Very slow weight loss on OMAD

[Seeingadistance]

I'm combining OMAD with Fast 800 -ish. Some days I might have up to 1,000 calories. I've also been doing a lot of walking - usual minimum of between 3 to 5 miles a day. Longer walks at weekend and when I was on holiday in November I was walking about 15 miles a day.

At the start of November I was 11st 6. I now weigh 11st and I've been this weight for over 2 weeks now.

On the plus side, my clothes are definitely looser on me, and I'm looking healthier. But, why such slow weight loss?

So it's been 6 ish weeks and you've lost 6 pounds? I don't think that's a very slow loss at all, 1-2lbs a week is considered healthy/sustainable weight loss, any more is into crash diet territory, so while you are at the lower end of that I'd be happy - depending on your weight it sounds like you don't have a huge amount to lose to get into a healthy weight bracket and so it's always going to be slower going. Also as you have found (healthy) weight loss tends not to go in a liner fashion, you can stay the same or even gain a little for a few weeks before seeing a big drop, all the in the context of an overall steady downwards trajectory. It could be that you are experiencing a bit of water retention or constipation or something and you'll suddenly drop a few more pounds...

So I wouldn't despair - that being said if you are doing the Fast800 as opposed to eating your normal TDEE/TDEE less a %, this is classed as a Very Low Calorie Diet so it's important to be eating the right kinds of food - the Fast800 should be a low carb Mediterranean diet. Not saying you've been eating crap but if you are only eating 800-1000 cals of 'normal' food and increasing exercise at the same time, that might be causing you some metabolic type issues? The Fast800 is quite difficult to sustain in the long term (I think you are only meant to do for 6-8 weeks) so are you planning to move onto regular 5:2, 16:8 or something else - confusingly you might actually find that the weight loss rate stays the same or even increases if you are eating a little more most days?

Thanks for your comment, Maxelly. You're right about weight loss not being linear and it's helpful for me to remember that, and that I have lost 6lbs which is very positive.

My diet is much healthier than before, when I was eating mostly microwaveable ready meals and take-aways along with mindlessly eating stuff like cocopops in the evening! Now, I'm planning ahead and cooking from scratch - following a mediterranean style diet. I am certainly feeling healthier and my digestion is greatly improved.

I'l probably move to 16:8 when I reach a weight I'm happy with.

1lb a week is 4 stone in a year

Someone far more knowledgeable than me posted some evidence on one of the bootcamp threads that OMAD may not be terribly efficient for weight loss and splitting the intake could increase it.
Might be worth a look or ask the question over there

Have been doing OMAD ( 20-4) since May and have gone from size 16 to 8/10. It has become a lifestyle and I feel so comfortable and energised with the regime.
Some days I do 18-6, some days 22-2. If I get really hungry during fasting hours, I'll have a couple of boiled eggs and a handful of nuts. Mixing up the fasting hours and eating more during some days surprises the system and keeps it guessing, hence the weight loss.
1lb a week is good going.

The really surprising thing about fasting is that you can lose many many inches even if the scales don’t move. It sounds like you’re experiencing this.
How about doing your measurements aswell or instead of the scales?

Walking is probably building muscle - which is heavy! If your clothes are getting looser then you're burning fat which is the aim of the game. Well done!

@Seeingadistance I'm in a similar boat. I've been doing 3 fast days on 0 calories, 2 days (Wed & Friday) with only an evening meal ~800 cals and then eating around 2000 calories on Saturday and Sunday. I've lost 6kg since the beginning January, although 4-5kg was in January then about 2kg in Feb. Finding it very frustrating and don't really have anywhere to go to cut more calories. I wonder if I'm under-eating. Have you got any further since your first post?

@CycleGirl20 when you say 0 calories, are you literally just on water and black tea/coffee? Or are you having e.g. diet Coke, artificial sweeteners, during your fast?

I have just water and coffee with a splash of milk. So I guess the milk has maybe 50cal max. I don't drink anything like coke or diet coke

@CycleGirl20 Sorry, have just seen your post. I had a bit of a low time in December and basically comfort ate my way through Christmas, meaning I started this year back at 11st 7. Back on OMAD on 1st January, and am now down to 10 st 6, so am continuing to lose slightly over 1lb per week. As a pp did say, I didn’t have a huge amount to lose to get me back into healthy weight range, which does account for the slower weight loss, and I’m happy that I’m losing weight steadily while keeping in shape, and no saggy skin.

I do like OMAD as it feels like my natural eating pattern - I feel more energised and focussed on it. I also don’t have the bloating and stomach pains that I get when I eat more throughout the day.

@CycleGirl20 the splash of milk could really be hindering you - it's not about the calories, it causes an insulin response which makes it less easy to access your stored fat. Maybe try black coffee for a few weeks and see if it makes a difference?

Also it does sound a bit like you might be undereating... are you eating to satiety on non-fast days, even if waiting until the evening? Deliberate calorie restriction combined with intermittent fasting isn't generally a good idea, I believe.