The One Meal Per Day, Warrior Diet…Revisited

Great post, Rusty. I'm glad you've been exposing your visitors to Ori. During a project I was developing I had the opportunity to discuss nutrition with Ori over the phone for about an hour and a half.

It was basically a teleseminar I would've been happy to pay for!

And you're right on about eating late at night. People can stop eating at 6 pm but if they take in more calories than they burn in a 24 hour period, they're still gonna get fat!

Keep up the great work!

Gregg

Edited by Rusty…(Gregg has a great fitness blog you guys should check out) Click here to Visit: Training Nutrition Attitude

My concern with this type of diet is certainly not fat loss. I would expect loads of that. What about muscle loss, though? I don't know that you could maintain any significant muscle mass by being in a catabolic state for most of the day. What do you think?

Scott,

What Ori explains is that the body shifts into a major anabolic state during the overeating phase. I would venture to say that you would just eat more if you were interested in gaining muscle and less if you were interested in getting lean.

Personally…I don't think excess muscle mass is attractive, so staying at an average size, but getting ripped is the way to go. My role models are Brad Pitt, David Beckham, Matthew Mcconaughey, etc…this diet is perfect for that type of physique.

This type of diet would give women leaner build along the lines of Jessica Biel, Uma Thurman, Jennifer Garner, etc.

For guys or gals trying to get really massive, this probably isn't the best diet…I think you have a good point about that.

Rusty

Well, I'm an ultrarunner, so I gave up on that "get massive" thing a long time ago. I do strength train several times a week but I certainly won't ever have legs like that video you posted, not that I'd want to. I just don't think I could consume enough calories in a single meal to fuel me for an entire day, but I realize I'm not the "normal" exerciser. It is an interesting concept that might work for some people.

Very interesting article. The info given on warrior diet is very useful for all of us weight watchers. Having only one large meal a day sounds good. I have recently read another article relating to this topic burn fat

You know how some people end up yo-yo dieting cause they can't survive on a diet - i think this is just one of the reasons why. Its insane, I can't see myself eating one huge meal in one day for the rest of my life.

Clearly there are other ways do this in a more "lifestyle" like manner.

You don't eat just one meal. It's light eating followed by a eating till satisfied at night. think of it as 6 meals a day, 5 ultra small meals made of fruits and veggies with light easily digestible protien. followed by a healthy 6th meal that is eaten till you are no longer hungry. It's great and makes allot of sence. You can even have a dessert (something healthy like a light pumkin pie or strawberry shortcake)

Leah,

I don't eat this way all the time. I mainly wanted to write this article to let people know that they can still reach their fitness goals without having to eat every 2-3 hours.

People that want to eat every 2-3 hours can still do that and if done properly they can get great results as well. For me…I eat a small protein shake in the morning and one at around noon and then I eat a large meal around 7:30pm, after my workout.

Ori's diet plan does allow for a few snacks throughout the day as lond as they are very low calorie and quickly digested.

Some people just want to naturally eat this way anyway…and this is the perfect diet for them. Others turn evil (my ex girlfriend) if they don't get food every 3 hours.

Rusty

I like that Ori brings the aspect of mental toughness into this. The undereating phase requires just that, while the overeating phase requires listening to your instincts instead of following some diet book.

Yes, you can gain muscle with this system of eating. I had an emergency stomach operation followed by a liquid diet that left me at a weak and atrophied 145 lbs…im 6 feet tall btw. I am now 165 lbs with sub 5% bodyfat, which is how I pretty much was before my surgery. In my recovery time I spent months reading about the digestive system to learn how the body processes different nutrients, Ori is on to something.

But I would like to debunk the myth that one cannot gain muscle and loose fat at the same time. I had slow and steady results just packing in one great meal after a workout. Physiologicaly speaking, after a workout the body is still oxidizing fat for a given period…packing in a great meal will just put one in an anabolic state…so let me dare say one is building muscle and at the same time burning fat?!?!?!

Any spillage will be taken care of by the undereating part the next day. This is good for maintenence as well because eventually you will hit a cieling concerning muscle growth. To further enchance muscle growth just overfeed for about 4 days after working out muscle groups that are important to you ( myself, like Rusty, recommend side and rear delts, upper chest, lats, and tri's, and yes you do need cardio even when bulking! this maintains conditioning, jump rope, swim, rollerblade, ect)

After severe caloric restriction the body is primed to be anabolic anyways. Follow this 4 day glutonus period with the regular undereating plan but cut back a little more than ususual to take care of any "spillage".
You will feel sluggish, lethargic, and your abs will not look as sharp but once you return to the normal eating habits your cuts will return. This is how I rebuilt myself.

John,

Those are awesome insights! I like the way you explained how the body becomes anabolic after caloric restriction…great explanation!

So you are 165 and 5% body fat! This just proves how well this way of eating works for a lot of people!

Awesome comments John…I'm going to go back in and bold and underline certain parts of your post (I have that special ability as webmaster…LOL!)

Rusty

Thanks for underlining certain parts. I am a journalist with a degree in english and philosophy…it is always a rush to see myself published. I would be happy to contribute much more of my insight. Send me an email that I can reach you at so I can send you some info about myself.

It is important for us to understand how to work with our bodies…the most important factor in determining whether or not one will have a great body is seeing it as a long term project.
It is so much fun to eperiment with different types of eating and excercising to see what works best. If something didn't work, it can always be corrected.

I want to loose 25 pounds in total. And i just started the Warrior Diet today, hopefully it works. Is it okay to eat at 4pm? Because later on i am really busy before i go to bed that i dont have any time to eat. By the way, would u know approximatley how long it would take me to loose these 25 pounds? I am going on a baby shower in 3 weeks and i would really love to loose the flubber i have when i sit or bend. Any suggestions? But with a really busy schedule i find little or no time for excersice.

Thanks!

Suzana,

Believe it or not, you will be able to lose a lot of weight without exercise. Exercise will just help ya look better naked

You should be able to drop 6-10 pounds in 3 weeks.

An yes…eating at 4pm is fine!

Good luck!

Rusty

Thanks Rusty! But would it be safe if i lost more than 10 pounds in those 3 weeks?

Suzana,

I bought a diet book called "Scientific Crash Dieting" by Lyle McDonald…where he describes people losing 25 pounds in 3 weeks.

You can diet extremely hard for 2-3 weeks with no adverse effects at all. If you go longer than 3 weeks, then that is when it becomes unhealthy.

Rusty

sorry i have one more question. When i do eat at 4pm how much do i eat? Beacuse since i dont eat anything for the entire day i feel very hungry and i think i overeat…so im not sure if theres even a point to this "fasting" thing durring the day if i still eat alot of calories at 4. Thanks!

Suzana,

Undereating followed by overeating, improves your body's ability to use fat for energy…I know it seems crazy. Here is how Ori explains it.

"Cycling between negative and positive energy balance triggers positive types of genes (known as "thrifty genes") that improve human survival. Human survival is measured by the capacity to improve energy utilization, and the capacity to resist fatigue, stress and disease. The Warrior Diet turns on biological switches that improve human survival on a day-by-day basis."

Rusty

PS: Here is the page that has the principles of this diet.
http://www.warriordiet.com/#principles

Alright..Thank You for your time.

I do not think this diet is very healthy(I thought it isn't healthy to skip breakfst..everyone knows that)…I also do not understand HOW you can loose weight when your body doesnt eat anything for so many hourse which means it goes into "starvation mode" and as soon as you do eat ..it doesnt matter how late at night that food gets stored rightt away as fat because your body is afraid that it wont get any more food which means you gain weight not loose.

Yeah i thought about that too could you please explain this rusty?

Good point Linda i also don't think that this is healthy…i'll talk to my doctor and see what he says. But yes that is true when you're body doesnt get food for many mnay hours it goes into starvation mode then when u do it u eventually gain weight…thanks for bringing tht out i really wanna hear an explaination for this.

This is for the ladies above, Samantha and Linda:

Starvation mode occurs when severe dieting (intake below bodywieght x's 8cal) for a long period forces your body to torch away a substantial portion of its lean body mass. The weight regained is always fat in this case because the body requires less caloric intake to maintain itself due to a reduction in overall body mass.

Don't confuse starvation mode with a lowered metabolism…dieting may cause a temporary lowering of metabolism, but it is not the dreaded starvation mode, it is a lowered metabolism. What happens is that the T3 and T4 output of the thyroid become less active…which may cause one to feel lethargic for a but, but once calories are increased, usually at, or even a bit above maintenence level, they speed up again, leptin levels raise as well, and glycogen resynthesis will occur.

Often referred to as a "cheat day" or "refeed day" in bodybuilding circles, usually refers to periods of binging on anything forbidden, (cakes, cookies, buckets of ice cream, small children, etc..) once every week or two, during a contest prep diet to reset hormonal balances that may cause a lowered metabolism and replenish any lost muscle glycogen or lean body mass.

It takes much longer than a whole day of not eating to illicit some adverse affects of severe dieting. These myths of eating late at night would have you to believe otherwise. The diet industry is just that, an industry…where would they be if people could sucessfully manage thier bodies without them pumping fear out to the public?

besides, if you overeat at one meal, just keep in mind you could just skip your next one, you're not missing the meal, you've just eaten it ahead of schedule. You also would be probably very active and have more energy as well. Im not talking about dieting off a ridiculous binge here, but think in terms of daily intake as well.

Many studies that conclude that hourly energy balance is more important than daily energy balance are conducted on endurence athletes (just read the footnotes). Logically if one is training several hours a day nutrient timing is very important for optimizing body composition and athletic performance.

John,

Kind of funny. I was writing a post at the same time you were writing this! Awesome explanation buddy! I bet someone is going to pick you up and offer you a job as a fitness writer.

Samantha and Linda,

Great questions…Here is a post you two inspired me to write.

Skipping Meals Will NOT Slow Your Metabolism and Cause Weight Gain!

I actually reference another blog as well that you should find interesting. Thanks for giving me this idea for the post for today!

Rusty

Rusty,
I would love to do that and I'm glad I stoked your creativity. I think your blog is a great place for people to collaborate ideas and I am appreciative and flattered that you have noticed my commentary.
keep it up man!
-John

i am confused can u explain this in a not so academic way if u know what i mean………….? Like when i eat my one meal i start at 5and i eat until like 8..this isnt like one big meal i eat small mealsin those 3 hours and i keep snacking until about bedtime is tht normal and do i still loosse weight?

Where did this diet originate from?

Is that girl's body the very top of the page an actual girl from this program or is it photoshoped?

Samantha,

I like to eat one big meal at night and maybe a small snack right before bed. It is actually better to get kind of full and satisfied…and you can eat again as long as it's within a couple hours of that meal. This is what works for me.

Jonathan,

Go to http://www.warriordiet.com
A gentleman by the name of Ori Hofmekler came up with this…you can find info about him and the diet on his site.

Daren,

I don't have a program…I just have a website where I give away advanced fitness tips…stuff you normally don't read about on more traditional fitness sites.

Hope that helps guys!

Rusty

Whatt is wrong with me i have gained 4 pounds instead of loosing them this week this is insane i feel like im actually gaining weightt more and more…ecpecially right after my big meal at 6!!!

Linda,

Two things…

1) It takes a little while for your body to begin using body fat as fuel. Since you used to eat more frequently, it is used to burning food energy for fuel. Once your body switches over to burning fat (since there isn't food energy in your system during the day), you will begin to drop weight quickly.

2) You probably need to eat a smaller meal for your one meal until this happens…then add more calories.

Hope that helps!

Rusty

takes a while? by the time im supposed to start loosing i think i might gain like 19 ponds

Linda,

I don't think every approach works for every person…there are too many variables. Try this approach and if it doesn't work, then try a different approach.

Give it a shot for another week and really try to the best of your ability to just eat that one meal. I'd be suprised if you didn't lose weight, but if you gain weight then obviously this isn't the best diet for you.

Rusty

Rusty,

I've been reading a lot about health and nutrition as well as weight lifting for martial arts. It's amazing how looking for something completely different will lead you to things that you would never expect. Different being the 6 meal a day approach that is spoken about so widely. That being said, I've been so intrigued by The Warrior Diet and it's philosophy. I always believed that eating habits are a way of life. I am also a bit annoyed at eating a number of meals throughout the day. It feels as if my entire life revolves around eating… which I don't think that it should. It doesn't even sound morally right!

Anyway, my question is, I train Muay Thai and also lift weights. When I'm regular, I train about 5-6 days a week. Two days lifting weights (mostly compound movements) And then 3-4 days training in Muay Thai. My training for Muay Thai though is a late class. Starting from approximately 8:00 P.M. and finishing around 9:30 - 10:00. These classes can be extremely intense at times. I was wondering what your insight would be on applying the Warrior Diet principles to my schedule here. I would generally be home around 10:00-10:15 at night in which I could then eat. I am just a bit concerened about how long my undereating phase would last because of how late I would finish training.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

~ Mahendra

How come i have hair on my stomach? Any suggestions?

Thanks…….. Hanna

Mahendra,

If I was doing your routine…which I'm not, since I'm not tough enough for Muay Thai (I'm a lover not a fighter)…I would eat a protein shake in the morning and one more around 1 pm. That would be a total of 600 calories and all of that would be out of your system by 8:00PM. So the "Real Meal" would be late, but you would get a tiny bit of protein before that…since you are VERY active. Just make sure those protein shake are really small…just 200-300 calories a piece max.

For those Who Don't Know Muay Thai…it is a lighting fast figting style that uses elbows and knees along with more traditional kicks. It is seriously tough! These guys are SO fast you have to see it in slow motion just to see the big hits!

Rusty

Hannah,

That is more common than you think. For women with dark hair it is especially common. Sometimes it just happens in puberty, other times it is more permanent. You could try waxing it for now…and at some point doing electrolysis…but it isn't abnormal, so don't feel bad about it at all.

Rusty

Hi, I was doing the Fast 5 diet for about a month, and i lost about 4 pounds. I really want to kick things up a notch, and lose more faster. I can't seem to find the book anywhere other than on amazon for like $50 used. Anyway, i was wondering if drinking a cup of coffee with cream and sugar in the morning might be slowing down my weight loss. I don't anything except the coffee until 6pm, when i eat my dinner and then have a snack around 9pm. Any advice on how to make my weight loss faster? Also, i don't work out b/c i literally have no time - except i go for walks with my baby at night (around 45 minutes). Should i start adding some leg lunges and situps to maybe speed things along? I would like to be in my pre-pregnancy clothes by thanksgiving. Possible? I have like 20 pounds to lose.
Thanks!
Tina

Tina,

If you would switch over to non-fat milk and equal in your coffee that would help for sure. That is also great you are walking with your baby at night! You sound like a great parent.

Anything you could do to get your heart rate up is going to help. Do you have access to an exercise bike, or a treadmill…because that is going to burn fat much quicker than lunges or situps.

Rusty

Thanks Rusty! I really love this website. I spent all last night reading through it. I already added it to my favorites. Everything makes so much sense to me, and I now have hope that i'll fit into my size 2's and 4's again!
I belong to a gym 5 minutes from my house, so I think once my baby gets a little older, i may start taking her there with me. Either that or i should start making myself wake up at 5am and go there before she wakes up! What do you think of workout videos like "Taebo"? In college, i stayed around 105 pounds (i'm 5'3") by doing interval training on the treadmill, like your article explains. (by the way, the fastest i've ever gone on the treadmill was 6.5 - does it matter if i can't hit the 7.5 level - maybe b/c i'm short??) I always ate whatever i wanted, and even went out drinking 3 nights a week. Back then, i didn't really eat breakfast or lunch b/c i didn't have time. At night I would eat pizza and even ice cream! Now i know how i stayed so thin!
Also, should i try to eat mostly protein during my one meal, or does it not matter at that point. I try to stay away from pasta and bread, but every now and then i do get a craving.
I'm 135, and would really like to get to 115 or 110. I've tried all the diets - the zone, atkins, weight watchers - they were just too hard to maintain for the long term. I gained 65 pounds while pregnant, b/c i stopped working out, and i started eating 5-7 times a day (i used to eat 1-2 times a day). It's amazing how I now know why i gained so much weight! All my friends that eat 5-7 times a day, eat like 100 -200 calorie meals - i just find that so hard to maintain, especially with my husband loving hearty meals!
Thanks again!
Tina

I have a question about the timing of eating. I know the controlled fast is supposed to be around 16-18 hours. But If I eat a meal at night and say it only takes an hour or less to eat and then I don't eat until the day at that time wouldn't it be more aorund a day fast. I think I read somewhere that after that 18 hours, your metabolism does slow down and your body draws on your muscles. Any info would help. Thanks!

i have a question, i am 178 pounds and i need to eat to around 165 for a boxing contest, would it be ok to have a whey protein shake in the morning and then do my weights and cardio during the day and have my main meal around 10pm of about 1200/1500 cals and still get lean and lose weight?

steve

Steve,

I would definitely recommend that you drink a whey protein shake in the morning. You will reach your target weight quickly with the diet you described.

If you haven't read this already…click here and read Ori's two part interview on this diet.

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

Great Stuff!

Rusty

About how many calories would you recommend that I consume everyday if I'm 5'8 and weigh 125? I've been eating around 1200 and the first couple days after eating like this I felt great during the day. I still feel good but there are periods during the day when I feel really weak. I haven't been eating anything before dinner, just drinking water. And I've been walking for exercise and attempting to jog a little bit but my cardio strength is not strong at all.

Thanks Rusty!

Carly,

125 pounds at 5'8" is great. Are you aiming to get to 120 pounds, because that is what should happen if you eat 1,200 calories a day. Your current weight is similar to Jennifer Aniston's…she is 5'6" at 118. Obviously…I think you must look great!

Typically I advise people to take their ideal weight and multiply it by 10 and that is the amount of calories to consume. It is more complex than this, this is just a quick method that seems to work well for people.

So if a guy weighed 200 pounds and wanted to get down to 180…he would consume 1,800 calories per day. This is an aggressive diet plan…people would want to increase the calories once they reach their ideal weight.

Again…this is a rough estimate. You have to see how your particular body responds to this level of calories and adapt. It is a good starting point.

Rusty

Yeah, I know my weight is in the normal range. I don't care too much about the actual number as I do about the way my body looks. I do have that little bit of fat around my thighs and waist so I want to get rid of that and I don't have that much muscle. I'm trying to do more cardio but I'm really out of shape so it's hard to run but I'm working on it. Any suggestions about improving that? Right now I can barely run a mile, lol.

Carly,

Here is a method that works really well when someone is out of shape cardo-wise. Get on a treadmill and jog as long as you can and then walk for 5 minutes…then jog as long as you can again…and then walk for 5 minutes. Do this for 30 minutes. It is kind of like an unusual form of interval training, but works well.

The first time you do it, you may have to stop to walk 3-4 times. Eventually the goal is to make it farther and farther, so eventually you are walking less…then you want to get to the point where you can jog for 30 minutes straight.

I have seen this work wonders for people who are a bit out-of-shape. Once you can jog for 30 minutes, you will notice that your body will begin to improve quickly.

That should do the trick!

Rusty

Thanks Rusty, you're the best! I'll let you know how it's working for me.

I'm working full-time and attending Law School so I don't have time to exercise and my doctor wants me to lose 30lbs. This method sounded like a natural way to lose weight and I started this type of diet without reading any of the literature. Everyone thought I was crazy, saying I was going to gain weight because of starvation mode, or that eating dinner only was crazy because I can't burn it off at night, or skipping breakfast wasn't good. But First Off, I never like breakfast, second, I think that eating at night is ok as long as your total caloric intake is lower then your expenditure within a 24 hour period. As everyone was nay saying I was losing weight and fast. I lost 6 lbs my first week and this was with me really pigging out at night. It's my second week and I'm down 8lbs. I'm starting to tone down the night time pig outs and eat only until I'm not hungry. I'm hoping to make this diet a lifestyle with very small meals in the day and a large meal at night, but for now it's feast or famine, so i don't eat during the day and wait until 5.30 for my first snack followed by dinner later because of school. It was hard at first but now it's easier, I realze I was eating out of habit more often than not, and now honestly food taste better and I really appreciate it. My friend was worried for me, and was doing research when he came upon this article, now I feel redeemed, I knew I wasn't crazy.

Andy,

An additional benefit is that you won't feel sleepy in class…plus Ori explains that caffeine doesn't work well when food is present in your stomach. So if you need an additional kick, a cup of coffee will now work wonders in keeping you alert.

Glad you found our site!

Rusty

Hey Rusty,
First off, Great Site! Do you think the warrior diet would work in reverse? (eat big meal in morning ) I work out extremely early (4:30 am)

John,

Yeah…it should work well. If you get hungry later in the day, snack on a bit of fruit. I would have a tough time working out at 4:30 in the morning. I'm usually just angry if I wake up at 4:30AM!

Rusty

rusty. I am 180 and I want to get down to 165. I use to model 2 years ago but decieded to finish up and get my degree. It helps that both my sisters are models and my aunt has kept me in her agency. I start in the fall to start modeling again but I need to get down to 165 again I just lifted to much in college and I got caught up in the six meal plan. You say one meal at night. Does it matter what food you eat at that meal. Like could ice cream and pizza occasionally in that one meal as long as its under the calorie structure? if i accidently eat twice a day should I eat a little stricter or just maintain my under calorie?I was also gonna try the 21 day vacation body cardio plan of 60 mins a days since i havent been running at all hope fully it gets me lean?

Great Post Rusty,
Just have one question in my mind.I'm 16 yo and will me following the warrior diet affect my growth (height) in anyway.Cause I hear you grow until 18 and not eating enough is kinda bad

Thanks

Sai,

You will be fine on the Warrior Diet. As far as people growing until their 18. I was 6'3" tall at the age of 13 and didn't grow an inch from that point on. Different people stop growing at different ages.

Rusty

Wow
Thanks for the reply. I usually never get any replies for a query.
Anyway THANKS again and keep up the great work

Rusty, love the site it has been really helpful.

I have a few questions about the warrior diet.

During the under eating phase I am sticking to the fresh fruits and veggies, and having my big meal around 7, my concern is that I'm not getting enough calories and that my body will go into starvation mode. Even with my big meal, at the end of the day I am hard pressed to be over 1000 calories.