True impact of eating one meal a day as 'new year, new me' is set to begin

The beginning of a New Year can encourage many people to embark on lifestyle changes, especially after enjoying plenty of food and drink during the festive period.

Some choose to give up booze, whether it be for one month or the entire year, while others may kickstart their fitness journey or begin a new hobby. We all know someone who is taking 'New Year, New Me' very, very seriously.

It can be a great time to begin a weight loss journey or adopt better lifestyle habits, but taking on an extreme diet is not always the best way of doing so.

Cutting down your meals to just one per day - a diet known as OMAD - can seem like an easy way to lose weight, yet research shows it isn't ideal for your body.

Many people use the New Year as a time to begin a weight loss journey (Getty Stock Image)

The OMAD diet is a type of intermittent fasting and it sees people only consume calories in a very short time window.

This method of fasting is known as 23:1, as a person spends 23 hours fasting and just one hour eating calories. It is common for people following the OMAD diet to eat their only meal in the evening and their fast until the following evening.

While this may seem like a simple weight loss hack, a 2019 study suggests that skipping breakfast could impair glucose control later in the day and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.

People who have followed this type of diet have noted the main benefits to be rapid weight loss, no calorie counting and no excluding certain foods. There is little evidence to suggest that eating one meal per day will aid weight loss.

There are also risks to consider. This type of extreme diet can leave you extremely hungry, experiencing fatigue due to low energy, feeling weak or irritable as blood sugar level falls and difficulty concentrating.

It's also important to consider that it may be difficult to eat enough during a one-hour window and for some, this diet could lead to disordered eating.

Intermittent fasting involves only eating in a certain window of time (Getty Stock Images)

It's always better to strive for a balanced diet and overall healthy lifestyle, if you are looking to begin a new routine in the New Year.

The NHS advises making small, simple changes to the types of foods you're consuming and the amount you're eating to begin a weight loss journey. Calorie counting can be beneficial for some people as well as regular exercise.