One Meal A Day For Weight Loss: Know The Benefits And Risks

Intermittent fasting is a very popular health and fitness trend that many use for weight loss. There are many types of intermittent fasting practices and one meal a day (OMAD) is one of these. OMAD is also known as 23:1 intermittent fasting. It is usually practised to lose body fat. This diet plan makes you eat just one meal per day. For the rest of the day, you need to avoid foods and drinks containing calories. This pattern of eating has its own set of pros and cons. But is it safe to consume just one a day? Read on to find out.

One meal a day: Know the pros and cons

The OMAD diet helps you lose weight by forcing your body to burn fat. This diet plan restricts you from eating for 23 hours a day and you consume all your calories in a single meal. Most people choose only dinner, while others choose breakfast or lunch. Other than the one main meal, you are allowed to have a snack or two in between.

When using the OMAD method, you drastically reduce your calorie intake, contributing to weight loss.

The benefits of the OMAD diet

• It can help you lose weight rapidly
• You don't have to count calories throughout the day unlike other diet plans
• Your one meal can contain any food
• It can help improve metabolism

The downsides of following the OMAD diet

• Studies have shown that it may increase cholesterol levels and blood pressure
• You may feel extremely hungry most of the time
• You may also experience nausea, dizziness, low energy levels, constipation and irritability
• OMAD diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies
• You won't be able to consume enough calories at a single mealtime
• You'll experience loss of muscle mass
• It can be difficult to sustain
• It can also cause blood sugar crashes

Eating one meal a day might help you lose weight but can negatively affect your overall health. Also, it is not a sustainable method to lose weight. For healthy and sustainable weight loss, it is essential to consume a well-balanced, nutritionally rich diet with regular physical activity.

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