Diet | Lifestyle

Another Fad Diet or a Sustainable Lifestyle?

Why one meal a day (OMAD) didn’t work for me

Throughout the last couple of weeks, I have been experimenting with intermittent fasting, with the overall goal of improving my health and mind clarity. I was trying out and testing different eating and fasting windows to find out what works well for me and my lifestyle. This was when I found an interesting and somewhat controversial strategy and school of thought.

One meal a day (OMAD).

I did some research on it, and I decided to test it out. Although I don’t think it worked for me and my lifestyle, I found it to be an interesting experiment nonetheless. Here are my findings.

Disclaimer: Before implementing any dietary and lifestyle changes, do your own research and consult with your physician and/or dietician. This diet/lifestyle may not be suitable for many groups of people, especially those who are pregnant and individuals with a history of eating disorders. This article is an anecdotal personal reflection and is not intended to be taken as medical advice. Always do your own research.

What is OMAD?

OMAD is a rather extreme variation of intermittent fasting.

I assume you already know the basics of intermittent fasting, as it’s fairly mainstream and well-researched. If you don’t then I highly recommend this article.

It’s pretty self-explanatory. It’s in the name. Following OMAD, you only consume one large meal per day, usually at night.

Benefits of OMAD

1. A large reason for following this diet is weight loss. Those who consumed only one meal a day lost more weight than those eating the same amount of calories throughout the day in a 2006 study. Additionally, the study revealed that those who ate only one meal per day displayed a significant reduction in body fat and increased muscle mass.
2. OMAD may reduce heart disease and lower blood sugar, as well as benefit the nervous system.
3. Fasting has been shown to reduce inflammation through seeing a reduction in inflammation markers, in particular C-reactive protein. The reduction in inflammation reduces the risk of many neurological diseases, as shown by this study that used mice as a model organism.

The weight loss, reduction in fat, and increase in muscle mass are directly related to the OMAD diet. As pointed out by an article on Healthline, most of the other benefits, while they do apply to OMAD, are thanks to the benefits of intermittent fasting in general.

I wasn’t using OMAD as a way to lose weight, so in my case, the first benefit wasn’t that big of a selling point for me, but more on that later.

Disadvantages and Risks

1. You will feel hungry, that’s quite obvious. Eating just once per day increases your blood sugar, even when fasted, which leads to a more delayed response to the insulin in your system which stimulates the production of the hunger hormone ghrelin, resulting in extreme hunger.
2. Increased risk of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar), especially for those who are suffering from type 2 diabetes, as revealed by this series of trials.
3. Wide range of side effects including nausea, low energy, and increased irritability.
4. From a practical standpoint, it may be difficult to obtain the necessary wide range of nutrients as all of them need to be consumed in a very tight window.

My Experiences

When intermittent fasting I would not have breakfast and have my first meal in the afternoon and another meal at dinner time.

This lined up perfectly with my schedule as my university classes mainly only run in the morning and sometimes spill over into the early afternoon. I found it easy to eat my first meal at around 3 p.m. and have dinner at 9 p.m.

I realized that I perform much better cognitively before I have eaten any food, and I notice brain fog as soon as I finish eating. Additionally, I found that I was not hungry at all before I had my first meal.

In other words, I would not feel hungry leading up to my first meal but would feel hungry in the next few hours after eating it.

That’s when I discovered OMAD, I saw this as a way to become more productive and get things done thanks to decreased brain fog.

My Day on OMAD

Here is what my schedule looked like during my day on OMAD, and I will reflect on how it went and impacted each area of life. The only things I consumed leading up to meal time were plain water and black coffee to stay hydrated, energized, and fasted.

Disclaimer: This is not a guide to follow, you should not take this as advice and you should aim to eat in a way that suits you and your own needs. This is Not medical advice, consult your doctor and/or dietician before implementing any lifestyle and diet changes.

• 8 a.m. Wake up.
• 9 a.m.-10 a.m. University lecture.
• 10 a.m.- 1 p.m. University lab practical.
• 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Independent study and revision.
• 5 p.m.-7 p.m. Boxing training.
• 9 p.m. Meal time.

This was a day where I had a lot going on, a lot of cognitive work and exercise, I was especially curious how it would affect my boxing training and how I felt after it.

The Positives

The start of the day went very well. As expected, I was able to concentrate and perform well during time spent in class. This was undoubtedly one of the biggest reasons why I started intermittent fasting in the first place.

By far the greatest benefit for me which I wasn’t expecting, is just the amount of time saved during the day. I wasn’t cooking midway through the day and I wasn’t spending time away from my laptop and studies visiting the cafeteria and eating.

I often find that after I eat, I usually waste a lot of time just sitting around after eating, on my phone, mostly because I procrastinate from cleaning the dishes and washing up — so this aspect was also completely removed.

This alone can save me 3+ hours a day which I can use to achieve my goals.

I did not notice a reduction in energy levels or performance during boxing training. I was expecting to feel weak and lightheaded due to the lack of an energy source from food, but I was pleasantly surprised that this didn’t have an effect.

When it Got Ugly

So far so good.

I was really enjoying this experiment and I was thinking of implementing it long term.

But as it approached meal time, the side effects kicked in.

I got extremely irritable, and I was shaking while preparing the meal, and I found it really difficult to do so. For example, I was struggling to use a can opener, and I got extremely frustrated.

With the tin half opened my hands covered in oil from the tuna and my can opener lying broken on the ground, I got so angry that I forcefully threw the can into the bin.

After I cooked up my meal, I was struggling to eat it, I started eating too quickly, and I started to feel extremely bloated, and I got a stomach ache, I did not enjoy the cooking or eating process at all. I started feeling unwell, and I was unable to eat the whole meal. Thus not getting the calories and nutrients that my body needed. I also experienced a particularly unpleasant bowel movement.

Next Steps and Conclusion

I have decided to not try this anymore, and I am not implementing this into my day-to-day life. The negatives greatly outweighed the positives. I find that my current intermittent fasting schedule is more than superior to OMAD.

My usual eating window still gives me the benefits I experienced on OMAD, decreased brain fog and focus, while eliminating virtually all of the downsides I experienced on OMAD.

I would experiment with this a little bit more to try to optimize it, and I would have run this experiment for a few more days, but the negative consequences of this diet and lifestyle made it unjustifiable to keep going.

Thanks for reading.

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