OMAD is not about what foods you eat, it is about the timing of eating.

[Happyflowerlady]

There are an uncountable number of diets and diet books, and each book has a list of two types of foods, the ones it is okay to eat on that particular diet, and the ones to avoid.
Even more confusing, the lists oftentimes can be totally the opposite, depending on the focus of the diet. We have low carb, low fat, high protein, high fat, high fiber....... you name it, there is probably a diet for it !

So it is no wonder that so many people ask what they can eat (or drink) on the OMAD diet. Technically, OMAD is not even a diet, when compared to the other diets.
There are no lists of allowable foods, or disallowed ones.
The whole focus of OMAD is in the title : you eat one meal a day. That is it !

Even though eating one meal and fasting the rest of the 24 hours encompasses the whole entirety of this way of eating, many people do refine what foods they eat, based on their preferences.
Some people eat a plant-based diet, some eat a ketogenic diet, some eat low-fat, and so on. Those are eating-decisions that each person makes, and not a requirement of OMAD.
Some people just eat whatever they want to for their one meal, and seem to do just fine without following any particular diet.

 

[Steve5]

I've had a nice experience with my OMAD. I was able to crave less until I got over unhealthy eating patterns. Like binge eating and over eating. I feel a lot better now and more in control. My preferred eating time is early morning to afternoon. I like to sleep with an empty stomach. Just plain water for me for the night.

 

[Naomi]

This is what appealed to me and made me choose to get into this lifestyle compared to other diets in the first place. I knew I was not going to be able to give up carbohydrates completely or even if I was able to, I would probably just break that habit eventually in the future and return to where I started, whereas this type of lifestyle just kind of simplifies everything and doesn't change much else. Ironically now that I'm only eating once a day I feel like I'm more able to imagine myself giving up carbohydrates a lot easier since I'm only dealing with the challenge once a day at this point anyway so I probably will give that a try someday soon.

 

[Veggie_Warrior]

There are an uncountable number of diets and diet books, and each book has a list of two types of foods, the ones it is okay to eat on that particular diet, and the ones to avoid.
Even more confusing, the lists oftentimes can be totally the opposite, depending on the focus of the diet. We have low carb, low fat, high protein, high fat, high fiber....... you name it, there is probably a diet for it !

So it is no wonder that so many people ask what they can eat (or drink) on the OMAD diet. Technically, OMAD is not even a diet, when compared to the other diets.
There are no lists of allowable foods, or disallowed ones.
The whole focus of OMAD is in the title : you eat one meal a day. That is it !

Even though eating one meal and fasting the rest of the 24 hours encompasses the whole entirety of this way of eating, many people do refine what foods they eat, based on their preferences.
Some people eat a plant-based diet, some eat a ketogenic diet, some eat low-fat, and so on. Those are eating-decisions that each person makes, and not a requirement of OMAD.
Some people just eat whatever they want to for their one meal, and seem to do just fine without following any particular diet.

As someone who has lost 200 pounds and evolved my eating over the years while maintaining my loss, I can easily say what you eat matters very much. OMAD works very well, but nobody scientifically can make the claim that what you does not matter.

That is to say if one person is following OMAD, but eats all process and fast foods is compared to another who eats an organic plant based diet with healthy protein sources such as wild caught fish, the results would be dramatic, if their health was put to the test (lab tests).

The elevated cholesterols levels, the sky high inflammation markers and the increased health risks for heart disease and cancers of the fast food group would undoubtedly be off the charts compared to our plant based OMAD eater. As a follower of both OMAD and the very plant based food system I mentioned earlier, I can testify based on my own results that food is medicine and what you eat DOES matter.

Good Luck

 

[Happyflowerlady]

Welcome to the forum, @Veggie_Warrior ! I am not sure that we have very many people on this forum who are doing plant-based eating plans, and it will be great to have someone who can speak about this way of eating expertly.
I totally agree with you that it makes all the difference in the world to our health, what kinds of foods we choose to eat, and the more fresh and natural foods we have in our diet, the better.

What I was referring to above, was not intended to say that it does not matter what we eat; but simply to explain that the one meal a day way of eating CAN be done by anyone, regardless of whether they eat plant-based, ketogenic, low carb, or just continue with whatever food they normally eat, but only have a meal once a day.
I have seem people post here that they didn’t make changes to their eating habits, and they still lost weight; but that is not to say that they would not have been overall much healthier if they had also adopted a whole food eating plan, and not processed or fast foods.

 

[Kakashi2020]

I would have to agree with you that OMAD is all about the time you eat. It's the reason why it's effective plus if your eating and drinking the recommended food and beverages then it would help dieters lose more weight.

 

[DenisP]

I’m actually glad that you made a post to point this out. So many people post on this forum asking “can I eat this, that, or the other thing” while on OMAD, when in fact it isn’t about what you eat but when you eat it. All of these different diet trends and fads have gotten people confused and unsure as to what they should and shouldn’t be eating.

OMAD makes it simple: eat what you want, but within a certain window. There are no other rules. Now, obviously there are certain foods which will help quicken the process, but those are all just bonuses. The main rule is there is an eating window, and a fasting window, and all you have to do is stick to it.

 

[Enyi]

This is like a reiteration of how OMAD should be done.I know we are so used to people writing about what we should eat or shouldn't eat when on a weight loss journey and it has become a habit that we can't let go.Truthfully OMAD is more about our timing for eating than what we eat since the diet allows us eat anything. I try to eat a balanced diet though but make sure it within my eating window and it just once a day and I'm enjoying it more now.

 

[Veggie_Warrior]

As someone who has lost 200 pounds and evolved my eating over the years while maintaining my loss, I can easily say what you eat matters very much. OMAD works very well, but nobody scientifically can make the claim that what you does not matter.

That is to say if one person is following OMAD, but eats all process and fast foods is compared to another who eats an organic plant based diet with healthy protein sources such as wild caught fish, the results would be dramatic, if their health was put to the test (lab tests).

The elevated cholesterols levels, the sky high inflammation markers and the increased health risks for heart disease and cancers of the fast food group would undoubtedly be off the charts compared to our plant based OMAD eater. As a follower of both OMAD and the very plant based food system I mentioned earlier, I can testify based on my own results that food is medicine and what you eat DOES matter.

Good Luck

Thanks for the welcome

 

[Martinsx]

Timing is what's very essential when it comes to OMAD. Those that are new to OMAD might have it mixed up thinking it's all about what meals they focus on eating but it's when you get to eat it. If you have your one meal time erratic, you are definitely failing in OMAD.

 

[Henrywrites]

When I began doing Omad, the timing of my meal is what I changed. This is not to say that eating only processed food over a period of time won't have adverse effects on whether you lose weight quickly or not, but the need to mix what you take once a day with plant based meals, taking a lot of fluids like water and exercising has helped me to lose weight and look hearty a well.

 

[Martinsx]

When I began doing Omad, the timing of my meal is what I changed. This is not to say that eating only processed food over a period of time won't have adverse effects on whether you lose weight quickly or not, but the need to mix what you take once a day with plant based meals, taking a lot of fluids like water and exercising has helped me to lose weight and look hearty a well.

OMAD does the body more good and I really can't think of any harm that comes from it and one gets the best out of OMAD when it's combined with good routine workouts on daily basis if possible. Adjusting to OMAD eating period is challenging at first for beginners but with time, they all get used to it.