For my money, the easiest way to burn fat and get fit is to simply start eating two meals per day with no snacks.

It works so well, eating two meals per day became the cornerstone of The 2-2-2-2 Method.

The reason is works is simple:  As humans, we’re hard-wired to eat until we’re full.  I call it “The Pringles Phenomenon”, after the chip company’s slogan:  “Once you pop, you can’t stop.”  Because we instinctively eat until we’re full, it’s very difficult to eat small meals.  In theory, eating multiple small meals throughout the day is a fine strategy for losing weight.  But in reality, it’s difficult for us to actually eat small meals — more often than not they turn into medium or large meals and weight loss comes to a screeching halt.

But by eating only two meals per day, you can eat two very large meals (feasts!) and still lose weight.  Because even though you’re eating larger meals, you still end up reducing calorie intake overall simply because you’re eating less often.   Whenever I mention the strategy, I always get a few emails (from teenagers, I presume) asking if I can name a bunch of famous athletes or movie stars who use this method.  I assume these emails are from teenagers because it’s obviously a teenage way of thinking to seek celebrity validation for anything and everything.

Truth be told, I cannot name a bunch of high level athletes or celebrities that adhere to the 2-meal per day system.  This does not make the method “bad.”  It simply means for the time being, the two-meal per day strategy is still very much under-the-radar.  However, here are a few examples of people who claimed to eat only two meals per day.

Example #1:  Jack Lalanne

You may know Jack as the “Godfather of Fitness.”  Maybe you’ve heard about his impressive feats of endurance, his two-hour workouts, or his strict avoidance of sugar.  (“The only good thing about a doughnut is the whole in the middle.”)  What you may not remember, is that Jack Lalanne typically ate only two meals per day.

From the Wall Street Journal article:  “Mr. Lalanne only eats two meals per day: One at 11 a.m. after his workout and one at 7 p.m. at a restaurant with his wife.”

Example #2:  Serge Nubret

Growing up, most of my friends idolized Arnold Schwarzenegger.   The desire to “get big like Arnold” is the reason most of us started lifting weights in the first place.  Naturally, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuliding was required reading.  Within that book, was a picture of Serge Nubret — quite possibly the best-built human of all time.  His diet, lifted from posts he made on various bodybuilding forums before he passed.

“Myself I used to eat as much I could, but only twice a day.” [NOTE:  Not only would this French bodybuilder eat like a horse… he would actually eat horsemeat — upwards of 3-4 pounds per day.]

Example #3:  Irvin “Zabo” Koszewski

Dubbed “Mr. Abs”, Irvin Koszewski was a bodybuilder back in the 1950’s.  More often than not, he’d win “best abs” at any bodybuilding contest he entered.  It’s not hard to see why.  How did the man with the best abs eat?

From “Strength & Health”, August 1967.  “Zabo follows a strict, sensible diet. He eats two meals a day, breakfast and supper which consists of vegetables, fruits, juices, milk, eggs and meat.”

Know of any more famous people who eat two meals per day?  Please leave a comment.  I will try to continually update this post as more and more famous people adopt the two meal system. (And hopefully there will be some famous females added to the list soon).

If you want to try the 2-meal per day system, it’s easy:  Just start eating 2 meals per day, no snacks.  If you want a little more information — like what you should eat at each meal, what kind of workout plan to follow, etc…  then check out The 2-2-2-2 Method.

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Matt Marshall is a fitness writer and researcher committed to uncovering the truth about health and fitness. He shatters myths and reveals the facts about getting fit at
www.FitnessUnderOath.com