still feel the same energy like I had during my teenage era.
As for as my weight goes it varies between 68 to 70 kgs.
9) What I saw during the first 3 to 4 yrs is my height reduced by almost an inch. I was about 5 10’ now about 5’8.78’ I don’t know if its good or bad. But I feel its good.

Jaishankar,

Sounds like the one meal per day approach is working well for you. I would recommend quitting smoking as soon as you can. You are still young enough that you can reverse a lot of the damage that cigarettes may have caused.

I like testimonials like this, because this is a natural way of eating for a lot of people and it works well.

Have a great one!

Rusty

Greetings Jaishanker,

Glad to see that there is someone else out there that has been eating one meal a day for about the same length of time that I have. All the benefits that you so beautifully and concisely outlined are the same benefits that I have experienced.

I too have lost height, albeit not so much. In my case it has been about 1/2", but I am chalking that up AGE.

You brought up the age/longevity aspect again that we were talking about a few months ago. Remember Rusty, the Vietnamese gentleman and lab rats! I found some cool information on Calorie Restriction and longevity at this site:

http://www.okicent.org/study.html

It's the longevity study of Okinawans. Rusty you probably already know this, but for anyone who doesn't, Okinawans have the highest percentage of Centenarians of any place on earth. If you check this site out, pay particular attention to the paragraph about Calorie Restriction and Metabolic Damage. This is the reason Jaishanker you look younger than you are.

You know Rusty, I get so frustrated sometimes when I try to help friends who want to get thin and be healthy. I try over and over again and present all kinds of evidence in support of calarorie reduction and health. Are they not seeing the truth or am I crazy? They even say they are impressed by how fit I am and want to know how I do it. I know you can't force anyone to accept an idea but the evidence seems so clear to me. I guess I should relax and stop trying.

LST

Linda,

People are brainwashed into believing that if they eat one meal per day their metabolism will slow down. They believe that eating every few hours will keep their metabolism high.

I usually tell them that if they always have food calories in their system, the body never needs to use stored body fat for energy. If it doesn't use the stored body fat, then they will never lose it. Pretty simple, but so hard for people to grasp it seems.

The other tough thing is that people believe that the later they eat, the more will get stored as body fat. It is true that if they ate all day and also included a late night meal, that it would certainly get stored as body fat…but our night time meal is following a period of a "fasted state", so our body will react differently to this food.

*I know you know all of this, just typing it for people who are following the comments on this post.*

Great article, by the way…another argument to eat less than what most people are eating!

Rusty

PS: If you guys are eating non-stop, just give this a shot. The first thing you will notice is that your whole digestive system feels "cleaner". You will also notice more energy. Another thing…you actually end up saving quite a bit of money!

whats all this about looseing height?im only 5'9" i dont want to loose any height:)i find it hard to beleive that you can get shorter by eating once a day.altho if you eat healthier you wont be eating near as many steroids and stuff in meats.maybe thats it.my doctor just started me on testosterone shots.my levels where really low like 254.rusty do you know if cyipianate will make me gian a buntch of bulk?i looked it up on line and everyone says something different.i wish there was something natrual i could do to get it back.anyways i have been doing good on my diet till yesterday,ate 2 times:)i like the felling of being hungry,its your bodys way of burning stored fat.so when your stomach is growling it means its actually pulling energy from your gut.luv it!!!

Shane,

No worries…you will not lose any height by eating one meal per day. This just happens a bit as you get older. I am almost 38 and I am 6'3"…I used to be 6'4". Over time, gravity just compresses the spine a bit.

I have to be honest…I am not very familiar with all the various types of pharmaceuticals and steroids. You will have to ask your doctor about that.

Rusty

Shane -

The height thing is definitetly a result of AGE.

LST

Rusty -

TNX I'm copying and pasting your first three paragrahs into a word document so I can read it over a number of times and memorize the verbiage. If it's o.k. with you, I want to internalize those words and make them my own when I speak to my friends. You really summed it all up beautifully!

LST

Linda,

You bet! I have explained this so many times to people that I do practically have a script. Thanks for the compliment.

Rusty

so, basically i don't eat any food during the day, and i eat a one meal in dinner,
so, can i eat much as i want for dinner? and any foods i want?

Rusty is correct. I've been through fat to thin cycles two or three times. When I was a teenager, I was very lean because I just ate around one meal a day and I didnt even exercise. Then when I was working in my mid 20s I ate around 3 meals a day since I had to be at work by 7am and didnt leave until 7pm, also I didnt exercise. I put on a weight during the next 8-10 years. Then I lost my job and began exercising everyday usually at 8pm at night and didnt finish until 9pm. I had a big meal at 10pm. I dont really eat breakfast but may have a light lunch 2 hours after I wake up. I lost about 20lbs during 3-4 months. Then I wanted to build muscle and read articles/books telling me to eat 6x a day…I did that and I put on around 30lbs. Now i am at the point where I want to lose weight and have reverted back to my original 1 meal a day and have lost all that weight gained during my muscle building days. The point is dont listen to conventional wisdom, do what is right for you.

Joon,

It is best to eat healthy, but you can get away with eating more of the foods you like. You have many more options with a 1,200 to 1,500 calorie meal than you do with a 400-600 calorie meal. You can be pretty flexible with you meal. Eat until you are full.

Note: I normally eat 5 really healthy meals per week with 1-2 more "flexible" meals.

Rusty

hi rusty,
what about being a vegan or vegetarian,can i get ripped up like you if im not eating any meat?like i said earlier i got down to like 13% body fat on an all vegan diet.but really didnt have the whole 6 pack.i sen that pic of you on the beach and thats what i want to look like.how much does genetics play in that tho?

Hello all! Husband and I have been eating 1 meal a day for about a month and are literally melting away! I have also made a commitment to cooking all of our meals from "scratch", with only natural healthy ingredients. I think that has helped curb our cravings and assisted the 1 meal plan to work it's magic. We are extremely happy with this way of life! I feel so healthy and energetic. We also noticed that our body composition is changing- our muscles are bigger and we feel so much firmer- I swear, at this rate I'll be a total hottie in a year!

I do have a question…
Husband and I have had the good fortune to catch a nasty cold twice in a relatively short period of time. During my illness I have had a harder time eating enough in one meal to sustain myself for a whole 24 hours. I also find myself craving lots of liquids frequently throughout the day. Today I ate a second meal, I kept it small and purely low fat protein, to avoid weight gain. What would be the best course for me to take during illness? Liquids only? Two meals? Any thoughts on this?

Thanks so much for your great info, support and feedback-it's invaluable!

Shane,

Judging by your other comments, you sound like a naturally muscular guy. You could probably back off substantially on the weight lifting and focus 90% of your time on cardio and look really good. A great example of this is Matthew McConaughey. He spends the majority of his time on cardio because he is just naturally muscular.

[Mathew Mcconaughey is a great fitness role model. Women love this look!]

You will typically see six pack abs when you get your body fat down to 12% and below.

Hope that helps!

Rusty

Darkgardyner,

My mission in life is to help fill this world with as many "hotties" as possible…LOL! I love that term. We need more hotties!

I got sick recently and ate nothing but fruit all day long. I quickly got better. After than I resumed the one meal per day plan. The rules change a bit when you are sick.

Read this post about fruit…it is GREAT for you!

Benefits of Fruit

Cheers!

Rusty

how's this sound,
today, i woke up in the morning, drank a 500ml of green tea,
played squash for an 1hour, practice golf for 1hour, workout in the gym.
drank another 500ml of green tea,
i wasn't hungry till about 5pm,
and at 6;30pm i had a big meal of dinner, and i am so full now,

is this ok?

i just don't exactly know how to do this diet so, i want to know if this was alright.
because it was very easy for me.

Joon,

Perfect! You will begin to lose any body fat you have pretty quickly if you keep this up. If it is easy for you, that is great! I had a tough time the first month or so, but now it is super easy for me as well. My body has adapted and it feels natural. On Christmas I ate a breakfast, lunch, and dinner and felt terrible…I was tired all day. It really shows you how much energy you gain by eating this way.

Rusty

oh my gosh!!
it's incredible!!
i lost a 2inches of my waist!! i can't believe this!
and i only started this diet 2days ago.

it's so funny! because i ate so so much for a dinner, and i thought
i'll gain more fat by next morning,

2days ago my waist was 38 now iam 36!

this is so cool! now i can enjoy having dinner with my friends!!

thank you so much!! seriously~ !

the best diet strategy~ ever !

thank you

Joon,

Yeah…this diet makes sense in many ways! Better than that…it actually works.

Rusty

hey rusty with everybody making such great progress,you should set up a page where they can show us before and after pics.that would be really cool.and also thanks for all the advice,its really helping all of us out:)its like having a personal trainer.i read all your articles and whats cool is i can actually ask questions.you can't do that when you read a book.so thanks again for your time rusty

shane

Shane,

At some point I may have a place for people to submit photos, good idea. For now I just want to keep this site simple and just content focused. I do my best to answer questions as quickly as possible…sometimes you have to wait a day or so, but I will always get to them.

Rusty

I always wondered why I felt tired and slightly depressed after eating meals during the day. Your site has explained it all and made it sound sane. People have very strong opinions on this topic and claim that all the "conventional" dieting advice can't be wrong. I ask them if they remember the low fat craze…that was debunked along with other diets along the way. This just goes to prove that "diet science" is constantly evolving and that we mustn't dismiss dieting techniques proven to work for many people.
I think this method should be studied closely by the medical community and prescribed to obese patients ( I know it works, but doctors would feel more comfortable recommending this if it were studied more). Diets fail time after time and doctors are desperate for a weight loss program that actually works.
I hope the word gets out in 2008.
Kerry

Kerry,

Food slows me down big time in the middle of the day or in the morning. Once you go a while without eating throughout the day, I'm convinced that you will never go back. You energy and outlook will be great without all that food slowing you down.

As far as being "slightly depressed"…I think this needs to be addressed as well. I don't feel as optimistic when I'm tired from a meal, that is for sure!

Rusty

Photo idea sounds great! Before and after pics! x

hey rusty,did ya catch the new season of biggest loser?
i know these people are big and their lossing like 17 pounds in a week.my question is,if your not like that fat,and only like 35 puonds over weight.if you did an hr or 2 or cardiao and ate right once a day,do you think you could lose like 5-10 pounds a week?

Shane,

Your body can take a serious calorie deficit for about 2-3 weeks…before it goes into starvation mode. Lyle McDonald actually has a really good book that I recommend called "The Rapid Fat Loss Handbook…Scientific Crash Dieting". I really recommend this to anyone who needs to drop weight quickly. The link is at the top of my website.

Anyway…he goes into WAY more detail than I'm going to right here. I did this diet last year as an experiment. I had 8 pounds to lose and I wanted to do it in 2 weeks. I was successful…I think I dropped 10 pounds in two weeks!

I ate 3 boneless chicken breasts per day…along with a bit of broccoli. That is all I ate for two weeks. Think of this as fasting, but with just a tiny bit of protein and maybe a little bit of green leafy vegetables.

If someone has more weight to lose they can go for up to 3 weeks, but that is the absolute maximum amount of time. This diet is brutal. You will get cranky. You will feel fatigued, but it is a quick way to jump start your weight loss.

If you have the money, you should definitely check out Lyle McDonald's book. He will explain the science behind it, university studies, etc. It is a great investment. It is $40, but is different than the cookie cutter stuff you read elsewhere.

Rusty

Note: You can't do 2 hours of cardio when eating this few calories.

Hello People!!!!

Ok im ready to start this eating regime again for this year!!!! I did start it in November last year and it was absolutely fabulous – and ive never felt so good, light and full of energy. But i then went on holiday and couldnt resist all those nice things around Christmas… and puddings – oh my word!!!! Life is cruel – they should just ban those type of things – then my dieting life would be so much easier!

Funny though – cos a few days after eating just about everything…. i felt so sluggish and really podgy – not to mention tired. Definitely isnt a good way to life… couldnt do that all the time!

Anyways im excited about becoming the new bootylishes me.. hehe

Have a good day people and Happy New Year (bit late …)

Cheers

Doné

Doné,

What the world needs is more "bootylishesness" I completely agree.

Cheers,

Rusty

Still cant lose these last couple of pounds. My weight has been at a standstill for the last few weeks. Any ideas?

Candy,

Those last few are the toughest for sure! You need to do something drastic for 2 weeks if you want to blast through your sticking point. What sort of exercising are you currently doing?

Rusty

Rusty -

I have something on my mind that actually has to do with fitness training! I assume, genetically, people have differering muscle mass. That's my starting assumption and please correct me if I'm wrong.

Heres the question: Do different people have differing maximum capacity to increase the size of the muscle that they DO have by a limited amount given the muscle mass that they are born with?

LST

Hey Rusty,

So far its going good with the one meal a day plan, i've lost about 5kg (~11 pounds) so far! Last week i've had a standstill but this week the meter is dropping again!

BTW: just came across this while browsing on Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Eat-This-Not-That-Pounds

I am thinking of buying it because it's a book that's loaded with examples of "bad" foods that you can replace with more healthier alternatives, including the caloric values of all the foods listed. It seems to be a very handy companion for everyone who has a hard time replacing unhealthy foods with more healthy ones. What do you think?

- Remon van der Pol

The Netherlands