Fasting Questions (OMAD?)

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #1

I just need a bit of science explained to me.
I’ve hijacked a few other threads or made a few of my own posts but haven’t gotten the answers i’m looking for.

I am starting out with 24 hour fasts
To make it easy, I am eating the same thing every day - after 9:30pm.
If I am just doing a few 24 hour fasts, how is that different to OMAD?
How can I make sure I feast enough in between to ensure my metabolism doesn’t slow down?
My dinner is roughly 590 calories, and my dessert is 558 calories, totalling 1148.
Should I try and include something else to meet my calorie intake of roughly 1500?
Can someone please explain the science because it is LOST on me.

(Short224) #2

Dessert that sounds like music to my ears can you share ?

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #3

150ml of whipping cream mixed with a tbs of No Sugar Drinking Chocolate makes a wonderful chocolate mousse :slight_smile:

(LeeAnn Brooks) #4

There was an analogy someone used that I thought was helpful, but I know I’m going to mess it up.

Let’s say your body’s fat deposits are a reserve tank of fuel. There’s a valve that switches to the reserve tank, but only when there’s no other fuel present. Insulin works as an on/off switch for the valve. When you eat even OMAD, you release insulin, so the valve doesn’t switch over to using the reserve tank. Instead it tries to find enough ready fuel, and when it doesn’t, it becomes sluggish. But it won’t switch over at all because the insulin prevents the valve from switching. Your metabolism is the sluggishness. It becomes hindered due to not enough fuel going in and not being able to switch over.

When you fast completely, there’s no insulin present so the valve can switch over to the reserve tank. There’s no danger causing sluggishness to your metabolism because your body can freely run on the reserve tank.

It’s not a perfect analogy but I think it helps explain a bit.

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #5

Does that mean it’s not really worthy to fast unless it’s extended, and there is really no advantage to only fasting for 24 hours or eating OMAD?

(Alec) #6

Katie
The goal with OMAD is to spend the majority of the day in a low insulin state. When you are low insulin your body can burn fat. So you are maximising the length of time the body has to burn bodyfat.

You have identified a problem with OMAD, which is how do you reasonably get enough calories/fat in at your one meal to ensure you get sufficient nutrition, and you don’t drop your metabolism. My solution to that would be that your one meal should be a long one, maybe almost 2 meals over an hour. But you do need to get a decent number of calories in in your “meal”. If you don’t, you will slow your metabolism. And that is bad.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #7

Megan Ramos allows for a 90-minute feeding schedule.

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #8

Ahhh thank you Alex & LeeAnn
That makes more sense when you explain it like that!
I think I can build a pretty good meal around that, thanks! :slight_smile:

(Brian) #9

24 hour fast - one meal a day… pretty much a “six or half dozen” kind of thing. For all practical purposes, they’re the same.

But you probably figured that out by now…

:slight_smile:

Good luck! OMAD is one of the easiest fasts a person can do, especially if a person gets busy early in the day and keeps busy. It’s like forgetting to eat breakfast and then being too busy to eat lunch.

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #10

My belly is only starting to rumble now but i’m stocked up with soda water which suprisingly works well to quench the hunger pang.
I usually eat my first meal of the day in an hour or so, which is why I actually struggle to finish my dinner so instead of eating I will go and buy some glucose strips and do my next test.

#11

@Anniegirl9 and @Alecmcq

Thank you for your input on this, which is giving me some good things to think about.

I’m going through a similar issue - I just started doing Keto Omad (doing 23 hours fasting / 1 hour eating window) and I’ve actually GAINED 2-3 pounds. I was highly confused as I’ve done several water fasts and despite the fact that I am deep in ketosis, I don’t seem to be burning much fat. Granted, it’s only been 3 days, but I usually see results immediately with fasting. I am following macros perfectly but I’m wondering if I’m simply not getting enough calories. I’m ranging from 1250 - 1500 calories per day. I’ve used various apps to determine the ideal amount of calories I should have, but wondering if anyone has experience with this?

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #12

This is what I am worried about.
I tried OMAD a few weeks ago but could only get in 1200 calories which I think harmed me more than helped me.
A bit of an experiment to undertake I guess.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #13

@ava_ad0re, I know I can’t get in enough calories in OMAD to do it regularly, but I do still do it at least once a week just to flex my fasting muscle so to speak. I use it as a bridge to EF. I don’t think one or two low days calorie wise will hurt you as long as the other days compensate for it. And I need that in between phase to get to longer fasts.

#14

@ava_ad0re
I wouldn’t say that this is proof that Keto + OMAD = bad or doesn’t work, keep in mind that each of our bodies are different and it may take experimentation for each individual to:
#1 - Find the variables which need to be “tweaked”
#2 - Adhere to the same protocol for long enough to see how it works out

I’ve been researching this a lot and almost every person I’ve observed doing Keto + OMAD has had fantastic results.
I don’t want to give up yet. As I said, it could just be a matter of something simple I’m doing that is causing this - for example, I’m eating at 7-8AM because it’s the most convenient time for me. Maybe this is the worst time to eat if doing OMAD, I have no idea. Another option is to add MORE calories (which I’ve actually read several cases where doing that ended up resulting in weight loss finally coming - which seems counterintuitive)
I’m going to finish doing it for a week however, and then switch to a different time slot if I’m not losing something by the end of one week.

I’m really having in faith in the fact that Keto + OMAD has worked for many. For me it’s a convenient way to get the benefits of fasting along with the simplicity of eating one meal in a small window.
Fasting for 23-24 hours activates so many benefits, so I don’t want to lose those.

OMAD can be taxing emotionally (this is only my 3rd/4th day?) and isn’t easy, but it is a journey where I may get lost a few times before I find my way. So with all of that in mind, I’m not going to give up just yet.

#15

I also struggle to get enough calories OMAD so I limit it to two or three days a week & make sure I eat well on the others. I’m not looking to lose any weight so it might be trickier if you are but I feel great when I skip dinner so do it for that reason.

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #16

Thank you for all of your responses.
I think it would be best to only do it two to three times a week.
Though mentally I am doing far better than I thought I would. I’ve already accustomed myself to the taste of espresso coffee with no sweeteners or milk.
Someone mentioned you can use sweetener but why would you do that if it creates an insulin response? Researching fasting can be so confusing, everyone seems to have their own idea of it.

I’ve formulated a perfect 24 hour OMAD meal, which I will try for the next two nights and see what happens. I am about to update my accountability thread with my third readings of the day.