I really like OMAD because it’s consistent & is an easy habit to get into. I’m sure I could just eat like this forever, until I hit my goal weight.
HOWEVER, I ran into this:
https://idmprogram.com/wp-content/uploads/QA-32.pdf
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>So OMAD typically works for the patient who has less than about 20, 25 pounds to lose, because it usually works for about three months before your metabolic rate starts to level off, and everything starts to plateau. So people who only have like 20 or 25 pounds to lose, they can lose that fairly quickly. But when you have 60, 70, 80, a hundred pounds plus that you want to lose, you’re going to plateau out within about three months, sometimes even less than that.
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>In order to preserve your metabolic rate, you need to do fasting, eating, fasting, eating on alternate days. So some people legitimately cannot fast beyond 24 hours and that’s perfectly okay, but you need to fast, eat, fast, eat, fast, eat. So you need to have a day with just one small meal and then you need to have a day with two full meals, and a day with one full meal, and a day with two full meals. Because you need to keep your calorie intake on alternate days much higher. Twice of that than what it is on your fasting day, if not a little bit more. When you do alternate daily fasting, you see a much less significant decrease in your resting metabolic rate. It’s actually negligible. But when you do calorie restriction diets, all our research shows that the reduction in metabolic rate is quite substantial and is clinically significant. But when you do one meal, two meals, one meal, two meals, going back and forth like that, and you keep your energy half, full, half, full, half, full. Then you see a very little decline in your metabolic rate.
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I know this is from Megan Remos - but she and Jason Fung should be relatively aligned since they started the IDM program together.
To be honest, I thought with fasting I didn’t have to worry about calories - I just “eat until full” when I eat, and when I fast, my body goes keto and pulls from fat stores. Because I’m fasting, I’m lowering insulin, which is giving me access to my fat stores. But the above quote seems to contradict this, so let’s just say “I’m confused’?
Context: I have 70 pounds to lose.
So - should I avoid OMAD and mix up my fasting lengths and eating windows as the PDF suggests? Does anyone have any definitive information on this one?
I am no expert, but I remember reading somewhere Dr Fung saying that OMAD is essentially calorie restriction. I clearly remember thinking nah, I can get 2000 calories into a meal (plus dessert) easily!
Dr Herring from Fast5 (eating 5 hrs, fasting 19hrs) also mentions metabolism dropping as your body gets more efficient. Hope that helps!
If you like OMAD and if it’s working for you, keep it up. Don’t mess with something that’s working. Over time, if you hit a plateau, you can consider mixing it up a bit.
To reiterate what Alliesbee said, they’re considering OMAD a form of caloric restriction which can be the case, but it doesn’t have to be. You can still get a full day’s worth (and beyond, for that matter) of calories, eating at maintenance (i.e., not for weight loss), in 1 meal.
Also, it’s true that metabolic rate does go down a bit as one loses weight — this is normal and expected. It just shouldn’t dip way below normal (what people refer to as “starvation mode”).
You might eventually do better switching your fasting schedule to something like Brad Pilon’s “Eat Stop Eat”, which is a 24 hour (or 36 hour) fast, once or twice a week, with a more conventional eating schedule the rest of the time. Eating twice a day would be fine, if you don’t want to be constantly spiking your blood sugar with meals and snacks throughout your day.
Unless someone is already very metabolically compromised, no one is going to go into “starvation mode” after only 24-48 hours. That’s alarmist thinking, and even doctors and people with expertise are sometimes guilty of it.
I have been doing Omad mixed with a zero sugar diet and very low carb (some days no carbs), i have lost 12Kg in 6 weeks with no real trouble. Once i got over sugar and carb cravings i dont get as hungry as i did so it made will power easier.
Stick to omad it works 😀
Good luck with your journey
All the answers were great. So I now have a new protocol:
Alternative day fasting, where fast days are single meal (so 18 to 24 hours fast).
On feed days, I will likely just do 2 meals, but occasionally treat myself to breakfast or brunch.
And once in a while I may do a longer fast (24 to 72 hours). I think this will be enough to not cause a CICO metabolism shift.
Anyone confirm this is likely a good protocol?
I think OMAD for extended periods of time might do that. Cause essentially you’re feeding 1-2hours, fasting 23-24. I do smth like a OMAD but I snack the remaining time, so it’s more close to a 16/8 thing.
Also you can ‘restore’ your metabolism in a way by weighlifting and building more muscle.
I thought the premise behind one meal a day was to keep insulin levels low for the majority of the day so growth hormone and other hormones (such as ones that release fatty acids and stored glycogen into the blood stream) could be produced.
That being said, I have not had any success with OMAD. Plus, when I do eat my entire day’s worth of calories for dinner, I’m too full to run or bike.
From Dr Fung, he’s said its unrealistic to get enough calories to keep the metabolism where you need it with only one meal, that is why its not recommended. Most of the group fasts his team were leading on FB was a mix of 1 and 2 meal days with most being 1 meal to keep the body looking for the higher calories