What Happens If You Eat One Meal a Day?

There are many different types of fasting, and One Meal a Day (OMAD) fasting is one of them. The majority of the people around the world are used to usually eating two to three meals a day. However, if you decide to stick to just one meal a day, you can enjoy a significant number of advantages. Thinking about eating just one meal a whole day may seem challenging to many people, and if you are wondering what happens if you eat one meal a day, then you have come to the right place.

Before diving into the details of the benefits of OMAD fasting, let’s discuss some fundamentals.

What is One Meal a Day (OMAD)?

OMAD is a type of intermittent fasting. In an OMAD diet, the restrictions are more stringent than the regular fasting as you would have to fast for 23 hours and have one hour to get all the necessary calories for the proper functioning of the body. Some experts have suggested that up to four hours of eating can be allowed in OMAD fasting.

The time of getting your one meal of the day is dependent on you. Most people eat their meal in the morning to get the required energy for the whole day, while afternoon hours like 3 PM to 7 PM are also prevalent among OMAD fasters.

The primary result of the OMAD fasting is increased weight loss, even if you are consuming a large number of calories in your single meal. It happens because the body starts burning fat at a rapid rate and gets in the state of autophagy.

Some of the many advantages of the OMAD fasting are:

1.    Weight Loss

The most obvious advantage of any type of fasting, including OMAD, is weight loss. The recommended consumption of calories per day is around 2,000. To lose weight easily, less than 2,000 calories should be consumed. If fasting is coupled with dieting and exercising, you can rapidly lose weight. In the OMAD diet, even if you manage to consume 1,000-1,500 calories, there is a considerable calorie deficit which helps you in losing weight quickly.

2.    Healthy Appetite

OMAD cultivates a healthy appetite and good eating habits in people. With time, your body will get used to eating only one time per day, and you will not feel much hunger. As a result, you will start eating fewer calories from healthy food sources. However, it should be remembered that if you have been fasting for very long, you should discontinue OMAD fasting for a period of time to maintain a healthy metabolism and health.

3.    Decrease Risk of Chronic Diseases

Many pieces of research, like Ageing Research Reviews and Cellular Metabolism, have found that fasting is associated with decreasing the risk of getting chronic diseases. Most such studies were conducted using animals, and it is assumed that such findings apply to humans as well. Hence, OMAD fasting is essential in improving your lifestyle and preventing chronic diseases like stroke, cancers, heart problems, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s.

OMAD fasting is also crucial in:

4. Regulation of blood sugar levels
5. Maintaining healthy blood pressure.

Conclusion

OMAD fasting can help you in achieving excellent results and improve your health in innumerable ways. The one meal that you consume per day should be planned and proportionated correctly to make sure that you are enjoying the whole process and maintaining a well-balanced diet.