Can you lose weight by only eating one meal per day?

One answer One meal a day is not enough to keep a person going. After a while, the body resists, goes into starvation mode, and holds on to body fat. If you want to lose weight and avoid yo-yo dieting, you should eat small meals throughout the day. This will improve your metabolism. More input I am a Muslim. We fast in Ramadan. We wake up to have a meal before sunrise (which could be 3-4 o'clock in the morning), and don't eat all day, not even water until sunset (this can vary from 4 o'clock in winter to 9 o'clock in summer - like now). Last Ramadan started towards the end of September and lasted for one month. I lost one whole stone (14 pounds) that month from eating only one meal in the evening. Now its June, and have since put it back on because of eating burgers and crisps and chocolates and other junk. I will be started to eat one meal in the evening again tomorrow to lose the weight again. Healthy meals obviously. Exercise helps. If you burn off 800 calories during the day when you are not eating, (I do this by jumping rope for 1 hour) and have a 300-400 calories meal - which is enough to fill you up in the evening. You have burned 400 excess calories that day, which add up over a week and help the weight come off. Of course, you can burn more calories and lose more weight. More input Eating one meal per day will slow down your metabolism and eat away lean muscle mass. If you lose lean muscle instead of body fat, this will radically slow down your ability to lose weight in the future. Eating only one meal per day is also likely to encourage you eat junk food. By eating small frequent healthy meals and exercising, you will improve your metabolism and create lean muscle mass. Lean muscle in turn, further increases your metabolic rate. More input I've done both ways. I've lost weight the 'proper way' eating the 5-6 meals and working out like a fiend at the gym. As some have mentioned you will only have weight loss when you calories burned exceed calories consumed. However, recently, after five years on not exercising, I ballooned up to 225. I tried the unhealthy approach of one meal a day, using coffee as my boost during the morning and day, and eating a sensible lunch. Heck even some of the dinners were not sensible. Me being a steak fanatic, I've had some monster porterhouses. However, I did lose a lot of weight in a short time. In 30 days, I lost 35 pounds! For the most part my main exercise was brisk walking 3 miles. Some days twice. So, for someone to say one meal per day doesn't work is wrong. If you have the luxury of time and the money for a gym membership, you can do it the 'correct way' and lose the same weight over 6 months or longer. Admittedly, one day a meal is not for the weak willed. I think the big win for me was going back to the mind set I had when I worked out, that eating was a function and not to be savored and enjoyed every time. And my dinner meals are usually pretty moderate. Even try the subway thing on occasion. Also, one last note, there are some moments during the diet, when I would have a cocktail or two at night to knock out early to ease the stomach pangs. And some of the walking sessions were tough. But the body is amazing and it can adjust. Now I'm in the process of slowly upping the calories, to a maintenance phase. So far so good. No weight gain. More input Well, I was going to try only eating once a day, but thanks to the answers that said DO NOT DO IT grabbed my attention. I know when to listen, and I thank you for that. It just makes sense that the metabolism will slow down, and maybe I will get fatter. NO WAY! I only have 20 pounds to lose and I will try eating 5 to 6 meals a day, exercise, and green tea. Thanks again! More input In the long term, eating one meal per day will slow down your metabolism. This will make it much harder for you to lose weight in the future. To lose excess body fat and to increase your metabolism, eat a meal about every three waking hours (5 or 6 meals per day). You will not be eating more food; you will simply be spreading it throughout the day. Each of those five or six feedings should contain at least 15 grams of unprocessed protein (from natural sources) for a female or at least 20 grams per feeding for a male. This one change alone will speed up your metabolism and help to curb food cravings. You can do more to boost your metabolism besides eating well. For example, proper strength training will increase lean muscle. Lean muscle is your metabolic furnace that will burn extra energy (calories) 24 hours a day. Similarly, brisk walking for several miles daily will burn extra calories during and immediately after walks.

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