One meal a day questions

#1

Hi guys and gals, my natural earing pattern tends to be no foods most of the day, i start eating around 2pm through to 8pm mostly grazing. Im interested in tightening this up to become just one good meal a day either 3pmish or 6pmish which ill just decide day to day depending on hunger/energy/mood etc.

I do drink coffee with sweetner and some 0 carb soya intermittently throughout the day also just for that little pep up sometimes needed at work. Can i ask your opinions here on this kind of routine? Also are the coffees going to negate the fasting benefits? Anyone having any results with one meal a day? Very different to the ā€˜constantly stoking the metabolism fireā€™ that ive grown up thinkings the best way to eat.

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #2

Are you attempting to lose weight?
Are you fat adapted?
One meal a day is generally reserved for maintenance, youā€™d be better off eating two meals a day.

(Cathy) #3

I do an OMAD only every week or longer. When I was doing OMAD every day or most days, I lost weight at first but then weight loss stopped all together and eventually most of those lbs. came back. Every day OMAD is a good maintenance tool for many.

Drinking coffee with a bit of high fat cream is considered ok by many in terms of fasting because it will do very little to raise insulin and keeping insulin low is the prime goal of fasting. I am not sure what ā€œ0 carb soyaā€ is but is sounds like something to be avoided for a number of reasons not the least of which is that soy products are not good for general health.

I would also comment that in your eating window, avoiding snacking is best as again, the goal of fasting is to keep insulin low and even though it is an eating window, your goal is to allow insulin to drop between eating. If you are snacking, that wonā€™t happen as well as it could. It is okay to push through some minor hunger and wait until the next meal.

#4

Thanks for this, what makes you say soy based products should be avoided please?

#5

Sorry whats fat adapted and how do I know if I am it please?

#6

All depends on what benefits your after with the fasting. If just weight loss then the coffee is fine. For other benefits like autophagy depends on which camp your in. Any calories break a fast technically and some argue that even black coffee will.

As for OMAD Iā€™ve been doing it for over a year now. I really enjoy it and makes things super simple. I also lift and work a labor intensive job(10-12hr shifts) completely fasted and have my between 3-6pm. After lifting and work. No issues here. I do have a black coffee around a hour after I get up. I cut it out for a month didnā€™t see any differences. FWIW I didnā€™t start keto and now ZC for any weight loss. Stared it for inflammation control/elimination from sciatica and the job. And to stay younger lol

Iā€™ve been able to slowly and steadily gain lean mass while getting leaner. According to the dexa scans Iā€™ve had and the mirror. In about a year Iā€™ve gained 15ish lbs with a decrease in lean mass. Iā€™m siting around
10-15% bf currently.

(Little Miss Scare-All) #7

I eat OMAD, Iā€™m not yet fully fat adapted, but close, and my body has been reacting very well to this. I switch it up, though. Somedays Iā€™ll eat 2x a day, but only in a 4 hour window. Then the rest of the 20 hours, Iā€™m fasting.

Iā€™ve lost lots of fat so far, gained lean muscle mass, Iā€™m getting definition in places that have been definitionless for a long time. I donā€™t weigh myself, or measure myself, but I know my clothes are fitting way looser. I started at probably somewhere like 230, 35+ days ago. Donā€™t know what I am now because like I said, I donā€™t weigh myself. I also strength train 4 days a week and do HIIT, so that builds lean muscle.

Everyoneā€™s different. Iā€™m no stranger to IF, I was doing IF 20/4 before I even started Keto, so going OMAD IF 20/4 wasnā€™t too big a move, though stuffing all my daily cals into one meal took some getting used to and pre-thought and planning.

I average a daily 2.0-2.5 ketone level via my Keto Mojo meter. I test 2x a day and thatā€™s what Iā€™m averaging. My body likes it. Some bodyā€™s not fat adapted yet may not, but Iā€™m golden on it and thriving.

(Carl Keller) #8

Jason Fung encourages coffee or tea when fasting. It has little or no affect on insulin and thatā€™s what is most important to stay in a fasted state. He says that the caffeine boosts metabolism and that coffee acts as a appetite suppressant.

As for OMAD, I agree totally with @x-Dena-x

Patterns of eating can lead to adjustments by our body. The goal is to not force our metabolism to adapt to those patterns. Occasional feasting reassures our body that food is regularly available.

#9

I did every-day OMAD for a number of months. It definitely worked - for a while anyway. Iā€™m not convinced that doing OMAD every day is a good long-term for weight loss strategy. I think that the body adapts to this caloric restriction by reducing your BMR (basal metabolic rate). If thatā€™s the case, it might well explain why I stopped losing weight after about two months of doing every-day OMAD.

I now do OMAD only one or two days a week. On most of the other days, I do 16:8 intermittent fasting, eating a ketogenic diet. Iā€™m holding fairly steady weight-wise, though Iā€™d still like to lose a few more pounds / inches.

(Cathy) #10

I donā€™t believe the question of soy as healthy or unhealthy is actually proven due to so many confounding factors but it is clear that soy can act as an estrogen mimicker and have negative health effects. Many will say that it is a small risk because of the actual amount of isoflavones any particular soy product. However, soy tends to be a very common additive to many things and is actually hard to avoid sometimes. That is why I tend to never pick actual soy products if possible.

#11

Just Google ā€œwhy avoid soyā€ and figure out if itā€™s good for you for yourself. Ive always gone by the rule that if itā€™s fermented itā€™s good but if not then avoid it. Thereā€™s a reason why protein powders quit using soy but that would be another topic.

Edit: soybean contains large quantities of natural toxins or ā€œantinutrients.ā€ First among them are potent enzyme inhibitors that block the action of trypsin and other enzymes needed for protein digestion.

#12

I have a hard time with protein and getting enough calories while fasting. To get the calories, I over eat on the fats. Ugh! I just canā€™t handle large amounts of protein. I am thinking I should move to protein shakes. I do 21:3. I love doing this. I feel so much better. But worried about the fat intake. BTW, I am fully fat adapted.

(Jennifer) #13

Iā€™ve had great success with weight loss with OMAD. Iā€™ve taken off just shy of 30 pounds since January 3.

However, Iā€™m only fat. I donā€™t have insulin resistance, etc. What helps is that I do a ā€œcleanā€ fast. I find that I do much better when I only have unflavored, unsweetened coffee, black/green tea, and water (both sparkling and still). I do have a little pink salt in hot water, sometimes.

I am looking into working my way into doing longer fasts for the autophagy benefits, because I have some really loose skin on my arms, and I had an 11 1/2 pound baby, so obviously thereā€™s some loose skin there.