OMAD (one meal a day diet)

Hey all,

Thought I'd stop by and start a topic that I think is pretty interesting. So OMAD is a form of intermittent fasting, in which you have all of your macro nutrients in one meal. You get one hour to eat, and in that time you consume the appropriate amount of calories you are desiring for the desired effect. For example if one is looking to lose weight they might consume 1800 calories, and their macro nutrients would be customized to their particular goal as well.

The health benefits of this have been said to help bolster ones immune system, increase energy, increase concentration/focus, and fasting in general has been used by many to gain spiritual insights and connection to the universe through cleansing the system. That being said could fasting be a way to become more aware of the inherent connection one has to the Force as well?

Further, I'm wondering how many of you out there are are doing a form of intermittent fasting? Have you tried the OMAD? What are your thoughts on this particular style of eating? What benefits if any would you want to receive from this in connection to the physical or energetic planes?

-David

You might look into Ramadan fasting practices/experiences. Almost all of the nearly 2 billion Muslims around the world do something kind of close to OMAD for a month, annually. There are two meals, but Iftar and suhur meals are fairly close together. A bigger difference would probably be abstaining from water as well.

Baha'is do the "nothing passes the lips from sunrise to sunset" thing as well, for a month of Fasting.

One meal seems, to me with my total lack of medical degree or anything, like a really inefficient way of eating. It seems like the body's processing systems would be overwhelmed and you'd wind up dumping (excuse the pun) a lot of useful nutrients. It also seems like there's the potential for some pretty whacky blood sugar effects.

Many cultures and religions engage in some form of fasting. Generally, when done in whatever way is good for a person's particular body, I do believe fasting can have physical, mental, and spiritual benefits. Exactly what and why depends very much on the person, their method, and their intent, imo.

Thank you! That definitely is something i'll look into in greater depth then! I find it very fascinating, and i've heard the health benefits are awesome, so I'm excited to continue learning about it! Thank you again Kira!

I hadn't even considered the "dumping" effect, pun totally intended lol, as it definitely might be hard to pick up all the nutrients that you could be getting through eating smaller more frequent meals indeed! Good catch there honestly! I'm going to follow up on that as well, cause that is an incredibly important thing, getting all the nutrients you need to function and not starving your body of it. Thank you River!

I think it’s worth noting, the spiritual benefits people talk about are a direct result of denying your body resources. It’s the trial/deprivation that changes your mindset. There may be some health benefits, but there are risks as well. It’s a good idea to treat fasting for spiritual reasons with some thought and planning, not diving in immediately to fasting. That can be quite shocking to the body. Easing into more restriction makes the transition go smoother if you’ve never done fasting before.

I think one of the spiritual benefits to fasting can also just be the reminder that our physical selves aren't all that there is. So much of life is centered on food: when will we eat, and what, and where, and with who... Even most social times are food-focused. When we aren't spending as much time focused on the physical acts of preparing and consuming food it's easier to remember that those things are only a part of who we are. Plus, you've got a bit more time to consider other aspects of life.

As a diabetic, I've been advised against anything like this by my doctors. As a 5'9" man who is 28 years old and weighs 175lbs, my basal metabolic rate (BMR) is roughly 1673 calories. Since I work an office job and go to school, it's apparently roughly 2,000 calories -- but I'm not full time, so it's probably closer to 1800. So, for me, eating 1800 calories wouldn't result in any weight loss at all unless I exercise. A caloric deficit for me looks like 1300-1500 calories per day, which can be quite irritating to plan for. It's frankly hard for me to be satiated at all around those levels of consumption. And even if I plan a 1500 calorie day, if I have a low blood sugar and have to chug some juice to raise it, my 1500 becomes 1600-1700 (the high end of which is above my BMR), so if I want to guarantee a caloric deficit I have to consume 1400 calories or less to guarantee that deficit. It's truly a pain.

Not sure how IF or OMAD would result in higher levels of energy. When we consume carbohydrates, they're stored in our bodies as glycogen. Glycogen stores are responsible for muscle endurance. A carbohydrate deficit, which is almost guaranteed if you're fasting or only eating once per day, necessarily will result in a lower amount of glycogen stored in the body, which means muscles will fatigue more quickly. That means it definitively decreases the amount of energy that you can expend in a day, unless your OMAD is extremely high carb.

Then again, as a student, there have been days when I've only been able to eat one meal due to lack of funds. I didn't notice any particular benefit to my meditation. Just felt tired all day every day and found it harder to learn and focus. Also saw more blood sugar issues. There was a point in time when I could only afford one meal a day, with rare exceptions, for a period of about 6 months; I lost only 5lbs. Your metabolism adapts over time. It's common for those who either do a lot of exercise or those who have highly restrictive diets to see losses in nonexercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). That is, changes to the BMR which occur during nonexercise activities like sitting on the couch. Your body naturally wants to hold onto more of the energy stored in it, so if you start eating OMAD for 3 months, your BMR will decrease due to adaptations in NEAT. Now, if you're eating one meal of 1500 calories per day (this would have to be either a large or unhealthy meal) you probably would still have enough of a deficit to lose weight over time -- but not nearly as dramatically as you might think.

If you want to maintain consistent weight loss, you'll have to have regular "cheat days" on OMAD once or twice a week in order to prevent adaptation to NEAT and maintain a consistent BMR.

You guys are definitely on point for sure! I appreciate all the input, and the in depth analysis on all of it! I like the points about that it isn't so much the fast itself that is the spiritual part, but the insight that it brings to us through other means. Very legit indeed so thank you guys! I've done intermittent fasting for a long time now, well almost a year since my father passed on Thanksgiving last year. It definitely keeps me around a healthy weight, but doesn't get me in "super duper" shape for lack of better term. lol. But thus far it has been good to me. I had done OMAD back in May of this year, and it was legitimately one of the hardest things i've ever done. I dropped almost 10lbs during it, but the weight loss was so fast I'm not exactly sure it was the healthiest!

My findings were that for me it wasn't exactly the best fit. While it did produce results, I just felt sluggish and sort of like a ravenous dog most days waiting for my next meal. I did meal prep ahead of time, so I'd cook the meals out for the week, however that also took up a significant amount of time on my Sunday's, having to weigh everything out, portion it, and well of course cook it all!

Spiritually for me, I don't really believe it did anything for "cleansing" my body like people talk about. However I will say akin to what River and Kira said, it did give me more time to contemplate the idea that i'm not just my physical body, that there is something more to this, and so it really just gave me more time during the day to contemplate on these things and try to find peace. Sort of hard when your tummy is growling though! LOL.

I didn't even consider the whole NEAT thing as well, so that was definitely new insight to me, which I greatly appreciate! It reminds me a lot of changing up the exercises so you confuse the muscles in the body as well, so you sort of have to do the same thing with the diet to aid in the confusion of the body and keep the metabolism guessing. Very cool insights TheDude!!!!