Hi all, was hoping to get some advice. I started my OMAD journey 2 weeks ago at 188lbs. Since then I’ve weighed anywhere from 183 - 187 lbs. Just yesterday morning I was 183 lbs and this morning i was 186.
Am i doing anything wrong?
More info
Too much working out. You need rest. Also you need to start measuring your waist and other muscle groups because muscle weighs more than fat by volume. Muscles dont build when you work out, they build while in a rested state.
I had limited success on OMAD. I tried Alternate day fasting with 36 to 42 hours of zero calories then refeeding with one or two hearty meals. I think the larger meals with longer fasting time works better for some people. I think you just need to experiment to see what works. You might try OMAD as a morning or noon meal instead. I heard that worked for some people.
1200 calories is too low of an intake for a male at your size and high activity level. I would suggest looking up a TDEE calculator, and eating around (TDEE - 500) calories per day.
I don’t know your height so I can’t do the TDEE calculator for you, but my ballpark guess is that you should be targeting something more like 2000 calories per day. Going way too low in calories can cause your body to slow its metabolism.
You might be experiencing some inflammation with the high caloric output vs low caloric input. This can increase your cortisol (stress) hormone and cause inflammation and water retention.
Also, what are you eating for your OMAD?
I do an 18/6 fast M-F and OMAD on the weekends. That’s worked the best for me.
Is it possible you are under estimating your calories?
Secondly, and probably mode accurately, you don’t sound to be that over weight. The less you have to lose, the longer it’ll take.
When you see people dropping massive amounts of weight in a short period of time, theyre typically starting with a much high body fat percentage.
Also, weight fluctuations are normal from day to day. Water weight adds up. If you weight 183 yesterday, that means you dropped 5 lbs in 2 weeks. That 2.5 pounds per week, that’s amazing.
You did not gain 3 lbs of fat overnight, your higher weight today is water weight. Might I suggest you try weighing yourself once a week at the same time. This wi help give you a more accurate trend, instead of getting caught up on day to day normal fluctuations.
Further more, is this exercise routine new? Are you building muscle, muscle weighs more than fat, but leaves you looking and being leaner. In this case, using a tape and taking measurements might be a more accurate way to track results verse focusing on the scale.
If after another couple of weeks trying these new approaches to monitor success, if you feel this is still not working, then reevaluate and tweak or change your diet and exercise plan to something that works better for you.
You’re going to be discouraged if you base your hopes on day to day weight.
I’ve found that my weight will go down, overall, but when I graph it, it’s got ups and downs, not a straight slope.
Even when your burning off fat, your body might be temporarily holding more water or less. The amount of salt you eat, and how long whatever food you’re still digesting, will affect your scale weight too.
I’ve noticed that what I eat doesn’t even immediately show up on the scale the next day. It may take 2 days.
Lastly, remember this is a marathon, not a sprint. Give it time.
Don’t be, you’re putting in the work and likely having body composition changes. You can’t be a slave to the scale on such a short term with how much water weight can change . You may actually want to eat more with your omad, if you’re actively burning more than eating that is asking for quick burnout. I also like 2-3x 36 hour fasts, and eating roughly tdee on other days, but you will have success if you stick with omad and exercise, add keto if you want an additional weight loss boost
Stick to it. 2 weeks is nothing in the grand scheme of things, there’s no way you won’t lose weight as long as you’re losing more calories than you’re eating. It’s a law of nature. If what you’ve stated is correct, and you stick to it, you WILL lose weight.
A lot of times people think they are doing OMAD but then you find out they are using artificial sweetener in their coffee or are drinking diet soda or are eating mints not realizing these things can trigger an insulin response in some people.
Are you absolutely certain that all your fasts are clean fasts?
I lost 63 lbs in 4 months and then stalled for the next 2 months. Looking back on that time I realized I was eating nicotine lozenges, drinking diet Dr pepper and using Splenda in my morning coffee. Once I went back to doing clean fasts I started losing again
Tbh it sounds like you may be underestimating your calorie intake. During fasting / OMAD days I just eat vegies, and a few water-based protein shakes for protein. It’s very minimalist. My weight loss has been pretty consistent.
A half marathon burns approx 13-1500 calories. Do you really think you’re burning that many calories in your workouts? And also, are you actually counting your calories strictly? Also, lets say you’re doing everything right, i would take a few more weeks (~4-6 more) and re-assess if you think you’re doing everything basically right.