OMAD (one meal a day)

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madagirl81
madagirl81 Posts: 72 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys, I'm thinking of starting intermittent fasting, only eating once every 24 hours, so basically eating one full hour of each day. But I'm confused because am I supposed to stuff all my calories into that hour or am I supposed to eat whatever. What worked for you and how much weight did you lose? And what's your stats? I'm 35, female, 4'11" as 140 pounds so as you can see I need to lose ALOT
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  • madagirl81
    madagirl81 Posts: 72 Member
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    TavistockToad wrote: »
    You still need a calorie deficit to lose weight, so yes, hit your calorie goal within that hour.

    Thank you, I feel like that's gonna be alot of food, but I'm not complaining lol
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    Eating once or eating 10 times a day is majoring in the minors.

    Eating less than you burn over a period of time is what burns fat.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    futuresize8 wrote: »
    I have never tried this but I wonder if it would lead to binge-type behaviors?

    It can in some people, others find it really works for them. Others find they can't get enough calories and protein in in one sitting.

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    I am familiar with IF but I have never heard of it being a 1 hour window.

    16:8 or 20:4 but never 23:1 or even 5:2 where you eat normal for 5 days and very little for 2 days.

    try having a bigger window at first to see how you do.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
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    madagirl81 wrote: »
    thecharon wrote: »
    I'm also tiny and losing weight eating 3 small meals a day with 2 planned snacks. Why are you making this so hard? It's all about your sticking to your daily calories.
    I jot everything down on paper the day before then log after I eat. I call it the "plannning" diet. You plan what you eat the day before. Easy.

    Yes you are right but I feel like I have trouble controlling myself and for me it gets complicated eating multiple times a day. Eating once a day makes it so I don't have to think too hard lol plus the 23 hours I'm not eating, the hormone insulin decreases resulting in more fat loss over time. Thank you

    I don't believe this is true. Can someone who knows more about this chime in?
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
    edited November 2017
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    I tried it, found it very difficult. I take a modified approach now. Basically a small lunch at 1pm (300-400 cals) and a large dinner at 6pm (800-900 cals). The small lunch tides me over until dinnertime. I love having a big filling dinner that keeps me stuffed until bedtime.

    My lunch is generally a mix of carbs and protein (protein bar/oatmeal and a piece of fruit, or a bowl of soup) and my dinner is focused more on protein and fat (meat dish with veggies).
  • Pocket__Cthulhu
    Pocket__Cthulhu Posts: 134 Member
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    futuresize8 wrote: »
    I have never tried this but I wonder if it would lead to binge-type behaviors?

    I think you're right. If you have had nothing for 23 hours, who's going to pick the nutrient dense option when there's easier, caloric dense options readily available? If you can do this, OP, and it works, sure? I don't see the logic in there.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    edited November 2017
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    futuresize8 wrote: »
    I have never tried this but I wonder if it would lead to binge-type behaviors?

    Not necessarily. My husband has eaten only one meal a day for as long as I've known him (we are now grandparents). He never binge eats and is happy to eat whatever balanced meal I prepare.

    I'd never heard of IF before joining MFP but that's how we've eaten for decades. He only eats one big meal at night (22-23 hr fast). I eat a small lunch around 2:00 - 3:00 and a big meal at night (16-17 hr fast).
  • jelleigh
    jelleigh Posts: 743 Member
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    ladyhusker39 wrote: »
    madagirl81 wrote: »
    thecharon wrote: »
    I'm also tiny and losing weight eating 3 small meals a day with 2 planned snacks. Why are you making this so hard? It's all about your sticking to your daily calories.
    I jot everything down on paper the day before then log after I eat. I call it the "plannning" diet. You plan what you eat the day before. Easy.

    Yes you are right but I feel like I have trouble controlling myself and for me it gets complicated eating multiple times a day. Eating once a day makes it so I don't have to think too hard lol plus the 23 hours I'm not eating, the hormone insulin decreases resulting in more fat loss over time. Thank you

    I don't believe this is true. Can someone who knows more about this chime in?
    Lesscookies1 wrote: »
    Oh gosh... I wouldn't recommend this for a plethora of reasons, and I don't think that insulin decreases because you're eating once a day.

    Insulin is a hormone released when glucose levels in your bloodstream rise. Glucose levels rise when you eat. Fasting means you do not trigger this response regularly. New studies are showing that IF helps regulate insulin levels in the body. I can't say that that is directly responsible for fat loss, however I think it is proven that wacky insulin levels is related to fat retention on people. So regulating hormone levels is helpful in weight loss. Im not suggesting that people could eat way over their TDEE in an IF pattern and somehow lose. But sometimes some people do hit inexplicable plateaus and while often it could be bad logging, there are people whos systems are out of whack. Thats why weird weight fluctuations are associated with diabetes or hypoglycemia - insulin levels arent right and it affects how your body processes, stores, and burns food/energy.

    Link to a recent study by National Academy of Science on IF benefits beyond weight loss.

    http://m.pnas.org/content/111/47/16647.abstract
  • namelesshere
    namelesshere Posts: 334 Member
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    Instead of eating only one meal a day, why not pack everything you want to eat that day in a large container (you can use smaller containers inside to keep your foods separate. So your large container would have your daily caloric amount. You can eat anytime you are hungry, but only items from your large container. When it is empty, you are done for the day. You will learn to space your meals more naturally, stay to your caloric amount, and be able to give your body the "pick me up" it needs during the day from a snack. Of course you will log everything here and measure everything before you put it in your container.

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