One meal a day? Cup of tea with milk?

[doodlepants]

I'm doing OMAD as a form of fasting. The only thing is I'm not losing as much as I'd like and it's really disheartening because it really is tough.

My meals are small and nutritional enough (im not calorie counting as that was kind of the draw of OMAD) but I am having tea with milk in the day. I guess this is my downfall. Did you have milk on OMAD and did it affect you?

How much is 'not as much as I'd like'? Why only a 'small meal' as your OMAD? How long have you been doing OMAD? And how old are you (eg: are you menopausal etc?)

I try and fast 'clean' (only black coffee/ tea or water during fasting window) so the milk may not be helping but more info would be good

A splash of milk in your tea is not the reason you aren’t losing weight as you’d like. Either your expectations are unrealistic or your calories are excessive.

@TisTheDarnSeason love the name!

I only have a small meal because I'm fed up of feeling over weight. I've lost 2kg in 3 weeks (4.5lb I think) so maybe I'm being unrealistic but I've done OMAD before and dropped much more quickly. I'm 31 but had a baby last year and really need to lose those last 12kgs.

@TisTheDarnSeason do you find clean fasting hard? I've never done it. Do you get brain fog etc? Do you have fizzy drinks or calorie free drinks? Thanks.

I think your rate of weight loss sounds fine tbh. It can feel frustrating when the weight doesn't just 'fall off' but a) that's not healthy or sustainable and b) think of all the brilliant health benefits IF is giving you as well as just simply weight loss.

I actually find clean fasting much easier! I don't drink fizzy drinks etc anyway really so they're not a temptation for me. So I drink a couple of cups of (decent) black coffee first thing and then sip plain water for the rest of my fast. No brain fog - in fact I think I feel more focused as long as I'm keeping the water intake up. I bought a 1.5 litre bottle with an inbuilt straw and it makes it SO much easier to keep drinking. And if you're drinking fizzy drinks (even zero-cal) there is some evidence that suggests they will promote the insulin response that means fat-burning doesn't happen as effectively, so you might be sabotaging things a bit.

I would also say you need to eat a decent-sized meal for your OMAD. As long as you're in a calorie deficit overall, and you're eating good-quality fats / proteins / carbs you don't need to skimp on that. It's meant to be a case of fasting and feasting, after all

Why not try a clean fast with a bigger meal? Can't hurt to tweak things a bit?

I fast and do omad most days. I don't have anything with calories. I've lost 60lb.

I would suggest that how much you lose is proportional to how much you have yo lose.

Eating OMAD and tea all day when your BMI is over 50 will result in significant loss. Eat/drink the same amount when yous BMI is 40, 30, 25, 20 will result in less weight loss.

The milk really could be making an impact as it can take you out of a faster state which is part of the point of OMAD isn't it?

I'd agree with this. You can burn fat when you are burning sugar (albeit a very small amount). Could you give black coffee or peppermint tea a go?

I'm still losing BMI is 27, but I am very strict, and don't really eat many carbs.

*can't burn.

This is crash dieting. You will lose weight and then put it back on, and then some. Please don't.

@Summerhillsquare I know but I've been doing traditional dieting for a year and lost sod all so why not 😂 I've actually lost significant weight doing this before and kept it off for years... and then baby happened...

@TisTheDarnSeason you know I think I might try. I'm a bit scared of brain fog but I'm going to try coffee and (sparkling) water because I'm an absolute bubble addict and see if I get the results I want. It's sort of silly to think that a few splashes of milk are preventing brain fog anyway...

Yeah, because 'dieting' is a myth.

@Woush I have a BMI of 22 but want to get to about 20 because I'm quite tall and what would look "normal" on a lot of people makes me look just large. Not fat necessarily, but at a normal weight I just take up a lot of space and it makes me uncomfortable.

@Summerhillsquare maybe but my expanding waistline isn't!!!

@Franticbutterfly 👏 amazing. How long has it taken you, what f you don't mind me asking?

Clean fasting is far easier and I’ve never had brain fog. In fact I feel way mentally clearer. Black coffee and water only in the fasting period.

@Franticbutterfly sorry, I meant "if you don't mind me asking?"

Electrolyte supplements are really helpful if you're doing OMAD - I bought mine in tablet form from myprotein. I drink a lot of water but the tablets stave off headaches and brain fog.

You definitely need to eat a bigger meal! You won't be able to sustain OMAD unless you're feeding yourself well after fasting, you'll just be ill and miserable instead.

at a normal weight I just take up a lot of space and it makes me uncomfortable

Tbh this does raise a red flag or two, OP. You are already a normal weight, but you've been eating a 'small meal' once a day to try and lose more, and you feel you take up too much space?

I'm a big fan of IF but please do be careful that you're not under-eating. It's really, really important to fuel and nourish your body properly. And you are allowed to take up space in this world, you know!

@doodlepants It has taken 6.5 months. It has been hard, but probably not as hard as I thought it would be, but, I had an extra incentive as I got type 2 diabetes that I needed to put into remission (which I did in 3 months). Now it's probably about weight loss, and vanity, if I'm really honest, at the beginning it definitely wasn't. I have a goal weight of 154lb (12lb to go) as I picked the number it would take to no longer be classed as "overweight" in terms of bmi - probably arbitrary in some ways but it was a goal. I don't know if I will continue after that. Maybe I'll be wanting to wear a size 10 (I'm a 12/14 now, was 18/20).