Why a Diet For One Day Might Be a Good Choice For You
A diet for one day can be beneficial if you’re trying to lose weight. It is beneficial in that it will make you less likely to snack and give you the extra motivation to stick to your meal plan. It can also be more sustainable. This is because you can tell yourself that “I only have to last today and then tomorrow I can eat what I like”. This is helpful and motivational for most people.
Does A Cheat Day Ruin Your Diet
Many diets fail because (a) people take a break from their dieting eating habits and then ask themselves “will one cheat day ruin my diet” and because they ate off-diet for one day, persuade themselves to give up dieting altogether or (b) they stick to the diet for a while, lose weight and then go back onto their old eating habits and so put all the lost weight back on again.
No, one cheat day, will NOT ruin your diet, this is NOT a valid excuse to give up on attempts to lose weight if this is what you are working towards. With a low calorie diet, you just go back onto the diet the next day. OK, you may put on a little weight the next day but if your diet is a good one, it will come off again. With a low carb diet, a cheat day may take you out of ketosis but you can get back onto it within 3 days, by getting back onto the low carb diet.
Intermittent Fasting
With a one day diet, you only have to last a day before you can go back to your normal eating habits. You will of course have to repeat this next week and the week after and the week after…. but for many people this is acceptable. It is the basis of the Durkan diet and also intermittent fasting such as the 6:1 diet (normally the 5:2 diet but you can do it 6:1 also). With these diets, you eat a greatly reduced number of calories for one day (low calorie diet) and although you may eat more calories the next day, on average, you will have eaten less over the two days.
One Meal A Day
Another type of one day diet is the one meal a day diet (OMAD). With this diet, you eat only once a day for one hour but you can eat anything you want in that hour, including dessert or even wine but the only catch is, that you must start and finish within one hour. This could be called a 23:1 diet. It is a variation of the Carbohydrate Addicts Diet, in which you can eat one reward meal a day (the one hour, eat all you want meal) along with two small low carb meals, eg breakfast and lunch. This diet is based on the timing of insulin secretions.
One Day Diet
So, if you have difficulty sticking to a long term diet, why not try a one day diet? It may just be a good choice for you.
Drawbacks
In the short-term, one of these plans may be beneficial, but may not be a good idea for long-term weight loss. The results have been mixed and most health professionals do not recommend this approach. The method may cause rebound weight gain, increased hunger, and nutritional deficiencies, if you do not plan your meals carefully.
Diabetes (health disclaimer)
While most people can lose weight while on a one-meal diet, it may not be the best option for anyone with diabetes. If you’re unsure, talk to your doctor before trying a one-day diet plan.