This is a lifestyle, not a religion.
I give myself a cheat day once a week or else I (personally) would go insane. There are others here with better discipline but a lot of us will take an occasional short cut. Donāt beat yourself up for it. OMAD is difficult to maintain (Iām usually 20/4) so if you break it, maybe do a 20/4 or an 18/6 every other day if you find yourself making uncomfortable choices.
Every day we are given an opportunity to make better food consumption choices than yesterday. Donāt beat yourself up for what happened yesterday. All you can do is learn from it and make a different choice today.
If you have a cheat day, try to eat something that is keto friendly so that you arenāt spiking your insulin levels and delaying a return to ketosis. If you are going to drink an adult beverage, have a vodka/gin diet soda/tonic so that you are consuming less carbs/calories than what beer/wine or a sugary margarita have in them. Again, a perfect choice is to have no adult beverages from a diet standpoint, but sometimes you may have to āpick the dog with the least fleasā.
The difficulty is internalizing that hunger is a feeling, and nothing else. You donāt HAVE to eat. You just know that by eating that feeling would leave. So now your job is accepting that this feeling of hunger becomes part of you.
When I did OMAD for over a year, the first month was the most difficult. While I got accustomed to living with hunger, it never became easy. Just a tad bit easier.
So Iāll tell you what I tell everyone who wants to discuss OMAD: Itās difficult to maintain OMAD, it sucks, and you have to accept you will usually be in a state of hunger. Once thatās accepted, suck it up buttercup, drink water and just be. The rewards are amazing down the line.
One thing Iāve noticed about my quitting habits is I have to find a distraction or Iāll give in. Like if Iām at home and a craving hits I get away from the kitchen and start watching my favorite show. If at work, make yourself busy with a work task and chew some gum. You could also go on a walk. Drink a whole glass of water.
If none of that works and you give in, do not waste the time it takes to beat yourself up. Just get back on track. Every time you experience a set back you just keep going. And going. Never stop moving forward. And allow yourself the grace every once in a while to do something you enjoy otherwise itās not sustainable. And it has to be for you to continue making changes towards health. Youāve got this friend.
For me itās the first 24 hours. I can skip breakfast and lunch, no snacks, no problem. Then 7 pm turns up. I find I have to drink more water though it out till bedtime. Then the next morning itās easy to skip breakfast and lunch. Then the second dinner time is much easier. The third is way easy.
Not for everyone(I know many like IF specifically because they donāt have to count calories), but I like to track my calories and keep a goal. If my goal is 1600 calories a day and I only have 1500 a day all week, then I can have an extra 600 on my cheat day. Helps me stay accountable. I get in trouble when I stop tracking.
Cheat days are ok sometimes! I think one of the beauties of fasting is that even if your only meal is a cheat meal/junk food, itās a lot better than if you had the cheat meal + snacking and other meals throughout the day. Plus I find that when I get unhealthy cheat food to break a fast, it never tastes as good as I expect it to and I crave it less in the future.
I find itās a balance though, if youāre doing it for a few days a week itās better than not doing it at all . Think of it as an achievement! Congratulations on your first few days of fasting:) now just start again tomorrow