Would the 22+ hours of not eating offset the calorie intake if it was the same amount you ate when you gained weight in the first place, but just in one big meal? Or does it just have to be less calories to work?
I pretty regularly listen to the Huberman Lab podcast and there’s a great episode about fasting. In that episode, Dr. Huberman mentioned a study where mice that were given the same amount of food were split into two groups. One was allowed to eat all day and the other had time-restricted feeding. I think the ones that ate all day gained weight even though it was the same amount of food. I think the author on that paper was Dr. Sachin Panda, but you’d have to check the show notes.
Yes you can loose weight, I do this regularly. It is slow tho. It also depends on what you eat for your one meal. If it’s low carb then it works better.But in my experience you will not eat that much when you’re on omad for a while.It also depends on what you do during your fast. If you activate your metabolism, that can boost a little the fat loss. Also working out helps.
In short, NO. All diet/weight loss is based on caloric deficits. So there may be some benefits to OMAD, but eating 2000 calories during 12 hours has the same general results as eating 2000 calories in 4 hours…
If “a normal day’s worth” is more than your TDEE (the amount of calories you burn in a normal day) then no you won’t lose weight.
All weight loss is centred around physics: put less energy into your body, than it consumes. If you don’t do that you can’t lose weight.
OMAD is just a strategy to make it easier to achieve the above goal.
Google “TDEE Calculator”. Calculate your TDEE and then compare it to your meal you want to eat for OMAD. If your meal is less then you will lose weight. If it’s more you’ll gain weight.
Read Herman Pontzer’s Burn. It’s all calories eaten, offset by your body’s ability to control calorie expenditure by regulating many different systems activity. Your body has evolved to survive through food scarcity. It’s way smarter than any ‘diet’ or plan.