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Britt's OMAD Journey: January 2017 to NOW

brittanylock09
brittanylock09 Posts: 194 Member
edited November 15 in Social Groups
Hi! I'm Brittany!
I started OMAD on Tuesday, January 24, 2017.
25 y.o.
5'2"
SW: 258.4 on 1/6/17
CW: 251.6 on 1/27/17
GW: 160-175 lbs on ????

I've tried so may different things. Counting calories, having a personal trainer for almost two years, workout videos.... I always eat too much! I'm a social eater, boredom eater, and an emotional eater. All of this together is deadly. I just had our son 7 months ago, and I want to do better for him. I get out of breath easily just doing household chores or picking up his toys. I've always been overweight except when I had cancer at 11 years old. After that I just gained weight again and continued to average about a 10 lb gain each year after the initial huge increase.

My concerns that I have right now is whether I'm eating enough during my one meal, am I getting too hungry, what foods I should cut out for now, should I do any exercise to begin with, and how do I mentally stay strong when my body and mind are saying eat. I feel like I'm starving myself, and I don't want it to hurt my body or bite me in the butt and end up putting on weight when I up my calories just a hair because I ate a little more for one meal.

I want to get this weight off once and for all. I'm tired of being tired.

I look forward to the support of this group and thanks for all the info that I've already gotten.

Replies

  • brittanylock09
    brittanylock09 Posts: 194 Member
    Now that I did my introduction, I just want to say that today sucks. I felt like giving up. I gainied almost a lb. Maybe some water weight, but dang, going all day without eating shouldn't it even back out? Especially since it's my first week?! It's just discouraging. I want to do well, but how far do I need to cut my calories! I'm eating 1100-1300 cals. MFP says I should eat 1340 cals.
  • Anneli_F
    Anneli_F Posts: 76 Member
    First - welcome! :)
    Your first week is hard, I know! It takes time to adjust to this way of eating, but you can make it easier on yourself by having two meals within a couple of hours in the beginning and then, when the rest of the day starts feeling better, cut one of the meals out again. You have your whole life to intermittent fast, no need to hurry. Every step you take towards a healthier life makes a difference!

    For me it makes a big difference whether I eat low carb or not. With carbs I get hungry quicker and gain weight back more easily. If I keep them low I feel full longer (I have even done a couple of 72 hour fasts just for the fun of it) and the day passes quickly.

    Also, I don't count calories, I eat untill I'm really full and let my body know I'm not starving myself. I started dec 8 and have now lost 15 pounds, even with a week long "all you can eat-holiday".

    Hot tea is a good stomach filler, a tip! :) Also, bing watching videos on YouTube about fasting, insuline resistance and of course Joe's videos about OMAD is what helped me during the first couple of weeks.

    Good luck! :)
  • brittanylock09
    brittanylock09 Posts: 194 Member
    Anneli_F wrote: »
    First - welcome! :)
    Your first week is hard, I know! It takes time to adjust to this way of eating, but you can make it easier on yourself by having two meals within a couple of hours in the beginning and then, when the rest of the day starts feeling better, cut one of the meals out again. You have your whole life to intermittent fast, no need to hurry. Every step you take towards a healthier life makes a difference!

    For me it makes a big difference whether I eat low carb or not. With carbs I get hungry quicker and gain weight back more easily. If I keep them low I feel full longer (I have even done a couple of 72 hour fasts just for the fun of it) and the day passes quickly.

    Also, I don't count calories, I eat untill I'm really full and let my body know I'm not starving myself. I started dec 8 and have now lost 15 pounds, even with a week long "all you can eat-holiday".

    Hot tea is a good stomach filler, a tip! :) Also, bing watching videos on YouTube about fasting, insuline resistance and of course Joe's videos about OMAD is what helped me during the first couple of weeks.

    Good luck! :)

    Thank you! I appreciate all the advice!
  • leveejohn
    leveejohn Posts: 346 Member
    Welcome!!! 1st week is hard, especially the first three days. Tough those out and it gets better. Several of the more experienced OMAD'ers are also eating low carb, but I am not, and I am having some success (17 lbs in 4 weeks). I've tried low carb before, with success, but I couldn't handle the brain fog it gave. No brain fog on OMAD, in fact my alertness and energy has increased. I wouldn't avoid any foods except refined sugar. I would say eat as healthy as possible, in that one meal a day you have. Try not to eat anything that came out of a box (i.e. eat freshly prepared food). No junk, potato chips, etc. Eat what you like, eat what you crave. Just eat a plateful and leave it at that. Even with the refined sugar, I've snuck in a piece of chocolate or two, with a meal, once or twice a week. Just not half a bag full (which I certainly would have done before).

    Liberal amounts of water, coffee, tea, even diet sodas if you need them to get through the day. My fast days start with a very large glass of water.

    If hunger gets very bad during the fasting part of the day, others here have suggested taking a half teaspoon of coconut oil. I have followed their advice, and it helps. Mainly on the weekends, when I'm relaxing instead of working, I find I'll go to this. Coconut oil calms the stomach without spiking the blood sugar.

    Don't forget that once a week you can have a 'splurge' day where you eat normally. On one of my early splurge days I had a (rather large) bowl of ice cream, and I kind of regretted that, but otherwise I eat normally.

    This is just my experience, and I'm only one month into this, so I do not have a broad perspective. I am quite certain that everyone's experience of OMAD is their own.

    Watch a lot of the videos on the OMAD Revolution youtube channel, they have a wealth of information, especially if you search for any particular question or issue you are having.
  • leveejohn
    leveejohn Posts: 346 Member
    ps one of Joe's videos recommended hibiscus tea. I found a hibiscus blend from Lipton and it's wonderful. Also follow Joe's advice on apple cider vinegar, ACV. I mix 2 tbs of ACV in diluted grape juice with a tsp of honey and have this before or with a meal, and I really crave this stuff. I'm sure all this helps, but the main thing is to let your blood sugar stabilize by having that 20-22 hour fast each day. That's the main part.
  • leveejohn
    leveejohn Posts: 346 Member
    edited January 2017
    and man oh man how I wish I had known all this when I was 25 . . . . life would have been very different.
  • leveejohn
    leveejohn Posts: 346 Member
    brittanylock09 wrote: »
    should I do any exercise to begin with

    Joe said it best (big surprise!):
    the-truth-about-exercise-at-a-calorie-deficit
  • brittanylock09
    brittanylock09 Posts: 194 Member
    Ok. Today was better. All that fuss, and just like that, I have a 1.4 lb loss in just three days. I gotta stop being so critical of myself. It's difficult though whenever you've never been able to stick to something.
    Today was a lot easier than other days so far. I'm hoping to be on my game by mid week. Tuesday will make a week that I've been doing OMAD. I start my student teaching this week so I want to be up to par for the kiddos.
    I feel so much freedom from food. And remind myself that I can have these things, just later. I listened to that yesterday on the video and it hit home. I also have to be ok with delayed gratification and not worry about having it "right now".
    Thanks for all the support!!!
  • leveejohn
    leveejohn Posts: 346 Member
    Sounds like you've found it!
  • brittanylock09
    brittanylock09 Posts: 194 Member
    leveejohn wrote: »
    Sounds like you've found it!

    I sure hope so! But this first week is a water weight week. So, we'll see next week! I'm excited to see if I can break the 250 mark. I always get stuck.
  • Anneli_F
    Anneli_F Posts: 76 Member
    One thing about the weight. When tracking your weight you'll see that it goes both up and down and will continue to do so during your weightloss. Mostly downwards but with small bumps up again. Don't let that discourage you! If you suddenly se a + on your scales, just ignore it or do as some of us and record it just so you later can see the pattern.

    My chart looks like this (you can see my holiday there, ha ha... Came home with a 2 kg +, almost gone now.) It's normal with these fluctuations.

    2j0p9d6lrbln.png
  • brittanylock09
    brittanylock09 Posts: 194 Member
    blambo61 wrote: »
    Good advise above IMO. When I started, I set my calorie goal in mfp to maint weight and not the losing amount recomended. As long as I was under that, I felt that was a victory. You might not hit your real goal every day, but at least try to not go over maintenence levels. Doing that, if I was under maint, it said I made my goal which I liked better than just barely being over the recommended cals and not getting that pos feedback. Just a mind game that worked for me. I think little bits of progress are better than totally giving up.

    Thanks! That might be something that I try! :)
  • brittanylock09
    brittanylock09 Posts: 194 Member
    Anneli_F wrote: »
    One thing about the weight. When tracking your weight you'll see that it goes both up and down and will continue to do so during your weightloss. Mostly downwards but with small bumps up again. Don't let that discourage you! If you suddenly se a + on your scales, just ignore it or do as some of us and record it just so you later can see the pattern.

    My chart looks like this (you can see my holiday there, ha ha... Came home with a 2 kg +, almost gone now.) It's normal with these fluctuations.

    2j0p9d6lrbln.png

    Thank you so much got the positive feedback!! :smile: I appreciate it so much!
  • brittanylock09
    brittanylock09 Posts: 194 Member
    kabrigail wrote: »
    Hi Brittany. I started out much like you. Tried so many diets. Never could stick to anything and I was also a social eater, boredom eater, and emotional eater. Gained so much weight over time. I obsessed over what my next meal would be. Don't know if you did that, but I did. But when I discovered OMAD, it changed my life. I've now lost some weight. I'm not doing low calorie or low carb or counting calories. Maybe I should, I don't know. I don't want to think about food anymore. I obsessed so much before that I love not thinking about it now. I really just don't think about it very much now. When it's time to eat I just make something or get something and I eat. My stomach is much smaller now so I cannot eat as much as I did when I started and yours will shrink too, naturally. I felt restrictions diet wise would have made me give up more easily. I'm not suggesting anyone do it this way. I'm only saying this worked for me. And I want everyone to succeed! I have posted all of my weigh ins on my thread if you would like to see my ups and downs on my progress. And it does go UP and DOWN. :)

    Joe said in his thread when he started out doing OMAD, "You start out with "baby steps," eating what you want to minimize discomfort, nursing your stomach to a smaller size all the while. Then, gradually, you make healthier eating choices (not because you have to but because it just feels right). Then, that extra energy and go-ahead power allows you to bring in exercise and see yet better improvements. Every little step is a step forward."

    GOOD LUCK TO YOU! Glad you are here!

    Awwww thanks so much!! You're awesome!! We're so much alike!
  • kabrigail
    kabrigail Posts: 149 Member
    You're doing so great!!!
  • leveejohn
    leveejohn Posts: 346 Member
    kabrigail wrote: »
    I don't want to think about food anymore.!
    Well said! This is freedom.
  • blambo61
    blambo61 Posts: 4,372 Member
    Nice! Good job with that.
  • Abm4n
    Abm4n Posts: 529 Member
    Great start! Well done.
  • brittanylock09
    brittanylock09 Posts: 194 Member
    Thanks y'all!!
  • brittanylock09
    brittanylock09 Posts: 194 Member
    Ugh fell off for about three days. I ate once a day, but ate too much. Gettin my game on tomorrow!
  • 1MADGIRL
    1MADGIRL Posts: 838 Member
    brittanylock09 wrote: »
    Ugh fell off for about three days. I ate once a day, but ate too much. Gettin my game on tomorrow!

    at least you stuck to eating once a day :)
  • leveejohn
    leveejohn Posts: 346 Member
    Hey, eating once a day is most admirable!!!
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,709 Member
    brittanylock09 wrote: »
    Ugh fell off for about three days. I ate once a day, but ate too much. Gettin my game on tomorrow!

    But you did damage control because it would have been worse had you jumped ship and started nibbling all day. That's still good.
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