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Kudos to your OMADers

Having never fasted before in my life, I Just wanna say this community is amazing! I started 3 months ago with OMAD, ate one big big salad and I couldn't even last the day and caved into a full course meal at 4am. Then I switched to 16/8 and lost 20 pounds over 3 months. Currently stagnating at 195 and tempted to try 18/6 or 20/4. I heard autophagy kicks in easier for OMADers and although I wish I could get there, it's something I just can't do. So just wanna say you people are resilient and I wish I had the strength to fast for that long. Cheers!

Answer

Unless it was a calorie bomb salad, you probably didn’t eat enough. With omad, you need to eat as close to your tdee goals as possible. It’s on just one meal a day, it’s all your meals for the day in one sitting.

My tdee is 2200, so with a deficit, I eat anywhere between 1200-1800 cals, usually in the 1350-1600 cal range. If I were to eat it like a regular meal, that’s only between 675-800 calories, which isn’t sustainable and would have negative long term affects on my body.

The reason why you were successful at 16:8 is because you were probably eating a lot more while still being at a deficit. So, you were able to maintain your 16:8 schedule a lot easier.

But don’t do something just because it works for others. If you can’t do omad, don’t do it. If your max is a 19:5 schedule that you can maintain, that’s better that trying omad and struggling. Keto is great, people have lost so much weight on it paired with IF. But I just can’t do it. I tried and it’s too restrictive for me, but that’s ok. What I do works for me just as well, but maybe not as fast.

As far as being stalled, 18:6 could help. Maybe you need to adjust your tdee for your new weight. Maybe it’s just a normal plateau that you’ll get over in time.

Answer

What was in that big salad? Was it like a Cobb salad with meat and cheese and beans, or was it just like a lot of lettuce and tomato? Because I’ve been doing OMAD for nine months, but I wouldn’t last the night if all I ate was lettuce and tomato. You have to eat a filling and nutritious meal with a good amount of protein and fat.

In summertime I will absolutely eat a big salad for OMAD — but it will have sliced grilled chicken breast, a sliced hard boiled egg, chickpeas, and sliced avocado, along with leafy greens, tomatoes, carrots, other green veggies, plus a homemade olive-oil vinaigrette dressing. It can actually get pretty high-calorie.