Why one meal a day?

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Eharp
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Re: Why one meal a day?

Post by Eharp »

I've been eating one meal a day since March, fasting for 23 hours a day. I eat only dinner, so that I can have dinner with my wife or with friends. I find it easy to do, I'm never hungry or feel deprived. In the hour that I eat, I eat whatever i want including ice cream and snickers bars if I want. My understanding is that after 12 hours of not eating, the body begins to burn fat. Since March I've lost 50 pounds which has been good for everything, including my feet. I am disabled and losing this weight has allowed me to be mobile again, which is a blessing. In March I weighted 237. Today I weigh 187 and losing about 3 pounds a week. My goal is to get to 165.
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DNS
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Re: Why one meal a day?

Post by DNS »

Eharp wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 4:59 pm I've been eating one meal a day since March, fasting for 23 hours a day. I eat only dinner, so that I can have dinner with my wife or with friends.
:thumbsup: Good job. I do the one large meal at lunch, but it makes sense to do it in the evening for many people, due to those social reasons.
I eat whatever i want including ice cream and snickers bars if I want.
:D

Besides the weight maintenance benefits, another great benefit is the time it saves! You know how much time it takes to prepare a meal, consume it, then clean all the dishes? If it's only once per day, you literally save an hour or more, possibly even 2 hours per day of saved time, that could be spent on something else.
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mario92
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Re: Why one meal a day?

Post by mario92 »

Great topic of conversation never knew it until now :anjali:
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lavantien
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Re: Why one meal a day?

Post by lavantien »

Eharp wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 4:59 pm I've been eating one meal a day since March, fasting for 23 hours a day. I eat only dinner. My goal is to get to 165.
To prevent insulin surges, every time one eats, insulin level surges a bit, then slowly coming down, if one keeps eating it will keep setting new level, and if it stay high permanently for a long time, with a high level of insulin resistant, then one would get diabetes type II, fatty liver, and a host of other health problems.

So one meal a day - OMAD is ideal in this regard, it also recover your level of human growth hormone - HCG, and many other health benefits

The Buddha said:
“Mendicants, I eat my food in one sitting per day. Doing so, I find that I’m healthy and well, nimble, strong, and living comfortably. You too should eat your food in one sitting per day. Doing so, you’ll find that you’re healthy and well, nimble, strong, and living comfortably.” - MN 65

Scientific explain:




Most efficient way to healthily lose weight summarize:
- Abstain from alcohol, drugs, and sugar
- OMAD
- HFLC
- 10K steps walking
- Meditation

Another rule of thumb is to not the meal at night, it will mess up your sleep
"Then the Teacher, being sympathetic, and having compassion for the whole world,
said to me, “Come, monk!” That was my ordination.
Staying alone in the wilderness, meditating tirelessly,
I have completed what the Teacher taught, just as the victor advised me.

In the first watch of the night, I recollected my past lives.
In the middle watch of the night, I purified my clairvoyance.
In the last watch of the night, I shattered the mass of darkness."
- KN Thag 12.2
User13866
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Re: Why one meal a day?

Post by User13866 »

For me a feeding window of 6 hours is close to optimal. I've an intolerance issue that can get very bad and moderating either the food type or when i eat is necessary, preferably both.

At this point it looks like i've to do omad or two portions to stay healthy and be able to eat whatever. Otherwise i develop intolerance to eating about everything, presenting as eczema & itchy skin and will have to eat only small amounts of low histamine foods until it calms down.

I've had this issue since 2017, started after i lost a lot of weight fasting. Not sure what caused it exactly but i've had odd gut issues since childhood.

My impression is that this kind of conditions can develop where there is a nutritional deficiency, some unfortunate genetic mutations making synthesis of certain proteins less than optimal and or a bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine, the latter is generally caused by eating all day.
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mario92
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Re: Why one meal a day?

Post by mario92 »

Hello all i have some questions regarding 6th precept

1-.why drinking milk in the afternoon is forbidden when practising 6th precept,
2-. and butter is more solid than milk and even butter is made of milk?
3-.Can i drink whey protein in the afternoon if i get hungry?
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Re: Why one meal a day?

Post by User13866 »

mario92 wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 3:38 pm Hello all i have some questions regarding 6th precept

1-.why drinking milk in the afternoon is forbidden when practising 6th precept,
2-. and butter is more solid than milk and even butter is made of milk?
3-.Can i drink whey protein in the afternoon if i get hungry?
Butter and stuff like cheese & honey are considered medicine and are not allowable lest one is sick. Nowadays a bhikkhu's hunger is often considered being sick in the afternoon.

Milk has a lot of nutritional value, there is even a GOMAD diet, a gallon of milk a day, it's a bulking diet. Whey protein is similar here.

A bhikkhu is allowed all the juice he can drink in the afternoon, without pulp, i think it should also be cold pressed but i don't remember the details. Juice alone should be plenty.
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mario92
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Re: Why one meal a day?

Post by mario92 »

Thank you :anjali:
knotting
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Re: Why one meal a day?

Post by knotting »

Any tips from the people who have experience with OMAD?

My basal metabolic rate is around 2400 calories/day, but my BMI is already low at 19.8. I find it difficult to eat 2400 calories in one sitting, it makes me feel bloated and lethargic. However, if I eat less than 2400 calories/day, I will start to lose weight and feel hungry. I am already quite thin and it would probably be unhealthy to get any thinner.

I usually eat two meals per day (lunch and dinner), each around 1200 calories.
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DNS
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Re: Why one meal a day?

Post by DNS »

knotting wrote: Sat Nov 26, 2022 4:00 am Any tips from the people who have experience with OMAD?

My basal metabolic rate is around 2400 calories/day, but my BMI is already low at 19.8. I find it difficult to eat 2400 calories in one sitting, it makes me feel bloated and lethargic. However, if I eat less than 2400 calories/day, I will start to lose weight and feel hungry. I am already quite thin and it would probably be unhealthy to get any thinner.

I usually eat two meals per day (lunch and dinner), each around 1200 calories.
You have the opposite problem, compared to most other people. Most people have a tendency to eat too much in every meal, so when you add those calories over 2 to 3 meals, it becomes too much and they become overweight or even obese.

Due to that, OMAD may not be right for you. If you're not a monk, no need to push yourself into doing OMAD. You could just stick with what you're doing, two meals is fine and especially as a layperson usually works out better for the social benefits of eating with others.

I have no problem eating large amounts in one meal. :rolleye: :tongue: So it works out good for me to do OMAD to maintain my ideal weight, but it sounds like your situation is different.
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Re: Why one meal a day?

Post by knotting »

DNS wrote: Sat Nov 26, 2022 4:11 pm You have the opposite problem, compared to most other people. Most people have a tendency to eat too much in every meal, so when you add those calories over 2 to 3 meals, it becomes too much and they become overweight or even obese.

Due to that, OMAD may not be right for you. If you're not a monk, no need to push yourself into doing OMAD. You could just stick with what you're doing, two meals is fine and especially as a layperson usually works out better for the social benefits of eating with others.

I have no problem eating large amounts in one meal. :rolleye: :tongue: So it works out good for me to do OMAD to maintain my ideal weight, but it sounds like your situation is different.
Thanks. I did OMAD for Thanksgiving, I had a huge plate of food, plus almost two pieces of rich pie. Then, on Friday, my belt was having a hard time keeping my jeans up.

If I were to ever ordain as a monk, would I have to just get used to stuffing my face once a day? Even more than Thanksgiving...?
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DNS
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Re: Why one meal a day?

Post by DNS »

knotting wrote: Sat Nov 26, 2022 9:16 pm If I were to ever ordain as a monk, would I have to just get used to stuffing my face once a day? Even more than Thanksgiving...?
No, not all monks do OMAD. Many monasteries do two meals; one in the morning and another around 12 noon.
knotting
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Re: Why one meal a day?

Post by knotting »

DNS wrote: Sat Nov 26, 2022 10:54 pmNo, not all monks do OMAD. Many monasteries do two meals; one in the morning and another around 12 noon.
Here is my current (approximate) meal plan:

Meal 1:
-Coffee with heavy cream (maybe 200cal)
-3 eggs with ~1.5 tbsp butter
-Can of sardines
-Bowl of yogurt with pecans and blueberries

Meal 2:
-Large plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce and sautéed onions
-Apple (or some pineapple)
-Glass of milk
-1/3 bar of dark chocolate

Would it be feasible to maintain this sort of caloric intake in a monastery? Or would I just have to lose weight?
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DNS
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Re: Why one meal a day?

Post by DNS »

knotting wrote: Sat Dec 10, 2022 5:21 pm Would it be feasible to maintain this sort of caloric intake in a monastery? Or would I just have to lose weight?
You wouldn't have to lose weight unless you want to. Monks typically get plenty of food, sometimes even too much. See:
viewtopic.php?p=575695#p575695
Dhammapardon
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Re: Why one meal a day?

Post by Dhammapardon »

knotting wrote: Sat Dec 10, 2022 5:21 pm Meal 1:
-Coffee with heavy cream (maybe 200cal)
-3 eggs with ~1.5 tbsp butter
-Can of sardines
-Bowl of yogurt with pecans and blueberries
Your morning breakfast is similar to mine. You may find this Fisherman's Eggs recipe tasty as well if you enjoy a bit of cooking. A very adaptable meal though I usually don't bother with the oven and just do it all on the stove top. :D
Just as a bird, wherever it goes, flies with its wings as its only burden; so too is he content with a set of robes to provide for his body and almsfood to provide for his hunger. Wherever he goes, he takes only his barest necessities along. This is how a monk is content.(DN11)
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