My OMAD - Andrew

Hey everyone, glad to be here - this is my first post in this forum.
I joined and decided to post this thread since I'm struggling to stick with OMAD.
I'm not new to fasting and I usually can fast until 6-8pm and only eat one meal a day - that's no problem for a day. But I struggle to consistently eat one meal per day.
Usually after the 'one-meal day', I find myself hungrier than usual in the morning and around 1pm and I end up binge-eating that day, probably making up all the calories I lost the previous day + adding some extra.
I imagine the hunger gets a bit more silenced after first 2 weeks, but I need to get there first.
I'll be journaling here in this thread - hopefully that makes me feel more accountable.
I know the benefits of OMAD as I really feel the difference in mental clarity, strength and general well-being. It's only a matter of actually going through a good start!
Also, if you have any tips on how to make this switch smoother, I'd be more than willing to take them :)
Best,
Andrew
 
some historical data:
13/03/2019 - successful day - 30 minutes weight training at 11AM, 13km run at 7PM. One low-carb meal after 9pm - ~1500 kcal.
14/03/2019 - bad day - felt hungry and ended up shooting a morning shake at 8AM. 2 more meals that day - 12pm and 4pm. ~2500 kcal overall. 30 minutes weight training at 1pm (felt weaker than usual) + 1.5h volleyball at 7pm
 
Last edited:
some historical data:
13/03/2019 - successful day - 30 minutes weight training at 11AM, 13km run at 7PM. One low-carb meal after 9pm - ~1500 kcal.
14/03/2019 - bad day - felt hungry and ended up shooting a morning shake at 8AM. 2 more meals that day - 12pm and 4pm. ~2500 kcal overall. 30 minutes weight training at 1pm (felt weaker than usual) + 1.5h volleyball at 7pm

Hi Andrew and welcome

I am as well struggling after 2 or 3 days OMAD.
It works great for a week and then all of a sudden I break it down and eat all what I find. This happens even if I’m not hungry. I recognize it can be hard. What is important is to start the day after I presume.
Have you read James’ book ?

Good luck on this, looking fwd to know how,it went the remaining of,the week
 
15/03/2019 - decent day - I did feel morning hunger, but I drowned it in black coffee ;) Slightly longer eating window today, from 4pm to 7pm. Calories in around 1800-2000. 30 minutes of gym. Probably a zero-sum day in terms of calories balance today, but I managed to fast for 24h. I expect hunger strikes to be stronger tomorrow. Also I'm aiming for a longer workout tomorrow
 
Last edited:
Hi Andrew and welcome

I am as well struggling after 2 or 3 days OMAD.
It works great for a week and then all of a sudden I break it down and eat all what I find. This happens even if I’m not hungry. I recognize it can be hard. What is important is to start the day after I presume.
Have you read James’ book ?

Good luck on this, looking fwd to know how,it went the remaining of,the week

Hey Vegomad, thanks for the welcome!
I wonder if it's the ghrelin response of starving fat cells or is it just our minds messing with us... Good to know I'm not alone in this.
Excuse me if I'm asking the obvious, but which book are you referring to?

Thanks for encouragement! I've just posted an update of today's day. I expect tomorrow to be more difficult.

All the best,
Andrew
 
In fact Andrew, I would say the hardest in OMAD and fasting 23:1 for me, are the 1st two days. It seems after that our bodies and mind are getting used to it. As well, day after day, we find the little tips that are helping. Then for me, comes the temptation of junk food and all of a sudden, after a week usually, I eat all what I find... will see how it works this week!
For,the book I was referring to this one https://omaddiet.com/downloads/omaddietguide/ and in fact the one written by the creator of this web page and forum. Not doing any advert here, was just thinking you read it!

Ps,the black coffee well seems to do miracle against hunger and I did the same than you!
 
In fact Andrew, I would say the hardest in OMAD and fasting 23:1 for me, are the 1st two days. It seems after that our bodies and mind are getting used to it. As well, day after day, we find the little tips that are helping. Then for me, comes the temptation of junk food and all of a sudden, after a week usually, I eat all what I find... will see how it works this week!
For,the book I was referring to this one https://omaddiet.com/downloads/omaddietguide/ and in fact the one written by the creator of this web page and forum. Not doing any advert here, was just thinking you read it!

Ps,the black coffee well seems to do miracle against hunger and I did the same than you!

Honestly I haven't read this book - I used other sources on the Internet to get my theory about OMAD.

Just started another day with black coffee and so far no hunger.

Keep me updated on your journey Vegomad - how are you doing recently?
 
16/03/2019 - OK day - 21 hours of fast. 1-hour eating window between 4pm and 5pm. ~2000 kcal in low carb (~60g). Calories out between 2300-2500. Small calorie deficit, but I was able to actually do 1h eating window today. So far so good
 
17/03/2019 - successful day - 19km run in the morning. Broke my fast today quite early - 2pm. Eating window 45 minutes. Calories in 2200-2400. Calories out ~3500. I'm quite proud that even though I had my meal early in the day, I didn't snack or had any meal after 2:45pm. Work tomorrow, which means my favorite canteen will be open all day - most difficult part of OMAD starts now
 
18/03/2019 - bad day - here it goes. I found my weakness and identified my problem.
I worked out early in the morning - 60 min weightlifting before 9AM and pushed myself hard (which is good), but broke my fast at 11:30AM and kept eating until ~3PM.
I'm sure I ended up in a calorie surplus today. In around 2800 kcal. Out 2000-2200 kcal.
I had a huge meal which really threw me off at work - it affected my performance at work. -I overate and felt sluggish, my energy level went straight down after the meal, so much so that I even took a nap during my break at work. Also had way too much carbs (I try to eat low carb in general). I ate healthy type of foods, but the amounts were unhealthy
 
Last edited:
19/03/2019 - aborting mission.
So far I see more cons than pros of my OMAD.
I feel like I burned more muscle than fat doing my long runs while fasted.
My performance in the gym dropped - I feel sluggish, can't lift as much as I used to and don't feel nearly as energetic as I used to a couple of weeks ago.
Also, long periods of fasting make me feast too much when food is available, causing HUGE spikes in insulin and mood crashing after the meal.
Psychological setbacks caused by this diet hit me even harder than the physiological ones.
I don't believe it's OMAD that's inherently wrong as I agree with the logic behind it. It's most likely my poor implementation of it.

What I'm going to do now is give my body a rest from fasting. I've been doing some type (trying 16:8, 20:4, now OMAD) of fasting almost everyday for ~3 months now.
I'll still follow my keto/low-carb protocol as this is when I've had best cognitive/mood results, agree with the points of it and I find it relatively easy to implement into my life. After I reset my body and return to 'normal' psychological and physiological performance, I'll re-introduce fasting, but in a controlled manner.

By the end of March I'm going to reach out for help from a trusted fitness coach - I know one that is knowledgeable in keto/low-carb and one that I really trust. I was too proud to ask for help before thinking I can do it all by myself, learning from YouTube.
What I need now is a structured approach, picking one thing and STICKING TO IT.
I think it's time to admit - my goal (dropping from 14% bf to below 10%) is really difficult and there's no shame in asking for help.

Not sure if I'll keep posting here. In any case, I wish you guys best of luck in your journey while I'm continuing with mine.
 

Jimmy Swartz

Administrator
Staff member
HI @AndrewD. Thanks so much for journaling your diet. I agree, that it is probably best to hit the reset button, take a short break, and start your regime again. It's always best to start slow and make changes gradually as your body adjusts to your new physical and eating habits. I would be happy to assist you in any questions you had about your omad diet moving forward. I also have many articles that I wrote here that you might find helpful when you start again https://omaddiet.com/omad-diet-guide/
 
Top