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.

@Catspyjamas17 I would say fasting is probably one of the more sustainable diets vs regular diets - simply because it's so easy to fit in a couple of OMAD or slightly longer fasts per week if you're putting on weight. And once you're used to it, it's easy and can become habitual. That doesn't mean you can't eat normally the rest of the days.

With the majority of regular diets (slimming world etc) the moment you stop the weight piles back on again and the company keeps you coming back to make their money. Whereas anyone can do a few days of 5/2 or OMAD or slightly longer fasts in a week if things are looking a bit heavier on the scales. You're also allowed bad days.

It probably makes sense for most people if they are prone to weight gain to have some sort of maintenance model - whatever that may be. For example when you're at your goal weight, you can eat more normally again but maybe do 5/2 or 16/8 to keep it up.

Humans need less calories as they get older, the idea of three square meals a day doesn't work for most people as they get older, unless you're eating super healthily or exercising loads or have a really fast metabolism.

@SpaceOpera lol at that. that said have you read about the benefits of autophagy that is induced by fasting? Some wild stuff that it can do! cell recycling, old cysts disappearing etc. It's a thing.

Day 2 and all going well. I need to weight myself for motivation but the batteries have run out. Typical. But every time I feel hungry I just remind myself of my slightly too tight bras. They are too expensive to replace.

when you say electrolytes- how do you replace those ?

And thanks again for the welcoming thread.

@TrevorOptions

You prob only need them if you're doing longer than 24 - 36hrs, but research properly and don't take my word for it!

www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/fasting_in_a_nutshell/you_need_electrolytes/

I bought some fasting salts on ebay (calorie free) and add to water, some people take magnesium separately to salt / potassium for absorption reasons etc. You can just lick a little salt / low salt then wash with water, or mix in water and sip slowly. You have to do it properly. I once downed a full glass and it sent me straight to the loo (don't do that!).

@TrevorOptions sorry the link should be www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/fasting_in_a_nutshell/you_need_electrolytes/

@TrevorOptions for some reason it's not letting me copy it properly

Here it is!!

www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/fasting_in_a_nutshell/you_need_electrolytes/

I think MN is doing something strange, if you go to www.reddit.com/r/fasting then look in the side bar for the wiki about electrolytes you should reach it ok!

@Catspyjamas17 That is a very good point. Yes, I am with you on that. I am using OMAD to change the way I think about food - mental control being the important thing here. Once I get my 'window' in place - 2 hours per day - then I intend to continue this for the rest of my life.

There will be periods when this will be disrupted - illness, family events, business travel - but these will be blips. As Jason Fung says...

Week 1 Day 7 - Week 1 complete!

OMAD today within 2-hr window.
Exercise: 9k run
All-day fast tomorrow and weigh-in on Thursday.

Wishing everyone solid progress!

Well done @SpaceOpera !!

I have a 30 minute spinning session plus some kettlebells at the gym scheduled this morning!

OMAD this evening- but it is the first day of meteorological spring so i have promised the family a celebratory roast dinner! Definitely some roast potatos in there..... plus all the greens I can possibly cook!

I like this approach @SpaceOpera

Currently I am thinking that when I am at my desired weight I will bring a smaller second meal back in, but then yes revert to OMAD when my weight goes up even by 2 pounds until it is down again. But with an understanding that there will be blips. Previously I have used blips to say 'fuckit, I'm a failure' and then eat until I am sick. I feel incredibly positive about OMAD. I have not had a single binge session since I started- nor even felt the desire to. I decide what my eating window will be for the day and then make a decent attempt at ensuring the meal is balanced. Then I am done. It feels revolutionary.

Hope everyone has a good day!

There will be periods when this will be disrupted - illness, family events, business travel - but these will be blips. As Jason Fung says...

Pretty much why Very Fast 800 only worked for me in lockdown. As soon as "blips" resumed, also known as "normal life" any fasting/very low calorie diet was impossible.

Exercising while not eating for long periods sounds like an eating disorder to me. You need to fuel your body properly for exercise.

If you eat actual normal food when you are humgry fasting salts and other faddy nonsense will not be required. Not eating for 12, perhaps up to 16 hours is fairly natural. Eating everything within two hours and then only a sweet potato with salmon and veg, is really not a good idea and certainly not long term.

My hair started to fall out after doing Fast 800 for 8 weeks. Once I stopped and tried doing the maintenance I went absolutely mad with carbs and alcohol - and I'm someone who never normally binges or emotionally eats and is very moderate in alcohol consumption. And of course I put all the weight back on and a bit more. My metabolism had gone up the spout as well as I didn't have the energy or fitness to do much exercise.

Now I'm doing a lot more exercise and eating more mindfully and not counting anything and I feel fantastic, free but in control.

Just wanted to add that perspective to anyone who finds they don't get on with OMAD or any other restricted diet.

Doing WW, SW, 5:2, Fast 800, very low carb, calorie counting, over the years and I would include OMAD in that sphere, was just a way of fooling myself and getting out of tuning into myself and what my body needs.

But fasting and low-calorie are completely different, from the point of view of those of us who have diabetes-prone genes. Low-calorie for us is a form of slow torture. The body gets a small input of calories, blood sugar spikes and falls, and if you repeat the cycle the body and mind go crazy with cravings, tiredness, hunger and self-denial. To be avoided for those who are looking to maintain stable blood sugar.

My mother is 73 this year. Since 2016 she has been doing OMAD, and also periodic 24, 48 or 72 hrs occasionally since 2021. There is no calorie control involved. She eats to satiety, with plenty of butter, cream, fish, meat, offal, pulses, lentils and veg. She cuts out most carbs and sugar but that is a personal preference and is not self/denial. She’s a great cook and the OMAD is a visual pleasure and a feast!

Her blood tests show Fung’s predictions have come true for her. Her HBA1C - showing propensity to diabetes - is now normal, in spite of her diabetic genes. She has no illnesses and takes no medication. People comment on her lovely skin and her slenderness. She is a great role model for me healthwise. She credits Fung with having transformed her life.

No eating disorders or lack of pleasure about me that I can see. Calorie counting and self-denial of a wide variety of nutrient-rich unprocessed food simply makes no sense from the blood sugar point of view.

I don’t think that’s what this thread is about. It’s for people who’ve failed at calorie-counting, if anything.

In terms of life events, OMAD helps make time in and add pleasure to a busy life with kids, work, commute. Things like holidays and family weddings come and go, OMAD can accommodate those. I feel no sense of restriction and self-denial - my craving for veg, for example, happened without my even thinking about it.

I’d be interested to hear other contrasting points of view.

@WiltingLobelia congratulations, I think you have the right attitude here. There's no reason that it can't be sustainable if you're mindful of it and make it a habit.

@Catspyjamas17 sorry to hear you lost hair on Fast800 (very different to this as that is a low calorie model without an allowance for bad days or slip ups with carbs so I can see why someone would go a bit mad for food after attempting it). I can assure you that nobody is taking this decision lightly and everyone is trying to do what works for them and I personally am super happy that I have found something that works.

I realise some people see it as radical or disordered, but what is disordered for me is how I became accustomed to eating too much leading to weight gain and comfort eating. I feel my relationship is being reset with food via this method. That said I do realise it may not suit everyone.

If you read back through recent posts you will see some of us commenting that we are listening more closely to hunger cues, craving greens and eating more healthily etc and it's resetting our food relationships. It's slowly changing things for me - things may not be perfect yet but it's changed a lot.

I personally intend to incorporate less strict maintenance methods after reaching goal weight and of course eating intuitively forms a part of the overall goals.

In my admittedly only limited 5 week experience I agree with @SpaceOpera

Emotionally and psychologically I feel liberated because I am not actually restricting or denying myself. I eat what i want in my window. Honestly it feels like a game changer for me.

Calorie restriction 3 times a day sends me over the edge. And means I obsess about food.

Everyone is different. Maybe for me it is not long term. I know that for me now it is working really well.

@WiltingLobelia I think there is a lot of general distrust still about fasting in general due to old myths around "starvation mode", "muscle loss" etc which are demonstrably false (unless someone is super thin anyway). Also what does the diet industry gain from promoting something that actually works?

I do realise there are some people with serious eating disorders who should avoid something like this, but for a lot of people who simply eat too much it seems a great and sustainable model with room for bad days so you never feel really like you are really missing out. Unlike caloric restriction which is goddam miserable and less effective overall past a certain point, messing with your metabolism as Dr Fung explains which is why a lot of people plateau then gain all the weight back again after.

@SpaceOpera our posts crossed earlier - didn't realise you'd replied, I fully agree with everything you've written.

Thank you for your posts - most informative. It's definitely not for me though, wouldn't fit with my life at all.

Week 2 Day 1.

Fasting day today. Seen the medicos today for something unrelated to the digestive system and been asked to keep off the green tea (I drink several cups of loose-leaf daily) since it’s potentially irritating to the bladder and can even cause urine leakage! Who knew 😮

So swapping to hot water. Acid, caffeine, tannins can all irritate the unfortunate. I’ll avoid when fasting from now on.

I'm out for dinner later so my OMAD will be a lovely one! Hope everyone is having a nice day :)

Hello!

Hope you had a great meal out @tatteddear

The discussion about fasting and opinions on it (from all sides) is interesting to me. I do have a history of eating disorders so need to be mindful of it and to not slip back into that. So for now I am abandoning my idea of a complete longer fast and will just settle in to OMAD and see how ti goes for an while.

Oddly enough I found 16-8 really difficult, whereas I do not find OMAD particularly difficult.

We have diabetes in the family and I also have a history of problematic blood sugar stability, ( was last tested for diabetes in November and was fine... and I am due for more blood tests for an autoimmune issue I have next month) yet also this has not been a problem in the past 5 weeks. Even when I exercise. So I will look into Dr Fung's work to learn more about that as well.

Week 2 Day 2: weight after approximately 36 hours of fasting is 59.5 kilos. This is a little down from Week 1’s 60.2 kilos. Both were taken after 36 hours of fasting, so I suspect the decrease is not just down to losing water.

@WiltingLobelia I completely agree with the idea of settling into OMAD first. You can always bring in longer fasts later.

As I was discussing with @ethermint, I’m not even changing what I eat. I want to get habituated to my eating window. When that’s rock-solid (could take a month or more) I can think about changing what I eat.

And if life throws a curve-ball at me in the meantime, well I’ll only have the eating window to maintain.

Too much change at once is a recipe for failure…

hello all, I just broke a 40hr fast because I am feeling a bit poorly. so felt I needed to eat to soothe my body.

I've calculated I am exactly 30% through my weight loss journey to get to target weight, this has taken since around 23rd Jan. Weight loss has been a bit slower than anticipated overall but probably steady enough and 30% is a good start!

If I keep going at the current rate I should reach my goal weight by early June.

I read something interesting the other day that as soon as you drop fat weight, water floods those cells and is actually heavier than fat, then a few days later the water is released - so although it might seem like you're not losing weight instantly you might find a few days after your fast that you drop more weight even after you stop. I didn't verify this online but it makes sense to me why my weight loss doesn't time perfectly with my fasting!