As more and more people are turning health conscious these days, there are a plethora of innovative and new ways which are adopted by people for losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. One of the popular ways which have caught the attention of everyone is eating one meal a day.

A large mass of people has started to eat one meal a day and opted for the related diet called the one-meal-per-day diet. This is called the OMAD. More often than not people opt for such diets as it helps them to restrict their calorie intake and galvanize their metabolic processes.

The idea of eating one meal per day is similar to fasting, which escalates the calorie restriction and also gives rest to your stomach.

How Does Eating One Meal a Day Work ?

There are various ways in which you can implement eating-one-meal-a-day-diet, and there are several fasting practices that are also similar to a certain specific kind of diet one follows.

One of the ways you can implement this diet is just one meal per day and fast for the rest of the day. Another way to do this is, to eat one meal a day and eat a minuscule amount of foo for the rest. In following the above–mentioned two types of diet, a calorie deficit will be observed in your body which will escalate your weight loss process.

Apart from the weight-loss process, eating just one meal a day can herald a plethora of health benefits such as preventing heart diseases, reduces your blood sugar levels, and even help you in the treatment of inflammation.

As compared to other forms of dietary practices, eating one meal a day diet is one of the hardest practices that one can follow. Warrior Diet is one of the dietary practices, which promotes eating a single meal per day with prolonged periods of fasting and even a significant reduction in energy consumption.  

Once you decide to follow this diet, it is solely upon your preferences and needs to choose which meal to skip over and which to eat. More often than not, people following one particular diet, consume only dinner whereas others choose to eat only breakfast or lunch.

Does Eating One Meal a Day Diet Help in Weight Loss?

You will only be able to lose weight when there is calorie restriction in your body up to some amount. Calorie restriction can be achieved either by burning the calories one consumes or by not consuming any calories at all.  

And that’s what people who are following this diet do. They consume no or very few calories as compared to what they normally would do. A study conducted by health experts revealed that creating four hours in the evening where one consumes no amount of calories, contributes to a greater fat loss than any other diet.   

Some people also have a habit of consuming three meals a day, which includes a heavy breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, according to a study it was revealed that people who consume 2 meals a day have a reduced body mass index than the ones who consume 3 meals a day.

However, these fasting practices have to be cautiously and diligently followed as you do not want to overstress or starve your body. This could lead to serious repercussions. Especially, caution has to be taken when it comes to eating one meal a day diet, as it is the most difficult out of the lot.   

Other Benefits of Eating One Meal a Day

Apart from escalating the process of weight loss, eating one meal can help you bring a plethora of health benefits. For instance, restricting yourself to just one meal can help you reduce your blood sugar and also decrease the risk of heart disease. Not to mention a significant reduction in bad cholesterol levels.

Indulging into dietary practices such as intermittent fasting can also help you reduce the symptoms of chronic inflammation. In addition to all this, fasting can help strengthen your nervous system. It does so by reducing the process of neurodegeneration which is common with the advancement of age and it also extends your life.

Be that as it may, restricting yourself to just one meal is considered to be detrimental to your health as it is starving your body of the much-needed energy to carry out the basic processes. Therefore, deciding to follow one meal diet, it is essential to consult a nutritionist and follow a less harmful health practice.

Which foods can be eaten and avoided while eating one meal a day diet?

After consulting your doctor, if you do decide to follow a one-meal diet, it is essential to inculcate certain types of food in your diet to maintain balance and provide your body with the essential amount of energy.

The one meal day diet includes:

• Fruits such as berries, oranges, lemon, and bananas.
• Vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, and kale.
• Starchy vegetables such as sweet potatoes, butternut,and grains such as oats, barley, and quinoa.
• Healthy fats such as avocados, olive oil.
• Legumes such as chickpeas, black beans. and peas.
• Nuts such as cashew nuts, almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, and pumpkin seeds.
• Dairy products such as unsweetened yogurt, coconut milk, and cashew milk.
• Meat that is rich in protein such as chicken, tofu, and fish.

Apart from these healthy foods which are to be consumed if you are eating one meal a day, there are certain highly processed foods which are to be avoided. These include all types of bread, bakery products with added sugar and preservatives, junk food, cereals with added sugar and sweetener, soda, and all fried foods such as chips.

These foods are to be avoided because they do not have any nutritional value and they do not energize your body. Instead, they make you lazier and instill you with more calories and apathy. If you are eating one meal a day and following a related diet, you can still drink water and other beverages which do not contain any amount of calories.

You can also choose to eat certain snacks which are extremely high in protein such as egg whites, chicken, and tuna.  

Also Read: Meals To Help Strengthen Your Immune