New Here, Been Losing Weight, but It Has Been Difficult

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Thinspiration

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I know what I do is not healthy, but I don't consume any calories throughout the day until dinner, which is usually around 7 pm. At that time, I have a salad, some meat and vegetables, and then a large piece of pie. People often wonder how I get through the day, but I do. I have been doing this for about 1.5 months and have lost 6 pounds. I would have lost more in this time, but there have been days in which I have "relapsed" on this diet and at more than stated above. But then I have gotten back on track with this strict routine, which is why I have still lost 6 pounds. I also drink a lot of bottled water with a fruit flavor at night that has 0 calories, and that helps keep me from getting too hungry. I am just wondering what other people think about this? Any feedback? By the way, I should let you know that I do not like working out and not into exercising. Never have liked it, but I do burn calories throughout the day by staying on my feet at work and running various errands.
 
Thank you for the feedback. I am 5'10" and weigh at the time 174 pounds. My husband and I are going on a cruise in early March, and so I would like to lose at least 4 more pounds by then so I don't have to worry too much on the cruise. My ideal weight to get to would be around 160, I would really like that!
 
It can actually be detrimental to your weight loss to only eat once a day. Your body will think that you're poverty stricken and it needs to protect against famine so it processes energy differently in your body.

The best way to lose weight is to create a better lifestyle. Do you really want to eat ONE meal a day for the rest of your life? It would be wise to structure a plan so that you're setting yourself up for success.

You can still eat what you want, just eat less. You don't even need to exercise so long as you're sticking to a proper amount of calories. If you stuck to 1200-1500 calories a day you would lose up to 1lb a week.

If you eat every 2-3 hours your body will sense that you have access to food and it will increase your metabolism. You will be better off for it.

That's just my 2 cents.
 
It actually does not matter whether you have one meal a day or ten meals a day. The number of meals does not matter - it is total calories and nutritional balance across the whole day that counts....

There has been all sorts of diet myths that say that people should eat five meals a day - but that was proven to be a diet myth a number of years ago.

Anyone in any doubt would benefit from reading this thread:
http://weight-loss.fitness.com/threads/26335-The-Importance-of-Meal-Frequency

It is one of the sticky threads here... The sticky threads are those that everyone would benefit from reading.

The pubmed research which backs up this is included in that thread.

If you are happy eating one meal a day - go ahead and do just that.

Some people feel that they benefit from eating at a number of mealtimes spread across the day - because it stops them from getting too hungry and overeating with snacks. Other people want to eat a lot and prefer a single meal as you do... If it works for you - keep right on doing it.

I would say that it is always important to hit a number of nutritional targets with your food in order to fuel your body properly - so it is important that your food plan contains adequate, protein, fruit / vegetables, fibre, calcium, healthy fat, water, calcium etc and that you limit things like unhealthy fats and sodium. If your calories are at the right level with all those targets hit - you should be fine on any number of meals that you like.
 
Have you tried adding up the calories in that one meal...

If it contains pie it could be a lot more calories than you imagine... Salads are not always as low in calories as people imagine if they contain high calorie dressings too... Meals containing meat and vegetable can be a lot higher in calories than people assume too if they have high calorie sauces - or have used much fat in the cooking or the cut of meat... A single meal as you have outlined is not always low calorie.

In your shoes - I would count the calories and check that your calories are coming in at the right level.
 
All I'm going to say is that, if you find eating one meal a day is hard, try to at least spread it out to 3. Sometimes the feeling of starving can make us binge unnecessarily. Counting calories is beneficial and can be done throughout the day.
 
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I agree with that as well, I just don't want to get into an argument because I'm kind of grumpy today lol. I've read a lot of great articles that have explained how essential it is to have proper carbs and protein throughout the day. I'd rather do that than torture myself and feel exhausted all day :(.
 
Thank you all for your posts and thoughts. Everyone is obviously different and is going to lose weight differently. And, guess what, I lost another pound today, so I am down to 173, yeah!!! Last night for dinner (it was a birthday dinner for several people), I had a large baked chicken thigh with a marinated garlic/olive oil sauce and lots of green beans. I passed on the mashed potatoes, as I try and stay away from potatoes, pasta, etc. I then had a large piece of berry pie for dessert. I normally just stop after dinner, but I think I was a little bit hungry later b/c I did not have a salad tonight. So around 10 pm, I had an Atkins protein bar of 130 calories. Throughout the day yesterday, I had a lot of water, fruit water with 0 calories, and hot tea. And, today, I have lost about 1 pound.

I appreciate the feedback of eating several small meals throughout the day, as I understand that MOST people would be too hungry having to only have 1 large meal each day. But, for whatever reason, I am able to wait for that 1 large meal each day with little difficulty. For example, I have had nothing today and it is 2 pm, and I am not hungry at all (but I am looking forward to my meal later on tonight, as it gives me something to look forward to, especially the pie!) And because I have had some success (7 pounds in 40 days), I will probably stick to what I am doing at the time but am always open to adapting and changing my routine in the future.

Someone had mentioned if I just want to have 1 meal for the rest of my life, and I realize I need to clarify something. There are often times on this diet in which I may have an extra meal during the day, like on the weekend with my husband, or if I went to some type of party or other engagement. But those exceptions would usually happen on the weekend, and I have found that I may have gained a little bit, but am able to get right back on track during the week when I work (it is so easy for me to do the 1 meal per day during the work week as I am not hungry at all when working and still feel alert and full of energy - I know this sounds odd, but I do for whatever reason stay energized without food). The only reason why I am sticking to this 1 meal each day for 7 days a week at the time is b/c I have a cruise coming up in early March and want to hit my target goal.
 
Loch, but you are right that I sometimes do have to watch out from binging unnecessarily if I get too hungry. That can happen AT TIMES for me on this diet (especially on the weekends when I have more time on my hands). And there have been times in which I have binged (meaning that I have eaten a large amount of calories that I didn't want to), but I then just got back on track the next day.
 
I think I also should mention that I don't drink alcohol anymore, so that probably helps in my diet as well. And all other liquids I consume have
0 calories. I never waste calories on liquids.
 
If it's working for you, then stick to it, no one can tell you what is the best way to lose weight. We all lose weight differently. I know that at times it's difficult, but so long as you remember that this isn't a race and that it's a marathon, you'll be okay. When times get tough, revaluate, and press forward :).
 
Adequate protein is needed to preserve the muscle...

It does not matter whether you have one meal a day or 5 meals or even 10 meals - if you have adequate protein you will preserve your muscle... If you do not have adequate protein you risk losing muscle.
 
I tend to opt for 1g protein per pound of lean body weight myself - although a higher proportion is often suggested for body builders...

The RDA for protein is much lower than this - but many authorities suggest that it is too low.


I think that this is an interesting article on the subject:
 
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