OMAD - your top 3 tips!

[blinder]

I did my first OMAD today, and I didn’t faint or kill anyone. I just really enjoyed my dinner. Also did a long dog walk during the fast with no ill effects what??

About 4pm, I had a starter of baked honey mackerel on sourdough, and then I cooked a nut roast with roast potatoes and greeens. Homemade lime and amaretto Bakewell tart for dessert (first time I’ve baked this and it was stunning. Happy to share the recipe). Small glass of port too. Closed the window at 7pm.

Is it really this easy? People doing OMAD please help me avoid roadblocks by giving me your top 3 tips! I would like to do this forever.

[blinder]

One Meal a Day, btw

[Elwynne]

I've just started too! Are you on Reddit? There is an amazing chat group called intermittent fasting and the community are super helpful and supportive.

I'm also finding the diet quite easy but gained weight on my first 2 days apparently this is because I'm eating sweet things which makes my body store fat because it is panicking.

[blinder]

I joined r/intermittentfasting last night. There is also r/fasting!

Ohno. I was hoping to be able to eat sweet things.

There is also a FB group built by Gin Stephens although she has just jumped ship to a pod community. I find that community partly helpful and partly not. I think I just want positivity at first, no failure stories. Anyway. Gin Stephens apparently says that some people gain weight for the first couple of weeks, until fat adapted. I should be patient but I’m getting married in a month!

[blinder]

Paid* community.

[Pineappleunder]

1. Find the time in the day that works for you but allow yourself flexibility to change it for social occasions.

1. Enjoy cooking and eating what you love.

1. Don't use your window being open as an excuse to drink calories be they alcoholic or not. A little us fine as always but if you start downing bottles of wine or coke in your window then the weightloss won't happen.

Good luck. I lost 15kg to get to a healthy weight with this and it was genuinely enjoyable. The only reason I've stopped is because I'm pregnant. Plan to go back to it afterwards.

[Elwynne]

@blinder getting married - wow congratulations! I'm trying to lose weight before a new job because I read that apparently thinner people are more likely to get promoted and I want to earn as much as I can and retire early

[blinder]

Thank you @Pineappleunder. I’m finding my best time by trial and error. I think it’s going to be a window between 4 and 7, although I started too early today and ballsed it up. I need to lose about 15kg too, so I’m feeling encouraged.

@Elwynne that’s a great reason to lose weight. Better than mine, really, which is more vanity than anything.
I’m up a pound today but I’m not panicking, just patiently learning how to do this.

[Newnamefor2022]

I'm doing OMAD, with good results. My top tip would be to totally cut out sugar and have as few carbs as possible (only veg ones). That makes it so much easier to stick to (for me anyway). Good luck everyone!

[NotMyselfWithoutCoffee]

I just started omad today! Drinking tea and coffee with milk when I've felt hungry, as that's the only way I will get through it. I find if I deprive myself too much I'm more likely to give up.

I'm aiming to lose 2 stone and go back to my healthiest 8 years ago when I met my dh, I was just under 10st then, roughly 12st now.

I've been feeling really frumpy and unattractive, so super motivated to do this.

[blinder]

Good to have you on board @NotMyselfWithoutCoffee!

I’m on Day 5. I’m going out to a movie this evening and I’m looking forward to having a glass of wine and a meal beforehand. I’m feeling hungry at the moment but I think that’s habit as I’m back in work and I would normally eat lunch about now. I’m going to have a pot of peppermint tea and wait for the rumbly tumbly to pass (it usually does!).

Have you planned your dinner for tonight?

[Elwynne]

I'm hitting the peppermint tea today too and @NotMyselfWithoutCoffee I've had a couple of coffees with milk too because being back at work was making me want to graze. Annoyingly the house is full of cake, thanks kids and husband.

How are you all doing? I've lost a pound of the 3 I put on at the beginning.

[Crowdfundingforcake]

I loved doing omad and lost about 8 kg but found I did suffer from constipation . I think I need to do a bit more research into how to ensure I get enough fibre, vitamins etc.

[FusionChefGeoff]

@Crowdfundingforcake I take psyllium husk which has been great for sorting out my constipation etc and it's an insoluble fibre so doesn't break your fast I think.

[Crowdfundingforcake]

FusionChefGeoff, I'll check it out, thanks.

[NotMyselfWithoutCoffee]

@blinder

Yes having lamb and veggies with roast potatoes so looking forward to it.

So far this feels easy, I did try this before Christmas but suffered the same problem @crowdfundingforcake did determined to stick it through this time.

[Hoolihan]

I've been doing this for a year - it took six months to lose 2.5 stone and I have been more or less at my target weight since then.

This way of eating suits me so well. I have a normal family dinner at around 6.30pm and sometimes a small something sweet afterwards (piece of fruit/mini chocolate bar), the rest of the time I stick to tea & water. If I'm really super hungry I have some fruit around 4pm but I'm usually fine to wait and my dinner is always DELICIOUS. 😂

I plateaued a few times for two or three weeks at a time which can be disheartening but you just have to keep plodding on and it WILL work. I don't cut out any foods but do make sure I eat lots of veg - I often eat a fair bit raw whilst I'm prepping our evening meal. Now I'm at target I have relaxed a bit at weekends/holidays etc and am still maintaining.

Good luck! I have found it really great.

[Hoolihan]

Also I've always weighed weekly rather than daily, I find it more motivating.

[blinder]

I’m out at the cinema (Macbeth with Frances McDormand) and I ordered dirty fries and wine, but I couldn’t finish the fries 😭

Why is it that the less I eat, the less I want to eat? I’ve bought some chocolate raisins to ensure I eat enough calories. I think tomorrow I should really up my veg intake.

I feel very encouraged by people’s posts. I’ve gained a pound and a half and then lost it again in the last five days [shrug].

[Elwynne]

@blinder I just lost the weight I put on too, so that's hopefully the start of the downward trend.

@Hoolihan that's incredible to read you lost 2.5 stone in six months. Do you think you'd ever switch to a different plan like 18:6 or 5:2?

[Hoolihan]

I did 5:2 for quite a while a few years ago and it worked well but after I reached my target I found I really difficult to maintain. I had started to really dread the fast days. I've tried 16:8 before too but that was no good for me as I just ate too much in the window.

OMAD suits my lifestyle well and one of the major benefits is that my kids don't know/notice that I'm dieting as I eat a normal family meal in the evening with them. I haven't had to alter the family diet or eat different meals or anything. So that aspect works really well. And I never go to bed hungry which was a problem with 5:2 - I used to have trouble sleeping.

[PandoraP]

I also do Omad if I need to lose weight. It really works well. I eat normally at weekends and fast during the week. The weight drops off.

[NotMyselfWithoutCoffee]

Third day of Omad going well.
Yesterday I completely cut out sugar (unless it was with my meal) as it was too tempting to have it in tea and coffee.

Already down a pound but I think most of that is probably water weight, not too uncomfortable but getting mega carb cravings in the day..so far I haven't cracked.

[blinder]

Hello everyone - thank you for the success stories.
I’m in my eight fast. I’ve lost three pounds and I’m expecting that to slow down.

I’m eating a longer window than maybe some of you. And I also followed what another posted said and I have a three course meal. I’m not counting calories at all, and I have no idea how many I’m eating.

If anyone is interested, I have a starter about 3pm and then cook the main. I eat the main about 4.30 and have a dessert about 6. I have a precious decaf coffee with milk and sugar (!) about 7pm and then I quit eating until the next day. My main courses can’t be too big and I find it very easy to stop eating when I’m full.

During the fast period I have black coffee or peppermint tea. Also have sparkling water and an electrolyte tablet if I feel woozy.

So far it’s WAY more enjoyable than a diet. I’m eating lots of vegetables and I’m cooking from scratch because I feel I have the time to do it. I’ve saved time by not having breakfast and lunch.

Tonight I visited a friend and drank wine, so I may have put on some weight tonight but I’m not overly worried because I think this is a way of life I can keep going with, even if it’s slow and steady. The best thing is not having to make healthy choices all day. I just plan for an enjoyable meal every day, and this gives me time not to be impulsive.

Good luck to everyone else doing this - and I’d still welcome tips from anyone enjoying this way of eating

[EatSleepReplete]

I used to do this, I've decided I'm going to go back to it. I'm on a pretty restricted diet due to IBS & severe migraines, I also want to lose about 2st. Between all that & the fact that if I eat more than twice a day I tend to feel sick & bloated (often I do even if I eat 2 meals a day) I'm going to go back to OMAD, at least on most days. I have a great big list of foods I can't eat though, so I'll need electrolyte tablets because I can't have Bovril or bone broth.

Am planning roast mixed root vegetables with rosemary & sage tomorrow, with chicken drumsticks, skin on. Fruit & yoghurt after.

[Orangesandlemons77]

Hi just wondered if anyone is still going with this and how it was?

Can you eat things like a bit bowl of porridge for example with greek yoghurt?