Health Benefits of Intermittant Fasting and OMAD (one meal a day)

About seven months ago, I gave up all forms of sugar for Lent. Not just sweets, or sugar in my coffee - I read labels after learning all the different names for any form of sugar so I could avoid it. It was HARD to find foods I could have. I definitely couldn't have anything with a bar code on it. :confused:

I wasn't fat when I started, just a jiggly size 8, with a decent amount of tummy fat that I decided was simply part of the aging process. I was also sick all the time with something that I now believe was Metabolic Syndrome. Anyway, after 3 months with no sugar, I was a size 2, my energy went through the roof, I slept like a baby, and my 2-3 times per week migraines were gone. So was my tummy. ;) So I started researching what happened to me, and it's fascinating - the way the body will heal itself if given the chance.

In the past few months, I've gone low carb. I eat as much protein as I want, with the fat, but my carbs come only from fruits and vegetables. I do allow myself some sugar in my coffee (carefully measured), but other than that, I drink lemon water. The result: Now I'm a size 0-1 and my BMI says I'm underweight, so I'm adding calories wherever I can. Things like nuts, eggs, cheese, and whole milk. I feel thirty years younger. But I also do a cheat meal every 11-14 days, because life without pizza and ice cream is just sad.

Anyone else indulge in cheat meals? My next one is on Thanksgiving. You can bet I'm planning a really decadent (but small) dessert for myself LOL. No alcohol, though - I just don't tolerate it well anymore.
I am glad to hear of your success, but I did that for months and no change in my weight. My body probably healed though. I am a size 16-18 and weigh around 165. Can't seem to get lower on the scales. I have gone keto, no sugar, no carbs, plenty of water and coffee in the morning..
 

I am glad to hear of your success, but I did that for months and no change in my weight. My body probably healed though. I am a size 16-18 and weigh around 165. Can't seem to get lower on the scales. I have gone keto, no sugar, no carbs, plenty of water and coffee in the morning..
I didn't start out to lose weight; actually, the zero-sugar thing was for Lent last March. I was addicted to sugar, and I was just sick all the time, so it seemed like a good idea. What really scared me was the fact that I had symptoms of diabetes. Even my kidneys were being impacted.

The weight loss was an unexpected blessing, but maybe this is just where my body wants to be, you know? And maybe your body just wants to weigh around 165. I wanted only to feel healthy again, and it worked. I mean, if I still had an extra 25 pounds on me, it would still be a wonderful feeling.

I think women are too hard on themselves. I like to pursue the health benefits, because the rest will follow.
 
I am glad to hear of your success, but I did that for months and no change in my weight. My body probably healed though. I am a size 16-18 and weigh around 165. Can't seem to get lower on the scales. I have gone keto, no sugar, no carbs, plenty of water and coffee in the morning..
@fancicoffee13 - have you talked to your doctor about it? Maybe there's an endocrinal reason why you can't lose weight.
 
I’ve decided that this intermittent fasting isn’t really working for me. If anything it’s just slowed my metabolism down. One thing that I’ve HAD to change is my low carb strategy. Most low carb includes a lot of dairy. Unfortunately I’m sensitive to dairy , which was affecting my weight loss. As soon as I cut dairy out , the weight started melting off once more. Yayyyy. I’m finally back to losing weight once again. It’s amazing what food sensitivities can do.
 
I didn't start out to lose weight; actually, the zero-sugar thing was for Lent last March. I was addicted to sugar, and I was just sick all the time, so it seemed like a good idea. What really scared me was the fact that I had symptoms of diabetes. Even my kidneys were being impacted.

The weight loss was an unexpected blessing, but maybe this is just where my body wants to be, you know? And maybe your body just wants to weigh around 165. I wanted only to feel healthy again, and it worked. I mean, if I still had an extra 25 pounds on me, it would still be a wonderful feeling.

I think women are too hard on themselves. I like to pursue the health benefits, because the rest will follow.
Well, I am comfortable around 165, but my knees aren't. I had a total knee replacement and if I could lose about 10-20 pounds I think that would be good for my knees and my weight.
 
No, I just tried the one meal a day diet, fasting 23 hours and eating in one hour and I did finally see results, but found out I need to wait until the holidays are over. I did lose weight and that is motivation!
@fancicoffee13 = You probably don't know this, this is PVC, I've changed my name to Catlady. LOL Yeah, start after the new year, there won't be so many temptations then.
 
I am now into my second month with OMAD, and I really, really like it ! Since there is only ONE rule (eating only once a day), it is pretty simple to follow this eating plan.
I kind of sneaked my way into the idea, and started by doing a 16:8 fasting window, and having an earlier dinner. My eating window was from 8am-4pm, and then I fasted after that.
Once I saw how easy that was, I started eating only a protein shake for breakfast and then the late lunch after swimming.

After I read that it was much better to exercise at the end of your fast because you burned fat better then, I eliminated even the protein shake, and that actually started me on the one meal a day plan.
I like that I only have to be concerned about one meal a day, and even though there are no restrictions on what you can or can’t eat during you one meal, I mostly stick to low carb foods, and only have other foods occasionally, like if we go out for lunch , or something similar.

I have also joined several facebook groups, and an OMAD forum, so I feel like I have some good support to keep following this WOE (way of eating).
If anyone is interested in the forum, PM me and I will give you the link for it, since it is not a conflict with this forum in any way.

There are SO many health benefits from intermittent fasting that this is not just a temporary weight loss plan, it is going to be a way of life for me, and hopefully, a step into even better health.
Can you give us an update on how OMAD has affected your health?
 
I have been reading about insulin resistance, and some of the effects that it has on our bodies, and apparently one of the side-effects of insulin resistance can be muscle loss, because it is connected with low levels of human growth hormone.
The two hormones work in sync, and when that sync is messed up, then the body suffers the results.
When we eat carbs, we produce insulin to send the glucose to our muscles for energy, and to our liver for glycogen stores. However, when a person over eats on carbs, or lives on processed carbs and not natural Whole Foods, then we can become insulin resistant, and when that happens, the cells refuse to let the insulin come in with the glucose. Since the blood sugar can’t be allowed to get too high, the insulin ends up sending the glucose to the fat cells and stores it as fat instead of burning it as energy.
Even worse, is that a fat person makes five times as much insulin as a slim person, when they eat the identical food.


So....hypothetical scenario......two people eat a piece of apple pie, One person is overweight, one is slim. The fat person produces 5 times as much insulin as the slim person; but because of insulin resistance, he doesn’t get the benefit of using the nutrients from the food as energy like the slim person did.
The slim person enjoys his pie, burns the carbs as energy, and happily goes on about his day. The overweight person, has no energy, because all of the sugar in his blood went into fat cells, so now his blood sugar is too low again, and he is hungry.
He eats the rest of the apple pie.
Of course, it doesn’t do him any good either, all due to insulin resistance, and even worse, he now has more body fat, and is still craving food.


Once the body has digested food, and after we go to sleep at night, then our body goes into restorative mode, burns fat, and produces human growth hormone. This is when our muscles are rebuilt, and bad cells are burned up as food, and the body regenerates itself.
It takes about 4-6 hours after our last meal before we finish digestion, and burning up the glucose, and start using fat ketones as fuel.


Now, when we are doing intermittent fasting, OMAD (one meal a day), then during the fasting period, several amazing things happen !
The first thing is that fasting lowers our insulin resistance better than anything else can do. A 3 day fast will lower a person’s insulin resistance by about 70%. The good news is that about 2/3 of that happens during the first 24 hours, so simply eating one meal a day, and fasting for 16-23 hours will lower your IR almost as much as a 3 day fast, and the more you do IF, the more it lowers your insulin resistance.


The other thing that IF does is increase your HGH levels. In men, it can increase up to 2000%, and about 1300 % for women.
When HGH increases, you can build/retain your body muscle mass better, and it also helps with anti-aging.


I am not done yet !
This is only from testing with mice, but they found that when they restricted their feeding time, even though they were given the same amount of food to eat, the mice did not get old-age related dementia like the mice that were allowed to eat whenever they wanted to eat.
Most mice started to develop dementia at about 9 months of age, but the mice who fasted didn’t start to develop this until 24 months, almost their whole life span !
This correlates to about 20 years for a human, so this lowers the chances of Alzheimer’s , especially if a person continues in the OMAD food plan.
My question now is this, if you eat one meal a day then how are you going to get the required amount of foods off that food chart in your system in order to live a healthy life? Isn't that what they harp about with that there pyramid?
 
My question now is this, if you eat one meal a day then how are you going to get the required amount of foods off that food chart in your system in order to live a healthy life? Isn't that what they harp about with that there pyramid?
Wow! I did not know that. However, I am not diabetic. I know those who are diabetic and whatever they want when they want. Before I read your post, I think, " how can you eat like that and be over weight and sit all day?!" I have been on weight watchers and lost 25 pounds, exercised, eat healthy, and am in good health-for now. Thanks for the article! I tried the OMAD, and found it didn't work for me as far as losing weight.
 
I find eating too pleasurable to eat only one meal a day. Puts me in mind of the time I saw Totie Fields on Johnny Carson. She said she'd been on a diet for the past couple of weeks. He asked her how much she lost. She replied, "Fourteen days."

I keep my weight in check by eating whole foods, plant based. If I gain a couple of pounds I cut out everything but fruits and vegetables for a day or two to get rid of them.
 
Wow! I did not know that. However, I am not diabetic. I know those who are diabetic and whatever they want when they want. Before I read your post, I think, " how can you eat like that and be over weight and sit all day?!" I have been on weight watchers and lost 25 pounds, exercised, eat healthy, and am in good health-for now. Thanks for the article! I tried the OMAD, and found it didn't work for me as far as losing weight.
I've read that when you fast, your body slows down metabolism to protect you from starving.
I don't know if that's true, but one thing's for sure. For the past 12 years, I'm ALWAYS hungry, so my longest fast is around 2 hours - and often much less than that. That constant hunger started 12 years ago after weight loss. Dr. can't explain it; she says, "Your thyroid is normal."
 
I have found eating only between noon and 7:00 PM, following the Ketogenic food plan, works for me. Not only am I losing weight, but I am not bloated or have swelling in my feet (which I did before). Actually my keto breakfast at noon or around that time keeps me from being hungry all day. I used to like to snack on popcorn, cookies and ice cream. Now I start making supper around 3 or 4 in the afternoon because I usually have to spend time preparing it. I have to hurry to be done by 7 but then don't eat a thing after that. I don't even want to. The key really is to motivate yourself to do it. That is what I had to do. I was hungry all the time too. Not now.

That is 17 hours without eating. But a good portion of it I am sleeping. I do have 2 cups of coffee with heavy cream in the morning. Dr. Fung says that is okay with Intermitten Fasting.
 
Intriguing post.

Although I fall into the "eat to live" category, I don't know if this plan would work for me. It definitely would not have in my younger years. I have always been slim but now that I'm over 60 that is changing and I'm willing to try a different eating style.

I find I'm not as hungry as I used to be and can see gradually just eating maybe two meals a day. I have always eaten breakfast, always been told that breakfast is the important meal of the day. Maybe breakfast and dinner?

Would smoothies - homemade nutritious ones not store bought - count as a "meal" under this plan? If not, I could see substituting smoothies for a couple of meals in my day.
 
I have found eating only between noon and 7:00 PM, following the Ketogenic food plan, works for me. Not only am I losing weight, but I am not bloated or have swelling in my feet (which I did before). Actually my keto breakfast at noon or around that time keeps me from being hungry all day. I used to like to snack on popcorn, cookies and ice cream. Now I start making supper around 3 or 4 in the afternoon because I usually have to spend time preparing it. I have to hurry to be done by 7 but then don't eat a thing after that. I don't even want to. The key really is to motivate yourself to do it. That is what I had to do. I was hungry all the time too. Not now.

That is 17 hours without eating. But a good portion of it I am sleeping. I do have 2 cups of coffee with heavy cream in the morning. Dr. Fung says that is okay with Intermitten Fasting.
I had thought of that, having cream and coffee in the morning and not eating breakfast. And it would be doable, since I am really not hungry in the morning, coffee does it. I do love sweets and lately, I have found Weight Watcher cakes to make (8 points per slice) and I think that is my downfall. Expecially, since I am in great health, I just need to exercise more. I was walking 10,000 steps a day and that is pleasant.
 
I had thought of that, having cream and coffee in the morning and not eating breakfast. And it would be doable, since I am really not hungry in the morning, coffee does it. I do love sweets and lately, I have found Weight Watcher cakes to make (8 points per slice) and I think that is my downfall. Expecially, since I am in great health, I just need to exercise more. I was walking 10,000 steps a day and that is pleasant.
I love sweets too and the only way I was able to break that habit is to not have any. No sweeteners or any cheating at all. I used to make those keto fat bombs and I used stevia or Swerve in them but I wanted to eat them all. Now I am fine without sweets.
 
I love sweets too and the only way I was able to break that habit is to not have any. No sweeteners or any cheating at all. I used to make those keto fat bombs and I used stevia or Swerve in them but I wanted to eat them all. Now I am fine without sweets.
What about honey? They say a little honey (local) is good for you. So, I started sweetening my overnight oatmeal with honey, and I like it just fine. However, I can't sweeten everything with honey.
 
What about honey? They say a little honey (local) is good for you. So, I started sweetening my overnight oatmeal with honey, and I like it just fine. However, I can't sweeten everything with honey.
On the Ketogenic food plan, I only eat 20 or less carbs a day so honey is a big no no, as well as the oatmeal. I do know if someone is diabetic that honey will raise their blood sugar. Just depends on what your health goals are.
 
On the Ketogenic food plan, I only eat 20 or less carbs a day so honey is a big no no, as well as the oatmeal. I do know if someone is diabetic that honey will raise their blood sugar. Just depends on what your health goals are.
Thank you, I am not a diabetic and I do try to eat proteins and fruits and vegies as much as possible. I am back to exercising (getting 10,000 steps a day) and staying off the desserts as much as possible. Got to keep those muscles up as much as possible, and the waistline and tummy!
 


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