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