Britt's Vegan OMAD Journey

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Replies

  • mikseyniha
    mikseyniha Posts: 442 Member
    edited July 2017
    Hey Britt! Go easy on yourself! Its completely fine to struggle in the beginning. Its the first 14 days of adjustment period for OMAD. I suggest you try an eating window of 8 hrs and then narrow it down. You will find it easier day by day. I too did that and easily shifted to OMAD.
    Try eating from noon to 8 pm for two to three days. When you feel you are adjusted to the routine, reduce one hr from the window and eat between 1 pm to 8 pm. Keep doing this until you narrow your window to 1 hr say 7 pm to 8 pm. Give yourself enough time to adjust to an eating window.
  • brittdee88
    brittdee88 Posts: 1,874 Member
    Great idea, @mikseyniha! I used to eat on a 20/4 schedule for many years, and I have always been a huge fan of IF. I'm hoping that today is just a fluke, but if I am struggling again and it is not hormone-related, I will definitely try your plan!
  • mikseyniha
    mikseyniha Posts: 442 Member
    edited July 2017
    :blush:
  • blambo61
    blambo61 Posts: 4,372 Member
    I really like setting my mfp calorie goals to maintenance. Every day I'm under maintenance, I have hit my minimum goal. If it is a bigger deficit, then that is even better. Don't have to have a large deficit every day. That isn't a sustainable plan if we try to do that. Don't be hard on yourself and just shoot for at least maintenance and larger deficits. Those are all successful days! If you have a big surplus day, just get back after it and you will have a good week! One day doesn't make or break us, multiple days is what defines what happens.
  • shans34
    shans34 Posts: 535 Member
    I've been OMAD since November. I fail at it regularly, but that's not the name of the game. We are all human on a weight loss journey, we root for each other regardless! I haven't been doing OMAD for a couple weeks now, but I'm still here because I still believe in it. We all mess up, on every plan, the trick is to keep going. It's life. Not a school grade.
  • wsandy8512
    wsandy8512 Posts: 1,897 Member
    edited July 2017
    blambo61 wrote: »
    I really like setting my mfp calorie goals to maintenance. Every day I'm under maintenance, I have hit my minimum goal. If it is a bigger deficit, then that is even better. Don't have to have a large deficit every day. That isn't a sustainable plan if we try to do that. Don't be hard on yourself and just shoot for at least maintenance and larger deficits. Those are all successful days! If you have a big surplus day, just get back after it and you will have a good week! One day doesn't make or break us, multiple days is what defines what happens.

    ^^This! I followed Blambo's advice, I've been eating just over 1600 calories a day which is about 500 under maintenance, before I was eating between 1250-1400 but my net eaten would be 1100 and below--way, way too far under deficit. That's why MFP and many people in regular forums say to eat the exercise calories back. If you do, you still have a deficit of whatever you have your goal set to, from .5-2lbs/week loss. Don't be afraid to eat everything back that you burn. I'm down -.6lbs since Friday's weigh-in and I've been eating way more than I did when I wasn't eating back what I burned. I feel refreshed and renewed! I had to switch to "lightly active" from sedentary because I exercise at least 3 times a week now, it's absolutely beautiful. :-)
  • brittdee88
    brittdee88 Posts: 1,874 Member
    Good idea, @blambo61! I'm not currently calorie counting because I get obsessive, but I definitely will try it if I absolutely need to. When (hopefully if) I do, I will definitely try that.
  • brittdee88
    brittdee88 Posts: 1,874 Member
    Mealtime: 11:38 - 12:20ish
    Intake: roasted honey gold potatoes, steamed white rice, B&J's non-dairy coffee caramel fudge
    Dessert calories: 480

    TOM ended up coming early today, so I wasn't super interested in eating anything really but the ice cream. I had a tiny saucer of potatoes and rice and a cup of the B&J. It was very good, and I am nice and full. I will likely be resting most of the day.
  • wsandy8512
    wsandy8512 Posts: 1,897 Member
    Sounds like a nice dessert. Hope you find yourself being able to relax today. :)
  • brittdee88
    brittdee88 Posts: 1,874 Member
    It was heavenly! Thanks, Sandy. I'm gonna settle in for a nap soon. The fiancé always lets me take over the bedroom during TOM. So grateful for him.
  • brittdee88
    brittdee88 Posts: 1,874 Member
    I ended up having a second meal again yesterday, and it was definitely emotional eating. I know I ate too little at my normal meal time, but I really wasn't hungry when I got more food. I wanted comfort from cramps and from feeling the large range of emotions that always hit me during TOM. I am constantly trying to break these emotional ties with food. I had been completely binge-free when I adopted eating three meals a day without snacks, but again, the weight loss was WAY too slow (~1 lb per month). Ugh. Trying to figure out OMAD during this time is so hard! I wish I would've built the OMAD habit before TOM came around - maybe that would've been more helpful. I would say that maybe I should adjust around this time to the plan that worked best for my anti-binging habits while hormones are running high, but that would be at least a week every month that I would be out of compliance with OMAD. And I feel like I would have to go through the transition period constantly every month, and that just sounds awful. I'm sort of at a loss.
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,706 Member
    brittdee88 wrote: »
    I ended up having a second meal again yesterday, and it was definitely emotional eating. I know I ate too little at my normal meal time, but I really wasn't hungry when I got more food. I wanted comfort from cramps and from feeling the large range of emotions that always hit me during TOM. I am constantly trying to break these emotional ties with food. I had been completely binge-free when I adopted eating three meals a day without snacks, but again, the weight loss was WAY too slow (~1 lb per month). Ugh. Trying to figure out OMAD during this time is so hard! I wish I would've built the OMAD habit before TOM came around - maybe that would've been more helpful. I would say that maybe I should adjust around this time to the plan that worked best for my anti-binging habits while hormones are running high, but that would be at least a week every month that I would be out of compliance with OMAD. And I feel like I would have to go through the transition period constantly every month, and that just sounds awful. I'm sort of at a loss.

    Might as well go through the misery now. Once you put it behind you, you will have acquired the strength to move on. You will not be able to do it if you can't make peace with those cravings.
  • brittdee88
    brittdee88 Posts: 1,874 Member
    edited July 2017
    Might as well go through the misery now. Once you put it behind you, you will have acquired the strength to move on. You will not be able to do it if you can't make peace with those cravings.

    @arguablysamson Yeah, you're right that I need to move on past these cravings. But I am just concerned about what to do next month and the month after, etc. The cravings are not going to stop for at least another 15-20 years given my family history, so I just don't know what to do.
  • brittdee88
    brittdee88 Posts: 1,874 Member
    edited July 2017
    No real appetite today, so maybe it's balancing itself out. I was planning a water fast today like some sort of punishment for yesterday, and I know that is just step 1 on a downward spiral for me. I've recovered from 2 EDs, but they are always just one step away. If my appetite does return, I will eat today.
    I've decided to stop freaking out about things I really can't control and worrying too much about the future. I REALLY need to stop being afraid to fail. A failure is not a defining moment. I know this is true, and I preach it often, but I never practice it. No more.
    If there are a couple days a month when I can't stick strictly to OMAD because of PMS and TOM, so be it. I'm not going to use them as splurge days either unless they really are (ie. eating for comfort like yesterday vs. genuine elevated hunger the day before). To me, that almost seems like a punishment for having a period that I can't splurge of my own free will because I ate more when I was actually hungrier due to bodily changes I didn't ask for and can't control. It may slow down my loss, but I am okay with that. It is not a race, and I need to remind myself of this constantly. I've spent the past 20 years trying to force myself to lose it all NOW, and we see where that got me. 20 years of a vicious cycle. I want out now. I'm exhausted.
    I will obviously strive to follow OMAD as much as possible (I am still a perfectionist at heart), but if I end up eating a second meal during this time, I will just post here and move on. The majority of the month will be in compliance, and that will just have to be good enough. Not sure how else to handle it, and I'm tired of freaking out about it.
    With all that said, I used 1 of the 2 monthly splurge days yesterday. The next one will be much more enjoyable and without the guilt (and hopefully after 2 weeks like it's supposed to be!).
  • x3nomorph
    x3nomorph Posts: 174 Member
    your priority now(since you are starting) should be to stick to OMAD and fast for the following 23 hours, don't worry about weight loss, master/get into the OMAD rhythm day in and day out to the point is a solid established habit and you are not hungry up until your meal time, don't deprive yourself, eat in abundance in your one meal

    once you have that foundation under your belt, you can start tweaking what you eat to achieve whatever weight loss rate you desire

  • minigrrll
    minigrrll Posts: 1,590 Member
    That's exactly the attitude you need (and I'm trying to cultivate too!) - if you end up eating a second meal every once in a while, big deal.... As long as it's not weekly or something. I just tell myself that I've extended my eating window!! :)

    And NO GUILT. I think guilt is the enemy big time.
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,706 Member
    brittdee88 wrote: »
    Might as well go through the misery now. Once you put it behind you, you will have acquired the strength to move on. You will not be able to do it if you can't make peace with those cravings.

    @arguablysamson Yeah, you're right that I need to move on past these cravings. But I am just concerned about what to do next month and the month after, etc. The cravings are not going to stop for at least another 15-20 years given my family history, so I just don't know what to do.

    No, cravings will not follow you forever.
  • mikseyniha
    mikseyniha Posts: 442 Member
    I agree with everyone here. Stick to OMAD without thinking about the results. Your main motive right now should be getting accustomed to the routine. Weight loss will eventually follow. You can do it!
  • brittdee88
    brittdee88 Posts: 1,874 Member
    edited July 2017
    No, cravings will not follow you forever.

    I think you may have missed the part where I said they were related to PMS and TOM. I have been having them monthly for 21 years now, and the women in my family don't hit menopause before their mid-50's to mid-60's. The absolute youngest has been ~50, which is why I said at least another 20 or so years. I appreciate your input, though. I wish there were more women here who could help with this.

  • brittdee88
    brittdee88 Posts: 1,874 Member
    @x3nomorph @minigrrll @mikseyniha thank you for the encouragement! I am definitely taking your input into consideration. I ate until I was satisfied around 4:50PM yesterday, which still only ended up at around 980 calories. Getting used to the habit and changing my mindset are my goals now thanks to you all. I'm not going to worry too much about anything else until those are set.