OMAD Maintenance (Part 1)
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arguablysamson
Posts: 1,706 Member
When I made the decision back in early June to enter into the maintenance phase of OMAD, it was a scary experience. It was scary for several reasons.
First, it was scary because, although I'd always planned for it, I was actually numerically where I wanted to be. It was like I couldn't accept it. I had made it! And yet, I still somehow wasn't satisfied with my body. Loose skin and some "pudge" could still be seen, as could my notable lack of muscle, much of which had been lost with the fat back in the mucho-losing phase.
So, I was scared - scared of putting the weight back on - but also scared of how I was going to move ahead since living forever at a calorie deficit was not sustainable. This was the second reason why the maintenance phase was so scary. It was new territory for me. This forced me to experiment with different ways of eating.
By the middle of June, I had made it back into Onederland and found I could keep my weight between 193 lbs and 198 as I wished. I did this by eating one measured-out larger meal. Getting to "cut loose" and just stuff myself was what I did for a while, but I noticed two things; one was that it is harder to stretch my stomach back out to handle extra food, and the second thing was that it seemed to tax my system a bit more than I was used to; I gained some weight back, most of which was muscle, but this scared me even more. By the end of June, I had jumped up to 208 again. Of course, I quickly dropped back to 193 and played a bit more with different approaches to eating.
As my weight training and cardio efforts continued, I found myself with the need for yet more energy--hence, another increase in calories. Still, this didn't do quite as well energy-wise long after workouts. And then it hit me...in the wild, animals (when they put on mass after hibernation season) bulk up with multiple meals. The same way I'd always eaten to get big might just have to come back into play to even things out.
But there were other issues; one was that my body still wanted OMAD. I felt best like that, only lacking when heavy activity came into the picture. The second problem was...I was still losing weight! I soon found the scale at 189.8 lbs. Due to the body image issues, I decided to allow myself to lose a little more, but this brought me no closer to discovering how I was going to go forward from here. But as before, the animal kingdom had the answers.
After adding back in multiple meals, two things dawned on me; 1) I wasn't going to gain weight and offset my progress, and 2) I could eat smaller, more supplemental meals to the big one. I tried this a while before putting in place my current solution. I jokingly call it the Weekly Bear Maintenance Plan.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1402465-omad-maintenance-part-2
First, it was scary because, although I'd always planned for it, I was actually numerically where I wanted to be. It was like I couldn't accept it. I had made it! And yet, I still somehow wasn't satisfied with my body. Loose skin and some "pudge" could still be seen, as could my notable lack of muscle, much of which had been lost with the fat back in the mucho-losing phase.
So, I was scared - scared of putting the weight back on - but also scared of how I was going to move ahead since living forever at a calorie deficit was not sustainable. This was the second reason why the maintenance phase was so scary. It was new territory for me. This forced me to experiment with different ways of eating.
By the middle of June, I had made it back into Onederland and found I could keep my weight between 193 lbs and 198 as I wished. I did this by eating one measured-out larger meal. Getting to "cut loose" and just stuff myself was what I did for a while, but I noticed two things; one was that it is harder to stretch my stomach back out to handle extra food, and the second thing was that it seemed to tax my system a bit more than I was used to; I gained some weight back, most of which was muscle, but this scared me even more. By the end of June, I had jumped up to 208 again. Of course, I quickly dropped back to 193 and played a bit more with different approaches to eating.
As my weight training and cardio efforts continued, I found myself with the need for yet more energy--hence, another increase in calories. Still, this didn't do quite as well energy-wise long after workouts. And then it hit me...in the wild, animals (when they put on mass after hibernation season) bulk up with multiple meals. The same way I'd always eaten to get big might just have to come back into play to even things out.
But there were other issues; one was that my body still wanted OMAD. I felt best like that, only lacking when heavy activity came into the picture. The second problem was...I was still losing weight! I soon found the scale at 189.8 lbs. Due to the body image issues, I decided to allow myself to lose a little more, but this brought me no closer to discovering how I was going to go forward from here. But as before, the animal kingdom had the answers.
After adding back in multiple meals, two things dawned on me; 1) I wasn't going to gain weight and offset my progress, and 2) I could eat smaller, more supplemental meals to the big one. I tried this a while before putting in place my current solution. I jokingly call it the Weekly Bear Maintenance Plan.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1402465-omad-maintenance-part-2
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Replies
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I suspect no one is ever completely satisfied with his/her body, especially if been heavy then lost a lot. Based on some something I read about evolutionary development, our worrying, second guessing, waryiness all stem from past experience intended to keep us from repeating scary experieinces agaiin the future--more or less. You'be been there done that, now don't want to do it again. Logical,. Logical also is knowing and trusting that omad is your shield.0
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Very enlightening how you came to an eating pattern to stay within your weight range. I have a long way to go before I get to maintenance but will be looking forward to using your strategy to stay at a goal weight range.
From what I understand, you are eating three meals a day for a few days, then eating a couple days on OMAD, and then back to three meals a day. Is that correct?0 -
Very enlightening how you came to an eating pattern to stay within your weight range. I have a long way to go before I get to maintenance but will be looking forward to using your strategy to stay at a goal weight range.
From what I understand, you are eating three meals a day for a few days, then eating a couple days on OMAD, and then back to three meals a day. Is that correct?
It's actually not so much "three meals," as just eating when and what I want. Sometimes it's just two, plus snacks. I follow my cravings those days and/or eat larger meals. But once you've mastered yourself, varying routines is no big deal. I love being a free-flowing machine of "do what work." Pretty cool.1
