Can you build muscle if you only eat once a day?

December 25, 2025 •

4 min read

While intermittent fasting is often linked to weight loss, studies have shown that subjects on protocols like OMAD (one-meal-a-day) can maintain lean body mass and even gain muscle, especially when paired with resistance training. The key is meticulously planning your nutrition and exercise.

Quick Summary

Building muscle on a one-meal-a-day (OMAD) plan is challenging but achievable through a significant caloric surplus and high protein intake. It requires careful meal planning and strategic workout timing to optimize muscle protein synthesis.

Key Points

Caloric Surplus is Key: A caloric surplus is essential for muscle gain, and on OMAD, this challenging requirement must be met in a single, large meal.
Protein Intake is Critical: You must consume a high daily protein target, though absorbing a large dose at once is less efficient for consistent muscle protein synthesis.
Timing Workouts Matters: Scheduling resistance training 1-2 hours before your OMAD meal optimizes nutrient delivery during the post-workout anabolic window.
Focus on Nutrient Density: Your one meal must be packed with protein, healthy fats, complex carbs, and micronutrients to prevent deficiencies and support overall health.
Set Realistic Expectations: While lean mass can be maintained or modestly gained, maximizing rapid muscle growth is more difficult on OMAD than on a standard, multi-meal diet.
Monitor Your Energy Levels: Extended fasting can lead to fatigue, especially initially. Listen to your body and adjust if performance or well-being declines.
Prioritize Hydration: Staying well-hydrated with water and electrolytes throughout the 23-hour fast is crucial for performance and preventing fatigue.

Is OMAD a Realistic Strategy for Muscle Growth?

Building muscle requires three critical components: a consistent resistance training stimulus, adequate protein intake, and a caloric surplus. While the stimulus comes from your workout, achieving the right caloric and protein balance in a single meal is the core challenge of OMAD for muscle growth. For many, consuming 2,500+ calories and over 150 grams of protein in one sitting is difficult and can cause digestive discomfort.

The Challenge of Protein Synthesis

Muscle protein synthesis (MPS) is the process your body uses to build new muscle. Research suggests that spacing protein intake throughout the day (every 3–4 hours) is more effective for keeping MPS elevated than consuming a large dose at once. While the body can utilize a large amount of protein in one sitting, the efficiency may decrease. During the long fasting window on OMAD, the amino acid pool can become depleted, potentially leading to muscle protein breakdown if your total daily intake isn't sufficient.

Optimizing Your OMAD for Muscle Gain

To maximize your chances of success, a strategic approach is essential. This isn't a casual diet; it's a highly structured eating pattern that requires discipline and careful planning.

Prioritize Nutrient-Dense Foods

Your single meal must be a powerhouse of nutrients. It should be built around high-quality protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats.

High-Quality Protein: Lean meats like chicken breast, fish (salmon is a great source of both protein and omega-3s), and red meat provide a complete amino acid profile. Eggs and cottage cheese are also excellent choices.
Complex Carbohydrates: Sweet potatoes, quinoa, brown rice, and oats provide sustained energy for your workouts and aid in glycogen replenishment.
Healthy Fats: Incorporate avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil to promote satiety and hormonal health.
Plenty of Vegetables: Fill your plate with a variety of colorful vegetables for essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber to support overall health and digestion.

Strategic Workout and Meal Timing

When you exercise matters. To leverage hormonal benefits and optimize recovery, many experts suggest timing your workout around your meal.

Workout Timing: Aim to perform your strength training session 1-2 hours before your eating window begins. Exercising in a fasted state can enhance fat oxidation and naturally elevate growth hormone levels.
Post-Workout Nutrition: Breaking your fast with your nutrient-dense OMAD meal immediately after training is crucial. This provides the necessary proteins and carbohydrates to kickstart muscle repair and recovery when your body is most receptive.

A Sample OMAD Muscle-Building Meal

To illustrate the density needed, here is an example of a single, muscle-focused OMAD meal:

Protein: 10-12 oz grilled salmon or steak.
Complex Carbs: 2 cups of quinoa or 1 large sweet potato.
Healthy Fats: Half an avocado and a handful of almonds.
Vegetables: A large portion of roasted broccoli, bell peppers, and zucchini with olive oil.
Dairy (Optional): A bowl of Greek yogurt with berries and walnuts for dessert.

OMAD for Muscle Gain vs. Traditional Multi-Meal Approaches

When comparing OMAD to the traditional bodybuilding method of eating multiple meals, the differences highlight the unique challenges and compromises involved.


Aspect	OMAD for Muscle Gain	Traditional Muscle Gain	Key Takeaway
Nutrient Timing	All nutrients consumed in a compressed 1-hour window. Less frequent protein spikes for MPS.	Protein and nutrients spaced across 3-6 meals. Consistent protein intake keeps MPS elevated.	Traditional approach is more optimal for consistent muscle repair and growth.
Caloric Surplus	Difficult to achieve and sustain. Risk of feeling uncomfortably full or not reaching calorie goals.	Easier to achieve with smaller, more manageable meals throughout the day.	Easier to maintain a consistent surplus with multiple meals.
Energy & Performance	Can lead to lower energy levels during the fasting period. Workout performance may suffer if not timed correctly.	Stable energy levels throughout the day with regular meals. More fuel for intense, high-volume workouts.	Traditional diets offer more consistent energy for performance.
Body Composition	Effective for fat loss due to calorie deficit. Risk of lean mass loss if calories/protein are insufficient.	More precise control over gaining muscle with minimal fat. Easier to execute a lean bulk.	OMAD is better for a recomp (losing fat and gaining some muscle) rather than maximizing muscle gain.
Sustainability	Can be difficult to maintain long-term due to hunger, fatigue, and social limitations.	Generally more flexible and easier to integrate into social events and daily life.	OMAD requires greater discipline and may not be sustainable for everyone.

Potential Downsides and Considerations

While OMAD may offer benefits like increased HGH and improved insulin sensitivity, it's not without risks. Extended fasting can lead to nutrient deficiencies if your single meal isn't meticulously planned. Fatigue, irritability, and blood sugar fluctuations are also common, especially during the initial adaptation phase. For women, hormonal disruption is a potential concern, and a more gradual approach or less restrictive fasting may be more appropriate. Most importantly, listening to your body is critical, and any persistent negative symptoms should prompt a reassessment of your approach.

Conclusion: So, can you build muscle if you only eat once a day?

Yes, it is possible to build muscle while on an OMAD plan, but it is not the most optimal or efficient method, especially for advanced lifters aiming to maximize hypertrophy. For beginners or those with favorable genetics, or for individuals prioritizing fat loss while preserving lean mass, OMAD can be a viable strategy. The success hinges on your ability to consume a sufficient caloric surplus and an ample amount of high-quality protein within a very short eating window. This requires rigorous planning and discipline. Ultimately, a traditional diet with multiple protein feedings throughout the day remains the gold standard for maximizing muscle growth due to its superior support for muscle protein synthesis. For more information on the effects of meal frequency, see this review on differential feeding patterns on metabolism: Differential Effects of One Meal per Day in the Evening on Metabolism and Appetite in Lean Healthy Adults.

Frequently Asked Questions

You can minimize muscle loss by ensuring your one meal is calorie and protein-sufficient and by continuing to engage in consistent strength training. However, it is a risk, especially during a caloric deficit or with inadequate protein.

For maximizing muscle growth, eating multiple protein-rich meals throughout the day is generally considered more optimal. OMAD is better suited for fat loss while maintaining lean mass, but not for maximizing hypertrophy.

For muscle growth, aim for 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, but consuming this amount in a single meal can be challenging and less efficient for muscle synthesis compared to spaced-out intake.

Yes, it is possible and many people do. Exercising in a fasted state can enhance fat burning and elevate growth hormone. However, your performance might be affected due to lower glycogen stores.

Focus on a nutrient-dense meal high in quality protein (lean meats, fish, eggs), complex carbohydrates (quinoa, sweet potatoes), healthy fats (avocado, nuts), and a large volume of vegetables.

Easing into OMAD gradually from shorter fasting windows (like 16:8), staying hydrated with water and electrolytes, and focusing on a nutrient-dense meal can help manage hunger and energy levels as your body adapts.

Long-term adherence to OMAD, especially while trying to build muscle, can be challenging due to the difficulty of consuming sufficient calories and protein, and potential social limitations.

While intermittent fasting can raise growth hormone levels, research on OMAD's specific long-term impact on testosterone is less consistent.