Is eating one meal a day healthy?

In this short article, we will answer the question “Is eating one meal a day healthy?” and will provide you with contextual information about the OMAD (“One Meal a Day”) diet and about safer ways to lose weight.

Is eating one meal a day healthy?

No, it’s not healthy eating one meal a day. It’s typically not a good idea to lose weight quickly by going on an intensive diet. After all, it is crucial to undergo a long-term food reeducation in order to improve physical conditioning, as opposed to adopting restrictive attitudes for a brief period of time. 

Particularly the OMAD (“One Meal a Day”) diet recommends an intermittent fasting style that may be detrimental to health, this also can vary from person to person. 

There are people who adapt to this type of diet and can follow it for a short period. There are also people who don’t. In any case, this diet needs to be followed only with the help of a nutritionist.

How does the OMAD diet works?

Because of its more extreme recommendation and the promise of a simpler weight loss, the OMAD diet may sound appealing. 

The OMAD diet is an extreme form of intermittent fasting, which requires consuming all-day meals for just one hour and only calorie-free liquids for the other 23 hours. 

This diet promises to speed up the body’s fat-burning process, which will result in weight loss. However, there is not enough academic research to back up this claim.

Can the OMAD diet actually be recommended?

The OMAD diet is not always effective and, most of the time tends to cause more harm than good to health, even if it promises speedier results. It is a harmful food behaviour because it requires the person to consume a lot of food in a short period of time. 

The stomach gets overloaded by eating a lot at once, which compromises the following absorption of nutrients. 

The suggested diet calls for consuming 25 to 35 per cent protein, 40 to 50 per cent fat (percentages beyond the guidelines for a balanced diet), and 10 to 20 per cent carbohydrate (much below the guidelines for a healthy diet) for getting all the vitamins, in a balanced way.

It is also important to note that excessive intermittent fasting can result in unsettling physical effects.

As a result, handling food carefully is crucial. Extreme hunger, trembling, weakness, exhaustion, impatience, and trouble thinking are possible symptoms. 

Pregnant or nursing women, women who are nursing, diabetics, elderly persons, children, those with eating disorders (bulimia, anorexia), people with cancer, and anyone who has kidney or liver failure cannot follow the OMAD diet.

How can you lose weight safely?

The best thing to do if the objective is to burn calories in a healthy way is to practise food reeducation and adhere to a nutritionist’s advice. It is possible to take a variety of steps (changes in lifestyle) to make the process as healthy and long-lasting as feasible.

Consume foods that are naturally healthful, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, lean meats, low-fat milk and dairy products, beans, whole grains, and vegetable oils. 

Less should be consumed in terms of sugar, sweets in general, soft drinks, fried foods, fatty foods, and alcoholic beverages.

Going without food or engaging in rigid food restriction is ineffective since it doesn’t persist for a long time, doesn’t re-educate an individual’s eating behaviour, and prevents them from losing weight in a healthy manner. 

Additionally, physical activity is necessary for those who wish to reduce weight in order to boost fat burning, maintain muscle mass, and function as a stress management tool. 

To maintain a successful weight loss process, it’s also crucial to take care of one’s emotional wellbeing. It is crucial to pay attention to the psychological component because, without a lighter outlook on life, it will be challenging to lose weight. 

It is necessary to treat problems like anxiety and food compensation. In addition to physical exercise, practises like yoga, breathing exercises, and meditation aid in emotional equilibrium, which aids in the weight loss process.

Conclusion:

In this short article, we answered the question “Is eating one meal a day healthy?” and have provided you with contextual information about the OMAD (“One Meal a Day”) diet and about safer ways to lose weight.

References:

https://www.webmd.com/diet/is-eating-one-meal-a-day-safe#:~:text=For%20most%20people%2C%20there%20are,your%20blood%20pressure%20and%20cholesterol.