Sean's OMAD Log

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Replies

  • blambo61
    blambo61 Posts: 4,372 Member
    One thing I think that has helped me was making sure my dinner had adequate protein. I have usually taken about 50g of whey protein before my evening meal. It helps me not eat as much and it helps me fast the next day. I think it helps with prevention of muscle loss too.
  • vrojapu
    vrojapu Posts: 268 Member
    Have a high protein delicious cake for your birthday and enjoy every morsel you eat, and happy birthday in advance!
  • Eidian
    Eidian Posts: 35 Member
    Hi everyone, it's been awhile! I've been doing intermittent fasting but not really logging it (I'd like to change that going forward, but no promises). Life's been pretty hectic lately - I moved back home and just got some new kittens, just to name a few things. I've been doing "alternate day fasting" after reading Dr. Krista Varady's "Every Other Day Diet" cookbook, I ended up going to a 40 hour water fast / 8 hour feeding window for awhile and now I'm down to 334 lbs from ~390+ lbs (I ballooned back up after I quit logging on my thread here).

    But I've been running into a problem: such a large eating window is allowing me to eat too much junk food! I've gotten to a point where I can water fast just fine, but I still have a tough time resisting treats, so I want to switch back to OMAD because I remember it lending itself to fewer sodas or junk food since you're only eating once a day.

    I'm around ~344 lbs (I'll start logging tomorrow) at the moment and I'd like to get down to around 200 lbs, then I'll pack on some muscle.

    I'm hoping to check in here to help motivate myself and other people. It's nice to have like-minded people to discuss your ups and downs with!
  • blambo61
    blambo61 Posts: 4,372 Member
    edited August 2016
    I think once a week splurge day is ok but I think any more than that and I know I will have a hard time losing weight. The 5:2 and every other day etc are too many splurge days for me and I know that would not work for me. Every one is different but for me, a person who likes to eat once I start eating, OMAD I think is about optimal (I do allow a three hour eating window for myself which might not work for some if they would overeat in that window). I just like filling up and fortunately I can only get about 1500 cals in me tell full after fasting about 21-hrs and then I will graze and get in maybe another 500-100 cals for the day. If someone allowed themselves to eat tell full and only allowed one hour - I'm sure that could even get some people in trouble. Bottom line is we have to have a calorie deficit and need to do whatever it takes to do that. With OMAD and exercise, I've fortunately been able to have a three hour eating window daily where I can eat tell full, stay topped off by grazing in my eating window and still lose weight. I am also paying more attention to what I eat and set priorities to try to fill up on the good stuff 1st so I don't have as much room for the not-so-good stuff. I start with a drink of water, then a whey protein drink in milk (about 65 g protein). They I eat dinner and eat all the meat/ vegetables type stuff 1st (non-starchy) then I will allow the carb type stuff. I control the calories some doing that because the stuff I'm eating 1st is low cal per volume. Then in the end I'm grazing and try to just do fruit but will allow some deserts. By doing that, I limit the desert to just a little and not a lot (1 small bowl of ice-cream instead of two large). If this wasn't working, I could count cals which I really don't want to do, or I could just make my eating window later and so my grazing period would be shorter and I would be getting to bed about 1-2 hours after eating. If all that didn't work, then I would start doing portion control and not allow more than the pre-determined amount. Bottom line is we have to do what our psych will allow and that will result in deficit. Eating good food 1st before bad will help. Shorter eating windows help. Portion control can help. I also find it much easier to fast the next day if I get adequate protein intake the night before. I must drink lots of water during my fast to get me through also. If I had a bad day fasting one strategy that has worked for me is to eat a little coconut oil which is absorbed fast and can provide cals fast but it won't shut down burning our own fat like eating carbs will (it won't spike insulin which shuts down fat metabolism). When we eat highly refined carbs, we get an insulin response that will shut down our ability to burn fat so by eating the coconut oil, I do get extra cals but I don't shut down my own fat burning pre-maturely and the cals I get are still at a deficit level and less than if I ate carbs so although it isn't as good as fasting it is a lot better than just start eating carbs. Also eating sugar or other refined carbs will cause us to be very hungry shortly thereafter due to the insulin response driving our blood sugar to low levels. Worst thing we can do for ourselves in my opinion is to eat sugary stuff on an empty stomach! This is how I currently view things, right or wrong. Good luck!
  • Eidian
    Eidian Posts: 35 Member
    So far I've been doing pretty well with the 40/8 fasting, but lately, I've noticed that it's affected my sleep and that has increased my stress levels. I think doing a 40/8 fasting window was okay for awhile but it turned into "too much of a good thing" if that makes sense. So I think OMAD - which I've done in the past and loved - will be the best of both worlds. I'll probably extend it out to an eating window of 3-4 hours for maintenance + body recomposition (basically, when I build muscle and get a six pack), but for right now I'm just totally focused on fat loss with OMAD. I'm gonna stick to one plate, one beverage (juice or iced tea or a soda, most likely). I'm also gonna cut down on the junk food that I eat and start doing more homemade meals, but right now I'm just focused on getting into the habit of eating once a day and to be serious about my portion control.

    I like eating later in the day because I do a lot of creative work at a desk during the day and find that fasting really helps me keep my focus. It's nice to be able to switch into "relaxation mode" after a nice dinner, read a book or watch TV, and then get ready for bed. With the 40/8 fasting, I didn't have that "wind down for bed" feeling, which I feel is a necessity for me.
  • blambo61
    blambo61 Posts: 4,372 Member
    Sounds like you have a good plan. Should work. Good luck!
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,706 Member
    Welcome back, Eldian. And it's great you've been doing something that yielded some results. Way to get back OMADing. As newmeadow mentioned, it truly is easier when you have ONE method that you use, it releases cognitive load and makes things much easier.
  • Abm4n
    Abm4n Posts: 529 Member
    Looks delicious!