OMAD diet: can you only eat once a day? The expert speaks

Yes it can eat only once a day? In theory there is a diet that provides this, the so-called OMAD diet, One Meal a Dayliterally “One meal a day”: it is a type of intermittent fasting that predicts one hour of eating and 23 of fasting. A very extreme diet, followed with the aim of losing weight, but which presents many contraindicationsas the Dr. Riccardo Rovedanutritional biologist.

Eating once a day: the dangers

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“Eating only once a day can make sense for calorie control and health weight lossbut there remains something that I personally advise against, there are some very serious ‘cons’: during the day you may have some glycemic imbalances which lead to a drop in blood sugar levels due to long fasting; there’s a increased stress and anxiety; the stomach, remaining empty, increases the risk of acidity, reflux and gastritis. It also increases the risk of developing poor eating habits and binge eating, with a ‘rebound effect’ which could also lead to eating disorders” explains Dr. Roveda.

Can you only eat once a day?

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“Eating once a day and all in one hour makes it necessary to be very precise. You must have studied the meal to perfection which is consumed because it must be complete and reach the daily calorie and protein quota in one go. You have to eat a lot and in a small space, in order to then have a good energy and nutrient balance throughout the day. Can the body handle it? Basically it can happen. Let’s think for example about Christmas lunch, after which it is difficult to have dinner and perhaps not have breakfast first, but we are talking about something that happens once a year. To sustain this type of diet for longer you need to be very prepared because the risk is having a hunger-induced hypocalorie. It is unlikely to be a good practice, because the risk of incurring shortages is very high” continues Dr. Roveda.

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Food as pleasure

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Finally, the Dr. Roveda concludes by recalling how this type of diet leads to lose the pleasure of eatingreducing it only to a “duty” linked to diets, calories and weight: “To achieve the right caloric intake with a single meal you risk making adjustments wrong nutritional choices, eating excessively high-calorie foods. It is always recommended to distribute calories throughout the day, also to be able to live a healthy diet, eating well and in the right quantities. Food must still remain a moment of pleasure, e.g it doesn’t just have to be related to diets, calories and weight”.