My First 100 days of Intermittent Fasting (primarily OMAD)

Now that I am officially on Day 100 I wanted to write a few takeaways in the event anyone else would find use in the information as well as encourage myself for the next 100. I’m not going to talk about weight loss in terms of pounds/kilos/stones but rather what I went through. To get those questions out of the way: ​ * Did I lose weight? Yes, absolutely. I am incredibly happy with the progress done. I’ve been WFH since COVID began and in the last 100 days I’ve lost all weight gain made from my time being at home plus more. * Did I lose an amount that exceeded the limits of what is considered healthy? No. I know we see people drop massive amounts of weight in a short amount of time. That is not my story. I suspect I’m 25%-33% of the way to my goal but I’m really not even sure where my end goal is at this point. * Did I have a plateau or two? Yes, absolutely. * Did I change what I ate? A little. I wont drink calories and I try to get more fruits and veggies in but I still have days where I’ll just eat a burger and fries (with water). **What I feel helped me stay consistent:** I wont use the term motivated because I was not motivated all the time. That feeling is fleeting when you look at things in the long term. Some days I wanted to eat unhealthy and graze. I wanted a peppermint mocha when I went out shopping with a friend vs grabbing an iced black coffee. I wanted to go back to what I always did in the past. However, there was one phrase I heard that really sunk in for me: **What are you willing to give up in order to gain what you want?** I want to hit my goals. I don’t want to be held back by anything. I want my 30’s to be transformational. I want long life. Those wants far exceed my want for a sugary Starbucks. By following any lifestyle change you are giving something up even if it’s just the time of day you eat. There are days it feels like much more than delayed gratification. I focus much less on motivation and rather focusing on consistency. You need to do this regularly and for a long period of time to feel different but you will feel different. **My protocol progression:** I started off doing basically a modified OMAD where I was eating one time of day with the exception of having creamer in my coffee in the morning. I started having a pretty bad nausea to that after awhile I just went direct to black coffee + OMAD. I kept that up the majority of this time. The last two weeks I have been pushing myself further and doing Alternate Day Fasting (ADF) + OMAD as a way to challenge myself in the short term. I will transition out of it beginning next Thursday and will instead to a 4/3 Fasting schedule + OMAD which is basically continuing OMAD but fast fully Monday-Wednesday-Friday. I suspect I will do this protocol until springtime then switch back to OMAD as I’ll be more active. **How I tracked progress:** How am I tracking my progress: Three ways: ​ 1. Consistency is being tracked with an app. Not the normal fasting apps because I’m not really interested in logging in each day but rather a format that tracks days since X day and days until X day - the actual app is called Countdown. I have the following days since being tracked: Since I have been doing IF non stop & Since I started tracking my weight. I also have days that it’s counting down to as a reminder how many days to certain upcoming events (birthday, trip, 4th of July weekend, Christmas, etc). 2. With a wifi scale. My first month I didn’t weight myself at all. I have zero idea what my starting weight is. After a month of IF I started weighing myself daily but since doing ADF I am just weighing myself periodically. The only true consistency when weighing myself is that it is in the morning the moment I wake after I use the restroom without any clothing. I’m slowly becoming less concerned with this method of tracking progress. 3. Clothing. This is my biggest motivator. Seeing how things are getting loose on me and intentionally trying on outfits that are a size too small with no give. Day to day I’m wearing very casual clothes since I’m still WFH and stretchy pants are king but when I try on clothing it is always items with zero forgiveness. **Things I did not anticipate** ​ 1. I’m cold A LOT. My thermostat is kept at 5 degrees higher than I what I normally keep it at. I am planning future outfits keeping in mind the fact I need to have the ability to wear layers. 2. The first two weeks are difficult. After that things start to normalize. I can do OMAD without even thinking about it but still find myself struggling with ADF. 3. Fitbit stats change: My resting heartrate (which was already considered healthy) dropped a few BPM. I also find myself going into a “fatburning mode” a lot quicker. Doing dishes I am in a fat burning mode. Also, after I eat my heartrate increases. I am not really caring about my steps right now but am really excited for the springtime to see how my body is going to respond when I begin walking with my dog again. 4. I didn’t have it with OMAD but for ADF I find myself obsessing about food sometimes. My fasting days I’ll plan what I am going to eat the next day and periodically will bake sweets on my fasting day to eat as a dessert with my meal. Definitely not a good process that I need to work on correcting. 5. I understand my cycle much more now. Specifically weight gain/loss and how your menstrual cycle can make you feel like you hit a plateau when you really didn’t. There’s a point in my cycle where I have a solid week to 10 days that I just retain then I get a bit of a whoosh of a loss. **Final thoughts:** Regardless of your protocol you do - trust the process. Don’t jump in too deep without being prepared for it. I’ve made some changes to my diet primarily regarding how much sugar I consume but I did not make massive moves to my eating outside of the rule that I do not drink calories (with the rare exception of holiday events). IF needs time to work as with any change. Also, to make IF something you do vs a defining part of you - find new hobbies/passions. I am currently in the middle of a massive closet purge/determining my style and attempting to learn another language. Do whatever makes you happy and feel accomplished so you are not looking at what you are giving up but rather what you are gaining. Thanks for listening. I’m excited for the next 100 days.