Jumped right in, BUT, the week prior I ate completely keto and double dosed my entire supplement regimen. Once I was fully into ketosis I jumped into OMAD. Aiming for a 750 calorie deficit every day. I personally don’t like being in ketosis for too long so I continued keto for the next 10 days, then I carbed up for a week, 50-100g daily for 5 days. While on keto I would do normal gym sessions, while out I stick to yoga and cardio with some light kettlebell work. I’ve repeated this exact process while staying in OMAD almost 3 times now. I lose about 4 lbs a week while in Ketosis and 2.5-3 when I cycle carbs back in. I’m M, 6’1, started 278 on December 5th, currently 248 as of a week ago.
Definitely drink a ton of water, use mouthwash when the cravings get bad (don’t swallow you dirty sloot), and add extra salt to all of your meals.
Also I started fasting inconsistently 10 years ago, so I knew what to expect mentally. This time around, being better off financially really helps. I can finally afford to eat healthy. I don’t do breads, eat really high quality meats and produce, good cheeses and zero processed foods outside of dried fruit occasionally. Knowing I’m giving myself the best chance at succeeding at this long term helps whenever the mood gets to a point where I feel like giving up. Stay strong, stay focused, own everything you do and keep grinding. Best of luck on your journey.
Edit: I do 48 hour fasts after my last carb day to jump right back into keto.
I’m not OMAD but with all things that your body is adjusting to, it’s better to ease in. I didn’t do my first 24 hour until 2 months in of 18-20 hours. Now I can pretty easily do a 40 hour if I decide to.
I jumped right in — but that was an impulsive choice, not one I had a good reason for. It worked out well for me. OMAD is much easier than I’d anticipated. It totally fits my lifestyle, where the only social meal is dinner. And my body just likes eating once a day, for some reason. I actually feel less hungry with OMAD than I did with 3 meals a day plus snacks. Even when I first started and was still adjusting, the hunger pangs weren’t too bad — more like “Yeah, I could eat” and less like “EMERGENCY NEED FOOD NOW!!” However, I suspect I’m an outlier.
I think most people will probably do better gradually working up to OMAD. It’s psychological as well as physical. OMAD can feel really intimidating and scary. It can be much less intimidating to say “Well, I’m used to skipping breakfast already — what if I just pushed my lunch back by an hour? I’m already doing 16 hours no problem, I can totally handle just one more hour.” And then gradually keep adding hours.
If you’re bored one day and want to see how OMAD feels, you can always test it out just for one day. Just be extra mindful to stay hydrated.
I ended up doin OMAD because I simply wasn’t hungry when the second meal time arrived… as obsessed as I became with what I’m eating I thought I may as well put the energy/ creativity to the one meal I eat.
First fix your food. Then try 16:8 with fixed food. One week in 16:8, once you pass the weekness, switch to OMAD. This is to avoid having withdrawal symptoms. You can jump into OMAD directly but fixing food is must. By fixing food I mean cut out all processed food and sugar. Eat food in it’s natural form raw or cooked. Good luck.
Over time for sure - started with 16/8 and then experimented with 18/6 and 20/4.
Now that I’ve been doing IF off/on (I take breaks frequently now that I’m closer to goal and workout a lot more - sometimes I am just too hungry to want to starve), I can jump back in 23/1 pretty quickly. First couple days always a bit rough. For me, I find 22/2 a better window on my gut. Big meal and small meal.
After doing two meals a day (first big, second small) in 17:7 for a year or so every now and then I’d get to my second meal time and realize I just wasn’t hungry and skipped it. So for me OMAD began kind of unintentionally as my body naturally became accustomed to wanting food only when I needed it. I still don’t do OMAD every day, but when I do it’s not nearly as difficult as when I was first trying out IF.
Over a period of about 2 weeks I went from 16:8 to OMAD. I really enjoy eating this way, it’s fun to plan a large satisfying meal every day. Well I sort of treat it like two smaller meals back to back in terms of planning. I like having variety, some people prefer eating the exact same thing every day, but personally that sounds miserable to me. I still like food and don’t want to treat it so clinically. Low carb (90% of my carbs are fiber), no sugar, limited processed food. I’m not even hungry when meal time comes, but I enjoy it.
Then after about 3-4 weeks of that I am trying my first 48 hr fasts. Actually on my first one right now, at hour 43, and I feel excellent. The worst period was about hours 25-30, my stomach had that barren empty feeling, but I wasn’t really craving food. But after waking up that is all gone. I feel light and sharp, and it’s almost like I have a buzz. I almost want to go to 72 but I think I will take it slow and start with 2 of these per week. I will try a 72+ hour later after I see how my body responds to re-feeding after 48.
Ice water, black coffee with salt, and green tea during the fast.
Did 16:8 for a while before, unknowingly. I’m not usually hungry in the morning anyways. The first time I tried omad I broke down at 3pm. After that I was fine. Just know cravings come on strong and make you feel like your going to die if you don’t eat. Real hunger builds over time and is never a do or die feeling. I feel like knowing that helped me a lot anyways.