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the one-meal-a-day trend: 'we're not cavemen'

eating one meal a day may be the latest diet trend among the famous, but toronto dietitian tedi nikova says our bodies don't necessarily perform better when food is restricted.

by karen hawthorne

jul 4 2023
read time 5 minute read
join the conversation
is the one meal a day (omad) diet good for you?
celebrities like bruce springsteen, coldplay’s chris martin and u.k. prime minister rishi sunak allegedly eat only one meal each day to keep unwanted pounds at bay. getty
would one meal a day keep you fuelled enough to satisfy your hunger and feed your energy?

bbc reported recently on the one meal a day — omad — diet trend that has celebrities like singer-songwriter bruce springsteen, coldplay’s chris martin and u.k. prime minister rishi sunak keeping unwanted pounds at bay. it’s based on eating one large meal a day with limited to no eating in between — all you need to focus on is that one meal. the idea behind the regimen is weight control and simplicity.

omad supporters say that humans, based on early hunting and gathering survival practices, are suited to eating much less often and consuming much less food. but is this form of restrictive eating the answer to staying slim and healthy?

tedi nikova , a registered dietitian and weight loss coach in toronto with the sasha high md clinic , helps people break behaviours that are sabotaging their health so they can understand the “why” behind stress and emotional eating and move forward with their lives.

“we’re not cavemen,” she says of the view that our bodies instinctively function better with food scarcity. “i don’t see that argument holding much weight because in that logic, we would all be going to bed at 8 p.m. with the sunset and getting up at sunrise, not consuming any social media, not eating on social occasions. our society is not built to support these evolutionary arguments.”

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while diets can look appealing when famous stars are noticeably slim and glowing on the red carpet, there’s so much that goes into their appearance behind the scenes, like cosmetic surgery, personal fitness trainers, custom wardrobes and makeup artistry.
“part of their role is to be in the public eye and look a certain way, which i am sure wreaks huge havoc on their mental health and mental well-being,” she says. “but i think at the end of the day, we just don’t know what they’re doing. are they really sustaining that way of eating every single day? probably not.”

looking to celebrities for diet inspiration, like omad, can be harmful

nikova talks about the therapy she offers to empower people to develop a healthy relationship with food and also accept their unique physiology. different bodies all have different ideal weights for optimal health. looking to celebrities for inspiration, although hard to ignore, isn’t the best way to form good eating habits.
“we cannot look like kim kardashian, because even if we had the healthiest eating pattern and had a private chef cook all of our meals, our bodies are different,” she says. “the physiology, the genetics, weight loss rates, we can’t control.”
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and when people ask her about the last juice cleanse fad or diet trend, she asks, “is it sustainable for the rest of your life?”

omad ignores a person’s relationship with food

omad focuses on the food, but doesn’t address the relationship piece of why someone is stress-eating after a long workday or having late-night junk food. why do we turn to food when we’re overwhelmed, stressed, happy, joyous? unless you uncover the issues underlying that way you eat, you’ll likely resume those unhealthy habits after the initial excitement of a new diet plan and a few lost pounds.
“if you’re doing one meal a day, it’s almost like you’re fighting the wrong fight when you should actually be forming lifelong habits and figuring out why you are turning to food at 4 p.m., even though you’re not hungry,” says nikova. “you are putting your energy into following food rules, eating one meal and hoping to see results.”

restrictive eating also raises the concern that you’re not going meet your nutritional requirements . for example, if you consume 700 or 800 calories in that single meal, then you’d be undereating. and while recommendations vary depending on age and activity levels, calorie intake should not fall below 1,200 a day in women and 1,500 a day in men, except under the supervision of a health professional, according to harvard health . under-eating can leave you with loss of muscle and bone mass, and put you at risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

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nikova also points out that when you go too low in calories, your metabolism slows down because you’re eating so little food. when you start eating more again, it becomes harder for your metabolism to return to pre-diet levels and you can cycle with weight fluctuation. those ups and downs on the scale can be harmful to psychological and physical health as well: scientists at the pennington biomedical research center in baton rouge, la. studied metabolism for the journal experimental gerontology , revealing that calorie restriction impairs the body’s metabolism so it can’t achieve a state of balance and maintain appropriate energy for all your body’s functions.

“a lot of the women who come to us want to lose weight, and sometimes they’re unintentionally having only one meal a day because they’re busy at work,” she says. “i tell them to eat more so we can get their hunger signals back and get their metabolic system going.”
nikova also notes that low food intake can contribute to low energy and fatigue, adding that iron deficiency is common in women and can affect bone density.

is there a “best” diet for getting to a healthy weight?

fad diets aside, what is the best approach to getting to a healthy, happy weight?

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“the best diet is what works for your lifestyle that you feel confident that you can sustain for the rest of your life,” says nikova, adding that a good place to start is having three meals and a snack every day, leading with protein at your meals. so, for example, for breakfast, make greek yogurt or eggs the superstar. “the reason why we want to do protein-forward for weight loss is it’s going to shut off hunger signals and help you feel full, then you can control your food intake a lot better.
the next step, she says, is to understand your eating patterns and emotional triggers. “what are those drivers for overeating or eating when you’re not hungry? that’s where the coaching comes in.”
karen hawthorne is a toronto-based writer. 
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karen hawthorne
karen hawthorne

karen hawthorne worked for six years as a digital editor for the national post, contributing articles on health, business, culture and travel for affiliated newspapers across canada. she now writes from her home office in toronto as a freelancer, and takes breaks to bounce with her son on the backyard trampoline and walk bingo, her bull terrier.

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