one meal a day diet

[jinny]

Has anyone done this one meal a day diet? My boss does this he eats just an apple for lunch and then eats what he wants for tea, has loads of energy and is really slim. I have been doing the Warrier diet for a week and lost 4lb it was tough the first day but have to say I feel fine. The diet experts in the office are horrified and are urging me to stop. What do you all think. Des O'connor has done this for 40 years and like him or loathe him you have to admit he looks good for his age. Prince Charles and Liz Hurley eat this way as well apparantely.

[Keeping Motivated]

What is the warrier diet?

As for you boss doing one meal a day plus an apple I don't know how he gets through the day without going lightheaded etc? I'm no expert but surely thats not healthy how can he be adding calcium, vitamins etc all from one meal?

[jinny]

http://warriordiet.com/
Don't know if this is advertizing but sorry if it is. I got this book and it does make sense when you read it I wont do this for ever but got to get this weight off somehow.

[zerodashzero]

To be honest, it sounds as though it would mess around with your blood sugar levels - you're going to have extreme highs and lows from only eating one meal a day. The most success I've had with a diet has been Atkins - yes, another "fad" diet - and exercise. I know that if I leave a gap of about 6 hours or more between meals (which can happen as your appetite is curbed) I'll start to get crabby, then ravenous, then any willpower goes out of the window.

Many current diets are following the low gi path at the moment (as the western world heads towards an obesity and diabetes crisis), so why not borrow a few books from the library & check them out? The Rosemary Conley one has been a great success for my parents, and I'd back Atkins (read the WHOLE book, treat it like a novel if you must, but read it). The basis is meat & veg, cut out the rubbish. Not that hard, eh?!

[Penny Watcher]

My husband eats one meal a day. He says he's just not hungry in the morning and often skips lunch. When he comes home in the evening he hoovvers out the fridge and then eats a HUGE meal. It's as if he is so hungry by this point he almost can't stop himself.

Needless to say he is overweight, despite being a keen cyclist. Goodness knows what he's doing to his blood sugar and general metabolism.

I, however, am absolutely perfect :rolleyes: :o ;) (not).

Good luck with your weight loss.

[keelykat]

It doesnt sound healthy to be honest!

keely.

[Chollita]

I only have an elementary knowledge of nutrition, but missing meals is not going to give your body the fuel it needs. I can understand that you want to lose weight, but there are no fast fixes. These diets may make you lose weight rapidly, but long-term it will just come back. And then you look for another miracle diet, and so on ...

You need to look at your diet in the long-term and lose the weight slowly. Consult your doctor, or join WeightWatchers. I can't imagine that any qualified nutritionist would recommend these diets.

[melancholly]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080708080738.htm

i saw this on the news yesterday and it makes a lot of sense - you lose a lot more weight if you keep a food diary. this is just like how a spending diary works as the DFW board can testify. if you have to write down everything you eat, you eat less! sounds like a much cheaper and more practical alternative to a 'diet plan'.

if i don't eat regular meals, i pass out! so this isn't an option for me. i'd also question what one meal a day does to your body long term -i would guess that the body would start to lay down fat whenever it can because it is often in a 'starvation' mode. eating 2 small meals and one larger meal is a more sensible way to do this.

here's one article from a google of 'liz hurley diet' showing the long term effects of it - it's dangerous and, in my opinion, obviously a very bad idea for anyone's health.
http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/health/Liz+Hurley-162.html

[Ted_Hutchinson]

This is the low carb plan I have been using to successfully lose 2.25 lbs each week for 20 weeks. (http://blogg.passagen.se/dahlqvistannika/?anchor=my_lowcarb_dietary_programe_in)

It's easy because you don't have to count calories, write anything down, spend any money buying special foods and you don't even have to count carbs.

Basically you stop eating those foods that raise insulin levels and allow your body to burn glucose instead of fat and allows the body to store fat instead. It is the healthiest way of eating for both heart and brain health.

You don't have to go hungry or skip meals if you don't want to. But when you stop eating refined carbs you will probably find you are less hungry and may find it's past time for lunch/tea and so not bother.

This active low carb forum (http://forum.lowcarber.org/index.php?) has a lot of good information and plenty of informed and helpful people.

PS Those who are interested in the science underlying weight gain/loss may find this Gary Taubes Berkley Lecture (http://webcast.berkeley.edu/event_details.php?webcastid=21216) worth listening to but allow over an hour and you may (if you aren't familiar with the science) need to listen to it more than once. His book The Diet Delusion (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Diet-Delusion-Challenging-Conventional-Disease/dp/0091891418) spells it out in more detail and has more scientific evidence to support his ideas. It would be an excellent idea if our health professionals could be forced to read it and perhaps instead of spouting out of date dogma offer us evidence based advice on weight loss.

[Plum Pie]

Ted, I have met so many peoplewho have regained the weight they have lost from going on low carb diets. Their tastes never adapt to living without white flour, sugar etc and they end up bingeing on them and regaining all the weight and more.

I know low carb diets are advocated by some people on MSE and they are fine for those who can maintain a healthy weight forever with this method. However, it simply does not match the experiences of atleast 10 people I have actually met.

[moneypooh]

Unfortunately there isn't a quick fix and eating badly will prolong the wait...
your body is for want of a better term, a machine; it needs the correct fuel in regular amounts to keep it going. Fad diets may work to start with but are not a healthy lifestyle choice.
Remember the big breakfsat, medium lunch and paupers supper?? Well that's had a lot of press recently for being better for you. Although I can't face a big breakfast on any morning. Also large meals at the end of the day just hang around longer and have been quoted as being bad for digestion and could be a factor for bowel cancer.
I agree that blood sugar levels must go mad with the infrequency of food.
There's no answer except regular healthy meals and exercise. After all it's a simple equation - what goes it must be burnt up!

[Ted_Hutchinson]

Ted, I have met so many peoplewho have regained the weight they have lost from going on low carb diets. Their tastes never adapt to living without white flour, sugar etc and they end up bingeing on them and regaining all the weight and more. Over 2 million years human evolution past before we invented farming. Our genes, DNA became more or less exactly as they are now about 100,000yrs ago farming became established some 10,000yrs ago and most of the refined processed manufactured foods are far more recent. Far more people that are currently aware suffer directly from side effects from eating gluten to which their genes have not adapted.Look at the symptoms and consider how many of these those friends of yours exhibit.
Signs and Symptoms Associated with Gluten Intolerance (http://www.ibstreatmentcenter.com/Articles/WangenGIG08.ppt)
Digestive
Diarrhea Constipation Abdominal pain Cramping Dyspepsia Gas Bloating Steatorrhea (fatty stools) Encopresis Enamel defects in teeth Vomiting Nausea Intestinal bleeding Liver enzymes, elevated (ALT, ALK, ALP) Liver disease Pancreatitis Primary biliary cirrhosis Primary sclerosing cholangitis
Skin
Acne Eczema Dermatitis Dermatitis herpetiformis Dry skin Follicular keratosis Hives Rashes Itchiness Welts Redness Dark circles under eyes

Mind/neurological
Autism ADHD Difficulty concentrating Cerebellar atrophy Mental fog Brain white-matter lesions Insomnia/difficulty sleeping Schizophrenia Ataxia/difficulty with balance Epilepsy (with or without brain calcifications) Multifocal axonal polyneuropathy Neuropathy, peripheral (numbness or tingling of hands or feet)

Respiratory system
Wheezing Sinusitis, chronic Shortness of breath Asthma

Women’s health
Irregular cycle Infertility (also male infertility) Delayed menarche Premature menopause Spontaneous abortion/miscarriage

Head
Headaches Migraines Alopecia (hair loss)

Autoimmune disorders Addison’s disease Autoimmune chronic hepatitis Alopecia areata Diabetes, type 1 Graves disease Hyperparathyroidism, secondary
Hypoparathyroidism, idiopathic autoimmune Lupus (SLE) Myasthenia gravis
Sarcoidosis Scleroderma

Over 130 Problems! Some would argue that the above list is not complete and there are several other chronic autoimmune conditions such as MS, Rheumatoid arthritis etc that also show clinical improvement and slower progression once the pro inflammatory actions of wheat are eliminated.

I think when people try a moderately low carb diet such as Dr Dahlqvist's they will feel so much better physically and mentally that they will not want to lapse.. They may have the odd lapse but when they see the weight piling back on and the ill health symptoms returning soon think better of it.

the evidence shows (http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=17014706) that your friends are not typical of those who use The Active Low Carb Forum (http://forum.lowcarber.org/index.php?) sensibly.

[elsien]

I don't have any advice on diets generally, but I know if I skip meals ( which happens sometimes when I can't get a break at work) I get ratty, my concentration goes, and I get very light headed. Can't be good for you on a regular basis.

[asea]

Ask a doctor or nutritionist!

[Barneysmom]

I couldn't go without breakfast, I'd be a real bear!
I think it sounds dangerous to not eat all day, all those amino acids building up in your stomach aswell, surely you'd end up with an ulcer or something?
Humans aren't designed to go all day without food?

[Ted_Hutchinson]

There's no answer except regular healthy meals and exerciseWhat really happens when the average person increases the amount of exercise they do.
First they work up an appetite.
This means they want to eat more
And because ill informed people like you have misleadingly told them that exercise burns calories and it's as simple as that they overcompensate and eat far more calories than they have just burnt off.
Here are a couple of recent examples.
Phys-ed won't cut child obesity, study says (http://www.cahperd.ca/eng/story_detail.cfm?id=465)
and
Physical activity, healthy eating and BMI not linked in older teens: study (http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/news/item/?item_id=100253)

Why most of us believe that exercise makes us thinner—and why we're wrong. (http://nymag.com/news/sports/38001/)

I am not against people exercising. Exercise is good for the brain , it's good for your heart. So go ahead and get as much exercise as you want or are able
BUT DON'T THINK FOR ONE MOMENT YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT BY DOING SO.
You won't it is a myth and another example of how our medical advisers simply spout myth based dogma and do not practice evidence based medicine.

For goodness sake I can't exercise because of my condition. I didn't do any extra exercise at all because I can't. If I can lose 2.25lbs a week and eat more calories each day than my basal metabolism requires can't you see your simple equation is false. You can eat a full satisfying diet every day and not put on weight. You don't have to calorie count, you don't have to carb count and you certainly do NOT have to exercise.

Try and make the effort to understand the science discussed in the Gary Taubes lecture link in previous post.

[melancholly]

oh please, it all depends on the type of exercise you do - some is fat burning and some doesn't help with that. the idea that exercise does not help lose weight is just laughable! obviously if you do exercise and eat twice as much it won't help, but to think that would work would be plain stupid!

[Cornishpixie]

My nursing Tutor used to say Breakfast like a king, Lunch like a Prince,Supper like a Pauper which makes sense. I eat when I'm hungry, and exercise by walking and I also run 3 times a week. But I used to be really stocky/ well built, and never exercised. I also ate because food was around and I was bored. You have to find what works for you. Personally I would keep a food diary, exercise regular(3 times a week if you can).Eat smaller portions of the right kind of food. Good luck, because its never easy.

[Ted_Hutchinson]

oh please, it all depends on the type of exercise you do - some is fat burning and some doesn't help with that. the idea that exercise does not help lose weight is just laughable! obviously if you do exercise and eat twice as much it won't help, but to think that would work would be plain stupid!Do you accept I have lost over 3stone 3lbs over the last 5months.
Can you understand that because of my condition (http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/post_polio/detail_post_polio.htm#107223172) I am unable to contemplate the amount of exercise necessary to burn off excess weight at the rate of 5ounces daily?
Why can't you accept that exercise is not necessary for weight loss?

Have you bothered to read the links I provided and see what actually happens in practice when children are obliged to exercise more and the impact this has in practice on their BMI.

It is only relatively recently that physical activity has been suggested as having a major role in weight control. In 1932 Russell Wolder of the Mayo Clinic noted that bed rest patients tended to lose the most weight and unusually strenous physical exercise slows the rate of weight loss.
While it seems logical that the more exercise you take the more fat is burned and the loss of weight should be proportionate, in practice this doesn't happen.

Why don't you borrow a copy of The Diet Delusion from the library and try to engage your brain before you post nonsense.

this is an interesting abstract showing what actually happens when people think they can rely on exercise to compensate for having a drink (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18511146) It's far better to suggest exercise for the proven benefits it can bring to brain and heart health.

[schizometric]

I'd like to add to this that I was very overweight just over a year ago. By eating fruit for breakfast, slimfast for lunch and a normal dinner, with NO exercise beyond normal walking here and there (and i mean like 40 mins a day tops) I lost 4 st in under 6 months.

I put half a stone back on coz of exam stress though. It's very easy to do and most research suggests people who lose weight gain it back in the end :( gonna try the diet again now exams are over!

[melancholly]

Do you accept I have lost over 3stone 3lbs over the last 5months.
i know this may be difficult to accept, but not everything on MSE is about you.

[Ted_Hutchinson]

i know this may be difficult to accept, but not everything on MSE is about you.The point of mentioning my own personal circumstances is simply to demonstrate that I do put into practice what I preach. Therefore BEFORE I mentioned Dr Dahlqvist on this forum I had been trying that plan so was in a position to make an informed comment.

Similarly I know that exercise is NOT essential for weight loss (although everyone should exercise regularly for good health) from my own personal experience and my research on pubmed and through reading what Taubes has to say on the subject and everything he writes is based on a more thorough and extensive search of existing medical evidence than anything I can do using pubmed.

While it may be the case that a temporary weight loss will occur while your body is adjusting to a new level of increased physical activity, it will adjust to that and over the long term, adapt it's calorie requirement to that level, so when you reduce that level of physical activity the weight you previously lost will then return.

[melancholly]

well any form of long term weight management has to be about lifestyle change, doesn't it?! if you just crash diet but then return to former eating habits, the weight will come back on. obviously if you stop doing exercise and eat the same amount of food, you'll put on weight. honestly, you are really are quite exasperating.

[Ted_Hutchinson]

well any form of long term weight management has to be about lifestyle change, doesn't it? Exactly that is why low carbohydrate diet that does not increase blood sugar levels avoids the release of excess insulin. Insulin lowers the blood sugar level quickly causing one to feel hungry again. Insulin is responsible for storing fat and blocking its use as an energy source.

Because muscles and brain actually work better when using fat as a fuel it is best for brain and heart health to continue this way of eating. It's the diet our bodies evolved to eat.

, you are really are quite exasperating. Well I find those people who fail to study what actually happens in practice when large number of people have their exercise levels raised equally esasperating.

In practice those who are obliged to do more exercise do not all lose weight.
They do not in practice have noticable changes in their BMI.

this research shows phys-ed doesn't change BMI. (http://www.cahperd.ca/eng/story_detail.cfm?id=465)

There appeared to be no link between body mass index (BMI) values and levels of physical activity, (http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/news/item/?item_id=100253)

An overweight person will have difficulty losing weight by increasing physical activity while continuing to eat food with high content of carbohydrates. It is a lot easier to increase your exercise levels when you have lost weight.

So change your diet to low carb first, then you will be better able to increase the amount of exercise you do.

[notanothergreyhair]

I don't wish to get into a debate about what has been said so far...I just want to say well done to Ted for having lost so much - whatever his chosen method.

[trace_567]

Dieting is really only ever a short term fix. Overall eating habits and tastes much change to maintain anything lost.

I personally believe you should listen to your own body (not books, tv diets, fad diets etc etc).

We have been brought up as a nation to eat 3 meals a day called breakfast lunch and dinner, plus maybe snacks. Now its not the 3 meals thats the problem really, its learning to listen to your own body and deciding what to eat and when to.

Just because people think you should have toast, cereal etc for breakfast many do this. But the question you should ask yourself is this....do I actually want cereal right now? do i actually want to eat toast just because its morning?
Same goes for other meals. My theory is by eating what you actually want when it is your body tells you it wants it helps to stop over eating.

Example when you wake up and you think hmm i fancy some chocolate. But mentally you think, hmm no can't have chocolate its not breakfast food. Must eat breakfast food coz then i won't eat that chocolate. But whats the chances that later that day your still be after that damn chocolate you refused yourself eariler in the day.

Its also about realising when your eating because your hungry, not just because your bored or because people tell you you must eat meals at certain times of the day.

Also learning to tell the difference from being thirsty to hungry. Whether its something sweet you want or savory.

By listening to your own body over time will change your eating habits.

[trace_567]

I think this is the book that taught me to look at food in a different way.

It's only £2.99 at amazon and may also be avalible at a local library.

Might be worth a read. On amazon you can have a peek inside the book to before you buy.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0141007516/ref=sib_rdr_dp

[jinny]

I think this is the book that taught me to look at food in a different way.

It's only £2.99 at amazon and may also be avalible at a local library.

Might be worth a read. On amazon you can have a peek inside the book to before you buy.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0141007516/ref=sib_rdr_dp
Thanks for all your advice, I have ordered this book today the principals are something i think i could do.