I always look forward to your blog. I noticed before you mentioned the warrior diet of eating just once a day and it is economical in time and money. I am in the health profession and if you mention this diet to anyone they will be very critical right away. It seems like the best way to eat to me.

Been on the warrior diet for almost 4 years now… I love and naturally gravitate towards it. It is easier, more satisfying, good for discipline and savings!;) Not to mention I feel I have thrived while on the diet.

However, I have dissimilar observations! I find my extremities becoming somewhat cold. This is at least partially due to my cold environment (live in the Rockies and keep my place at about 40-55 F). On the other hand, it could be to my body not having adequate energy and pulling resources back to the core… I don’t want this as sex drive is one of the first to go with its high energy requirement!… But caloric restriction does lead to a longer life, at least in animal testing. But I find it likely that might be due to lower insulin associated with fewer calories.

I am undecided on this. The warrior diet supposedly gives your body the maximum amount of time for your cells to recover from the 1 insulin rush of the day, for maximum sensitivity. Despite the max recovery time for cells, perhaps the amount of insulin/glucose response is excessive due to the “stress” of not eating all day and your body thinks it needs to extract as much energy as possible from this 1 meal.

I am undecided… But, I’ve changed 2 things (not exactly scientific): increase my protein throughout the day and eat more meat. I have more energy, warmer body and extremities, increased sex drive and have put on a few pounds muscle. Putting on weight for me is hard. Unless I eat processed carbohydrate garbage food, which I don’t… I can’t remember what does Hoffmekler say about protein outside of the big meal?

Funny, our ancestors had probably had a copious supply of excellent protein, carbs were more difficult/less reliable (also healthy, rather than most consumed today) and fat was pure gold. Today good protein is very scarce, horribly refined carbs are the bulk of the food supply and fat from either soy or corn (this included most animal fat) is everywhere.

Meant to add that, not only do I eat less when I’m active outdoors, but I’m also not as hungry.

@mjukr: Thanks, I thought so… I love the diet too.

But I’ve found it’s near impossible to gain muscle weight on, and I am concerned about possibly suppressing the thyroid.

I think I’ll gain 10 lbs muscle with extra protein/meat, then see if I can maintain with the warrior diet again.

Yes… so many people at my work are eating constantly yet still tired. Insulin addicts the lot of them.

@George: “Conclusion is that I need to leave my job :-)” LOL, that’s where most of my lines of reasoning lead as well…

Hi Jacob,

I’ve gotta tell you – this has always been my normal diet. I just was never hungry till later on in the day – (listening to my own body chemisty has always helped me to look absolutely GORGEOUS – (not to brag or anything). Bottom Line_______________ most people are just absolute PIGS… I hope you continue to educate the narrow minded 99.9%. I’m exactly like you Jacob I.N.T.J all the way-
I guess I don’t want to impress.

Peace.

Cheryl

I’m curious, is the Warrior Diet Jacob refers to the same as the book and website at warriordiet.com? Doe anyone know about this/think it is reputable, or is the Warrior Diet really just as simple as eating one meal per day?

@Jacob – many thanks! I’m going to read the book. It sounds a bit ‘extreme’ for someone like me, but I have no doubt that as a desk-bound computer/office worker I have no real need for 3 meals a day so maybe this will help me finally get my fitness back on track. I suppose I’ll have to throw in a bit of exercise too. 🙂

You are right on about the multiplication table. That is how I learned in school, but my son was taught the array method. We are teaching him the multiplication table at home.

I would have to say on the diet it really depends on your body type. I have known people who ate nothing but junk food and were skinny and full of energy. If I ate that diet, I would be lethargic all the time. Like AB, I split up my meals to usually 5 times per day with smaller meals, and it has worked out well.

I, too, relate my diet to my spending habits Jacob. I follow the paleo diet myself and like to see it as, in my opinion, allowing only natural things in my life.

The rush/adrenaline from being a consumer is synthetic to a human being. We have not evolved thus far to swipe a credit card for some high end electronic and waste our lifes and savings constantly upgrading to the next one.

Your posts always make me think, in a good way. Thanks.

I think I am similar to you – except that I find my low bodyfat and high metabolism mean I get cold rather easily. I was quite surprised to read you say the opposite.

(Though, incidentally, after reading your blog entry on dressing appropriately instead of using a heater, I went the entire last winter without using the heat once! I wore lots of layers instead.)

I often have a 8-12 hour work day without a lunch break, and I have never understood why so many people act like they are going to die just because they skip a single meal. But I’m the same way with water too – when its available, I’ll drink – if not, I won’t. I don’t carry it with me, or really think about it at all. Perhaps someday I’ll die of dehydration, but its worked for me so far.

To my regret, I don’t have such physiological advantages… Which means I’m quite high-maintenance and need food several times a day. 🙂

Kudos to you, Jacob, and all others who can do it. Maybe I’ll get a little bit closer to doing it at some point. Though I doubt it. A good reason for me to do it would be general unavailability of preferred foods when I’m away from home (e.g. working).

The diet to me was a distraction from the rest of your post.

What I read is you calling out that we don’t use our bodies as they are meant to be used…to our detriment.

I concur.

My husband and I make a point of sweating by doing functional, high intensity exercise often, whether structured or for fun. We also walk, run, bike to destinations and don’t shy away from hard manual labour (helping friends move gravel is fun ;).

Using our bodies and fuelling them with good, real food makes the rest of life much more comfortable. We sleep well, feel good mentally & physically, don’t seek refuge in air conditioning (or excessive heat) and find we need fewer other modern comforts.

Hi Jacob, I love the post.
Could you share your thoughts on the suitability of warrior diet for people who do long days at the office?
Did you switch to this diet after you stopped working full time?
As far as I read, in the state of hunger you are supposed to feel/be more alertive (good) but tire more easily (bad).
From a different angle, low level of physical activity suggests warrior diet should be fine for office workers, but at the same time your brain is supposed to use a lot of energy on its own (~20% of total body energy intake).