Jessica's 90 day OMAD Experiment

Jessica12877

I absolutely love the idea of adopting OMAD as a lifestyle, but for some reason I never seem to last more than a week. I'm hoping the accountability of this thread will help me stay on track. I am a lifelong yoyo dieter searching for a way to stop the cycle. I am committing to 90 days of OMAD and depending on how I feel, and what I achieve, I may continue on.

Age: 40
Height: 5ft 9in
Starting weight: 215.2

jvcinv

Welcome and a question.
In the past what aspect of OMAD made you stop before going more than a week?

tlblanksfit

Welcome Jessica,

OMAD is a great way of eating and I am sure you will have great success in your 90 days. Stick with the Basics of OMAD and you can't go wrong. I went back to the basics of OMAD and lost 7 pounds in less than a month that times 3 would be 21 pounds in 90 days.

arguablysamson wrote: »

It violates all modern dietary advice, but this is how our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate since the time before humans could even be called humans. And this is the ONLY way I know of that basically guarantees that you will lose the weight and keep it off forever. Not only that, but you will feel better and be sick less. I am living proof. Here are the basics...

#1) Pick a goal weight range--not a weight, but a weight range of about 15 pounds since we humans are always in a state of flux. This will change as you get more confidence and approach where you first set out to be at.

#2) Weigh yourself to begin with. Weigh yourself when you wake up and use the same scale.

#3) Continue to weigh yourself ONLY ONCE every seven days. Don’t break this rule! Pick a day of the week and weigh yourself on that day without fail. Body weight fluctuates, so don’t weigh everyday. You will psych yourself out. For every 3,500 calories reduced over 7 days, that is generally 1 pound of body fat lost. You lose weekly, NOT daily. So weigh weekly.

#4) Set aside a 4-hour window to eat in. It should be the same time everyday. It can be morning, noon, or evening. It won’t change the results, but keep the same window everyday.

#5) Eat your one meal within your window always. Do not vary the times.

#6) Eat with "the 4 ones" in mind…

A. Only ONE meal per day - no snacking or anything with calories afterwards. Any medications or supplements can be taken with the meal. Eat whatever you want. You'll find you crave healthier foods as time passes and your stomach shrinks. Don't worry about that now. Just no "junk food" (i.e. foods like chips or candy that you'd never want to make a meal of anyway).

B. Eat ONE average-sized dinner plate completely filled up - including any desserts, sauces, etc. No eating from containers or bags, but fill up your plate. Don’t starve (there is a difference between being hungry and starving, btw). The idea is not to starve, but to shrink your stomach back to a reasonable size. This is especially important if you are a binge-eater and can consume six plate-fulls of food and thousands of calories per day. Don't try to overdo your efforts. Fill up. It is mightily difficult to get more than 1,700 calories on one plate. This is a form of de facto calorie-counting, but also invokes the fasting portion to reset and regulate blood-sugar levels and metabolism. This is why this plan works when others do not. There is a reason why every culture the world over has historically had fasting as an integral part of their regimens. It helps the mind and body.

C. Have ONE calorie beverage with the meal - this will help get your calories (beer, milk, or juices, but should generally be no more than 12 to 16 oz in size). Save the calorie-free beverages for later as meal replacements. You want your body to associate them with no insulin production.

D. Finish within ONE hour. Eat and be done with it.

#7) After the meal, only calorie-free liquid consumption can be had, like water, coffee, and teas. Diet sodas and water enhancers are also an option, but teas and coffees are preferred since they aid in weight loss tremendously and have next to no calories at all. It is best, however, to vary your beverages since you build up resistance to the weight loss effects if done every single day. Mix them up.

*** If you are diabetic and have unsafe blood-sugar drops, you can use juices to raise it back up, but only if medically necessary to do so. You don’t want your pancreas active during fasting. ***

#8) At least twice a week at meals, consume 1 cup of the juice of your choice with two tablespoons of raw, un-distilled apple cider vinegar. This is an old folk remedy, but will help enormously in losing weight. It makes the body more alkaline and has a plentitude of health benefits.

#9) Allow one splurge day per week. For this splurge, you will eat one meal or multiple throughout the day, but ignore the one-plate/one-beverage rules. Try not to gorge, but it’s ok if you do (generally, when you are more thirsty than hungry, you can stop eating). The splurge will push your metabolism into high gear and help to make up for any deficiencies. Vary your splurge days, but never have more than two splurge days back to back unless you are close to your goal weight.

#10) Try not to deviate from too many of the above rules. You can have what you want, but you only have 23 hours at the longest until your next meal. Don’t get talked out of it. OMAD doesn’t “teach your body to store fat,” does not “mess up your metabolism,” and is not “unhealthy.” Don’t listen to the parrots. They only know what they hear from the nonsense dietary wisdom of their time, which happens to be false.

This will work if you do it. “The shakes” will go away and you’ll feel better as the weeks progress, although the first week will be difficult. It is no different from a drug addict having to detox. You must learn to break your dependence on food. Your following your cravings and psychological eating is what made you need to lose weight in the first place, not pigging out at Thanksgiving. By eating at the same time everyday, you will never again struggle with weight for as long as you do this. But your body will always go for what it is IN your stomach instead of ON your stomach if you keep up the multiple feedings. This is why those who carry on about eating multiple times a day either don’t lose weight, or don’t lose beyond a certain point. Serious weight loss requires being a little hungry, even though this is against modern dietary advice.

This demands some sacrifice, yes, but the difficulty passes, and it calls for less sacrifice than merely “moderating” portions three times a day. It is precisely because this is difficult that you know it will work--because anything worth anything costs something. Don’t give up. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says or does. For you, you eat once a day. Stick to that resolution and the pounds will fall right off!

Jessica12877

Jvcinv, I seem to do well during the week, and then when the weekend comes around I return to grazing all day. I need more self discipline!

tlblanksfit

I don't look at the weekend as a weekend. I look at it as another day. I set my schedule on what I am going to do that day and stick to it.

For instance my current plan is: Monday - Thursday are my vegetarian OMAD days and Friday - Sunday are my OMAD days where I allow myself to eat meat, but everyday is an OMAD day. I just look at the day, if it is Saturday, it is an OMAD day in which I can eat meat if I choose to and if it is a Tuesday, it is a day that I don't eat meat.

I tell myself that I am an OMADer and as an OMADer, I eat one meal a day.

Don't look at it as what you can't do, but look at it as what you don't do and take charge of the situation. So in my case on Mondays - Thursdays I tell myself and others I don't eat meat on these days. It is not that I can't, I just don't. I made the choice not to and I don't.

I hope this helps.

blambo61

I've seen a lot of people have a hard time following the "standard" OMAD routine and then give up completely. I think you should start with the "standard" routine and give the 90-days a go, but if it seems too hard for you, I don't think that some minor deviations or adjustments are bad as long as they work for you. Something is always better than nothing and I see people get caught up in all or nothing behavior and then they quit completely. Don't do that. I was fairly strict with OMAD, except I do a 20:4 type diet and it worked for me. This last year I did mostly a 16:8 and maintained. Now I'm back closer to the "standard" OMAD protocol (20:4 for me) and am trying to lose again. Find what works for you! The standard OMAD protocol is a very good protocol and is right for most people so give it a try and see how it goes.

Jessica12877

Thanks tlblanksfit and blambo61. I appreciate the advice. I think what makes the weekdays easier for me is that I plan more. I am going to try and be a better planner on weekends. And like you said tlblanksfit, I am making the choice to do this- so why not follow through.

Brendalea69

I used to be a yo yo dieter too, for me it took a lot of will power and if I can do it you can do it too!!! Good luck and welcome to the group

Jessica12877

Thanks Brendalea69. Day two and going strong

Jessica12877

Today marks day 4 for me, but now that the weekend is approaching, I need to be more diligent than ever. So far , my OMADs have been within a healthy calorie range, slowly decreasing throughout the week. I have tonight's dinner cooking in my crockpot while we speak (creamy potatoes and turkey sausage -yum!). Tomorrow night we are going to a friends house for dinner and drinks. He is a chef so I'm sure the food will be amazing as usual.

mistymeadows2005

bettisboy wrote: »

Today marks day 4 for me, but now that the weekend is approaching, I need to be more diligent than ever. So far , my OMADs have been within a healthy calorie range, slowly decreasing throughout the week. I have tonight's dinner cooking in my crockpot while we speak (creamy potatoes and turkey sausage -yum!). Tomorrow night we are going to a friends house for dinner and drinks. He is a chef so I'm sure the food will be amazing as usual.

BOTH of those sound amazing! Isn't it wonderful that we can eat what we love, and socialize without fear of blowing it all! LOVE LOVE LOVE

blambo61

Me and the wife ate at some friends house today and I was worried that after I ate there and played games that I might get really hungry the later we stayed (I usually eat during a 4-hr window) so I ate a bunch of peanuts before I went. Man, I was stuffed there and definitely didn't get hungry! Tomorrow I have a luncheon to go to with a bunch of relatives after a baptism and that will be fun but I plan on not eating. I may make a plate to save tell after 5:00 pm (my goal is to not eat before 5). Eating at other's places has it's unique challenges.

minigrrll

mistymeadows2005 wrote: »

bettisboy wrote: »

Today marks day 4 for me, but now that the weekend is approaching, I need to be more diligent than ever. So far , my OMADs have been within a healthy calorie range, slowly decreasing throughout the week. I have tonight's dinner cooking in my crockpot while we speak (creamy potatoes and turkey sausage -yum!). Tomorrow night we are going to a friends house for dinner and drinks. He is a chef so I'm sure the food will be amazing as usual.

BOTH of those sound amazing! Isn't it wonderful that we can eat what we love, and socialize without fear of blowing it all! LOVE LOVE LOVE

Exactly!!

Jessica12877

I am putting this in writing to make it official. MY WINDOW IS CLOSED. I successfully made it through dinner, drinks, and desserts, all within three hours. Since I will be drinking water for the test of the night, I should sleep well and feel great in the morning. Tomorrow, Shepards pie! Goodnight fellow OMADERS.

Jessica12877

I made it through the weekend! That's all

mistymeadows2005

Nice work!

arguablysamson

Good job!

Time should be going by faster as you make progress. But yes, the first week is tough.

Jessica12877

Thanks Everyone! I will report my first weeks weigh in tomorrow.

minigrrll

Good luck!

Jessica12877

Feeling good. Week 1 weigh in = -4.4

9/19 215.2
9/26 210.8

I basically ate whatever I wanted this week. Not having restrictions definitely helped me get through

Brendalea69

Awesome and I love that you ate what you wanted!!!

jvcinv

Good job, nice loss.
Definitely a big advantage about OMAD is the absence of that feeling of being deprived.

mistymeadows2005

AWESOME LOSS! That first week big drop is always encouraging! Reinforces OMAD and that it WORKS! :-D

brittdee88

Welcome, Jessica, and great job on your loss!

minigrrll

Awesome job on your first week! Woohoo!!

katjustkat

Super loss! Nice to see you get a great reward