One Meal a Day Diet: Benefits and Risks

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Eating one meal a day is used by many people to lose weight and improve health, this is also known as OMAD. While the composition and timing of meals will vary depending on personal preference, people following the OMAD diet often restrict calories to a single meal or a short period of time.

1. One meal a day diet

There are many types of intermittent fasting practices and many ways to do OMAD. Examples include eating only one meal a day and fasting during the day or eating one meal and eating a limited amount of food during the fast. This type of diet creates a calorie deficit, which can lead to weight loss. Some other health benefits associated with fasting include: the ability to reduce heart disease risk factors, lower blood sugar, and reduce inflammation.
However, when comparing this method with other fasting regimens, such as the 16/8 method, which eats only one meal per day, one of the most draconian intermittent fasting practices.
Some popular diets recommend eating one meal a day. For example, when following the Warrior Diet, a person eats a single meal a day, cycling between long periods of fasting with short periods of energy consumption.
People who follow the OMAD once-a-day diet usually only eat dinner, although others choose breakfast or lunch. Some versions of the one meal a day model allow for one or two snacks in addition to a meal. However, some OMAD enthusiasts don't consume anything that contains calories during their fasting and only consume calories during their chosen meal.

2. Implement a weight loss regime

To lose weight, you must create an energy deficit, either by increasing the number of calories burned or decreasing the number of calories consumed.
The OMAD method has the potential to effectively lose weight, as it absorbs fewer calories overall than would be normal in a conventional diet. For example, a study in healthy adults showed that restricting calorie intake to a 4-hour period in the evening resulted in significantly more body fat loss than when eating three separate meals in the evening. day.
However, this method does not appear to be more effective than any traditional method of calorie restriction, such as reducing the number of calories consumed at each meal. An analysis that applied this method to 50,660 people found that those who consumed 1 or 2 meals per day experienced a yearly decrease in body mass index (BMI) compared with those who consumed 3 meals per day. Research has also shown that overnight fasting for 18 hours or more is associated with weight loss, compared with shorter periods of fasting.
However, the weight loss benefits of this approach are related to fasting. Additionally, extreme fasting methods, such as: OMAD, can have side effects that people need to consider, such as increased hunger and problematic metabolic changes.

3. Benefits of a one-meal-a-day diet

In addition to helping with weight loss, research has linked fasting with a number of other health benefits. For example, fasting can help lower blood sugar and certain heart disease risk factors, including LDL cholesterol. Fasting has also been linked to a reduction in inflammatory markers in the body, including: C-reactive protein.
Additionally, fasting may have benefits for nervous system health. This method slows down neurodegeneration and increases lifespan, according to animal studies. However, while these potential benefits are promising, it is important to note that these benefits are associated with fasting. In fact, some studies suggest that the OMAD pattern may be more harmful to health than other less restrictive methods of fasting.
Although research has linked fasting and calorie restriction to many health benefits, some evidence suggests that restricting too much may include eating just one meal a day more often than not. profit.
Other studies have also shown that eating one meal a day can increase fasting blood sugar, slow the body's response to insulin, and increase levels of the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin, compared to eating three. meals every day.
Furthermore, restricting calories to only one meal a day may increase the risk of hypoglycemia or low blood sugar, especially in people with diabetes. In addition to these potential side effects, eating one meal a day can lead to symptoms including: nausea, dizziness, irritability, low energy, constipation.
The OMAD once-a-day diet is also not suitable for many groups of people, including: those who are pregnant or breastfeeding, children and adolescents, the elderly, and people with eating disorders .

Moreover, it is difficult to get enough nutrients in one meal, which can lead to nutrient deficiencies, negatively affect health and can lead to many serious risks.
Finally, some people who follow the OMAD once-a-day diet will favor processed, high-calorie foods, such as: fast food, .... Although foods may be suitable If you're compatible with a balanced lifestyle, eating only foods high in added sugars and other unhealthy ingredients will negatively affect your health in the long run.
Despite the benefits associated with fasting and calorie restriction, research has shown that consuming 2 or 3 meals a day may be known as a better choice for overall health than eat one meal a day.

4. Foods to eat and avoid

When you're on a diet, your intake should primarily consist of: whole foods, rich in nutrients. Although health professionals do not recommend choosing one meal a day, if you choose to do so, it is essential to ensure that you are consuming a variety of nutritious foods, such as: berries, citrus fruits and bananas vegetables, such as kale, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus...
Besides, you should limit processed foods, such as: fast food, sugary baked goods, white bread, sugary cereals, soft drinks, chips These foods offer little nutritional value and eating them too often can lead to weight gain and an increased risk of chance of disease.
During fasting, the OMAD diet requires people to keep calories to a minimum, which means total calorie restriction. Others choose to eat low-calorie, high-protein snacks throughout the day, such as: Egg whites, chicken, tuna...

Eating one meal a day may help you lose weight, but it's not a good approach to overall health. Although fasting in general, including prolonged fasting, can benefit health in a number of other ways. Sustainable diets for health benefits include: intermittent fasting 16/8 or simply following a healthy, lower calorie diet if you currently eat in excess and want to increase weight loss.
The application of a scientific diet not only gives you the desired body shape, but also limits the health problems that weight loss can cause.

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Reference source: healthline.com