I have been OMAD since January 1st. I lost 5lbs the first week then it abruptly stopped. Still doing OMAD but I’m not moving from the initial lost. Did anyone else experience this? Any advice or tips? Thank you all!
This is Usually how far I get then the stall makes me want to fizzle out. I usually do but I’m changing my life this time. Just looking for advice to get through this.
When I hit this wall, I try to check to how much of the following I’m taking in; Sleep Water, Exercise, Food & Fiber.
First and really most important is sleep. The amount of good solid rest you get can heavily dictate how well your body does everything else. Water, Exercise, Food & Fiber intake can definitely effect how well you rest at night. Try to get at least 8 hours of time asleep, not just in bed. By getting into bed an hour or so before you need to be asleep gives the space you need to decompress and actually fall asleep on time to allow your body to get all 8 hours.
In monitoring your water you’ll be able to ensure you’re not holding onto water because you’re dehydrated. 4 main electrolytes dictate a lot of body function; Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium, Sodium. You can add a pinch of each to your water (calcium probably through a pill) and some lemon juice and it will help with properly remaining hydrated.
I’d say if you’re not already; throw on an extra 30-45 mins of walking a day. I usually sub a good walk for my lunch but I also live in SoCal so that accessible for me but might not be for you. Even a solid walk on the treadmill or an Indoor Low Intensity Steady State Cardio workout might do you wonders. The positives are abundant when it comes to knocking off weight and stress. Stress can cause cortisol production, which can cause your body to “hold on” to fat. NIH study for your reading pleasure.
If youve hit a wall, you want to make sure you’re within range of the calories you need. Please also understand it can also be very relative to how much extra body weight you have/overall body composition.
I would suggest looking up a Basal Metabolic Rate calculator on google and plugging your numbers into them to see what they spit out. I always put in my age sex height activity level and goal weight and then that’s my new caloric intake. Play around with a couple then find the average of those numbers if you feel like the number you got first isn’t right.
For when you do eat, try to get a lot of fiber into your diet. Fiber will help aid digestion and reduce hunger pangs. The better you can digest, the better you can do everything else. The improvements may be slight but I can assure you they are significant when compounded together.
In addition to calories and fiber; the content of your food can dictate your bodies response. Regardless of your diet (keto/paleo/vegan/etc) getting clean whole foods is gonna go a lot further than In-N-Out and Twinkies. I got into the OMAD mindset at first of “my only meal can be whatever I want it to be …” and that made me feel and look like shit. Which very quickly kills your motivation to keep going. Eating less processed foods and cooking at home made me feel like I had more energy and my satiety last much longer.
Lastly try to do as much fun and stress-relieving activity as possible. I know that right now for most of us with everything going on that can sound like fitting a camel through the eye of a needle. Even making small changes to your schedule or commute can help chill you out. Leaving for work 5-10 minutes early means you can probably take it easier in traffic. Reduction of stress is reduction of cortisol and that can ease your body’s grip on the visceral fat.
Getting to bed earlier and making sure your space is cool, dark, and calm can allow your brain to relax more. Doing a 5-10 minute meditation where you release tension in your body can do wonders for helping you cool down.
Try to the best of your ability to separate work and home. Like don’t answer emails from bed/ don’t bring in your laptop and scramble to push work out until your last minute of the day. I understand different jobs require different contributions but it’s also not worth destroying yourself over.
Hope any of this helps. I’m here for any further questions if you need anything.