Why do these celebrities eat one meal a day, and what exactly does it do? - Walla! health

6 exercises that will eliminate the stomach (photo: Eden Bibbs)

When we talk about diets, women are usually involved, but this time we are reporting on one particularly extreme diet and the men who follow it.

Chris Martin, Bruce Springsteen and even the British Prime Minister and Rishi Sunk are fighting middle age thanks to extreme one-meal-a-day fasting.

But how safe is it?

Proponents of intermittent fasting diets claim they help manage weight more easily but experts have warned it can trigger health problems and problematic eating patterns.

And while it's one of Hollywood's favorite diets, with legions of diverse fans, including Jennifer Aniston and Mark Wahlberg, now there's an even more extreme version of intermittent fasting - the OMAD diet.

Short for One Meal a Day.

Eat one meal and fast for 23 hours during which you are allowed to drink only coffee (without milk), herbal tea and other calorie-free drinks.

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin started it after learning about the diet from rocker Bruce Springsteen, whose wife is a follower of the diet and talked about it over lunch together.

But they're not the only famous faces who get by with just one meal a day.

This week, Rishi Sonak revealed that he himself is a devotee of the brutal diet - or at least does it once a week - on Thursdays.

The Prime Minister even publicly admitted to dieting.

"I fast intermittently," he declared last year, on a podcast.

'So, most days, I don't eat anything for breakfast.'

Keeps in shape.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sonak (Photo: Reuters)

So is intermittent fasting—whether it's extreme with one meal a day or the traditional version of eating within an eight-hour window—healthy?

Proponents of OMAD say it can increase productivity, improve memory and cognition.

Some claim that the diet brings an increased sense of focus and clarity.

Others claimed it gave them "mental clarity", "consistent levels of energy and focus" and improved their "cognitive abilities".

But these as mentioned support the diet.

More in Walla!

Does an intermittent fasting diet really work?

We checked

To the full article

go to bed hungry

OMAD was popularized by actress Liz Hurley in the early 2000s, whose body was the envy of women around the world.

Harley, now 57, admitted that she limited herself to just one meal a day after giving birth to her son Damien in 2002, and also admitted that during this time she "went to bed hungry."

But since then, the diet has been seen as an attractive diet, also among men, especially among Chris Martin, who envied the amazing physique of the 73-year-old Bruce Springsteen.

Martin said that "I don't actually eat dinner anymore. I stop eating at four in the afternoon and I learned that from having lunch with Bruce Springsteen."

Many proponents of OMAD insist that Shiata helps them manage their weight more easily and stay fit.

Other intermittent fasting diets, such as the 16:8 eating plan, are based on the same principle.

But those who follow this diet fast for 16 hours a day, and eat whatever they want in the remaining eight hours - usually between 10am and 6pm.

It can be more tolerable than the infamous 5:2 diet, where calories are restricted to just 500 a day twice a week.

The principle is simple - by creating a caloric deficit during fasting days, the body instead relies on breaking down stored fats in the body to create energy, which aids in faster weight loss.

Stops eating at four in the afternoon.

Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay (Photo: AP)

"Not a diet I would recommend"

But experts warn that consuming just one meal a day can instead trigger separate health problems and toxic eating patterns, including overindulging during the hours when people can eat.

Sports nutritionist Abigail Roberts told the Daily Mail website that: "Unless the meal contains all the nutrients and calories the body needs, it is unlikely to be a healthy approach to eating, especially if it is done over a long period of time. Studies have shown that eating just one meal a day can lead to to insufficient consumption of nutrients, and cause deficiencies that may lead to various health problems such as fatigue, weakened immunity and impaired cognitive function. In addition, eating one meal a day may increase the risk of overeating during that meal, and cause discomfort in the digestive system such as bloating and constipation."

"This diet is not a diet I would recommend because it is too restrictive, can lead to a fad diet and very problematic eating. "There is positive research around fasting in general, which shows that fasting when done in the right context and to the right extent can help with weight loss and help prevent chronic diseases.

And what do the studies say?

The research on OMAD specifically is still emerging.

However, one 2022 study found that participants who ate just one meal a day saw a greater decrease in their body weight and fat mass.

However, there was no difference in lean mass or bone density by the end of the 11-day trial, according to the results of the 11-person project in the journal Frontiers in Physiology.

A study two years earlier in the Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology compared the effects of eating one large meal a day versus two or six in mice.

Rodents who ate only one meal gained more weight than those who consumed multiple meals.

• health

Tags

• diet

• Intermittent fasting

• diets