How to Do One-Meal-a-Day (The Basics)

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Replies

  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,706 Member
    Ive been following a similar regime for the last 8 weeks and eating one meal in the evening although I do have coffee with semi skimmed during the day. I have found that 1/ I sleep like the dead. 2/ I rarely feel hungry during the day and any hunger pangs I do feel are really manageable 3/ I am in control of my food consumption (and food-related obsessing) than I have ever been. I have lost 21lb so far and have bags of energy and have even started exercising regularly. I still have another 140lbs to go, but after trying every diet that was ever invented, this is the most manageable and natural-feeling. I am free of worrying about food choices, enjoy healthy foods and with so much energy, cannot see how my metabolism is being compromised. I have saved loads of cash too. Win Win!

    So glad you could join us. For all the reasons you've expressed, OMAD is indeed a win-win for an increasingly huge number of people. It feels good to be set free, doesn't it?
  • amandaleeherbal
    amandaleeherbal Posts: 1 Member
    Starting today my meal is lunch hanging out for 12 noon in 40 mins who is counting lol.....
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,706 Member
    Starting today my meal is lunch hanging out for 12 noon in 40 mins who is counting lol.....

    Wonderful.
  • fyland
    fyland Posts: 9 Member
    Ive been following a similar regime for the last 8 weeks and eating one meal in the evening although I do have coffee with semi skimmed during the day. I have found that 1/ I sleep like the dead. 2/ I rarely feel hungry during the day and any hunger pangs I do feel are really manageable 3/ I am in control of my food consumption (and food-related obsessing) than I have ever been. I have lost 21lb so far and have bags of energy and have even started exercising regularly. I still have another 140lbs to go, but after trying every diet that was ever invented, this is the most manageable and natural-feeling. I am free of worrying about food choices, enjoy healthy foods and with so much energy, cannot see how my metabolism is being compromised. I have saved loads of cash too. Win Win!

  • XxStrengthInNumbersxX
    XxStrengthInNumbersxX Posts: 19 Member
    I feel better about usually eating one meal a day now. I've heard so many people say how bad it was but it worked for me in terms of weight loss and also made my life simpler.
    After reading this, I'm going to be more strict about the 'one meal a day' thing because I feel much less guilty about it, knowing other people do it too.
    Thank you!
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,706 Member
    I feel better about usually eating one meal a day now. I've heard so many people say how bad it was but it worked for me in terms of weight loss and also made my life simpler.
    After reading this, I'm going to be more strict about the 'one meal a day' thing because I feel much less guilty about it, knowing other people do it too.
    Thank you!

    Way to go! You'll love it and find the structural control it brings very gratifying.
  • sbahlezinwe67
    sbahlezinwe67 Posts: 84 Member
    So with this method you dont count your calories?
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,706 Member
    edited June 2015
    So with this method you dont count your calories?

    You can, but it's de facto calorie-counting, meaning the one-plate rule really does that for you since no more than 1,300 cals can fit on a plate. If, however, you are eating out and it is more convenient to count calories as they are listed on a given food item, then so be it. I've done that, too. But you don't have to. It's nice when your lifestyle takes that into account on a practical level.
  • dbritt07
    dbritt07 Posts: 17 Member
    edited June 2015
    Hello,
    I am following this starting today and have experimented with fasting in the past. This may sound like a dumb question as I tend to overthink things (badly!). If you are filling a plate and say you are having a large green salad that is virtually very little calories but yet fills the plate, and then the next day you have sweet potatoes and chicken and some bread and butter. That's going to be a lot more calories vs. the salad the day before.

    I guess what I am asking is did you look at macros such as fats and protein to ensure you were getting the right balance? A plate one day may be 400 calories but a plate the next might be 1700. Would you just chalk it up to today I am basically having about 400 calories due to the low caloric value of the items chosen to eat? This is what confuses me in general with fasting.

    Thanks so much for the inspiration and congratulations to you!
  • Khole888
    Khole888 Posts: 2 Member
    edited June 2015
    So when I was at college I was basically eating one meal a day... albeit it was only usually a 6 inch sub from subway... but anyways, it made my bowels well (this is kinda awkward)... spasm. To eat only a meal a day would give me horrible diarrhea not even halfway through the meal... is it because i wasnt eating enough at one time or what? :sweat: I'd really love to do this as I am finding the weight difficult to come off even with eating healthy and working out... do you still recommend it? I guess I could always try and if it does it again I can go back to 2 or 3 meals a day.
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,706 Member
    dbritt07 wrote: »
    Hello,
    I am following this starting today and have experimented with fasting in the past. This may sound like a dumb question as I tend to overthink things (badly!). If you are filling a plate and say you are having a large green salad that is virtually very little calories but yet fills the plate, and then the next day you have sweet potatoes and chicken and some bread and butter. That's going to be a lot more calories vs. the salad the day before.

    I guess what I am asking is did you look at macros such as fats and protein to ensure you were getting the right balance? A plate one day may be 400 calories but a plate the next might be 1700. Would you just chalk it up to today I am basically having about 400 calories due to the low caloric value of the items chosen to eat? This is what confuses me in general with fasting.

    Thanks so much for the inspiration and congratulations to you!

    Hi,

    When I started OMAD, I was a large and unhealthy meal-eater, so I wasn't concerned with getting too few calories. And salads (other than taco salads) were NOT on my menu ever (lol), so I never faced that. Someone who doesn't struggle with binging or consuming lots and lots of excessive caloric content may ought to count macros when too light of foods are brought in. But on the same note, if a day goes by of too few calories, it certainly isn't the end of the world. You'll be fine.

    Don't be afraid to adjust your eating to your lifestyle. If you eat out a lot, use the nutrition breakdown they offer at a given restaurant; if you eat healthy, then take more time to build your meals to equal your set calorie goal. I've never been able to get more than 1,387 calories on one plate of food, so I wouldn't worry about overdoing things there. If "underdoing" it concerns you, then just count your macros and tailor your eating for that day.

    Whatever you do, keep it simple. OMAD offers the simplicity that, as a results-oriented, "be done with it" sort of person, I can rely on. Most people who start (and finish) a successful OMAD plan tend to be practical thinkers. OMAD simplifies the process and allows the eater to take their overactive minds off of food and put them on other things. And it's a beautiful thing when people in our place and time in history can STOP thinking about food! lol
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,706 Member
    Khole888 wrote: »
    So when I was at college I was basically eating one meal a day... albeit it was only usually a 6 inch sub from subway... but anyways, it made my bowels well (this is kinda awkward)... spasm. To eat only a meal a day would give me horrible diarrhea not even halfway through the meal... is it because i wasnt eating enough at one time or what? :sweat: I'd really love to do this as I am finding the weight difficult to come off even with eating healthy and working out... do you still recommend it? I guess I could always try and if it does it again I can go back to 2 or 3 meals a day.

    Hi,

    What you describe is SUPER common with starting any fasting regimen. I myself always got those "spasms" you speak of--so bad, in fact, that I made sure I wasn't working the first 3 days when I started. The long and short of it is that they will pass. It may take up to 2 weeks with the "rumbles" slowing down gradually, although one individual took up to 3 and 1/2 weeks. He had Crohn's Disease, but by the 2 month, was doing well. No more issues of bowel upheaval, he told me.

    Your body is used to producing lots of stomach acid to account for large amounts of food, so when you cut back, all that acid must be jettisoned. Hence, the "runs." I know how off-putting that can be, and without carrying on, I have experienced not only that, but some gall bladder pains to go with it. Trust me when it say, they pass.
  • shaytuck
    shaytuck Posts: 55 Member
    ........why only one plate? Is this a mental thing? As a previous poster mentioned, what if my plate is full of raw spinach and some chicken? That won't be anywhere near what I need to eat for the whole day and I imagine being extremely hungry the next day too. I don't wanna use this as a "pig out" session but I'm trying to figure out how I can fit over a thousand calories on my plate without pigging out (like a delicious plate of buffalo wings and fries lol). Right now I'm semi low carb and I don't even always get to the 1200 calories that MFP suggests. What does 1300 calories look like on a plate?

    Should I just jump right into this or ease my way into it?
  • robertf57
    robertf57 Posts: 560 Member
    Congrats on the success! 1 meal a day isn't going to hurt you, if you can accommodate it. All you need to worry about is your own success. DOn't worry about others criticism of your path.
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,706 Member
    robertf57 wrote: »
    Congrats on the success! 1 meal a day isn't going to hurt you, if you can accommodate it. All you need to worry about is your own success. DOn't worry about others criticism of your path.

    Thanks! Yep, one can totally "own it" and be a better person for having gone through the change.
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,706 Member
    edited July 2015
    shaytuck wrote: »
    ........why only one plate? Is this a mental thing? As a previous poster mentioned, what if my plate is full of raw spinach and some chicken? That won't be anywhere near what I need to eat for the whole day and I imagine being extremely hungry the next day too. I don't wanna use this as a "pig out" session but I'm trying to figure out how I can fit over a thousand calories on my plate without pigging out (like a delicious plate of buffalo wings and fries lol). Right now I'm semi low carb and I don't even always get to the 1200 calories that MFP suggests. What does 1300 calories look like on a plate?

    Should I just jump right into this or ease my way into it?

    Yes, a mental thing and a convenience thing. Feel free to measure/count out your calories, but to me, I wanted something more workable, practical, something more fluid. You make a good point in that if you are naturally a healthy eater, it will be hard to get the necessary calories on a plate. And bear in mind that OMAD, in its present form as I have it here, is for bingers and/or serious overeaters who do NOT have a healthy lifestyle. So that changes the game for you, perhaps. Go look in the posted meals thread for examples of how a typical OMAD plate looks.
  • d2othev
    d2othev Posts: 43 Member
    This sounds interesting and I am considering trying this. I am curious if this is a diet that you came up with or did you learn it from somewhere? Also, I think this may be hard with a husband and children . . . I really need to make a change though! Did you see success the first week? Did you eat 5 servings of fruits or veggies on this plate or was it just a calorie thing? Sorry for all the questions. I am just curious :)
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,706 Member
    edited July 2015
    d2othev wrote: »
    This sounds interesting and I am considering trying this. I am curious if this is a diet that you came up with or did you learn it from somewhere?

    Try it and you'll see results, although it will require sacrifice. I came up with it because, to me, it just made sense. I later learned our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate this way and that the followers of Elijah Mohammed ate this way--and that The Warrior Diet book by Ori Hoffmekler espoused it. But this was basically me following instinct...and formatting it for easy access to others.

    d2othev wrote: »
    Also, I think this may be hard with a husband and children . . . I really need to make a change though!

    Yes, but it will be hard regardless. You do what you must or things will always be as they've always been.

    d2othev wrote: »
    Did you see success the first week?

    Yes. Felt lighter from the first day. I knew it would work and I averaged almost 3 lbs each week with mostly short plateaus.

    d2othev wrote: »
    Did you eat 5 servings of fruits or veggies on this plate or was it just a calorie thing? Sorry for all the questions. I am just curious :)

    No, but I am a high-carb person naturally, which, in my view, makes the process more effective. The good thing is, none of that matters. I added in really good-quality, healthy foods as the months passed. Before Christmas of 2013, I was eating pretty well. It's all a process of betterment.

    Ask away!

    :-)
  • d2othev
    d2othev Posts: 43 Member
    Ok. I decided I would try this today. I didn't tell anyone, because I'm always trying new diets and failing publicly :( anyway, I was starving and decided to give up this morning. I ate a large breakfast and felt really full after. Then I decided I can't give up yet! I didn't even give it a fair try! So, my big meal is early today lol. I will be fasting the rest of the day. So far it's not that bad. It's almost 4pm and I feel good! Wish me luck!