Anybody tried the OMAD diet?

[otherself]

OMAD means "one meal a day".

Anybody tried it?

Been on it myself for nearly 3 weeks and have lost 2.5kg. Seems to be working.

 

[grey-beard]

I feel that smaller portions are the way to go really, you need energy throughout the day, but if you feel ok and it's working for you?

 

[otherself]

I feel that smaller portions are the way to go really, you need energy throughout the day, but if you feel ok and it's working for you?

I'm doing fine as long as I don't bicycle beyond 10 miles I can get by on one meal of about 1350 calories.

 

[jimo746]

Yes, tried it with a low carb/keto diet. I found it ok, took a bit of getting used to, first few weeks I felt lethargic, but I found it hard to actually get my required calories into just the one meal, I didn’t want to have too much of a calorie deficit.
For me, intermittent fasting & low carb/keto works best (I just skip breakfast and/or lunch every other day) and eat healthy low carb/high fat meals, I steadily lose the weight whilst still getting enough calories and having energy. I find long rides are fine at a steady pace, did a 200k Audax last year eating nuts and drinking zero cal electrolyte drinks , felt fine at the end too.

If omad is working for you and you’re happy with it then that’s fine, I’d look at it as more if a lifestyle change though rather than a diet, that way you might be more likely to stick with it longer term. Don’t be afraid to change things around and try something different either, you may find 2 meals a day is better for maintaining your weight going forwards. There’s lots of info out there on the subject, but it’s about what you find works for you,

 

[clubby]

Just a different way of doing calorie restriction. 1350 is a pretty strict target every day. Even with intermittent fasting, the 800 days are only 2-3 days a week.
The potential issue I can see is that the body can only deal with certain amounts of nutrients at one time. Your one meal could be extremely healthy but if your body can’t absorb it all, you may be getting what you need.

Jimo is right, diets are hard to sustain, lifestyle changes aren’t, they just take time to establish.

I went low carb in March to improve my diabetic control and it’s been great. I have porridge in the morning, but that’s it for starchy carbs for the day. The rest of the day is about eating normal family meals but swapping the carbs for extra veg. It’s not for everyone, but works for me. Eating out is awkward as everything in the uk is carb centric. Just have to accept that some days I’ll have extra if I’m out. Don’t see it as cheating, just some days I’m less strict.

So far I’ve lost 12.5kg and my blood results have improved hugely.

 

[mk one]

I think others have touched on the most important thing, that is what works best for you, everyone is different.

I have only eaten one meal a day for most of my life with no issues, sometimes none a day, i learnt to listen to my body and energy levels. I find eating a breakfast for example, makes me hungry by dinner time, where as i am not hungry at all until the evening if i do not have a breakfast, which fitted in with my active traveling lifestyle the best.

 

[DebraSpen]

I've been doing it for a month and I'm loving it.

 

[valerlero]

I tried it, but it didn't work out for me. I prefer to eat frequently throughout the day but in smaller portions. Of course, the meal must be delicious and nutritious. I also try not to put too many restrictions on myself. If I want anything unhealthy, salty, or fried, I try to consume as little as possible. For example, I recently tried homemade beef jerky made by my wife using a recipe she discovered on bigwigjerky.com.au.
But, as was mentioned before, if it works for you, then it's great.

 

[fridaembry]

OMAD means "one meal a day".

Anybody tried it? Wordle

Been on it myself for nearly 3 weeks and have lost 2.5kg. Seems to be working.

I sort of do this myself... I usually eat one or two bigger meals a day and snack on low carb options in the off times to keep me feeling full and satisfied. I do see hormone spikes but as long as I snack on nuts or something with a little sugar, I seem to do okay. (T1D)

My biggest issue has been that by default my blood sugar is lower so I end fighting lows a fair amount. Granted, I am still really new to all this so I haven't quite grasped the bolus and my endo has yet to give me a carb ratio so I use a sliding scale instead.

Overall, I prefer it and it better matches how I ate before diagnosis, taking some of the stress I got from trying to meal plan all the time.

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

I'm in my fifties, 6'5" and over 270lbs. Im not fat, my chest measures 18 inches more than my waist.

I wouldn't try any kind of weight diet, particularly stuff like one meal a day - which may well work but which places strain one ones system - without consulting a doctor first.