New ‘One Meal A Day’ diet promises weight loss – but experts warn extreme fasting could be dangerous

"The time back from breakfast and lunch allowed me to focus more on what my day is."

He also claims to sleep better as a result of not eating much.

So to clarify, OMAD is about eating what you want for one meal a day and then fasting for the rest of the time.

And that, apparently, will help you to slim down.

Does it really work?

Well, even if you ate a big old takeaway for that massive hour-long blowout, the chances are that you'd still be consuming fewer calories throughout the day.

But as with any highly restrictive diet, there's a massive risk of disordered eating.

Ignoring your hunger cues and binging out on mega-calorific grub when you do have the chance to eat can seriously mess up your relationship with food.

Which is why nutritionist Sarah Flower stresses the importance of the food quality you're consuming during that hour.

Whatever diet you wish to follow or however many times per day you want to eat, the most important message is to eat real food - this is absolutely vital to good health as it provides nutrient-rich foods our body recognises.

Nutritionist Sarah Flower

She told us that we aren't supposed to snack throughout the day and that the typical Western diet is highly processed but nutrient-poor.

As a result, more and more of us have nutritional deficiencies and diseases like type 2 diabetes, obesity and insulin-resistance-related metabolic disorders.

If we just cut out the snacks, we'd be better off.

And don't forget that food is supposed to be social. We celebrate, commiserate, spend time together through the power of food.

Not eating at all except during one hour a day could be really isolating - unless you always make sure that the hour falls when you're able to eat  with other people. And that could mean moving that hour around, which in turn would mean extending or contracting your fast.

More sustainable fasts:

Many weight loss experts claim that going back to fasting is key.

It's worth saying of course, that if you have any history of disordered eating, fasting won't be for you.

If you don't and you can't be bothered to count calories or eat certain foods, then restricting the amount of time you're allowed to eat in might be quite handy.

Here are three of the most popular:

The 5:2

This is a popular version of intermittent fasting is where you eat a very low-calorie diet (about 500kcal) for two days each week (any two days). On the other five days, you eat as normal.

Research has shown that it’s possible to lose weight with this diet; it also improves several markers of health, such as reducing levels of glucose and cholesterol in the blood.