The Advantages and Disadvantages of the One Meal per Day Diet

Intermittent fasting is an excellent way to either maintain weight or shed several pounds. A one-meal-per-day diet is not a rapid weight loss diet. But it’s not the healthiest of diet fads either. However, it doesn’t promote starvation to accelerate weight loss.

How One-Meal-Per-Day Diet Works?

This diet program requires a single large meal eaten within a day at any time you choose, instead of eating three square meals. Whenever you feel hungry, you are allowed to eat a piece or two of your favorite fruit. Ideally, one must eat one large meal at night to feel more satiated.

Just like any diet programs, the one-meal-per-day diet has its own advantages and disadvantages. In today’s post, we are listing down all the benefits you get from this diet program:

The Advantages of One-Meal-Per-Day Diet

Boosts Weight Loss

This is the main advantage of the one-meal-per-day diet. When you consume fewer calories, you lose more weight. This diet program trains the body to eat less, shrinking the stomach in the process. And this gives the appearance of a flatter, trimmer waistline. If you’re watching what you eat, the one-meal-per-day diet makes it easier to track your calorie consumption.

Boosts Energy

The hardest part of the one-meal-per-day diet is the first few days. At this point, the body is going through withdrawal from sugar. During this time, you feel weak, lethargic and sluggish. But once the body starts getting accustomed to the new diet plan, you start feeling energized. The one-meal-per-day diet boosts mental clarity and productivity too.

Improved Control Over Food and Portions

When you’re focused on feeling better and eating right, you are motivated to make better food choices. This is what the one-meal-per-day diet is all about. It trains the body to eat smaller portions. This way, you burn off more stored fat. When you feel in control, you are more confident about your body. And this motivates you to stick to the program until you achieve your goal weight.

The Disadvantages of One-Meal-Per-Day Diet

Increases High Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Levels

Studies show that the one-meal-per-day diet could lead to elevated blood pressure and blood sugar level. That’s because the consumption of food is not spread out throughout the day. This causes blood pressure and blood sugar level to shoot up and drop down sporadically. A Japanese experiment also saw similar results in lab mice fed just once daily.

Weakens the Immune System

A research published on “The Journal of Inflammation,” found that this diet program could weaken the immune system, particularly among healthy middle-aged dieters. A weak immune system makes the body vulnerable to all kinds of ailments, including respiratory disorders and infections.

Researchers tracked two groups of middle-aged people with no health problems. One group was given three meals per day. The second group was given one meal per day, but the calories are equivalent to that of  three meals. After the experiment, the participants who engaged in the one-meal-per-day diet became more susceptible to various diseases.