Metabolic and Mental Health
10 Stunning Benefits of Living with a One-Meal-a-Day Regimen
Summary of benefits based on years of OMAD experience and observations of others who benefited from it
“Everlasting pain is often caused by the pursuit of fleeting pleasure. Overeating eventually leads to under living.” ― Mokhonoana.
Purpose of the Article
Eating one meal a day (OMAD) might sound like pie in the sky to some people, but it is a doable practice achieved by many healthy individuals.
Even though it might not be suitable for everyone, in my opinion, this eating regimen might make healthy people healthier if appropriately practiced. It is also used as an intervention method to treat some metabolic and mental health disorders.
I previously documented my 15 years of experience with OMAD in a story titled Here’s What Happened on One-Meal-a-Day After 15 Years.
Some subscribers wanted to learn more, and some asked me to summarize noteworthy benefits with reasons as they are interested in starting OMAD.
After reading my story, readers found more stories from other writers on this topic. They came back to me asking for more information. So, I decided to pen this short piece, hoping it might also be helpful for new readers interested in this eating regimen.
I provide practical tips in the conclusion and takeaway section to start OMAD successfully and sustain it. This post does not provide health advice or recommendation. It is for information, awareness, and inspiration purposes for interested readers.
I summarize critical points under ten headings.
1 — Enjoying Each Meal Immensely
Since I started my one-meal-a-day plan, I haven’t had a bland meal yet. I look forward to each meal that delights me.
I enjoy every meal I prepare, cook myself with pleasure, and never waste a bit. I also learned to eat slowly and cherish every bite gratefully. It usually takes me two hours to finish my dinner.
As I eat only nutrient-dense and whole food with healthy fats for energy, I don’t face calorie or nutritional deficiency issues.
2 — Easy Appetite Control
After skipping breakfast decades ago, I learned to control my appetite. It helped my body to become leptin sensitive. My mood noticeably improved.
When I started the one-meal-a-day plan, I never felt emotional hunger. This regimen helped me notice the difference between physical and emotional hunger.
When physical hunger appears, I enjoy every bite of food with a great appetite, improving my digestion and absorption of nutrients. When the physical hunger disappears, the appetite fades until the next day.
Appetite control gives me freedom in between with no food cravings and mood swings caused by fluctuating blood glucose and frequent insulin spikes.
3 — Living with Digestive Comfort
When I was on three meals and three snacks in between plans, I had terrible digestive issues with an upset stomach and bloated belly most of the time.
The worst one was a leaky gut causing other complications in my health. Skipping a meal coincided with fixing my leaky gut.
After one meal a day, I haven’t experienced a single digestive issue. Initially, I used digestive enzymes like protease, pepsin, and lipase after one of my nutritious meals.
My dinner was relatively higher in protein and healthy fats, serving my daily energy and nutrition requirements. But nowadays, I don’t need supplementary enzymes as the body has adapted to fat and protein digestion.
4 — Gaining 2 Hours Extra Time Daily and Saving Money
Breakfast and lunch used to consume at least two hours of my time. In addition, after each meal, I used to feel lethargic and lost productivity at work.
I had to take lots of coffee, black tea, or caffeinated energy drinks to stay awake. Excessive caffeine caused extra stress and sleep deprivation on those days.
In addition to precious time, I also saved a lot of money. For example, I used to eat my lunch at work paying $20 for a tiny sandwich, which made me feel hungrier afterward, and ordering side dishes sometimes costing $50.
I used to go shopping more often to supply food for three meals and snacks. Changing my diet from high-carb plant-based to high-fat animal-based also saved time and money.
5 — Healthy Weight Management
Most of the excess food I consumed went to my waistline. The more frequently I ate, the heavier I got with a bulging belly. And I felt more lethargic and sleepier after each meal at work.
Therefore, I had to exercise extra hours to melt visceral fat, which created more stress as it was impossible to tap into belly fat in an insulin-resistant body due to high blood glucose levels.
After skipping breakfast, I lost substantial visceral fat and gained lean muscles. However, after one meal a day, I don’t lose weight or gain either, remaining at my ideal weight.
I keep my desired fat percentage and lean muscles similar to my teenage years. Interestingly, my bone density increased during this regime. Possibly due to high growth hormones released during the fasted windows and after increased resistance training and HIIT.
6 — Fat Adapted Body with Optimized Hormones
After skipping breakfast for several years, my body became fat adapted.
When I started one meal plan, it became fully adapted to fat utilization as the body used stored fat as the primary energy source. Fat utilization was noticeable via my high energy and good mood.
Unlike my younger years when I was on high carb and frequent meals, I never ran out of physical and mental energy in OMAD with a near zero carb diet.
This was a radical metabolic shift that changed my stress, sex, and metabolic hormones. The most important one was insulin, which was previously problematic.
7 — Gaining Insulin Sensitivity
After being fat-adapted, my body became fully insulin sensitive. The muscle cells started accepting blood glucose.
Therefore, fat accumulation, muscle loss, and metabolic diseases such as type II diabetes or metabolic syndrome risk significantly lowered. I used to be pre-diabetic when I was on frequent meals.
Insulin sensitivity also contributed to my mental health, evident in my cheerful mood. In addition, my brain utilized both glucose and ketone bodies, giving me better mental clarity.
When my body got insulin sensitive, my heart rate variability and blood oxygen saturation levels significantly improved. Therefore, I don’t experience any cardiovascular health issues.
8 — Mental Clarity and Better Mood
The most significant sign of my mental health improvement was mental clarity and a cheerful mood due to deep ketosis. I started my day with a spark on an empty stomach.
When I was on frequent meals, I had brain fog, anxiety, depressive thoughts, loneliness, anhedonia, and a dozen other entangled conditions in earlier years. After one meal, I haven’t experienced any mental disturbances.
But I also use other precautionary methods for maintaining my mental health, such as meditation, regular exercise like calisthenics and trampoline, and restorative sleep.
Interestingly one meal plan helped me meditate better, do more resistance training, and sleep better. So it also indirectly contributed to better physical and mental health.
9 — Preventing Neurodegenerative Conditions
Since my metabolic and mental health has significantly improved, I believe that my insulin-sensitive and fat-adapted body prevent the manifestation of neurodegenerative conditions.
I haven’t had any signs of these conditions after regular checks. My inflammation markers significantly dropped. All hormones, primarily cortisol and testosterone, got optimized. This hormonal balance positively affected my mental health.
Previously when my cortisol levels were elevated, my testosterone levels were lower than my age group. As I got older, especially after 50, I had more testosterone than when I was in my early twenties.
More importantly, one meal plan puts me into deep ketosis daily. Increasing my β-Hydroxybutyrate and BDNF puts my brain in an advantaged position and improve my cognitive reserves.
10 — Cellular and Mitochondrial Health
I left this to the end as the most significant benefit of one meal for me, and many people I observed were initiating autophagy and mitophagy, which cleared the metabolic garbage in the body.
Autophagy was evident as after initiating it, my skin, eye, and dental health significantly improved. For example, I eliminated loose skin thanks to autophagy, I stopped wearing glasses, and I don’t need to visit a dentist anymore.
Excessive itching and eczema symptoms disappeared. My vision got better. I see the word brighter and don’t even use glasses or lenses in my old age. I believe that the self-eating process of the body contributes to skin and eye health.
Even though autophagy of one meal helped with skin health, I believe eye and dental improvement was mainly due to the keto-carnivore diet, which also allowed me to satisfy myself with one meal daily.
To intensify autophagy and mitophagy processes to benefit from natural detoxification of the body, I also perform long-term fasting for up to seven days a few times a year.
Interestingly, the combined effects of high testosterone, optimized cortisol, insulin sensitivity, growth hormone, and autophagy helped me gain six-pack abs after 50 giving me a defined body that I craved in my younger years.
Conclusions and Takeaways
Even though one meal a day might look radical and may not work for everyone, it can be a healthy alternative for people like me who suffer from the side effects of excessive food consumption and carb intolerance.
I believe every healthy adult can skip one meal a day occasionally. However, I met hundreds of people who survived and thrived on just one meal a day, like me.
Like any new regime starting it with no preparation might end up with failure as it requires the body to be adapted to less frequent eating. Therefore, starting with skipping a meal daily, then after the adaption missing the second meal can be more manageable and sustainable.
I skip breakfast and lunch, which are easier for me. I enjoy dinner very much as it suits my lifestyle, balancing my work and family life. However, I know some people who prefer only breakfast and some only lunch.
I tried both, but they did not work well for me. We are all individuals and have different conditions and backgrounds. So choosing a plan that works for one is better than imitating others.
Since fasting puts significant stress on beginners’ bodies, it is crucial to obtain support and endorsement from qualified healthcare professionals who have access to our medical records before skipping meals.
People with underlying health conditions such as diabetes need to be extra careful and only try fasting with medical supervision.
For healthy people, the essential point is to switch from a sugar-burning to a fat-burning metabolism. Some people gain it in a few months and some a year.
It was around six months when I noticed the fat-adapted state. It was evident from entering ketosis daily and having stable blood glucose levels even though I didn’t consume foods with carbohydrates.
After years of successfully implementing OMAD, I have no desire to go back to frequent meals. This regime made me healthier and happier, transforming me into my better version effortlessly with no medication or medical interventions.
Every person who used OMAD in my circles is also happy with this regimen reaping similar benefits. Like me, they have no intention to change.
To summarize, if you are healthy and interested in OMAD, you might start skipping one meal with support from your family doctor and get your blood markers checked. When the body adapts to fat utilization, implementing a one-meal-a-day plan might be much easier.
It is much easier with ketogenic diets, but it is not exclusive to people eating only animal-based foods. From my experience, vegetarian or vegan friends using a keto-vegan diet successfully use OMAD.
I hope this story inspires my readers to consider alternative eating regimens to improve metabolic and mental health.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
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