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I Only Eat Once a Day, But I Cannot Lose Weight

Diet Article: Does this sound familiar? If so, we have some healthy tips to rectify.

Tips for When Dinner is the Only Meal of the Day

Odds are, that 'one meal a day' is probably dinner. Studies have shown that going all day without eating is setting up the potential for weight gain. By the end of the day, your body is in dire need of fuel and once you are introduced to food, it's very hard to rein your appetite.

After eating dinner, grazing may continue throughout the evening, adding to the problem. After all, the brain is assuring, "I haven't eaten anything except dinner all day long so there are plenty of calories to spare."

In addition, it's extremely difficult to burn off calories consumed late in the day, even if you haven't eaten all day. What you're doing is overloading your body and it's too much food for your internal food processor to process at once.

Think about this. Imagine that it is five miles to town and you have no means of transportation. But you must go to town and tend to some important business matters. So you set out and luckily - the weather is perfect. You are walking smoothly for the mile, then your legs begin to grow tired. By the time that you end up at your destination, all you want to do is to sit down and rest.

This is how the metabolism feels at the end of a long, hard day. All day it was there - waiting to do it's job. Because there wasn't energy (food and drink calories) to process, it had to work even harder to meet the energy needs of the body. When the evening hour arrives - the metabolism is dog-tired. It's been chasing after a bone all day but until now, it hasn't been able to catch one. And it's suddenly getting covered in bones.

Too long between energy refueling, too much energy suddenly provided all at once, too fast - the metabolism is overwhelmed. The metabolic rate is reacting like a ticking time bomb - trying to decide how to sort all of the plethora of energy it is currently receiving before it shuts down for the day. With bedtime in sight - it can't possibly finish. Oh well, those calories will just have to be shoved into the fat cells and saved for another day of processing.

Earlier in the day when it wasn't getting the required energy, the metabolic rate even slowed its pace. It had no idea that the individual was purposely avoiding eating; the metabolism was busy conserving energy for survival needs. What if the body was in trouble? Trapped beneath rubble of an earthquake? Or what if food sources weren't available or scarce?

Tips for When Lunch is the Only Meal of the Day

If your 'one meal a day' is lunch, you may be inadvertently shutting down your metabolism. The metabolism is one smart cookie and will slow down the processing speed to conserve energy (calories).

Try enjoying a balanced meal that is spaced strategically throughout the day, cutting off your eating directly after dinner time.  If you don't see a difference in the number on your scales, then you'll need to get with your doctor for assistance in devising an effective weight loss plan.

Tips for When Breakfast is the Only Meal of the Day

If you eat a hearty breakfast and then eat light for the rest of the day, it's doubtful that you'll experience issues with weight gain. The body has all day to burn off the calories - and the light meals assist in keeping blood sugar levels steady.

However, if breakfast is the only meal of the day it will be difficult to meet the body nutritional needs. At some point the stomach becomes seriously in need of food and may start to digest itself.

In Summary: Rather than eating one meal per day, eat three standard healthy meals or six mini-meals to keep weight loss steady along with blood sugar levels. Otherwise, the dieter risks a metabolic slow-down.

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