My OMAD (One Meal a Day) Journey

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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TL/DR: OMAD (eating just one meal a day) is a very good fit for me. It may not be for you.

Today I am on day 50 of OMAD. My initial goal was to complete 7 days. I thought I’d share some info about my journey. Feel free to contribute any weight loss, dietary, or health anecdotes or data you would like. Questions are also welcomed.

I am actually combining OMAD with a carb-restricted diet. I find this is what works best for me. I don’t know if I could do it while eating more than a minimal amount (<20 grams/day for me) of carbs. Carbs make me hungry. For me, eating carbs makes me feel like I want more carbs.

Since the day I started, my weight has dropped 24 pounds. I had lost another 22 lbs over the previous 6 weeks doing keto only, so a total of 46 lbs. over 12-ish weeks My blood pressure when starting was 140/88, today it is 125/76.

So, here is my self-developed program:

  • I eat one meal a day, around 3-4 pm.
  • I limit myself to less than 20 carbs a day
  • I don’t count calories, but I would guess I average about 800 – 1,200 per meal
  • I do not consume any calories during my fasting hours.
  • I walk at least 2 miles most every day - 6-7 days/week - in addition to a modest amount of weight training

I have identified 16 benefits of my plan, some of which may not be as obvious as others (and I realize that there is some overlap):

  • Lose weight
    • Obvious
  • Decrease blood pressure
    • I have hypertension and am on two blood pressure medications plus a diuretic. I check my blood pressure weekly and will titrate my doses downward as the numbers dictate.
  • More energy
    • This was noticeable after just a few days on the program, and I still notice it regularly at this point. It is as much a mental as physical benefit.
  • Clothes fit better
    • I have a lot of clothes in a lot of different sizes. It is just plain fun to try on clothes that I know did not fit me a month ago. As time goes by I will have acquired a new wardrobe without spending a cent. OK, maybe I’ll splurge for a MAGA shirt in large. Kidding.
  • Receive compliments
    • Who doesn’t love a good compliment?
  • More positive mental state
    • Yeah, I still can get cranky - they don’t call me Mean Mr. Mustard for nothing - but I smack myself in the face and realize how well things are going for me right now. For the most part I am quite content (being newly retired has a lot to do with this) and recognize that every day is a good day.
  • Save money
    • I eat less. I spend less on food. This did not factor at all into my adoption of OMAD, but it is a benefit nonetheless.
  • Save time
    • As noted, I have plenty of time these days. But the time spent prepping and eating three meals a day is not insignificant, and to be mostly relieved of that burden is a nice feeling.
  • More alert
    • This is an often reported mental effect of OMAD, but if I’m being honest, I have not much noticed this benefit. If it’s there, it’s pretty subtle. I only mention it here because I know many folks do notice it.
  • Better dental care
    • I bet you hadn’t considered this benefit. Immediately after eating my meal I floss and brush. Which means that I floss and brush after literally every meal. I also brush after my morning coffee. Which means that, except for when I am currently eating, I am always fully flossed and fully brushed.
  • Less decisions to make
    • I am someone who does not get tired of eating the same thing day after day. I prep my Monday-Friday meals during the weekend and dish them out into five containers, stored in the fridge. Weekday dinners are a snap. On weekends, I vary what I eat but I do not stray one bit from the program.
  • Minimal need to adjust social life
    • I am fine not drinking alcohol, so that is not an issue for me. I do like to eat out and I have continued to do so; I have not run into a problem finding something for me on the menus. I have been to a couple of family gatherings with lots of food available and have done well. Because of these gatherings it was necessary for me to eat my meal earlier than usual, which has not been a problem. I don’t know if I will be continuing this plan through the holidays, but I am confident I can navigate through Thanksgiving and Christmas if I choose to do so.
  • No cravings
    • As hinted at, the low carb routine removes all my cravings. I am being totally truthful when I say I almost never feel hunger. There are days when I could easily skip my one meal (I would not do that). On the occasions that I do feel hungry, it happens around 2:00 in the afternoon. When that happens I just busy myself with some task and, before I know it, it’s time to eat.
  • More conscious enjoyment of food
    • I’m the type who can eat a sleeve or Oreos or half a bag of chips while not even realizing it. These days I am super conscious of the food I eat and the enjoyment of same. Hey, I’ve been waiting 23 hours for this, I’m going to enjoy the hell out of it!
  • Better sleep
    • I remember trying to sleep with a big, fat, bloated belly. Sometimes I would not even get comfortable enough to lie still to even try to sleep. I am now not uncomfortable lying in bed. And I’m not going to bed hungry. I am also not going to bed like every day is Thanksgiving, either.
  • Improved sense of discipline
    • This will certainly vary with the individual, but I allow myself to feel good about the fact that I have enough discipline to do this. I give myself a mental pat on the back every day. Knowing that I can accomplish something so restrictive allows me the opportunity to wonder what else I may be capable of.

Now, to preemptively address a couple of points that will inevitably arise:

“Sure, you’ve lost weight, but once you go back to eating the way you did before you’re going to gain all that weight back.”

Yes, ‘tis true. So obviously true that it need not be stated. It is the equivalent of saying, “ya know, if you jump in that river you’re going to get wet.”

“This way of eating is not sustainable.”

Maybe. But it does not need to be sustainable. I have no plans nor need to keep myself in a calorie deficit until the end of time, only until I reach a plateau at which I will feel comfortable, at which point I will transition into a maintenance (vs. losing) strategy.

Thanks for reading!

mmm

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You listed the benefits; have you found drawbacks?

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Do you live alone or with others? My challenge has been coordinating my preferred dietary goals in a household with family that do not share those goals.

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That sounds like it’s working great for you.

I have tried intermittent-fasting-lite, which meant eating one meal a day once or twice a week. I didn’t feel hungry. But I did miss the joy of eating. I really like my morning cereal with berries. Also, for me it often meant eating what my husband cooked, and not the foods I like more (that I tend to prepare.) Maybe I should try it again, though.

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I have lost 50 lbs since June on a very similar plan as yours, other than I have not gone to OMD yet I have done intermittent fastening to get me off plateaus. I do need to keep in under 20 carbs a day in order to lose weight, although I notice much improvement if I can get it under 10 carbs a day which is difficult to do. I also do an intense workout of water walking and calisthenics in the early morning in order to improve my range of motion, that and it relaxes me and helps we wake up.

One benefit that I found is more interest in sex and an ability to perform better.

I’m not seeing any negatives myself. I make sure to drink electolytes and take Omega 3 suppliments to make sure I stay balanced. Also make sure I am eating clean, organic foods. The extra cost of which is offset by the fact that I don’t eat fast food or as much food as I used to.

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Do you get tired or light headed between meals?

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Congratulations on finding a weight management plan that works for you. I had a very similar plan to yours earlier this year and lost 40 pounds in less than four months. (I have since transitioned to a much less extreme program, but the underlying basics are the same). I never felt hungry, and was OMAD on most days and NOMAD (No Meal a Day) at least once a week. You didn’t mention the benefit of increased Autophagy, which was one of the reasons I decided to do it.

“Sure, you’ve lost weight, but once you go back to eating the way you did before you’re going to gain all that weight back.”

This was my biggest challenge since I had lost 22% of my body weight so quickly and had no transition plan to maintenance. Try as I might, as soon as I went back to eating three meals a day my weight went up at a rate of about half as fast as I had lost it.

I finally broke down and met with a dietician, and she was able to successfully guide me into a maintenance program, and I stopped gaining weight almost immediately. I feel better knowing that I don’t have to gain the weight back and I can have a “normal” eating program at the same time. I count carbs and calories, and still track what I eat. I even wore a Constant Glucose Monitor to find out how the foods I eat impacted my blood sugar, my insulin production, and ultimately my weight gain. I weigh myself every morning so there are no surprises at the end of the week.

“This way of eating is not sustainable.”

Actually, lots of people adopt Keto and IF as permanent lifestyle changes. You may not need to. They don’t have to worry about gaining weight in the future.

I maintain a permanent energy deficit of 500 cals a day through calorie restriction of 1,800 cals per day, moderate daily exercise of 600 cals per day, and less than 50 grams of carbs per day. My weight has been stable and/or slowly dropping over the past few months, and that includes enjoying my 69th out-of-town birthday weekend where I gained three pounds in only four days. When I got home I immediately got back on the program and lost that weight within three days.

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Congratulations!! :grinning: :heart:

Exactly! For a species that is supposed to be 99% genetically identical, there are an amazing amount of individual differences between us, and one of those differences is what works best for us nutritionally. I’m glad you’ve found the methodology that works best for you.

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Congrats to the OP!

I successfully lost a pretty good amount of weight a few years ago, like 30+ lbs., doing a low-carb diet and intermittent fasting. Not quite OMAD, but two meals in a 6 hour window, no in-between snacks. Low-carb seems like the only good way I can lose weight, and like the OP says, cutting out most carbs really reduces hunger cravings-- it’s almost like a superpower.

Then I went off it and gained it all back again in the ensuing few years. I blamed the pandemic, but I think it’s really my own fault. Like a bad Jimmy Buffet parody-- “Some people claim it’s the pandemic to blame / but I know, it’s my own gluttony”.

Now I’m back on the low-carb / 6 hour eating window again, but struggling with it a bit. I like to eat and I like to cook interesting meals, so I’m missing carbs…not so much carb cravings, I just miss the interesting variety of meals I can make with carb-heavy ingredients.

Yeah, I cook for my family a lot, and it’s a challenge. What I try to do is make a meal that I can serve them with a carb, and also myself with a carb substitute. For example, I might make a stir-fry, serve it over rice for them, and over riced cauliflower for me.

One thing I struggle with about low-carb diets-- the carb part of a meal often sort of serves as the ‘structure’ or ‘matrix’ of a meal. Finding a decent substitute for that can be a challenge. For example, in my stir-fry example it would seem weird not to have anything to put the stir-fry sauce on. But frankly, I’m getting awful sick of riced cauliflower. I found these low-carb burrito wraps, so I’ve been making a lot of sandwich wraps and burritos with them. If I make a white pasta sauce, I’ve found a pasta substitute made out of hearts of palm that’s really good with white sauces, not so much red sauces. Shirataki noodles, made out of a type of yam and are virtually zero-carb, are barely tolerable substitutes for ramen…kinda weird and rubbery.

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One meal a day could cause blood sugar problems. I would eat a healthy snack to prevent that.

I’m not diabetic.

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I’m not the op, but when i fast (either one meal a day, or for Yom Kippur) i do not feel tired or light headed.

Now, when I’m tired, it makes me hungry. But i don’t find the reverse to be true.

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It’s all what you’re used to, we tend to believe that three meals a day (plus snacks) are “normal”.

My journey down that road arose as an afterthought. I was planning a backcountry hiking trip, had the federal campsite park reservation, everything. But entailed a multi-day cross country road trip. I surmised that a few days of fasting would not be … unwelcome, upon arrival, what with the stress and altered diet out on the trail.

Anyhoo, I started IF and “one meal a day” in June, of 2019 - it is perfectly sustainable. Like anything else, it is a matter of dedication. Whatever method you choose to lose, and keep the fat off, is going to require effort and determination. There is no way around this. Different strategies to achieve the same goal. Permanent lifestyle changes are necessarily part of long term health goals.

What’s promising about time restricted eating is there are clear health benefits apart from simply shedding excess pounds.

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I had the same issue as you. I like to eat, and I like cooking, especially baking, and all of a sudden I was restricted in what I could make, and what I could consume. You learn to adapt, and when I found out about almond flour, Allulose, and cauliflower rice that changed my life. I like all veggies, so moving from starches to veggies wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I always have a large salad with dinner and I have cut out all snacks, which helps keep my carbs down. It’s amazing how being in Ketosis makes your hunger go away. Your body is perfectly happy living off your body fat and doesn’t need carbs to run smoothly.

I’m now on a maintenance plan that’s a low-carb Mediterranean diet. Lots of seafood and chicken for protein, which suits me fine. My wife eats the same thing I do, so cooking got a lot easier not having to make separate meals every day. I do include a treat at the end of most meals. It might be a piece of fruit, a low-carb peanut butter cookie with sugar-free nutella, or just a piece of 90% dark chocolate. As long as I keep within my set dietary parameters, I don’t have to think about my weight, or fear getting on the scale every morning like I did most of my life.

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I too have been on a one meal a day plan. I’m losing much more slowly though because of some health issues that have me unable to walk the 3-5 miles a day I used to do. Plus I don’t restrict my calories or carbs every day. I’m too old (and too close to death) for that nonsense.

I hate that I even have to eat anymore though. Food is no fun when you have to think about it this hard. I used to be able to eat anything I wanted and still look like that! harhar

I seldom get hungry between meals if I stick to 1200 calories. But I can’t be trusted with sweets in the house. This is why I can’t enjoy baking or a good sale on my favorite treat.

Living alone, I tend to get take out for most of my meals now. I waste less food that way. I hate wasting food. I cuss myself out every time I add something to my food waste bin.

I wish you continued good luck in your journey everyone.

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Good luck on your journey. A lot of people find it hard to stick to a diet, let alone one with as many restrictions as Keto or IF. I routinely walk 6-10 miles a day, which allows me to eat more daily calories than most, but you are doing great so don’t stress about it. I’ve found that stressing over calories or exercise usually works against me. Remember, every day is a new day. Do the best you can, try to stay as healthy as you can, and live every day to the fullest. Life is too short to worry about losing a few more pounds.

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I hope you don’t mind my asking your start weight prior to the diet change?

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Lots of people brush after every meal. Technically, eating 3x day would therefore mean more frequent dental care than your schedule.

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When I started Keto and IF in January I did the same thing as MMM, and I’ve kept doing it to this day. My dentist is thrilled.

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I’ve relied on almond flour and cauliflower rice a lot, but I was not aware of Allulose as a sweetener. Thanks, I will check that out.

I don’t have too much of a sweet tooth, but when you go low-carb for awhile sometimes you just want something sweet. My go-to for making or baking sweet stuff used to be erythritol, which tastes to me a lot like sugar. But then they came out with that study that found a strong correlation between erythritol and blood clots.

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I’m with you. Erythritol, which is what they put in Swerve, when used occasionally, may not be that bad, but who’d want to risk it. They need to do corroborating studies to verify the results that were reported.

You should try out a few different sweeteners to find out which one tastes best to you. Some people like Stevia, others like Monk Fruit or Allulose. What I buy is actually a Monk Fruit/Allulose blend, that works well on baked goods and tastes sweet enough for me. YMMV.

Here’s the link to what I buy in case you’re interested in trying. It’s a little sweeter than just Allulose alone, and substitutes one-for-one for table sugar in most recipes.