Is anyone doing OMAD? Looking for a buddy.

[BadLucksBestFriend]

I’m on day 2 of starting again after a break. I average around a 20-22 hour fast daily (sometimes 24 depending on what I’m working that day).

I have around 3 stone to lose; my downfall is chocolate and not drinking enough water.

I find my mood definitely plunges on days where I’ve eaten late (the next day I’m generally in a bad mood and it’s definitely linked to late night eating after a social occasion). I break my fast around 10am and usually have a 30-45 minute eating window before starting the fast again. I do have a more relaxed day once per week with a longer eating window.

Anyone else doing OMAD?

Very late to this, but are you still going on this? My downfalls are the same but this seems to be the one thing that consistently moves the needle for me when I can muscle through it.

I have just officially started again a few days ago after a stressful few months. Do you want to do it together?

I find the trick is to eat a high protein meal for my meal . Weekends are harder as I do a lot of social eating and it throws my timings off.

I completed a thirty hour fast on Friday and I’ve been more relaxed this weekend. I aim for a 20 hour fast minimum but usually never more than 23 or 24 hours .

I have eaten one meal a day since new year and have lost 57 pounds. After about a month, you don't even think about it. It is so easy to do. If I go out to eat I let myself have whatever I want but I stay 100% on track the rest of the time. Good luck, you can do this!

I'd love to try this but how do you cope with initial hunger/ does it go away quite quickly?

My brother has been doing this for 3 years now and totally retrained his body. Only person I've ever known to make a diet work long term.

Eats loads at the one meal to maintain but has kept off a loss of several stones

You adapt very quickly and it becomes second nature. You don't think about it at all, it becomes just what you do. Drink lots of water initially. When I started I would maybe have an apple if felt weak. I still drink tea/coffee during the day too.

I’ve been doing OMAD for years (but have fallen off the wagon in times of stress ) so I find it rather easy now to ignore the hunger.

The key is to eat a healthy, balanced meal before you fast and then drink lots of water throughout the day. I do get headaches occasionally but I take painkillers and it’s usually ok.

I eat my meal early in the morning during the week (usually 10am or 11am) and that’s it for the day. I really need to work on weekends as I lose track and I don’t eat as healthily. I have a sweet tooth!

@FlyingGoose what time do you eat and what do you usually have?

Well done on your weight loss. If you have periods , do you find it harder around that time? I’m often very hungry and crave rubbish . Any tips to keep me on track?

Well this sounds a bit mad. I eat three meals a day, snack on a bit of fruit or a rice cake once a day and have lost two stones since 11/5. NHS guided free 12 week programme.

I eat about 8.30pm. I'm leaning towards more plants based foods at the moment, mostly because I need the nutrients. I don't find it harder around periods, I did initially, but 7 months in it is just automatic. I still drink wine! Need to start moving towards maintenance now, my bmi is healthy but towards the top end so I'd like to get a little lower. I never thought I'd actually do it to be honest!

I'm in! OMAD has always been a success for me. Sometimes I start with a TMAD with a cupasoup or salad for lunch to ease me in for a few days.

Wow, that is a fantastic achievement, FlyingGoose, well done!

I'd also like to join, please! DH and I used to do OMAD 4 to 5 days per week a couple of years ago, but have completely fallen off the waggon and now I'm by far the heaviest I've ever been. I really need to lose weight but struggling to stay motivated. I like OMAD because it's simple and I'm not in constant 'eating mode' (thinking about what I might fancy, researching recipes, preparing food, eating, snacking on leftovers and then massively struggling to stop).

Can I ask how strict everyone is about putting milk in tea or coffee during the fasting window? I need my morning and afternoon coffee, but having to drink it black makes me grumpy, so I tend to cheat a bit there.

Thank you! I have tea and coffee during the day, maybe two before work and one after. I only drink water at work though.

hello hello
I would love to join! going on hol soon and need to lose a bit beforehand (12 days time!). Might put in some longer fasts too

Oh this is great, would love to keep track here with everyone!

@WhiteHydrangeas I agree about eating mode, it means that I don’t spend all my time thinking about what to have. It also allows me to go out for a meal without going fully off track as it fits in to OMAD and keeps the damage to a minimum.

I drink tea / coffee with milk during the day. I know that’s not the purist method but it’s my thing and I need it 😀

OMAD definitely isn’t for everyone and I agree it’s not the only way to do it but it can be good for people that benefit from fasting.

Oh also, with the hunger thing, the thing that always surprises me is if I do have pangs, they don’t keep escalating as you’d imagine, when you don’t eat immediately, they will often go away again.

Can I ask if you can have whatever you want for your one meal or should you aim for a certain number of calories. If so are there more benefits to this than say doing the fast 800?

I've been doing this for around 15 years, before I knew it was even a thing.
It's never been about weight for me, but keeping my IBS under control which it does.
I eat whatever I want for my meal, but make sure I get enough fruit/veg etc over the week.

Can I join have been eating this way on and off for years - more because I like the switched-on fasted feeling than for weight loss. Though I could do with losing 5 - 10lbs right now so I'll track that.

It's refreshing to see it's becoming slightly more mainstream and (dare I say) a natural way of life as opposed to horrified reactions and suspicions of eating disorders. I have never been underweight, I think I maybe just don't care about food as much as some other people and that's why it's always seemed instinctive? Who knows.

Recently I've been tending to eat late at night when everything is done for the day. Trying to get in the habit of dinner 9.30 - 10ish, then an hour of bodyweight training / pilates / barre type exercises in front of the TV.

Tonight's meal was a red pepper omelette filled with mozzarella, then baby tomatoes, lettuce and cucumber on the side.

@BadLucksBestFriend for the headaches have you tried adding those electrolytes tablets to your water? Not for everyone as they contain sweetener (which I personally hate the taste of and suspect they increase sugar cravings) but I've used them in the past if I've fallen off the water wagon and need to get back into the habit. I get the ones in a tube from Amazon and snap them in half.

If sweeteners are a no-no then I think you can DIY it. My friend does the occasional snake juice extended fast and follows his recipe (search it up on YouTube but WARNING the guy is... intense 😂).

I’m now 8 fasts in after starting properly again. Meals over the past week have been:

Chicken Caesar salad
Wholemeal tuna salad sandwiches with fruit, protein bites and some dark chocolate
A salad type lunch but with some wholemeal bread and protein thrown in.
Hunters Chicken with baby potatoes and salad

I haven’t been calorie counting , I’m just currently taking the time to get back on track and alter my meals to make them healthier . After two weeks, I’ll start paying more attention to calories.

@FlyingGoose do you count calories?

@StrawberryLipstickStateOfMind1 have you lost weight without calorie counting? You mentioned it’s not for weight loss but to control IBS. Have you still lost though?

I did when I started but I don't feel the need to any more. If the scale stops budging I may track for a few days just to see what I am consuming. I average about 1200 including drinks. But I feel that's plenty. When I go out, I just eat whatever I want.

I don’t know what my starting weight is as it’s TTOTM and I do not want to be discouraged by standing on the scales! I tend to gain around 7lbs during my period.

No, but I didn't need to.
I'm a size 8, always have been my whole adult life.

I think, one of the things that made a difference this time was that I accepted the fluctuations and over time I could see that often there is no rhyme or reason. You can suddenly go up 2 pounds, despite staying completely on track and a few days later you might drop 3. I weigh myself daily and log it and there are so many fluctuations. Learning to get past them and stay on track was a game changer for me, I was never able to do that before.