Anyone ready to do OMAD? Join forces?

[LeatherSkirt82]

I have a massive amount of weight to lose (70lbs). This is obviously a long term project so after much thinking (read: procrastination) - I want to start OMAD.

None of the other diets worked for me (I tried Atkins, Dukan, keto, Noom, etc). I also have a 3yo and a husband who can't cook so making separate meals for myself is not something I can do as I also work full time. When I was travelling for business last year, I stumbled upon OMAD by accident (I was so busy that I genuinely didn't have time to eat more than once a day) and for the first time in what feels like forever - I felt GREAT! I had more energy, I was losing weight, I was in a good mood and I wasn't feeling hungry or guilty if I ate red meat or a piece of bread.

So I did my research, spoke with my GP and given that I don't have any medical conditions (and I am not on any meds) that would be an obstacle - I got the green light to try this.

My plan is: 1 meal per day at 6 or 7pm (so that we have one family meal), try to consume less carbs but no pressure not to consume any and once I'm below 200lbs (and body got used to the diet) - start speed walking (1h per day in the mornings).

However, what I really need is a partner - someone I can talk to, someone to hold me accountable and someone to commiserate with on bad days.

I'm going to join in too. I have done this before and lost weight, I just need to keep it up this time. Check in tomorrow.

I didn't realise that you shouldn't have milk in tea and coffee

@LeatherSkirt82 sounds like we are in a very similar situation, OMAD is quite a good alternative in this instance as you can eat what they are and less limits. If we are all doing it together I think it will make a big difference to have some mutual support along the way. I often start then just get hungry and waver.

There's a really good subreddit reddit.com/r/fasting that is helpful if you're wavering with lots of before and after photos.

The other thing that sometimes helps me get through is when I get a bit hungry I go prepare a really healthy or yummy dinner for later on when I am able to eat it. Which sounds weird but it helps me to get close to the food, which sometimes is enough in itself, it gives me something to do to distract from hunger and ensures that when I am able to eat later it is more likely to be healthy because I've made some yummy food and I can look forward to it all day knowing it is there and that I won't pig out on something terrible just because I can eat.

I did a long stint of OMAD and loved it. It really takes the pressure off….counter intuitively!

The only warning I’d give is that I’m pretty sure I messed my thyroid up doing it for too long

i totally get it, it’s a way of life that feels amazing but sometimes at particular points in your cycle (week before period) I’m not sure it’s a great idea to march on and ignore any signs your body is weak etc.

Im desperately trying not to put you off because I know it’s fantastic, I’m just trying to give you my experience - don’t power through if your hormonal cycle is impacting your energy - listen to it!

@Eminybob welcome! I woke up determined, just having my first coffee (black, no sugar) and gearing up to start work.

@ethermint 100% here for mutual support - that’s always the hardest bit for me - I get to feel very lonely as I do t really have anyone around me I can do this with. Thanks for sharing the Reddit link. There’s also some good stuff on /omad

Long day at work today so DH and DC will eat at my in-laws which means I have complete freedom to plan my meal.

@hamstersarse thanks for the warning! Did you take any vitamins while on OMAD? Did you do longer fasts?

I am a long term IFer and sometimes have OMAD.

My tips would be

• start by focussing on sticking to your fasting/eating window with less focus on what you eat. I find this helps you get used to fasting and then it becomes easier without having any additional diet restrictions. As time goes by I think you’ll find your body is craving nutritious whole foods in your eating window.
• listen to your body. You will learn to distinguish between when your body truly needs food and when it is just habit that is making you eat. Listen to those hunger cues, particularly around hormonal changes. Eat more or change your fasting window accordingly.
• look up Gin Stephens. She has a couple of books and a very inspiring intermittent fasting stories podcast.

good luck - I think IF is the easiest way of eating healthily and keeping track of goals 🙂

@Aftertheharvest thank you - will check out these things! Good advice!

I managed a black coffee for breakfast - which is a start. Usually go for an oat milk one, which is not great for IF obviously!!

Good luck everyone for today!

Also I would suggest everyone take a few photos, body shots and selfies of their side and front profile for comparison later along the journey. I typically hate photos of myself but I have braved it and done a bare tummy shot and full length profiles so I can compare in a couple of months.

Great tips, thanks!

@ethermint , thanks for reminding me to do photos - I completely forgot this morning (but I did weigh myself, eeek!). I’ll do photos tomorrow morning. Coffee and water and not hungry but that’s not unusual for me - my crisis period is usually 3-5 and 10-11pm.

Just had the weigh in eeek moment too. However it was also oddly motivating.. determined to succeed this time! I like the simplicity of this approach. Good luck everyone

hi everyone, just wondered if anyone might find this podcast helpful about how to maintain changes that I listened to recently that I found really helpful
www.oneyoufeed.net/how-to-make-lasting-changes/

he suggests a lot of ideas that help with this kind of thing - one is keeping a log / written record of your progress, apparently it makes a big difference. Another is to find support (like this group) which also helps. Also to do the right research beforehand and prep, so it's probably worth doing a bit of this if you are not sure about some of the rules. And doing the healthy opposite of whatever you normally do.

Anyway I found it really helpful and interesting. They touch on dieting / healthy eating in it too so I think it's relevant to what we're doing.

@Lennox78 good luck!

@Lennox78 good luck and @ethermint - thanks for the link - I'll try to listen to it tonight.

I have invested in a digital scale that uploads results automatically to my phone, it keeps track of my weight, BMI, muscle and bone mass and fat%. No idea how it does all that 😯but it helps seeing the downward trend on the app as you lose weight and I find it easier than relying upon myself remembering to manually enter values into diary/app.

I've also allocated some time to do some more digging on supplements/electrolytes in case I decide to try rolling fasts down the line. But that's me getting way ahead of myself

I agree about Gin Stephens, she wrote “Delay not Deny” and the excellent, very readable “Feast. Fast. Repeat “. I find if I know what’s going on internally I can hold on a bit longer. It’s a big incentive.

I lost nearly 4 stone last year and did OMAD and 19:5 (19 hours not eating, 5 hours’ eating window) with the occasional time off to fit in with whatever was going on. Within the first WEEK my joints stopped aching coming downstairs and I no longer had acid reflux at night.

These past few weeks I’ve been stretching my eating window and everything has been loaded with sugar. Last night I had reflux and I felt heavy and sluggish and I’m definitely achier. We’re going for a family meal on Saturday but I’m not using it as an excuse to delay starting. That will simply be my OMAD.

I’ll weigh tomorrow morning which should give me a good kick up my too-big bum but will start right now, today.

Meant to add, thank you for starting this thread OP

@Abracadabra12345 congrats on your success last year and starting again sounds like a good idea!

to all - on a side note I was just reading that losing weight too rapidly can result in gallstones if you're not careful, so there are steps you can take to lessen the likelihood of this if you include some oil / fat in your OMAD meal or something. It needs a bit more research but gallstones could be horrid so it's probably best to bear in mind.

@Abracadabra12345 that's impressive!!! I hope for results like that - but for now if I could just ditch my size 16/18 clothes and start wearing 14 again, I'll be happy (and so much more motivated to continue). I made a promise to myself that every time I shrink out of the clothing item - I'll be donating it to a charity (provided its not a worn out piece). It will free so much space in my closet, it will help me not to have 'fat pants' and it will hopefully also do some good in the process.

How is everyone doing? I've hit my first 'crisis' window but I scheduled quite a few things to do now (just waiting for a meeting to start) that should keep me occupied until my allowed meal. Drank way too much coffee though - will need to work on that.

@LeatherSkirt82 great idea on the clothing!

keeping busy is so important, especially in early days, I am OMAD today. Felt hungry about 12 but had a cup of coffee and held on and now feeling great and looking forward to my meal in an hour!

I'm in! I did this before and it's amazing - lost 2 stone and was v happy with my weight. Then life happened and I started eating crap all day long again and put some back on. So now doing this again

I would say avoid the milk though as pp have said as it takes away the benefit of fasting and you might as well just be on a low calorie diet (which messes with your metabolism)

hi all, I was just preparing dinner for later then unthinkingly ate a couple of bits of tofu while preparing! so decided to have my meal now rather than later rather than stretch it out. It's not ideal but I did last all day. I'll just have to wait a bit longer tomorrow before evening meal.

Just finished my meal - couldn't eat much as very tired but hopefully enough to keep me going through the day tomorrow.

@dystylam welcome!!!

Took me a about 6 months to loose the 3 stone. The secret is the knowing that in your window you can eat what you fancy. From experience I don't want to eat crap now and if I have a bad day then the next day is a good un.I also walk as much as I can.... but forgive myself if miss a day, the next day I'll do extra.... I just maintain now

@LeatherSkirt82 Thank you! I've always been a yo-yo dieter and normally gain weight during winter but am able to lose it during spring. Then lockdown happened! Food was the only interesting thing going on so I instead of losing the winter weight, I added to it. I became so uncomfortable walking and at night. It took a month to gradually get in the right mind space before I could start though.

Size 14 is a great size for me! It took ages to convince myself I was a 14 and not a 20, I kept veering towards those sizes. So I don't want to get out of control again.

Today I had a healthy meal - though did eat biscuits, to use them up . Tomorrow I weigh myself. Eeek