One Meal a Day: Can I Survive on OMAD?

My Intermittent Fasting Journey Since 2018

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In 2018, in Amsterdam, I became more interested in intermittent fasting and started with 16/8, 16 hours fasting with an 8-hour eating window. After only 2 weeks, I went back to 14/10, which I could do without much effort anyway, but my body and my mind got hooked on the idea of intermittent fasting.

I tried to shorten my eating window over time with a healthier and healthier diet.

In the last years, I practised 16/8 without much effort. This is what feels natural to me now.

I don’t enjoy having a full belly all the time anymore. I never enjoyed breakfast, and if you listen to Dr. Berg on YouTube, you might consider skipping breakfast completely as it works against the hormones, especially cortisol.

When I lived in the Netherlands, I read a lot about Wim Hof, and look at him, he OMADs. I looked into anti-ageing technology and found Bryan Johnson, a Billionaire that wants to beat the ageing process. He is an OMAD fan too. Jack Dorsey (former Twitter CEO), Chris Martin (Coldplay frontman), Bruce Springsteen (rock legend), and Elizabeth Hurley (actress) — all only eat one meal a day according to various interviews.

It is time for me to level up my fasting experience.

From March 2024 on, I will go OMAD. Forever? I am not sure. I want to try it out for at least 2–4 weeks and then reconsider.

Why OMAD?

• I don’t need to prepare and eat food several times a day. This saves me a lot of time and energy.
• I can provide one super healthy meal and then forget about food for the rest of the day.
• I might not even need a fridge anymore, as I plan to go to the market every day for 1 healthy fresh meal (I am not sure how sustainable that is, but I want to give it a go).
• My body will have much more time to repair damaged cells.
• I hope to not experience up and down times and be able to find myself and my body in a more balanced state throughout the day.

I am excited about this change, and I am happy that I took a few days off to be able to make decisions like this.

Going OMAD is a big deal for me as it brings me closer to one of my goals.

I want to fast for 3 days in the near future, and for this, I need to prepare my body and mind.

My body cannot be addicted to any substances when I dare to take the step to fast for 3 whole days.

I stopped drinking coffee already and I was able to limit my sugar intake immensely. I used to eat chocolate for breakfast, dinner, and lunch (desserts); I used to drink Coca-Cola at least 3–5 times a week; I used to empty Nutella glasses of all sizes with a spoon and I used to be a social drinker.

I’ve made significant progress — I’m now eating much healthier, choosing more organic options than ever, and I’ve quit alcohol for good. Despite these positive changes, I recognize there’s still a long road ahead of me.

Fasting allowed me to feel food more in my body. After longer fasting periods, I don’t want to eat junk. I crave healthy food when I am hungry. I also noticed that I am not so moody or get shaky hands anymore because I haven’t eaten for a few hours (sugar addict behaviour).

OMAD is the logical and natural next step for me. I am so excited that I feel ready for this. I had this on my mind since I got more interested in fasting in 2018. I always thought how much easier, and more controllable my daily life would be if I could just eat once a day and don’t have to worry about my energy otherwise because I would be able to provide balanced energy throughout the day.

My Rules

No sugar (besides fresh fruit). No processed food. No chemicals. No caffeine. No alcohol.

Yes to organic fresh food from farmers' markets.

With a clean diet and sufficient time for our bodies to recover, pure human energy can flow freely, providing balanced energy and health.

Will I Succeed?

I don’t know. As I know myself, it might end after 14-30 days with OMAD for about 2 weeks, and then I will try again, stop again, try again. This is my natural process. I need to give myself and my system time to adapt to a new way of living, but I believe in the benefits of OMAD so much that I know in the end I will probably succeed, and then I will look back into my past and think how unbalanced my energies were on this western diet and lifestyle.

When I have done OMAD for about 1 year, I think I will be ready for my 3-day fast. I will prepare accordingly and research a lot.

Fasting for 3 days is something that I wanted to do for a long time, but I thought it was impossible for me, and it was for my old self, I worked myself through all the barriers, step by step, and with welcoming OMAD into my life, I am a whole step further.

Wish me luck.

Namasté

Alina

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