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

Happyflowerlady

Vagabond Flowerchild
Location
Northern Alabama
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 husband has eaten once a day for as long as I have known him (over 30 years). He has always been slim. Really annoying. :D

For about a week I started eating only once a day, in the evening, and I did lose some weight. I bet if I kept it up I would have eventually reached my goal weight. Perhaps I should try again. It's just that most species eat small meals all through the day, and I assume that is the right way to eat since animals don't get brainwashed by research and opinions.

So, C'est Moi, when does your husband eat that one meal? How does he manage to include all necessary foods in that one meal? I'm very curious. I chose the evening meal because I was afraid if too hungry then I would not be able to sleep, and at breakfast and lunch I have very little appetite.
 

Along with the intermittent fasting books, I discovered some of the information that is in a book called “The Obesity Code”, by Dr. Jason Fung. He is actually a specialist (Canadian) for kidney diseases, but he realized that most kidney failure comes from three main sources, either heart problems, diabetes, or obesity; so he started studying what the relationship is between insulin and how our body processes food.
It is actually a really great explanation about what causes diabetes, and why insulin resistance is the basis for it.

I have been reading some of his blog articles, and then I joined the Facebook Group, and this man has some really great information about how obesity works in our body, and the huge part that insulin and insulin resistance plays in making people gain weight.
The ebook is almost $10, and I usually do not spend that much on ebooks; but I really wanted to read this whole book, and more than the little parts that he discusses on the website.

It is very interesting, and Dr. Fung does a great job of explaining something in layman’s terms, while yet giving a complete explanation of how something works in the body.
I am about 1/3 of the way through the book, and I definitely recommend buying the book, or at least, checking out some of the information on his website, especially of you re diabetic, or even overweight.
He totally recommends low-carb/keto, as well as fasting to not only lose weight, but to help completely detox and heal your body.

Here is one review of his book, and it really gives you a good overview of the basic premise of this book.

http://www.diagnosisdiet.com/obesity-code/
 
For about a week I started eating only once a day, in the evening, and I did lose some weight. I bet if I kept it up I would have eventually reached my goal weight. Perhaps I should try again. It's just that most species eat small meals all through the day, and I assume that is the right way to eat since animals don't get brainwashed by research and opinions.

So, C'est Moi, when does your husband eat that one meal? How does he manage to include all necessary foods in that one meal? I'm very curious. I chose the evening meal because I was afraid if too hungry then I would not be able to sleep, and at breakfast and lunch I have very little appetite.

Sorry for the late response; I just saw this. My husband eats a balanced dinner, usually around 5 p.m.
 
Sorry for the late response; I just saw this. My husband eats a balanced dinner, usually around 5 p.m.

It's okay, I just assumed you missed my post. I did do some research about the OMAD diet and have started today. I've decided to eat between 6-8pm, have dinner around 6 and then have fruit around 8. I've read somewhere that you should not eat fruit too close to other food, don't know if it's true, but the wait will allow me to be hungry again for the fruit (not a big fruit eater). The rest of the day I will consume only water, cranberry juice, coffee or tea. We'll see if this will finally make me lose that 23 lbs I want to lose.
 
It's okay, I just assumed you missed my post. I did do some research about the OMAD diet and have started today. I've decided to eat between 6-8pm, have dinner around 6 and then have fruit around 8. I've read somewhere that you should not eat fruit too close to other food, don't know if it's true, but the wait will allow me to be hungry again for the fruit (not a big fruit eater). The rest of the day I will consume only water, cranberry juice, coffee or tea. We'll see if this will finally make me lose that 23 lbs I want to lose.

If nothing else, you'll probably end up with a lower calorie intake...so you should lose weight. Good luck.
 
I've read a lot of research on intermittent fasting, and there is some evidence that it can help reduce diabetes. One of the issues in the studies was that it was hard for people to stay on the diet. I think the maintenance was something like fast for a specific day or a specific meal on a regular basis. Some do every other day.

Also, most animals eat when they can, since they have evolved with an uncertain food supply. So if there is enough food, they will eat smaller, regular meals, but if there isn't, they eat all the food they can when they find it, since they do not have refrigeration.
 
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.
 
It's okay, I just assumed you missed my post. I did do some research about the OMAD diet and have started today. I've decided to eat between 6-8pm, have dinner around 6 and then have fruit around 8. I've read somewhere that you should not eat fruit too close to other food, don't know if it's true, but the wait will allow me to be hungry again for the fruit (not a big fruit eater). The rest of the day I will consume only water, cranberry juice, coffee or tea. We'll see if this will finally make me lose that 23 lbs I want to lose.
I know this is an old thread but it’s an interesting one.

You are right that you shouldn’t eat fruit too close to other foods eaten. It’s much harder to digest after a meal than before. Fresh fruit is best eaten on an empty stomach so eating it before a meal and waiting half an hour before eating a full meal especially combined with meat is best.
 
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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.
How many pounds have you lost HFL?
 
Fasting may be OK for those who can. I've known people who can "Take or leave" food. Some will get busy in the morning & not eat anything until dinner & they don't even get hungry.
On some days, I can skip breakfast, & on other days I can't because my blood sugar gets low, which is dangerous.
I remember when Martha Stewart had her own show & Barry Manilow was a guest. She tried to get him interested in something she was making. He said something that surprised me - he said "I hate food....I hate looking at food, I hate smelling food, I hate eating food."
 
Some will get busy in the morning & not eat anything until dinner & they don't even get hungry.
On some days, I can skip breakfast, & on other days I can't because my blood sugar gets low, which is dangerous.

It's like any other habit, it takes about 3 months to get used to it. I can easily skip breakfast and lunch, and don't have hunger pangs but do get cravings for food. And, I agree with you, if I have to drive I'll have something to eat, I don't want to take the chance of having low blood sugar while driving. My eating window is 6-8 in the evening because I would not be able to fall asleep if hungry. I hate to say it, but I have cheated a LOT and have only lost 10 lbs since my prior post. I still have 13 lbs to go to reach my goal weight of 140. When I am a good girl and don't cheat I can usually lose 2 lbs a week. I hope I keep it up from now on but am not making any promises to myself considering how long and often I have cheated these last 12 months. I rather be honest with myself than feel guilty.
 
I had a friend back in the day that did this when he was in college. He was in pre-med and over the summer between his Junior and Senior year he took a job at a nursing home. Mainly because he figured it would look good on his application to Med school. One of the perks of the job was that he got to eat for free at the cafeteria. Ed was a really cheap dude and he figured he could save a lot of money on groceries if that was the only meal he ate. He was about 5-9 and 185 when the summer started and he lost about 30 lbs and got down to 150 something over the summer eating that way.
 
I had a friend back in the day that did this when he was in college. He was in pre-med and over the summer between his Junior and Senior year he took a job at a nursing home. Mainly because he figured it would look good on his application to Med school. One of the perks of the job was that he got to eat for free at the cafeteria. Ed was a really cheap dude and he figured he could save a lot of money on groceries if that was the only meal he ate. He was about 5-9 and 185 when the summer started and he lost about 30 lbs and got down to 150 something over the summer eating that way.

The main benefit of OMAD is that the body is forced to use the reserve fat/energy during the long hours of fasting, that's how you lose weight.

Your friend sounds industrious and resourceful. I have no problem with being cheap, I call it frugality, as long as it's not carried too far to the extreme. I bet he became successful, did you ever find out what became of him? Just curious.
 
I was thinking along these lines when I was doing my colonoscopy prep earlier this week. Not fasting as much, but a day of a nourishing liquid diet. Broth, Jell-O, unsweetened juices or Gatorade type drinks. That kind of stuff. I could do a OMAD so long as it is not junk...a healthy meal.
 
I was thinking along these lines when I was doing my colonoscopy prep earlier this week. Not fasting as much, but a day of a nourishing liquid diet. Broth, Jell-O, unsweetened juices or Gatorade type drinks. That kind of stuff. I could do a OMAD so long as it is not junk...a healthy meal.

You can make OMAD as healthy as you want. I really got interested in it when C'est Moi said her husband has only eaten one meal a day for 30 years and he's always been slim. I figured if he's healthy and slim and alive after 30 years the diet can't be unhealthy. She did say he doesn't actually do the OMAD diet, he just doesn't like eating so keeps it to one meal a day and has a balanced meal.
 
The main benefit of OMAD is that the body is forced to use the reserve fat/energy during the long hours of fasting, that's how you lose weight.

Your friend sounds industrious and resourceful. I have no problem with being cheap, I call it frugality, as long as it's not carried too far to the extreme. I bet he became successful, did you ever find out what became of him? Just curious.

Last I heard he was a radiologist in Houston.
 
If you lead a very active, very physical life, OMAD will not work for you. Were I to get up, not eat my normal, healthy breakfast, hit my job site, go aloft and then spend a few hours pruning, I would, almost surely, pass out at sixty feet up, and need to be rescued. I eat four vegan meals a day, and weigh exactly what I did in high school. The key is to balance your food intake with your activity level, at least for me. I also question the advisability of eating at around 8 PM, as numerous studies have highlighted the negative aspects of eating close to turning in for the night.
 
The key is to balance your food intake with your activity level, at least for me. I also question the advisability of eating at around 8 PM, as numerous studies have highlighted the negative aspects of eating close to turning in for the night.

I fully agree with you, it would never work for someone very physically active like you, you would be using more fat than available. OMAD works for using up the stored fat and thus losing weight. It works well for me because I am mostly sedentary, but I do eat if I have to be doing any driving that day. I also go to sleep most nights at 11pm and that's 3 hours of not eating, which is considered adequate. If I HAVE to go to sleep sooner than 11 I will lay on my right side so as not to get acid reflux (the stomach dips on the right side).
 
Hmm, that's one of the highest paid specialties in the medical profession. According to Google they get $315,000 a year and so do orthopedic surgeons.

Maybe so, but he didn't follow his dream. Being a Doctor was his mother's dream for him. She programed him for success like he was a robot. His first love was Entomology.

But of course that doesn't matter. We all know that the true measure of a life well lived is how much money you are able to accure.
 
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If people passed out from not eating for 4 hours, while living an active life, humanity would not have survived until today. Most of our forefathers lived hard lives, worked hard all day, and were lucky if they had even 2 meals per day.
The native people, or even the pioneers, had to hunt for their food, and might have had to go several days without eating before they found something substantial to eat.
Bad weather conditions, being attacked by another tribe, or just not finding any source of food , was pretty common up until maybe the last hundred years, for many people in almost any part of the world.
Our body was designed to be able to burn fat as fuel when necessary, and can store much larger quantities of fat than it can store of blood sugar in the bloodstream or glycogen in the liver.
This is why people that are burning sugar for fuel need to eat more often than when they are burning fat for fuel.
 


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