I just started am OMAD IF plan (23hr fast daily, no OMAD food quality restrictions) and I promptly lost 20 lbs in 3 weeks (YMMV - as I started at 345). Footnote: doing IF for weight loss - initially.
But in week 4, whatever is true for the first few weeks, hit a wall. I equipped myself with a ketone breathalizer (Biosense) and I saw that on this plan (with no food quality restrictions) my ketone marker levels after 23hrs of fasting were borderline “trace”/“low” (5/40 if any one uses that device).
This tells me that either: I have to make OMAD “clean” (ketogenic), or I have to fast longer.
I figured I would try longer fast, 48 hrs, and sure enough — right around 24 hours, together with some aerobic exercise I got steep ramp of keytone markers up respectable borderline “moderate” to “high” levels - topping out at around 26/40). Day 2 of my fast was blowing away every other day of OMAD (from a ketogenic point of view).
I’ll really take any feedback on this whatsoever, critical or supportive, but what I was wondering was:
Has anyone in similar situation gotten decent stable moderate ketosis levels on a OMAD plan? I am thinking I should probably program aerobic exercise for right after my OMAD (so I deplete stored body sugars in the liver and muscles) and then go the rest of the 23 hours insisting that my body switch to ketone-energy consumption.
Or has anyone figured out that they simply had to go on the eating every other day plan (47 hour fast)? I am intimidated by that prospect, but I am kind of worried that in the condition my body is in, I am just not going to get roaring ketone fires burning me away with lesser efforts.
Any and all advice appreciated particularly if you remember similar dilemmas and can recount how you resolved them. Thanks.
You should read the faq on /r/keto. It is strongly recommended to not try measure ketones as a measure of your diet for a variety of reasons.
If you are eating foods heavy in carbohydrates on your one hour window, you will be getting booted from ketosis each and every time. Really though, read the /r/keto faq.
For many folks ketosis is a valuable part of their process, helping to change hunger cues, simply giving them an additional structure, or have a reason for wanting or needing to go low carbs. The example I always use, it’s just hella harder to overeat on fried eggs than it is Oreos. The end result being they simply and more sustainable eat less.
But it’s important to understand what ketosis isn’t. It’s not some super fat burning mode. It’s merely a snapshot moment of where the body is primarily drawing its energy. We burn fat at the same rates in and out of ketosis, and that fat burning is ultimately controlled by our overall energy balance.
So pursue ketosis if it’s something that’s helpful for you, but you don’t need to strictly be in ketosis or say structure your exercise around it.