I'm trying to do a 30-day fast for health reasons. I've done two 10-day fasts in the past.
I'm not really calling it OMAD, because I'm not really eating a "meal," per se. From 8 am to 12 pm, I have green tea with whole milk and sweetener, a small bowl of oatmeal, and 8 oz. of kefir or yogurt to take my vitamins/supplements with. I may or may not eat something small before the 4-hour window is up. Today, it was about 1/2 cup of boiled peanuts.
I'm trying to lose weight, but I'm also trying to "reset" my digestive system because of severe GERD, esophagitis and gastritis. My gut needs time to heal, and it can't heal while it's digesting food.
I drink mostly water, but allow myself unsweetened herbal tea and broth/bouillon (for the salt) if I feel nauseous from lack of food, which I sometimes do in the first few days. Counting my tea and broth, I drink about a gallon of water a day.
I have a lot of belly fat to lose, so I'm really concerned about staying in ketosis once I get there. I'm a senior over 65, and was just told I have "a little bit of a fatty liver," which is not acceptable to me. I have about 40 lbs. to lose to get to where I want to be, which is around 130.
My doctor, a dietician and I worked up this plan so I don't need advice, just support. They don't think I'll make it 30 days, so I need to prove them wrong.
Answer
This is a great plan for losing weight/restoring biome (I would add some extra probiotics, like sauerkraut/kimchi, though). But you are not entering or staying in ketosis if you do this - you are eating foods with high carb/sugar content (oatmeal and peanuts/milk) too often for that.
Answer
Sounds like a great plan! I’m really interested in hearing how you do and if it reduces your GERD, it seems like fasting and yogurt should be tailor made to help with this problem. I can tell you that fasting is definitely a solid way to lose weight, I’ve been at it for 5 months and it’s worked really well for me.
Speaking of dieticians, I saw one today for a general physical and I asked her specifically about fasting and told her that I was doing it myself. She thought it a fad just like all the other weight loss programs and that most people may lose weight but then relapse and gain it all back. I’ve never seen a more pessimist person painting such a black picture in their professional field before in my life. Talk about jaded! She also didn’t know much about the recent literature on the many health benefits aside from weight loss that fasting brings. I was rather disappointed at her lack of knowledge after I left the office.
Good luck and happy fasting! Let me know how will it works.