Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by ranger_danger 127 days ago
How do you know that spreading that one meal out throughout the day wouldn't have the same effect? I bet you'd have more energy as well.

Unless you have tested this, I find it hard to believe that this isn't really just a caloric deficit compared to whatever you were doing before losing weight, assuming the same activity level.
2 comments
kjksf 127 days ago
> spreading that one meal out throughout the day

Probably yes. But you're minimizing the difficulty of staying in caloric deficit.

IF you can stick to one meal per day AND eat mostly protein (vs. mostly sugar / carbs) THEN it's very hard to overeat i.e. be in caloric surplus.

If you snack many times a day, mostly sugar / carbs, and slosh it down with coke or red bull (non-diet, sugary version) it's very hard to keep eating under calorie limit. Sugar / carbs stimulate your hunger, leading to more eating. It's the opposite of Ozempic.

And your glucose levels are chronically elevated which is bad for our bodies. It's basically chronic inflammation.

Now, if you eat a steak once a day, you'll find it very hard to overeat. Like physically, you won't be able to eat too much.

It's still not easy to stick to that but it's simpler and easier than calorie count everything you eat throughout the day.

link
DharmaPolice 127 days ago
It probably would have the same effect, but the point is that a lot of people find it easier to stick to one meal a day (or similar) than multiple smaller meals.
link
hackeraccount 127 days ago
I've always thought that you can lose weight on almost any diet - as long as it makes you think before you eat and almost by definition any diet will make you do that. For me at least most (probably all) of the time I eat it has nothing to do with hunger and if I just stop for a second I'll probably not eat at all.
link
ranger_danger 127 days ago
> a lot of people find it easier to stick to one meal a day (or similar) than multiple smaller meals

I am highly skeptical of this take... is there any science behind it?

link
DharmaPolice 127 days ago
I believe research has mixed results on dietary compliance.

I can only speak anecdotally - if I start doing something enjoyable, it's hard to stop while it's still enjoyable. One of the benefits of an IF diet is you can start eating your main meal and continue until you're full.

link