From 363.4 to 197.7 lbs: My One-Meal-a-Day Success Story

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Replies

  • starrylioness
    starrylioness Posts: 543 Member
    You look incredible! So fit and healthy! Such a difference! Congratulations!
  • deliciousmnm
    deliciousmnm Posts: 8 Member
    Congratulations on your weight loss. I agree with the fact that you have to use what works for you, because not everyone has the same body type or body make up. I too have recently started a one meal a day plan, but I have replaced the other meals with a vegetable and fruit smoothie. Today is only day 3 since I have started and so far I am not as hungry as I thought I would be. If I do get hungry I drink water to fill the void. Thank you for sharing and pretty soon I too will be able to share my success story. I am 5' 4" and 191 pounds. Trying to lose 45 pounds, on my way to a heathier me.
  • BekaBooluvsu
    BekaBooluvsu Posts: 470 Member
    Amazing!!!!!
  • So good to hear of another avenue to weight loss. Congrats on your success!!! May I ask what time of day you eat? Is it the same time everyday?
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,706 Member
    I eat between 6pm and 10pm everyday, usually between 7 and 8. It needs to be within the timeframe window everyday. Otherwise, you're not really eating once per day. The idea is to finish the meal well within one hour and be back into fasting after that. See rules #4 and #5...

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1241325-how-to-do-one-meal-a-day-the-basics?page=1
  • Sassymama66_75HARD
    Sassymama66_75HARD Posts: 91 Member
    First - WOW - Congratulations!

    Second - I worked with a guy who was a fitness trainer - he only ate one meal a day at lunch time and was in amazing shape. I am not sure I could do it but if it works for you then go for it!
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member

    I was wondering about this "bit of loose skin" you speak of--how is it...is it really unsightly, like you may need surgery or something to correct it or not so bad looking/hardly noticeable? That's the only thing about relatively fast weight loss that kinda scares me--loose skin.

    Again, way to go dude--thank for post! :drinker: :flowerforyou: :drinker:

    Bumping for reply...
  • croooz
    croooz Posts: 48 Member
    Congrats!

    I started OMAD this week. I did it last year but went to visit family and got off the OMAD train after a month. Slowly but surely went right back to my old eating habits and regained all my previous weight loss ~30lbs. Recently I tried the ketogenic diet and while I loved eating the food the cravings for carbs were insane. It seems restrictions just go against my nature. Upon accepting that I decided to go back to what worked, OMAD. Well it was more like OMAD and IIFYM...(let's see how many acronyms I can fit in one post...) Day three of week one and all goes well. Had a craving for some chocolate yesterday so I had a snicker's bar for dessert. It bothers my programming of "clean" eating but once I ate I was good. I ate only once and I included that dessert that popped into my taste buds and while I am technically dieting I didn't feel deprived or restricted. During the day I have a cup of coffee at 6am and at noon, which this time around has eliminated my 4-6pm cravings. I also like feeling light during the day and not having to concern myself with food. I also introduced drinking a liter of water every four hours four times a day and am sure that's helping with the cravings. As I remember and you posted, the cravings begin to go away and the desire for healthier food becomes stronger.

    Anyhow just thought I'd creep out of the shadows and let you know that we OMAD's are out here. I enjoyed your article and look forward to reading more from you.

    Congrats again! Good job. Are you an OMAD lifer, in other words are you going to continue with this indefinitely?
  • Cby60
    Cby60 Posts: 38 Member
    I have started intermittent fasting so far twice twice a week.. From 6 pm to 6 pm and then only 500 calories for supper. I lose 1-2 lbs after each fast so far! I am thrilled and also find it easier to just eat once a day - something I never would have thought possible. The lower weight on the scale each morning is a real incentive! The other days I do a fast from 6 pm until noon the next day and eat no more than 1200 calories. I also do 45 minutes of inline skating (just learnt how) and I am getting so motivated now that the inches are coming off that I've decided to incorporate the "from couch to 5k" program into my life! The latest is that it is good for you to fast and I have not felt this good and energetic in years. So, I agree with you that one meal a day is a great option for some people. I would suggest that this one meal be a healthy one most of the time and that you eat until satisfied but not full. Hunger pangs are not steady but come when you cook or smell food but then go away. I usually drink water or peppermint tea to distract myself. It really works.
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,706 Member

    I was wondering about this "bit of loose skin" you speak of--how is it...is it really unsightly, like you may need surgery or something to correct it or not so bad looking/hardly noticeable? That's the only thing about relatively fast weight loss that kinda scares me--loose skin.

    Again, way to go dude--thank for post! :drinker: :flowerforyou: :drinker:

    Bumping for reply...

    I have loose skin nearly everywhere, but people tell me it's not noticeable until I draw attention to it. I agree with them. The worst is my neck, chin, and waist, which is why I am really enjoying the firming up aspect of things now in a good strength training program.

    Am I at all worried about the loose skin? Not much beyond a second or third take in the mirror daily. Caught myself before the loose skin became a huge issue. Had I peaked over 400 lbs, that no doubt would be a bigger concern, but most tell me loose skin does retract in time except in the most serious of cases.
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,706 Member
    I have started intermittent fasting so far twice twice a week.. From 6 pm to 6 pm and then only 500 calories for supper. I lose 1-2 lbs after each fast so far! I am thrilled and also find it easier to just eat once a day - something I never would have thought possible. The lower weight on the scale each morning is a real incentive! The other days I do a fast from 6 pm until noon the next day and eat no more than 1200 calories. I also do 45 minutes of inline skating (just learnt how) and I am getting so motivated now that the inches are coming off that I've decided to incorporate the "from couch to 5k" program into my life! The latest is that it is good for you to fast and I have not felt this good and energetic in years. So, I agree with you that one meal a day is a great option for some people. I would suggest that this one meal be a healthy one most of the time and that you eat until satisfied but not full. Hunger pangs are not steady but come when you cook or smell food but then go away. I usually drink water or peppermint tea to distract myself. It really works.

    Good going. I know of at least one guy who did what I did, but went back to two or three meals on the weekends and he saw great progress. Mixing up your routine may indeed work wonders (or ONEDERS!) for you. Just depends on your own particular needs.

    I, too, do lots of teas and coffees, but I cycle on and off. 3 days of tea and water, 3 days of coffee and water, 1 day of water and diet soda. It's no joke how effective teas and coffees are at curbing hunger. They are better than any "appetite supressants" I am aware of, not to mention they directly aid in the body's burning of fat.
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,706 Member
    I started OMAD this week. I did it last year but went to visit family and got off the OMAD train after a month. Slowly but surely went right back to my old eating habits and regained all my previous weight loss ~30lbs.

    When I was 17 (6'2 and 217 lbs), I lost using OMAD then. Went down to 163 lbs, so I knew it worked. During the college years, went back to multiple feedings and it took almost three years to balloon up to 248, then to 295 a year and a half later--the rest, as they say, is history. Life does that to us, which is why I doubt I will ever resume multiple feedings, although I have considered it since it is DARN HARD to get the daily maintenance calorie lot.

    It's so easy when you're young to make te mistake of thinking that time will afford you plenty of opportunities for this and that. Then you get older and learn just how much your health can take a beating with age--another reason I will probably never go back to multiple meals. This keeps me in check and I can physically outperform everyone of my colleagues and am just about never sick.
    Recently I tried the ketogenic diet and while I loved eating the food the cravings for carbs were insane. It seems restrictions just go against my nature. Upon accepting that I decided to go back to what worked, OMAD. Well it was more like OMAD and IIFYM...(let's see how many acronyms I can fit in one post...)

    Yep. I've struggled with the same thing. Low-carb always makes me nuts and it doesn't take but a few short days to make me a delirious, dizzy, foul-breathed animal. I don't know how anyone can keep doing such measures. No one could pay me to do it again.
    Day three of week one and all goes well. Had a craving for some chocolate yesterday so I had a snicker's bar for dessert. It bothers my programming of "clean" eating but once I ate I was good. I ate only once and I included that dessert that popped into my taste buds and while I am technically dieting I didn't feel deprived or restricted.

    Nice. Just have whatever little snack with the meal. You wouldn't want to make a meal of junk, but satisfying a craving like that actually makes you feeler fuller longer since your brain releases chemicals letting you feel full and satisfied longer. It's not so much what you eat, but how you feel afterward that determines how full you will feel, so it seems.
    During the day I have a cup of coffee at 6am and at noon, which this time around has eliminated my 4-6pm cravings. I also like feeling light during the day and not having to concern myself with food. I also introduced drinking a liter of water every four hours four times a day and am sure that's helping with the cravings.

    Coffee and tea work wonders. Even water, as in the act of drinking itself, acts as a meal replacement. I sip stuff all day after the meal.
    As I remember and you posted, the cravings begin to go away and the desire for healthier food becomes stronger.

    And this is what I wish people would take more notice of; people get mad when I say "eat anything you want" and think someone is going to go hog-wild on fried foods and dripping grease carb sides, not knowing that your foods are a relationship like any other. Your tastes change over time and your body starts to call out for different and better things. My transition was totally unintentional. Now, I eat pretty darn well. Just happened since I realized I felt better and better the more I left behind fried and processed foods. I still enjoy them regularly, but that's the beauty of this--you can do it on anything and take the "baby steps" approach to real, long-lasting progress.
    Anyhow just thought I'd creep out of the shadows and let you know that we OMAD's are out here. I enjoyed your article and look forward to reading more from you.

    Congrats again! Good job.

    Are you an OMAD lifer, in other words are you going to continue with this indefinitely?

    Thanks! And yes, I am really, seriously doubting I will ever change what I'm doing. I'm up to 2 to 3 topped off plates of food now that I'm maintaining, and I worry not at all about gaining anything back or counting calories. Some days I do less and some days I do more. I stay in that "zone" of productivity and love not having to care about excesses. It's really beautiful to actually live life and not be fixated on gluttonous eating safaris like in the old days.

    At some point, I'll post what I used to eat. I figure that's worth a good laugh!
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member

    I was wondering about this "bit of loose skin" you speak of--how is it...is it really unsightly, like you may need surgery or something to correct it or not so bad looking/hardly noticeable? That's the only thing about relatively fast weight loss that kinda scares me--loose skin.

    Again, way to go dude--thank for post! :drinker: :flowerforyou: :drinker:

    Bumping for reply...

    I have loose skin nearly everywhere, but people tell me it's not noticeable until I draw attention to it. I agree with them. The worst is my neck, chin, and waist, which is why I am really enjoying the firming up aspect of things now in a good strength training program.

    Am I at all worried about the loose skin? Not much beyond a second or third take in the mirror daily. Caught myself before the loose skin became a huge issue. Had I peaked over 400 lbs, that no doubt would be a bigger concern, but most tell me loose skin does retract in time except in the most serious of cases.

    Thank you so much for your reply! You sir, are a winner and once again, I thank you so much for posting! :drinker:
  • donnarogers6211
    donnarogers6211 Posts: 19 Member
    I have lost 130lbs and I am having to have surgery for my loose skin. The surgeon says he going to get at least 20lbs of skin off me. It will have to be done in 3 surgeries.
  • Timelordlady85
    Timelordlady85 Posts: 797 Member
    Amazing, though its not something I would do. It works for you and thats what matters. :) I can't wait to post a success story of my own in the future as I reach my goal weight.
  • Cera33
    Cera33 Posts: 2 Member
    Everyone has what works for them.....Congrats!
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
    bump
  • jungefrau
    jungefrau Posts: 11 Member
    I think that you should be proud of yourself and I applaud the way you have been able to wean yourself off an overly dependent emotional relationship to food.

    Unless a person has a particular health problem such as diabetes or whatever, what harm is there in eating one meal a day? I have been in the medical field for almost 10 years and have yet to hear of someone dying or even becoming ill because they don't eat more than one meal a day.

    I wish you the best in your continued walk in health and a long life to you!

    Jennifer Smith
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
    I think that you should be proud of yourself and I applaud the way you have been able to wean yourself off an overly dependent emotional relationship to food.

    Unless a person has a particular health problem such as diabetes or whatever, what harm is there in eating one meal a day? I have been in the medical field for almost 10 years and have yet to hear of someone dying or even becoming ill because they don't eat more than one meal a day.

    I wish you the best in your continued walk in health and a long life to you!

    Jennifer Smith

    :drinker:
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