Any one doing the OMAD diet ( One Meal a Day )

[MrScratch]

A friend in the uk keeps telling me how he’s made great progress in his weight loss quest by following some thing called the OMAD diet . I have done some google searching about this type of diet and over all the comments generally seem positive. 

 

The One Meal A Day (OMAD) diet is a form of intermittent fasting where you fast for 23 hours and eat for the same 1-hour window each day.

 

Just wondering if any one here is currently doing / has in the past been on this OMAD routine and can comment on how things worked out .
 

 

[eezergood]

Its not magic, you simply eat less than normal - In the sort term I suspect it will be hard, but you will loose a lot of weight (not just fat) and may run into some gastric distress if you try to eat all your previous calories in that 60 minute window.

 

Overall I would suggest its not sustainable for MOST, but in general calorie restriction has been show to lead to increases in longevity 

[BKKrichard]

It seems OMAD low carb works fine, OMAD, SAD diet does not

[scubascuba3]

intermittent fasting, skipping breakfast, having lunch then dinner seems to work for many. 

 

Personally I like the idea of #carbthe<deleted>up

[Jingthing]

I'm currently doing a four hour eating window which is similar to OMAD. OMAD is often done with a two hour eating window. It's often recommended to transition into OMAD perhaps starting with an 8 hour eating window. It really depends on your goals and what you can tolerate. The thing I don't like about OMAD is too much pressure to get all your nutrition in one meal. Whatever you do its important to eat ample healthy fats and limit carbs and sugar in order to avoid unbearable hunger during the fasting periods.

[colinneil]

OP maybe ask a Thai about OMAD, most of them only have 1 meal a day, they start eating in the morning and stop when they go to bed.

[AlexRich]

Anything that reduces calorie intake will do the trick, but that one doesn’t seem sustainable. The body adapts to fewer calories so when you stop it the extra food you eat thereafter is converted into fat stores. Reduced calories coupled by higher activity levels should work ... will take longer but can be incorporated into lifestyle such that the weight loss is maintained.

[Pilotman]

I only eat one meal a day and have done so for many many years.  No doubt my body has now adapted to it, so I doubt that there is any real dietary benefit from my eating one meal a day, but I do feel better with 23 odd hours between meals.  if I do try to eat, say breakfast, or lunch, however light,  I feel terrible. slow and lethargic. I would not recommend this way of eating to anyone, but it is okay for me. One real benefit in dietary terms is that it makes losing weight easy, as all I have to do is cut down on one meal, if only slightly, and the weight drops off quickly. 

[BigStar]

5 hours ago, AlexRich said:

Reduced calories coupled by higher activity levels should work ... will take longer but can be incorporated into lifestyle such that the weight loss is maintained.

The common CICO prescription that usually fails and leaves the USA on track for 60% obesity by 2025. It doesn't get to the main issue of insulin resistance and fewer carbs that fasting and low carb diets do. It doesn't address the hunger issue. OP's probably tried it already. 

 

So let him give OMAD a go and if it's too difficult, or after he's achieved his goal, he can try one of the other many versions of IF. Even so, during eating periods he'll need to avoid insulin spikes. That may not be so difficult as you might think. 

 

The researchers followed 200 patients with type 2 diabetes over a period of three years. They found that a moderate carbohydrate restriction (70–130 g/day) was enough to have a positive effect on the patients’ health markers, and that the diet is “highly effective, safe and sustainable”. 

--https://www.dietdoctor.com/new-study-is-low-carb-sustainable-long-term

[tfc]

I've been on OMAD for 10 years give or take, though weight loss wasn't my goal but for optimizing my energy levels (no more fluctuations / peaks / drops just smooth), stable focus etc.  Different people I know use different types of IF & in my opinion its best to use what works best for your goals & health.  For me OMAD is more sustainable & easier, for some of my friends larger windows or other "structures" of IF are more sustainable.  End of the day it's what you personally find can become positively "normal" for you that will work best for you.     

[jackdd]

6 hours ago, tfc said:

I've been on OMAD for 10 years give or take, though weight loss wasn't my goal but for optimizing my energy levels (no more fluctuations / peaks / drops just smooth), stable focus etc.  Different people I know use different types of IF & in my opinion its best to use what works best for your goals & health.  For me OMAD is more sustainable & easier, for some of my friends larger windows or other "structures" of IF are more sustainable.  End of the day it's what you personally find can become positively "normal" for you that will work best for you.     

I can understand how it might work for somebody trying to lose weight, but what you describe doesn't make sense.

Eating many small meals would be what would result in stable levels. After eating your one giant meal a day your energy levels go up to the roof, and then after your body digested this it goes into starvation mode until the next meal, this is the opposite of stable.

You say you don't do it for weight loss, and are doing it since ten years, so obviously your one meal has to cover your maintenance calorie level. I assume you are a normal man, this would probably be about 2500 kcal. How do you eat 2500 kcal in one meal? With just junk food I might see how this is possible (still difficult though), but if you also want to get a decent amount of protein, and micro nutrients (vegetables, fruits...) in, I would say that's impossible to do. What do you eat for your OMAD?

[Surelynot]

Doing one meal a day, but have spread it out into three sittings morning, afternoon and evening.....seems easy.

[tfc]

On 3/11/2021 at 2:24 PM, jackdd said:

I can understand how it might work for somebody trying to lose weight, but what you describe doesn't make sense.

Eating many small meals would be what would result in stable levels. After eating your one giant meal a day your energy levels go up to the roof, and then after your body digested this it goes into starvation mode until the next meal, this is the opposite of stable.

You say you don't do it for weight loss, and are doing it since ten years, so obviously your one meal has to cover your maintenance calorie level. I assume you are a normal man, this would probably be about 2500 kcal. How do you eat 2500 kcal in one meal? With just junk food I might see how this is possible (still difficult though), but if you also want to get a decent amount of protein, and micro nutrients (vegetables, fruits...) in, I would say that's impossible to do. What do you eat for your OMAD?

 

I'll have to give my "broscience" explanation because I'm no scientist & basically just followed the basic guidelines from a book called the "Warrior Diet" by Ori Hofmekler.  From what I recall, having read it over 10 years ago, after an initial few weeks the body shifts/swaps the leptin/ghrelin (paraphrasing here) & the body is no longer in starvation mode during the day.  I can only speak from my own experience but for myself I only experienced mild hunger for a few days before the shift/swap etc.  

It's arguable whether I'm a normal man ???? but that aside, I eat until I'm full.  I can usually eat between 3-4 chicken breasts/thighs, a big salad, 1.5-2 small containers of sour cream, butter, cheese (probably only once a week), "cloud bread" & I'm pretty much done.  When I was in Australia I ate more beef & whatever vegetables/salads were in season.  I also tend to eat more cheese when I'm there, perhaps 3-4 times a week.  I'm not sure if how I eat is supposed to be possible/impossible but it works for me.  I get a full health check twice/year & though my doctor here thinks I'm a bit crazy, though that may just be me not my diet, apparently everything is good.  Same with my doctor in Australia.  

I'm not one to recommend/not recommend diets of any sort, aside from (in general) avoiding junk food.  I'm just sharing my experience on the OMAD but I'd guesstimate that it's not for everyone & only really talk about it if asked, or if there's a thread asking about it such as this one.  If anyone expresses interest in IF/OMAD though I always encourage them to be open to the different forms of IF because from my experience & that of friends there are a lot of variables that come into play that & for whatever reason some forms of IF work better for others & some really just don't.  For what its worth I'm also a life long martial artist, which is one of the reasons that I was interested in sustained, stable focus/energy & for me I like that I can train at anytime during the day & feel ready to train within 30-45 mins after my one meal as well.       

 

[WaveHunter]

On 3/11/2021 at 2:33 PM, Surelynot said:

Doing one meal a day, but have spread it out into three sittings morning, afternoon and evening.....seems easy.

Spreading one meal a day into three separate meals defeats the main benefit of OMAD, which is to control insulin levels. 

 

OMAD is NOT about caloric restriction; it all about insulin restriction.  The whole idea behind OMAD is to allow your body to use up glycogen stores to the point that insulin levels stabilize at low levels, and there is only one spike in insulin per day (just shy of when glycogen is about depleted.  3 meals per day will not allow that to happen.

 

Also to note:  OMAD is a very natural and healthy way to eat (unless of course you are cramming the equivalent of 3 meals into your one meal per day. 

 

Most people easily adapt to OMAD in a week or two, and unless you are an extreme athlete, your body can derive all the energy it needs in terms of stored glycogen for at least 18 hours, and this can be a healthy long-term nutrition strategy (i.e.: not just as a weight loss diet).

 

The other reason OMAD is great is because if you actually deplete glycogen totally (i.e.: active athlete who limits OMAD to a 2 hour window), you force your metabolism into gluconeogenesis where the body starts to scavenge protein to convert into glucose, that is actually a good thing, not a bad thing! 

 

Contrary to what most people intuitively believe, entering into gluconeogenesis does NOT mean you are "burning" muscle when this happens.  Essential proteins associated with the primary mover muscles and the heart are spared in favor of "junky" dysfunctional, or misfolded intracellular proteins that naturally accumulate within the cell as we age, and that is a very good thing to have happen! Google "autophagy" to understand this process.

 

Of course, it goes without saying, that any major nutritional change you make should be preceded by a consultation with a physician and a basic metabolic panel of blood tests.

Edited December 26, 2021 by WaveHunter

[WaveHunter]

On 3/3/2021 at 9:51 AM, eezergood said:

Its not magic, you simply eat less than normal - In the sort term I suspect it will be hard, but you will loose a lot of weight (not just fat) and may run into some gastric distress if you try to eat all your previous calories in that 60 minute window.

 

Overall I would suggest its not sustainable for MOST, but in general calorie restriction has been show to lead to increases in longevity 

OMAD has nothing to do with calorie restricted dieting.  OMAD modifies your metabolic response to food in a way that makes your body more able to access stored body fat for fuel when it's needed, and more importantly, far less susceptible to metabolic syndromes related to insulin insensitivity.  It is not a weight loss diet, it is a lifestyle for optimizing your metabolic health.  

 

In fact OMAD is a quite sustainable and healthy lifestyle that provides all the energy and nutrition  you need to pursue an active lifestyle.  I have been doing OMAD for over ten years now as an athlete (long-distance running and mountain biking), and am in excellent health as a result of it.

 

From an evolutionary perspective, your body is designed to fuel itself equally by eating and also by accessing stored body fat.  The idea of "3 square meals a day" just does not make sense from a metabolic standpoint because if you are always in a fed state, your body loses the ability to efficiently use stored fat as fuel.  Your body was never intended to alway be in a fed state!

 

Eating multiple meals throughout the day serves no useful purpose, and in fact can cause a lot of health issues for many people as they age.  The reason is because it results in abnormally high insulin levels which can eventually lead to insulin insensitivity, thereby leading to metabolic diseases such as Diabetes type 2. 

 

By eating only once a day, you are essentially keeping insulin levels at a low and healthy state throughout the day which encouraging the body to tap into stored fat when glycogen levels fall.  It is referred to as "fat adaptation" in which your body has optimized the metabolic pathways that promote efficient use of stored fats when needed.

 

On the contrary, for those who are always in a fed state, when glycogen levels fall in between meals, they will only get hungry and lethargic until they eat again, which leads to snacking in between meals and additional spikes in their insulin levels.

 

Over time those high insulin levels will result in desentizing insulin receptors in the liver, and that is actually the first stage of Diabetes type 2!

 

One of the main reasons that people gain weight (body fat) as they age is because habitually high insulin levels do not allow the body to access stored fat, so instead of naturally tapping into fat stores throughout the day, if your insulin levels are always high, you can only add to your fat stores, not deplete them.

 

OMAD and Keto are simply a way to keep your body adapted to utilizing stored fat as a ready energy source.  It's quite easy to become acclimated to OMAD and Keto.  Your body adapts to it in a matter of a week or so.

 

As for caloric restriction being the answer to excess body fat loss, nothing could be further from the truth, based on a lot of research that's been done over the last several years. 

 

Caloric restriction only leads to a slow down in your basal metabolic rate, so even though you are restricting calories, your body has ramped down to require less calories.  You not only do not lose body fat over the long run, but caloric restriction is unsustainable due to lowered energy, and when you do start to eat at your normal rate again, you will put on even more weight then when you started the diet, due to your lowered BMR!  

 

The fact is, there is not one single diet based on caloric restriction that has stood the test of science based investigation.  They ALL fail in the long run.

 

Losing excess body fat is NOT about caloric restriction, it is about carbohydrate restriction and keeping your insulin levels low.  All of the recent scientific research supports this.  OMAD (or if you are very active, two meals per day while keeping carbohydrates low (especially those in highly processed foods) is the answer.  It works well and your body will thank you in the form of long-term good health. ????

 

Edited December 28, 2021 by WaveHunter

[Ainsley]

I feel discomfort of feeling hungry. 

[scubascuba3]

Works for some people but I don't want to starve myself, better ways but you need to change your diet which many find too difficult 

[Ralf001]

Did not know it was called OMAD but I moved to one meal a day  monday to friday a few months ago.... Lunch.

 

Was tough at first but am doing it easily now.

 

I like to BBQ and drink beer so weekends its open slather !!

[Sparktrader]

Do most days easy

Seems abnormal to eat before 4pm now

[Sparktrader]

On 12/28/2021 at 4:42 PM, WaveHunter said:

OMAD has nothing to do with calorie restricted dieting.  OMAD modifies your metabolic response to food in a way that makes your body more able to access stored body fat for fuel when it's needed, and more importantly, far less susceptible to metabolic syndromes related to insulin insensitivity.  It is not a weight loss diet, it is a lifestyle for optimizing your metabolic health.  

 

In fact OMAD is a quite sustainable and healthy lifestyle that provides all the energy and nutrition  you need to pursue an active lifestyle.  I have been doing OMAD for over ten years now as an athlete (long-distance running and mountain biking), and am in excellent health as a result of it.

 

From an evolutionary perspective, your body is designed to fuel itself equally by eating and also by accessing stored body fat.  The idea of "3 square meals a day" just does not make sense from a metabolic standpoint because if you are always in a fed state, your body loses the ability to efficiently use stored fat as fuel.  Your body was never intended to alway be in a fed state!

 

Eating multiple meals throughout the day serves no useful purpose, and in fact can cause a lot of health issues for many people as they age.  The reason is because it results in abnormally high insulin levels which can eventually lead to insulin insensitivity, thereby leading to metabolic diseases such as Diabetes type 2. 

 

By eating only once a day, you are essentially keeping insulin levels at a low and healthy state throughout the day which encouraging the body to tap into stored fat when glycogen levels fall.  It is referred to as "fat adaptation" in which your body has optimized the metabolic pathways that promote efficient use of stored fats when needed.

 

On the contrary, for those who are always in a fed state, when glycogen levels fall in between meals, they will only get hungry and lethargic until they eat again, which leads to snacking in between meals and additional spikes in their insulin levels.

 

Over time those high insulin levels will result in desentizing insulin receptors in the liver, and that is actually the first stage of Diabetes type 2!

 

One of the main reasons that people gain weight (body fat) as they age is because habitually high insulin levels do not allow the body to access stored fat, so instead of naturally tapping into fat stores throughout the day, if your insulin levels are always high, you can only add to your fat stores, not deplete them.

 

OMAD and Keto are simply a way to keep your body adapted to utilizing stored fat as a ready energy source.  It's quite easy to become acclimated to OMAD and Keto.  Your body adapts to it in a matter of a week or so.

 

As for caloric restriction being the answer to excess body fat loss, nothing could be further from the truth, based on a lot of research that's been done over the last several years. 

 

Caloric restriction only leads to a slow down in your basal metabolic rate, so even though you are restricting calories, your body has ramped down to require less calories.  You not only do not lose body fat over the long run, but caloric restriction is unsustainable due to lowered energy, and when you do start to eat at your normal rate again, you will put on even more weight then when you started the diet, due to your lowered BMR!  

 

The fact is, there is not one single diet based on caloric restriction that has stood the test of science based investigation.  They ALL fail in the long run.

 

Losing excess body fat is NOT about caloric restriction, it is about carbohydrate restriction and keeping your insulin levels low.  All of the recent scientific research supports this.  OMAD (or if you are very active, two meals per day while keeping carbohydrates low (especially those in highly processed foods) is the answer.  It works well and your body will thank you in the form of long-term good health. ????

 

I agree except its the sc mind that causes weight going up or down. I make no effort other than a new sc mind program. I dont feel hungry much. Just eat plenty of protein and drink mineral salts.

 

 

[Sparktrader]

On 3/11/2021 at 11:01 AM, tfc said:

I've been on OMAD for 10 years give or take, though weight loss wasn't my goal but for optimizing my energy levels (no more fluctuations / peaks / drops just smooth), stable focus etc.  Different people I know use different types of IF & in my opinion its best to use what works best for your goals & health.  For me OMAD is more sustainable & easier, for some of my friends larger windows or other "structures" of IF are more sustainable.  End of the day it's what you personally find can become positively "normal" for you that will work best for you.     

Less time spent preparing food or cleaning up.

[Doctor Tom]

I have only eaten one meal a day for the best part of 30 years as it suits my life style .  It only works as a diet if you eat the right things, the fact that its only once a day is largely irreverent as OMAD doesnt work just because its only one meal. 

[WaveHunter]

On 8/26/2022 at 4:53 AM, scubascuba3 said:

Works for some people but I don't want to starve myself, better ways but you need to change your diet which many find too difficult 

What most people fail to take into account is that the human body is very resilient but at the same time prefers to always be in a state of homeostasis.  That means that it takes time to change "bad" habits (and yes, I consider 3 square meals per day to be a bad habit).

 

When you start OMAD after years of eating 3 square meals per day (and endless hi-carb snacks throughout the day, which is now pretty standard for most people), naturally your body is going to rebel in no uncertain terms LOL!

 

Give it a week or so for it to realize that OMAD is the "new normal" and those feelings of starvation just disappear.  In fact, now that I am more or less OMAD all the time, if I do eat something during the day other than my OMAD meal, my body reacts negatively to THAT!

 

As I said previously, I am VERY active throughout the day.  I swim laps as a rigorous mid-day workout (1.5 km), run 5k in the evening, and workout in the gym 3 times a week, plus ride my mountain bike on weekends.  OMAD provides all the energy I need for this lifestyle. 

 

Practicing OMAD for several years now with no negative effects on my recreational activities or general health has proven to me that these scientifically UNFOUNDED notions of  3 meals per day, and "breakfast being the most important meal of the day" are just plain nonsense.

 

We are pretty fortunate to be living at a time in history when legitimate Science is beginning to dispel many of these old and very unfounded nutritional myths, and regardless of age or the state of your present health, it would be wise to embrace science rather than unfounded myths when it comes to nutrition.

 

Just my 2 cents worth ????

 

Edited October 20, 2022 by WaveHunter

[scubascuba3]

49 minutes ago, WaveHunter said:

after years of eating 3 square meals per day (and endless hi-carb snacks throughout the day, which is now pretty standard for most people),

I presume you are referring to western fatty junk food? pastries, ice cream, chocolate, crisps, chips, pizza etc? which you call hi carb snacks.

 

OMAD or intermittent fasting seems to suit people who can't control what they eat, often those meals are heavy in fatty foods

Edited October 20, 2022 by scubascuba3

[Iamfalang]

8 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

I presume you are referring to western fatty junk food? pastries, ice cream, chocolate, crisps, chips, pizza etc? which you call hi carb snacks.

Have you been to a place called THAILAND???!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!

 

When I was a teacher, kids LOVED ice cream, chocolate, crisps (?????) - chips or french fries, I think, pizza, etc.....   They ALSO LOVE FRIED everything.   fried chicken is big in Thialand!!!

 

Sugar is way bigger here than America.    America simply has portion sizes that can feed 100 people and weather suited for staying inside and doing nothing for most.  Obviously, America probably has some of the fittest people on the planet.  350 million, you get it all.

 

The amount of Kanom or pastries here is OFF THE CHAIN son........ way more here.   

 

Intermittent fasting, IMO, is garbage.    also according to a Ted Talk I heard on Youtube.  lol

 

 

[BigStar]

On 10/20/2022 at 2:26 PM, Iamfalang said:

Intermittent fasting, IMO, is garbage.    also according to a Ted Talk I heard on Youtube.  lol

lol. This one?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6Dkt7zyImk

 

The garbage seems to work pretty well for a lot of people. Yes, they already knew about the ace ANF Nutritional Dogmas of starve 'n' sweat, push away from the table, and whole foods. They didn't work. So, if other methods aren't working, I'd give it a shot.

 

https://reddit.com/r/intermittentfasting/

https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/ 

 

It's one part of the new paradigm:

 

The new paradigm for health, fitness, and compression of morbidity:

- low carb
- intermittent fasting
- eggs, meat, fish, full fat dairy, veggies, berries
- unrefined fats and oils, low in PUFA or high in Omega 3
- intervals, possibly (say 20 min twice a week)
- some walking (say, 30 min 3 times a week)
- efficient, intense (Arthur Jones/Mike Mentzer/Ken Hutchins/Doug McGuff) strength training with lighter weights/body weight/bands/suspension trainer
- sun (say 15 min 3 times a week)

 

Sun, steak, and steel, as P. D. Mangan says. And sex, my Thai gf adds. So cute.

Edited October 22, 2022 by BigStar

[WaveHunter]

On 10/20/2022 at 2:13 PM, scubascuba3 said:

I presume you are referring to western fatty junk food? pastries, ice cream, chocolate, crisps, chips, pizza etc? which you call hi carb snacks.

 

OMAD or intermittent fasting seems to suit people who can't control what they eat, often those meals are heavy in fatty foods

It's not just the snacks I was talking about.  It is practically ALL processed foods.  Big food manufacturers like Kraft, General Foods, FritoLay, etc... learned long ago that it's much cheaper to cut down on natural fats in food preparation, especially when the scientifically unfounded low-fat craze started in the 1980's.

 

The problem was that taking out the fats did nothing to improve health, and worse, since doing that makes food products taste horrible, they came up with a super cheap way to add back the flavor, and that was high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)!

 

HFCS is used in practically every food product these days, even in foods you would least expect it to be used like salad dressing, pasta sauce, peanut butter, even condiments like ketchup and mustard.  And it is a prime ingredient in  so-called healthy drinks like processed fruit juices, and when used in cereals and snackfoods, the amounts skyrocket.

 

HFCS is simply concentrated carbohydrates so when you followed the Standard American Diet, which at the time,  was promoted as healthy, your body was being overwhelmed by carbs even though you thought you were eating healthy.

 

All you need to do is look at the steady rise in obesity and Diabetes-2 beginning in the 1980's and now at epidemic levels in most Western countries today.  It coincides almost perfectly with the timing of the low-fat craze.

 

it's no wonder that for the first time in history there is now an epidemic of Diabetes-2 IN CHILDREN, when that was practically unheard of before the 1980's!

 

So I am speaking of ALL processed foods you find in supermarkets today.  Aggressive public relations and advertising campaigns fool the public into believing these foods are healthy when nothing could be further from the truth.

 

The "standard American diet" is often referred to by the acronym "S.A.D." and that is pretty spot on IMHO. 

Edited October 22, 2022 by WaveHunter

[Seppius]

I lost weight cutting out all sugar, so much of it in everything we eat. I still have a small belly pod, but drink beer every day, so that's not going anywhere lol

 

https://familydoctor.org/added-sugar-what-you-need-to-know/

 

Just my tuppence worse, not a dietician

[Rhys]

To some degree, this works, but it is a lifestyle change as well.. Cheers.

[Mark Nothing]

I have successfully implemented the 1 meal per day regimine and am back to my ideal body weight, ailment free, and lots of energy.  On it about 5 years now.  In addition to many other adjustments.

 

My rational  was based on maximizing vital human energy.  As 80% of your energy is depleted digesting food.  So if your stomach is always full of food being digested, there is very little energy remaining for the body to refresh itself.

 

I have also conducted multiple 7 day fasts to allow the human body to reset to health and clean out the buildup of decades of self inflicted poisoning by ingesting denatured foods and water.