OMAD( one meal a day)

christianwong6923
christianwong6923 Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello I was going to start omad fasting and I was wondering if anyone had a recommendations on how I should do this?

Replies

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Here is an OMAD group: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/20634-omad-revolution
  • WholeFoods4Lyfe
    WholeFoods4Lyfe Posts: 1,518 Member
    Are you doing any sort of IF right now? OMAD is pretty drastic and you could end up failing miserably if you don't work your way towards it. I happen to follow a Keto Diet and practice OMAD 3-4 days a week, BUT it took me some time to get there. I started with 16:8 and then worked my way up. As I became fat adapted, fasting became easier. I only do OMAD during the week when I'm in the office, but the other 3-4 days a week that I'm home with my family I do 18:6 give or take so that I can have meals with my kids.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    MikePTY wrote: »
    Do you currently do any type of IF? Some people find that going directly to OMAD is too drastic directly from a normal diet. You may look into 16:8 IF instead if that is something you are interested in.

    Remember that if you do decide to do OMAD, you still need to get your proper calories in for the day. And while not important from a weight loss perspective, nutrition is important from an overall health perspective. For me my daily calorie goal is 2350. Sure I could fit that in one meal, but I'd have a heard time getting a good diverse selection of foods that meet my macro and nutritional needs. It'd be a lot of pizza and burgers and olive garden.

    Remember that weight loss only happens from creating a calorie deficit (eating less calories than you burn). How you do that: 6 meals a day, IF, OMAD, etc, is a personal choice that you may find beneficial to hit these goals. But that still needs to be the focus regardless of how you choose to do it.

    It is actually not that difficult. Remember that a meal can consist of more than one course. I eat a good variety of food. I do eat a snack because I don't follow nonsense internet rules. Over the last 15 months I think most days I have averaged a 19 hour fast but I don't track it that closes because the fasting part is meaningless.
  • phred_52
    phred_52 Posts: 189 Member
    If I understood omad fasting definition, then you'll be just fine. I've been eating only once a day for years, without problems. I still do, and I do 2 hrs cardio, and 1 hr weights at gym, and all is good. Then again, as above answers we are all different.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    I think the difficult thing about OMAD would be getting sufficient cals, veg, fiber, and protein with only one meal a day. It might not be difficult for some, of course, but I'd make sure to log and look at what I was eating, cals, protein, etc.
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    edited June 2019
    I personally didn’t experience difficulties getting my calories in (don’t give a darn about macros - let them turn out what they are for the day) or getting my nutrients in. Nor did I make food selections different from what I normally would eat in non-OMAD mode.

    Actually, I think I ate better and enjoyed my two hour feeding window better than what would have been my experience grazing or doing the three square meals a day method.

    Unless you’re a one-man band, it does present challenges and can be viewed by others as anti-social.
  • JohnPaulEightyOne
    JohnPaulEightyOne Posts: 127 Member
    I did OMAD for a couple of weeks. It was just too much food. 2200 calories really spiked my insulin and made me really sleepy for hours. I now leave OMAD strictly for Saturdays, when I rarely have anything to get done.
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    edited June 2019
    Interesting @sixtosounds - curious, what was your typical feeding window and time of day? That was probably the average number of calories I ate during my OMAD journey. I was in maintenance land at the time.

    I found Sunday more difficult because it was a day of rest.
  • JohnPaulEightyOne
    JohnPaulEightyOne Posts: 127 Member
    @pierinifitness It was about an hour and a half (I eat very, very slowly), around 1:30-3:00. After my workout, ingredient shopping, and shower and right before leaving for work. Being sleepy at work was awful
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    OK, I understand and agree being sleepy at work would be no fun particularly if you sit for a living and use your brain rather than your brawn in your job. I do, and avoid that post-feeding lethargy by not eating or eating very little while at work.
  • JohnPaulEightyOne
    JohnPaulEightyOne Posts: 127 Member
    @pierinifitness Same. 8 hours at a computer, 5pm to 2am. It was the perfect job for fat me. Almost torture for current me.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    pierinifitness wrote: »
    I personally didn’t experience difficulties getting my calories in (don’t give a darn about macros - let them turn out what they are for the day) or getting my nutrients in. Nor did I make food selections different from what I normally would eat in non-OMAD mode.

    Actually, I think I ate better and enjoyed my two hour feeding window better than what would have been my experience grazing or doing the three square meals a day method.

    Unless you’re a one-man band, it does present challenges and can be viewed by others as anti-social.

    From peeking at your choices on occasion, I think you eat higher carb and less veg than I do, and I'm more concerned about getting in a certain amount of protein (I also eat mostly plant based, which based on how I eat means protein often comes with lots of fiber).

    I think it's great what you do works for you, but I don't think OMAD or even 2 meals per day daily would work for me with my other preferences. I do 2 meals when I intend to have a high cal dinner, and have done 2 on a few other days lately, and if I'm not using it to make room for a high cal restaurant dinner I tend to come in at 1000-1300 with no desire to eat more post dinner, which would be way too low, and protein is low too. That's because the size of meals I eat are pretty consistent with the size I want to eat, and 3 of that size tend to equate to my cals.

    Could I adjust over time to two bigger meals (or 2 meals plus snacking, which I dislike, within my window)? Probably, but no particular reason to do so. I think OMAD for me would always require more lower nutrient carbs (refined starches vs. veg/higher fiber options) or fats (easy to add cals that way) or dessert than I particularly desire.
  • phred_52
    phred_52 Posts: 189 Member
    I too did 8 hrs on computer with customer service (13yrs) included while in Military, but I found time to get in 2 hrs daily outdoor cycling. Is that something You could do?

    I never ate 2200 cal a day, but healthy foods, was small guy, 5'8 150lbs at time, but I guess I was fortunate to always feel good.
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    We’re all different @lemurcat2 - I have shared a couple times but those shared should not be considered representative of how I eat overall. I have a fairly challenging exercise approach so do need to fuel my body to support my activities. Again, we’re all different and isn’t that wonderful.
  • cynthobrien
    cynthobrien Posts: 20 Member


    I don't think anyone's judging OMAD "harshly". For many people, eating enough calories and enough protein and fiber in one meal would be really difficult. And for some people, not eating for that long can cause lightheadedness and fatigue. The main message I see in this thread is OP should consider easing into it, rather than just go from a traditional schedule to one meal overnight and risk running into those two difficulties.

    The science behind autophagy is fascinating but theoretical. If IF is comfortable for someone and they are hoping the possibilities of autophagy pan out, that's great. But the science is nowhere near concrete enough for someone to struggle with a way of eating if it's not otherwise optimal for them.

    I'll add, 20:4 is not OMAD. I think there are far more people who could make eating 2 meals within 4 hours work, than there are people who could make one meal a day work. I personally do best with 3 meals and a snack or two over 9 hours right now. Luckily there are a wide range of possibilities to choose from, so we each can find what works best for us, which may be quite different than what works best for others, and might be different at different times of our lives. :

    I wasn’t insinuating that anyone was currently judging OP’s choice “harshly” I did see some pretty unhelpful and “ judgy “ comments, and quite a few helpful and encouraging ones. I also wasn’t insisting anyone do what I do, it works for me and that’s all I really care about, I was sharing my plan and if it helps, it helps. 🤷🏻‍♀️ just as you yourself laid out your eating plan in your comment.
    I’m well aware 20:4 isn’t OMAD, again I was sharing my personal plan. I started with a basic 16:8, went to an 18:6, and now I’m at 20:4... basically the way to get to full OMAD. Which is really what most of the comments are referring to when they say don’t jump into OMAD from a standard eating window.
    But then again opinions are like *kitten*, we all have em.

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