A one-meal-a-day diet plan can help your body convert to burn fat as an energy source and achieve the goal of losing weight faster.
Intermittent fasting is a diet plan that limits your calorie intake to a specific eating window, to ensure that your body remains in a constant fat-burning state.
When you eat and snack regularly, your body will use these calories at a steady and balanced rate for energy.
After you stop eating for a while, your body will be forced to use fuel from other sources, such as the fat stored in your body.
Countless people all over the world have successfully lost weight and maintained their weight through intermittent fasting, including myself.
In this article, we are going to focus on the benefits of one meal a day.
The first thing to emphasize is that if you have never experienced intermittent fasting, or are just starting, please do not begin by eating only one meal a day. Instead, you should gradually extend the time between meals, to let your body slowly adapt to this new eating rhythm.
How To Do OMAD?
Most people choose to eat only dinner. In other words, people try not to eat anything during the day and then eat enough calories needed by the body at dinner time.
This meal must be nutritious and comprehensive, which means it should include the right amount of carbohydrates, protein and a lot of healthy fats and vegetables.
If you are hungry during the day, you can eat some low-carb nuts and fruits, or high-protein foods such as boiled eggs or chicken breasts.
Drinking plenty of water also helps you relieve hunger. You can also drink non-calorie beverages such as black coffee, green tea or apple cider vinegar. A spoonful of coconut oil works as well.
If you exercise regularly, you can eat some protein before training. Whey protein powder can replenish energy well. It also plays a role in repairing and increasing muscles.
Although some people are accustomed to eating one meal a day, you may choose to do it one or two days a week. Then, you can combine this with other intermittent fasting methods, such as 16/8 fasting.
What Are The Benefits of Eating Only One Meal A Day?
Some exact studies have shown that fasting has many benefits for improving health. Including the following. [*]
1. improve digestion
2. improve immunity
3. promote autophagy
4. extend your life
5. reduce hunger
6. reduce appetite
7. improve skin
8. increase energy
9. stabilize mood
10. enhance cognitive function
12. lower blood pressure
13. reduce the risk of heart disease
14. reduce the probability of dementia
15. reduce the risk of diabetes and the risk of insulin resistance
16. reduce the risk of fatty liver
17. burn fat (especially belly fat)
18. improve muscle mass
19. increase metabolism
Many people who regularly eat one meal a day have also realized that this lifestyle can increase energy, avoid sleepiness in the afternoon and can maintain a long period of time without feeling hungry.
In addition to physical changes, fasting can also:
1. save money
2. save time
3. improve self-discipline.
Eating OMAD Can Help You Maintain A Healthy Weight:
Eating only one meal a day will reduce your overall food intake. Your body will change the original model of using glucose as fuel once it adapts to this eating habit, then starts to burn fat as an energy source. Eventually, you will reduce the cravings for food.
Ashley Smith, a nutrition therapist at the University of California, said: “After turning into a fat burner, your body can get rid of blood sugar fluctuations and brain fog. You can actually become more efficient mentally and physically.”
This may require a few weeks for the body to completely switch from a sugar-burning mode to a fat-burning mode. However, you can speed up this process by eating more healthy fats, high-quality protein and low-carbohydrate diets.
Is OMAD Good For Weight Loss?
We often see some media or articles recommending eating small and frequent meals every day. They are saying that eating this way can speed up metabolism, help you to avoid being hungry and reduce weight.
Indeed, this method can keep you full. However, the problem is that your blood sugar will always be at a high level, which will lead to insulin resistance over time. The result will be that you will often be hungry and eat more and more. .
Another obvious problem with frequent smaller meals is that you can easily overeat without knowing it and as a result consume too many calories. This is also not conducive to weight loss.
Some people worry that fasting will reduce the metabolic rate, so they should eat regularly.
Scientific research has indeed proven that fasting for more than three days may lead to a decrease in metabolism. [*]
However, short-term fasting has the opposite effect. It can increase the metabolic rate and accelerate fat burning and weight loss. Therefore, it is recommended not to fast for more than three days. [*]
Necessary Tips:
- Start with three meals a day. Reduce to two meals a day and then gradually transition to one meal a day.
- Make sure you eat enough calories, otherwise you will feel very hungry during fasting and it will be difficult to stick to it. In addition, a long-term calorie restrictive diet will eventually slow down your metabolism, which affects the efficiency of weight loss. Maintaining a healthy weight will also be more difficult.
- Avoid processed food and junk food. These foods not only make you feel addicted but also can not satisfy your hunger.
- Stick to healthy whole foods, such as natural animal and plant proteins, healthy fats, fresh vegetables, low-sugar fruits and whole grains. You can eat a few high-carb foods or sweets occasionally, but be careful not to overeat.
- Pay attention to how your body feels. Don’t force yourself if you feel uncomfortable or too hungry.
Summary:
The one meal a day diet plan is one of the most popular ways to lose weight.
Eating OMAD can convert your body to burn fat as a source of energy and achieve the goal of weight loss more quickly.
Most people choose to eat this meal in the evening. However, you can adjust your eating according to your schedule, or combine it with other intermittent fasting methods.
Drinking plenty of water, black coffee or green tea can help you relieve hunger.
Once your body adapts to this new way of eating, you will quickly experience the benefits of intermittent fasting.
However, before starting you need to understand the common negative effects of intermittent fasting.
No matter what method you use to lose weight, you must put the feeling of your body first. Your goal of losing weight is not only to look better on the outside but also to improve overall health.
