Can you survive if you only eat one meal a day?
By becdmd
@becdmd (704)
Philippines
February 26, 2009 7:24am CST
I find it weird when our new work mate shared about this kind of diet or lifestyle she have, she's eating only once a day...and weird thing about it is the time she eats...it's at 12:00 midnight..at first I thought maybe she's not human hahaha...I don't know if I would call it fasting, she doesn't drink any water during her work that's why she also doesn't go to the comfort room to urinate how weird isn't it?, she said her energy booster are smoking and taking coffee breaks or have a chocolate snack...hmm...i don't know about her but if you were about to do it..can you survive despite of how busy you are?
10 people like this
66 responses
@sweetyethot (1737)
• China
27 Feb 09
I would never try it. How could she make it?I mean why she choose to eat at 12:00 midnight?Thats indeed weird.The first question on my mind is how she looks like.Does she look healthy?Heavy or slim?How old is she?lol.And how long have she been doing this?It doesnt seem healthy to me.I'll be appreciated if you could respond back. Have a nice day!
1 person likes this
@sweetyethot (1737)
• China
28 Feb 09
Wow,Im thinking what makes she form such habit.It takes time if she wants a change.
@becdmd (704)
• Philippines
27 Feb 09
I don't know much about her I only met her once at her orientation, then after that we haven't met schedules yet...she look like a bit old for her age, she's 23 but looks like 27, slim, with bob hair..she's doing this since college...she's a fresh grad. so I think she's used to it already for years.
@prasanta (1948)
• India
28 Feb 09
I have seen one such man so far. He was in our office. All girls in the office used to feel very bad to enter his room. He was so much dirty with foul smell from his mouth. Actually, chocolate adds glucose to body, so perhaps the body function is not affected, even if someone takes one meal a day. But because of the secretion of other mouth enzymes, if the mouth is not washed repeatedly, it is bound to stink.
1 person likes this
@ellie26 (4139)
• Malaysia
27 Feb 09
Hello becdmd, I think people can survive with one meal a day but not for a long period of time. This is just like starving themselves and hurting their body. A lot of damage can be done to the body system with this kind of attitude. I have done that before for almost two years. My breakfast was a cup of coffee and some biscuits. I only ate dinner. I have suffered tremendous weight loss, always feeling dizzy, lack of energy and always feel sickly. My turning point was when I suffered gastric for three months solid. After I managed to recover from gastric, I vowed to eat at least three meals a day plus plenty of water. It has been 5 months since I changed the way I eat and I am happy to say that I have gained a little weight, feel much healthier and full of energy. The only thing that bother me now is the on and off again gastric attack.
1 person likes this
@ellie26 (4139)
• Malaysia
27 Feb 09
Correction! I didn't do it because I wanted to go on diet. I was skinny enough to for diet. It because I was in extreme stress with a newborn for me to take care. During that time, food was an enemy to me. I only eat because I had to, for survival and also my thought of my baby. I literally force myself to eat.
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
28 Feb 09
Most days I will only have one meal a day and that is usually around 5.00pm other than that I dont usually bother with anything. On some days I do get hungry in the day so will have a little snack but other than that nothing.
1 person likes this
@AltheGreat2430 (2716)
• Philippines
27 Feb 09
Hey there! That is unhealthy. She will get seriously ill in the near future. She can suffer ulcer and eventually will progress to other complication or even cancer. She should not do that practice. Why does she does that in the first place? Is because she wants to maintain her figure? Is that her way of dieting? If it is, it's an unhealthy diet. I won't do that. I will not skip any meal in a day. It is very important.
1 person likes this
@AltheGreat2430 (2716)
• Philippines
28 Feb 09
Is that so? Okay, tell her it's an effective way to maintain her figure. But tell her also that your not gonna live long. It's true. She'll get sick.
@audrylove1 (13)
• United States
27 Feb 09
I don't believe this coworker of yours. Eating in the middle of the night is probably the worst thing you can do when it comes to dieting, regardless of whether or not you ate during the day. But, I am not going to say that it is unhealthy to only eat ! meal a day. In most of South America, and many other countries around the world, they only eat 1 meal a day, but that is in the early afternoon. Of course they also have small snacks in the morning and evening, and they are obviously better at staying thin, then we are here in the US. It sounds to me that your coworker is only saying this to get attention.
1 person likes this
@hotsummer (13837)
• Philippines
27 Feb 09
i have tried that before. but not for a long period of time. like for a week. it is hard actually. come i like eating a lot also even before. but it requries lots of discipline. and it makes me feel miserable. but it is physically i don't feel that hungry but i still prefer to eat more than once in a day. cause i like the taste of food.
1 person likes this
@Yori88 (1465)
• Philippines
27 Feb 09
I think I can't survive with only one meal a day. But before that let me just clarify first that a meal is different to snacks. And since you mentioned that your work mate is eating only one meal a day. I think it is possible to survive by eating only one meal a day provided that you will eat snacks in between or every time you feel hungry. If a person is only eating once and no snacks in between it is still possible to survive but chances are you are always hungry. Chocolates are great energy booster and since they are sweet, they will last for couple of hours. That means you may still feel that you are full. Smoking and taking coffee are also habits that could make you feel full so that your attention is taken away from food.
For me, if you are a very busy person you must eat well. You need energy and nutrients in order not to get some diseases when you get old. If your co-worker is still young better change that habit or lifestyle she has started. She must also quit smoking. For me I eat twice a day and those are between 10 to 11 am and the second one is between 7 to 8pm. I never eat any snacks in between but most of the time. If we have chocolate at home then I take that as a snack.
When I am busy especially before when I was still working in a call center, I eat whenever I get hungry. But never in my life did I try smoking and swear never to try it for the rest of my life. It has no good effects at all.
1 person likes this
@hellsphreak (68)
• United States
27 Feb 09
Well, there was this one time last summer where I was severely depressed immediately after the birth of my last child. I remained depressed for 8 weeks and went from a pre-labor weight of 260 down to 193. I was barely eating (I would say I ate maybe one full meal total in those 8 weeks, with a very small snack some of the days, and sometimes nothing at all). But I kept hydrated with water. I would not advise this method - I blacked out a lot, felt faint and trembled.
@princessgar (203)
• Malaysia
27 Feb 09
Err..I've tried it..because frankly speaking there are times when I forget to eat especially when I'm occupied with something interesting, but for me I get those gastric pains after a couple of days on trying out this type of stunts with my tummy...hahah..but I do drink lots ;p...its not healthy if you ask me, I agree that a person should at least take all the main diets of the day such as breakfast, lunch and dinner even if its something light.. have fun with your meals...
Princess
@candy811123 (334)
• China
27 Feb 09
I think it's not good for health. But some people do that especially girls to keep fit. I have a friend who is my classmate in college. In order to keep fit she just drank milk and aet apples everyday. By now, she is still surviving.lol!
1 person likes this
@lah900 (16)
• United States
27 Feb 09
She may have an eating disorder. From what you have said it sounds like it may be possible, we need to eat balanced meals a day, not one at midnight. If you can find a compassionate way of talking about this, you may save her life or years of pain. I had a close friend or friends that had similar patterns, one with anorexia. She finally quit eating at all, she passed away last summer. I tried to help, but you can only do so much. Maybe to help do research there is so much now or consult a service for treatment, they have many ways friends and family can help her. I am not a Doc so I do not know, but odd signs are there and believe me it is a horrible disease. Good luck to both of you1
@humaniterian87 (1)
• United States
27 Feb 09
Can you survive, yes. Should you do it, no! I lived this kind of lifestyle for a year and have paid severe consequences including thousands of dollars in dental repair. The truth is a person can survive for 30 days onw ater alone, but that doesnt mean you SHOULD go 30 days with no food. I find it rather sad that we live in the land of plenty and opportunity yet people continue to fill their body with crap or a lack there of.
@jpso138 (7851)
• Philippines
3 Mar 09
Well, I think that is definitely unhealthy. In the long run, it will probably create a health problem. I just hope that she will realized that its not good before its to late. Although I only eat twice a day, lunch and dinner and coffee in between, I drink lots of water.
@vicky30 (4766)
• India
2 Mar 09
I cannot survive if i eat only one meal per day.During work i will definitely get headaches and won't be able to concentrate.Even if there is a lot of work i take time to eat something and then work.It makes my mind healthy and active to do work.Fruit juices are great energy boosters during a busy schedule.
1 person likes this
@jambi462 (4576)
• United States
28 Feb 09
Yes people have fasted for decades and ages now and they can go without eating for days on end. The human body is really a miraculous thing and I don't think that people realize how fast the human body can actually evolve. The human body can get used to not running off of food just like it gets accustomed to getting energy from food.
1 person likes this
@monsterj1 (188)
•
26 Feb 09
An extreme eating pattern, one meal a day is fine and the time doesn't matter. American scientist have proven eating after 9pm doesn't effect weight gain. The best way to control is eat small meals often, for example 5 small meals, maybe seperating you carbohydrates from your proteins. Energy boosts can be from nuts and dried fruits.
1 person likes this
@Kenshin379 (26)
• United States
26 Feb 09
Of course you can, the body will slow down its metabolism, and try to deal with the food intake that it has, it actually allows you to live longer, because your body works slower and it doesn't generate the cells that make you old as fast as a person that eats 3 meals. One thing that will happen is, the body will start to make itself lighter, so weight loss will happen a lot, reason for it, the body will start to use fiber in the muscle, and fat stores, as energy, to make itself lighter. But it is possible for the body to do it.
1 person likes this