Leah’s OMAD Journal

Leah_62803

I don’t really know what I’m doing with this but I figured I’d give it a shot. It might be nice to keep a little journal for myself since I’m not really ready to talk about it with anyone in “real life”.

Female, 5’3, 36 years old
SW: 213.8 lbs
CW: 205.6 lbs
GW: 140 lbs

So...My name is Leah. I’ve got 3 kids and a husband. When I got married I was around 150 lbs and wanted to lose some weight but instead went up to 165 and pretty consistently stayed there. Even after having my first baby, I easily went back down to 165ish. I had my second baby a couple years later and got down to 155-160 afterwards.
I started having some problems with feeling low and no energy. I now think it was my birth control but back then I went on antidepressants. They made me gain A LOT of weight in a short time. My weight jumped up into the 180s and crept up into the 190s occasionally. I struggled to lose anything. It felt stuck on and it was upsetting because I had always stayed at 165 without dieting before. I decided to get serious about it...and then got pregnant with my 3rd baby before I had a chance to lose anything.
After that pregnancy I tried again. I was at 207 and worked hard to get down to 175. The most weight I’d ever lost even though I didn’t appreciate it.
Then I hurt my back. I was bedridden for a couple months and ended up having to have surgery. My weight shot back up. Every once in awhile I would say I was going to try to lose weight but I’d give up after only a week or so when the weight didn’t magically melt off.

So here I am. I was feeling bad about myself after seeing some pictures and got on the scale to see 213. It was very upsetting. I spent a couple days trying to traditionally diet and then on 6/12 I decided to fast until dinner because I was worried about my calories (kids wanted fondue night). I googled “one meal a day” and read all about it. Now I’ve just finished day 13. I’m feeling very confident and happy. I really feel like this is sustainable for me.

mistymeadows2005

Our "starting weights" are very similar - I officially went on OMAD at 211. I now toggle between 150-160 (I'm a little taller than you, but not a TON, 5 ft 7) - Sure, I'd like to get that down to 140-150 but that's purely vanity weight

YOU CAN DO THISSSSSSSSSS!!!!

PS - the journal thing is my fave part - I started a thread when I first started and I OFTEN go back and reread to help encourage myself

Leah_62803

mistymeadows2005 wrote: »

Our "starting weights" are very similar - I officially went on OMAD at 211. I now toggle between 150-160 (I'm a little taller than you, but not a TON, 5 ft 7) - Sure, I'd like to get that down to 140-150 but that's purely vanity weight

YOU CAN DO THISSSSSSSSSS!!!!

PS - the journal thing is my fave part - I started a thread when I first started and I OFTEN go back and reread to help encourage myself

Thanks! I definitely think I can stick to it. I just need to learn some patience. I feel like every morning I wake up and get dressed and think "Are my pants looser yet?" Haha.

Leah_62803

So far day 14 is going just fine. I had my normal hunger when I first woke up and a little bit around 12pm but now I'm just at work and bored.
I'm actually having my first big test. I used to binge eat (usually fast food) when I was stressed or sad. Well, I'm extremely stressed out right now. I had my very first car accident yesterday. It wasn't that bad, just a little fender bender but it was still scary and now dealing with insurance stuff is scary and stressful. When do normal people get over stuff like this? I still feel so sick about it. But the good news is that for once in my life I'm not running to a fast food drive thru. Mostly because I'm scared to drive...just kidding.
I'm having buffalo chicken pizza today for dinner. Not the healthiest, I know, but it's so yummy and I'm making less of it than I normally do so I won't overeat...as much.

LadyBlanks

Welcome, Leah, and congrats on your loss so far. Sorry to hear about the accident but glad to hear you are handling it differently. OMAD is great because there are no eating restrictions and you are eating all of your calories at once so you can have a bigger meal. I look forward to reading your journal. You are going to do great!

volgirl1322

Hi Leah,

it is nice to hear your story. I was much heavier at my highest (230ish) and now I am down to 165ish and my goal is between 150-160. I have tried every diet in the world, and when I found OMAD I was so shocked at how easy it was to fit into my lifestyle. I am not a breakfast person at all, so that was easy, once I get past the lunch 1-2 pm it is all good......I haven't been perfect but it has really worked. I learned that if I screw up one day, then I put that day behind me and move on, instead of a weekly binge.

This is the best most supportive group EVER. We all have struggles and we talk about, own it, and get the best support every from all of this group!

A big warm welcome to you, I can't wait to follow your journey!

Leah_62803

LadyBlanks wrote: »

Welcome, Leah, and congrats on your loss so far. Sorry to hear about the accident but glad to hear you are handling it differently. OMAD is great because there are no eating restrictions and you are eating all of your calories at once so you can have a bigger meal. I look forward to reading your journal. You are going to do great!

Thank you! The restriction thing is where I’ve always failed. Not just because of certain foods but also because I love to eat until I feel full. When I was trying to cut my portions way back, I just felt so unsatisfied and it always made me binge eat after a week or two.
It sounds strange to say that it’s easier to not eat than to eat a small portion but it really is for me.

Leah_62803

volgirl1322 wrote: »

Hi Leah,

it is nice to hear your story. I was much heavier at my highest (230ish) and now I am down to 165ish and my goal is between 150-160. I have tried every diet in the world, and when I found OMAD I was so shocked at how easy it was to fit into my lifestyle. I am not a breakfast person at all, so that was easy, once I get past the lunch 1-2 pm it is all good......I haven't been perfect but it has really worked. I learned that if I screw up one day, then I put that day behind me and move on, instead of a weekly binge.

This is the best most supportive group EVER. We all have struggles and we talk about, own it, and get the best support every from all of this group!

A big warm welcome to you, I can't wait to follow your journey!

Thank you! I’m not a breakfast person either but I’ve always thought that skipping lunch would be IMPOSSIBLE. It really hasn’t been nearly as hard as I thought it would be.

LadyBlanks

It is definitely easier for me to not eat than to have to figure out what and how much to eat multiple times a day.

Leah_62803

LadyBlanks wrote: »

It is definitely easier for me to not eat than to have to figure out what and how much to eat multiple times a day.

Exactly!

Leah_62803

We ate dinner outside yesterday. The kids thought it was fun because we had everything “on a stick”. We had skewers of steak, skewers of veggies, and skewers of fruit. Then fudge pops for dessert. It was all very yummy.

Tomorrow is mine and my husband’s wedding anniversary! 17 years.
We are leaving Monday on a little 3 day trip. Mostly going hiking and hanging out in the woods. I’ll probably be eating more (at least 2 meals) so hopefully it won’t be too hard to get back on the OMAD wagon when I get home.

LadyBlanks

Congratulations on your anniversary. Enjoy your mini vacation.

Leah_62803

I hate typing this but in the spirit of accountability...I didn’t do great today. I absentmindedly ate a couple of grapes with the kids without thinking and that put me on a downhill spiral. I ended up eating some cheese and then a buttered bagel. The bagel was what made me feel really bad because it was more than I needed. It’s the same old problem I have where once I start eating, I feel like I can’t stop. It didn’t help that I felt awful all day today with a bad headache.
I’m sure I’ll do better tomorrow though. At least I made it a little over 2 weeks before having a bad day.

arguablysamson

Just start over tomorrow and be mindful of the tendency to just go on auto-eat. It can happen. You will learn from this.

Leah_62803

So far today has been super easy. I’m feeling good and not too hungry at all. I mean, I’m definitely looking forward to dinner time but I’m not miserable.
I have found something that is tough for me. My husband! He’s trying to lose weight too. He’s not doing OMAD but he’s only having a low calorie protein shake for lunch. He WILL NOT STOP talking about how hungry he is and what he wishes he was eating and it’s driving me crazy. I’m not really mad and I’m typing this with a smile but I do think I’m going to have to talk to him about it.

arguablysamson

It's like you remember feeling that way, right?

Leah_62803

arguablysamson wrote: »

It's like you remember feeling that way, right?

I think it’s because I’m getting better at distracting myself and not thinking about food during the day...but then I have him following me around all weekend reminding me that I haven’t eaten. And because I love him so it upsets me to hear that he’s miserable. It almost tempts me to want to break my fast just so he’ll eat too.

volgirl1322

You will get back on track.....just because the train went off the tracks, it can get back on. As you read through all of our posts, you will see we have all been there......A new day, and back to OMAD. The best part of this group is that we all know the "struggle is real" and we make mistakes and move on.
A couple of weeks ago I was having "snackccidents" jut a small snack that led to eating before OMAD...….after a week of that, I was over it...…

Leah_62803

Day 1 of our anniversary trip is done and I actually stuck to OMAD! I wasn’t planning to but I’m glad I did. I’m not sure I’d say I stuck to my “diet” because my one meal was a splurge. Haha. Appetizer, entree, and then ice cream. But it’s our anniversary and we wanted to have some fun. Tomorrow night will probably be pizza and wine. But hopefully we’ll be home Wednesday so hopefully my meals will go back to being fairly sensible.

We had a fantastic day though! Hiked several trails and saw some beautiful natural places. The weather was perfect. There’s some wild horse herds out here and we’re hoping to see them.

volgirl1322

That sounds so fun!!!! Glad you were able to OMAD

Leah_62803

Day 2 we did decide to go ahead and eat lunch so I didn’t do OMAD. I just really wanted us to enjoy ourselves because we rarely ever get time away from the kids.
We did a little over 6 miles of hiking yesterday though so I’m choosing to say I earned it. We also went easier on dinner to make up for it.

Today we came home and I’ve stuck to OMAD. I’m really hungry right now and glad that it’s almost dinner time.

We found the wild horses!!

Leah_62803

First full day home. Sad to be back to the stresses of normal life.

I weighed myself this morning after going 10 without looking at the scale and was extremely disappointed to see that I’ve only lost a little over a pound. I really expected a bigger loss after sticking to OMAD for 9 of those 10 days and hiking over 9 miles in 3 of those days. This is the first time I’ve felt really shaky in my resolve.
I’m trying to focus on the fact that at least I did lose that little bit but it’s hard. Especially when I’m seeing people on reddit who are posting before and after pictures like “Wow, 12 days on OMAD and I’ve lost 50 lbs!” That might be a slight exaggeration...but I’m still annoyed.

LadyBlanks

Leah, don't be discouraged. Stay the course and the losses will come.

Leah_62803

I’m feeling better. Since I’ve been back to a more normal schedule, the weight is coming off quicker. Actually faster than normal so that makes me think that maybe I was retaining water or something when we first got back from our trip. The scale showed that I had only lost 1 lb in 10 days after doing mostly OMAD and hiking 9 miles...but now I’ve lost 2 more lbs in the couple days I’ve been home. So that’s weird but I’ll take it!

Leah_62803

I’m at 202 lbs this morning. It’s bittersweet to think that I’ll probably be under 200 in the next few days.
Obviously I’ll be happy but it also makes me angry with myself that I even went over 200 to begin with. Back when I first joined MFP I was hanging out around 165-175 and trying to lose weight. What happened??
I mean, I know what happened. I had another baby and hurt my back and had surgery...but still. It’s hard sometimes to feel excited about getting under 200.

But I’m trying to think positive! I just got to keep going and knocking off the little milestones as I hit them.

Leah_62803

I ended up having a little bit of a cheat day yesterday. It’s weird to call it a “cheat day” since all I had besides dinner was some low calorie soup for lunch and a 140 calorie bag of cheez its. I mowed the grass in the heat and felt really awful afterwards with a pounding headache. My husband thought that eating might make me feel better. It might of helped but I still had the headache all day.
This morning my weight was up to 203.
I’m not getting too upset about it because I know I couldn’t possibly have really gained a whole pound from what I ate. Oh well.

So far, today has been more of a struggle. Probably because I ate yesterday. I feel like I’m started to feel sorry for myself like I normally do when I try to diet. That pouty feeling where all I want to do is eat and I start thinking it’s not fair that I can’t. I hoped that I’d avoid that feeling this time since I’m eating what I want for dinner. It’s funny because normally I deny myself the foods I love and I start craving them. Now I’m eating the foods I love...and craving stuff I normally don’t care about. Ha! I’m not eating breakfast so suddenly I’m thinking a bowl of cereal sounds delicious.
But I think I can get through it. It will be easier on days when I’m working. Right now I’m at home with the kids and I still have to make meals for them. Right now they are sitting just a few feet away from me eating pizza and popcorn (they wanted to have a “lunch and a movie”).

Leah_62803

I did fine yesterday after my initial struggle. Stuck to OMAD and felt pretty good about it.


I just had a BIG temptation today. I'm at work and a drug rep came in and brought us all boxed lunches from a deli. AHHHHHHH. This is my nightmare. It's usually so easy for me at work because I just shut my door and drink my Gatorade zero.
I spent some time debating on how I could fit lunch into my calorie limit and what I'd have to do to make it work...and then I just said no. I'm a little sad because I hate wasted food (I feel like they should have asked before they brought it) but it's not worth messing up my day over. Especially since my work days are my easiest fast days.

mistymeadows2005

All that hiking made you retain water FOR SURE boo!!! I work out ONE TIME and I hold water weight for 2 weeks - it's one of the reasons RN I'm not working out (even though its SO good for you and really helps lose in the long run).

GIRL, you did NOT gain 1 pound of real weight overnight I LOST 7 pounds yesterday and it sure as HECK was not 7 pounds of fat LMAO - the cheezits alone might have made you retain some water - you're doing JUST FINE babe

katjustkat

"It sounds strange to say that it’s easier to not eat than to eat a small portion but it really is for me."
EXACTLY the same for me. Once I have something, no matter what it is, I can't seem to stop. I didn't used to be like that at all but now it developed into a real problem. Mentally & physically OMAD is the perfect way to eat for me. I pretty much have whatever I want for dinner. It's weird but I don't lose control and don't way over eat with dinner.
If I'm ever feeling singled out by having to implement an eating regimen, I remind myself of how good omad is for my body. I think of how much less work my body has to go through digesting all day long, nonstop. So much easier on our organs. Body has time to do it's job cleaning up the mess we put in it. Also, I love not having to think of what I need to buy and plan for my other two meals. I fall off of omad at times but I think it's because i don't always put myself first. Like the deli sandwiches that came in for you today...I would feel bad for the person that made the effort to bring them in. But...we have to learn to put ourselves first and it's a hard thing to do when we're moms and wives. Hubby used to go to get gas and would come home and throw a giant sized nutty buddy in my lap. He thought he was being nice despite me always saying don't bring junk food home. It's hard to say no to someone seemingly wanting to please you.
You're doing fantastic and it's great that you're catching this young

Leah_62803

katjustkat wrote: »

"It sounds strange to say that it’s easier to not eat than to eat a small portion but it really is for me."
EXACTLY the same for me. Once I have something, no matter what it is, I can't seem to stop. I didn't used to be like that at all but now it developed into a real problem. Mentally & physically OMAD is the perfect way to eat for me. I pretty much have whatever I want for dinner. It's weird but I don't lose control and don't way over eat with dinner.
If I'm ever feeling singled out by having to implement an eating regimen, I remind myself of how good omad is for my body. I think of how much less work my body has to go through digesting all day long, nonstop. So much easier on our organs. Body has time to do it's job cleaning up the mess we put in it. Also, I love not having to think of what I need to buy and plan for my other two meals. I fall off of omad at times but I think it's because i don't always put myself first. Like the deli sandwiches that came in for you today...I would feel bad for the person that made the effort to bring them in. But...we have to learn to put ourselves first and it's a hard thing to do when we're moms and wives. Hubby used to go to get gas and would come home and throw a giant sized nutty buddy in my lap. He thought he was being nice despite me always saying don't bring junk food home. It's hard to say no to someone seemingly wanting to please you.
You're doing fantastic and it's great that you're catching this young

This is very helpful! And yes, I’m the exact same way. Once I start eating, it’s hard to stop. Like when I talked about eating the cheez it crackers. That was the day I had the soup for lunch because I wasn’t feeling well and then an hour or so later I found myself sitting on the couch eating the crackers and I wasn’t even hungry! I just wanted to eat more and wanted the taste. The rest of the day was more of a struggle because I just kept wanting to eat and eat.
It was super hard to say to say no yesterday because I did feel bad about it. I hate thinking that someone thinks I’m rude or ungrateful. But I am proud of myself for doing it.
That’s a good idea to think about how good omad is for our bodies.

Leah_62803

I'm getting real annoyed with my weight right now. Lol.

Sunday- 202.0
Monday- 203.0
Tuesday- 201.8
Wednesday- 202.0

Like, come off already! Ugh. I actually had a lower calorie dinner last night too. Not intentionally but it was low enough to put me well under my daily calorie goal. I think my body knows how much I want to see 199 so it's being stubborn.