OMAD Long Term - Doctor highlights Problems of Long Term OMAD - One Meal A Day Intermittent Fasting

Dr Chan highlights potential problems with Long term OMAD - the One Meal A Day form of Intermittent Fasting. What are the potential pitfalls, possible problems of practising OMAD long term, eating only one meal a day for months, years or beyond?

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Dr Chan Tat Hon
Lifestyle Medicine
Singapore
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OMAD Long Term - Potential Pitfalls/ Possible Problems
0:00 Introduction to OMAD
1:03 OMAD Long Term Potential Problem #1 - Not Eating Enough Calories
1:45 OMAD Long Term Potential Problem #2 - Not Eating Enough Protein
2:32 OMAD Long Term Potential Problem #3 - Not Eating Enough Variety/Micronutrients
4:26 OMAD Long Potential Problem #4 - Suboptimal Meal Times

LINKS to articles

#DrChanTatHon #TheHabitsDoctor #TheDailyDosebyDrCHAN
Dr Chan Tat Hon, The Daily Dose by Dr Chan, The Habits Doctor

[kuccat]

I have been on OMAD for the last 10 years. This is how I reversed my Metabolic Syndrome and have been totally off from all medications for the past 8 years despite having a CABG.

[timothyh]

Things that have worked for me:
1. OMAD or only eating during a 4 hour period
2. Only drink water
3. No added sugars
4. No fast food
5. No gas station food
6. No snack foods (nuts and dried fruits instead)

[MarksOfdOrgan]

Not only I looked physically fit and felt better than when I was in my 20s, but it saved me $ buying food items. People even think I look half my actual age.

[cableken]

I lost over 100 pounds doing OMAD for more than a year ! Your body adapts to it! I Feel great! The key is 1 very protein(meat) rich meal a day. If I cheat(eat more meals) now, I feel bloated and uncomfortable.

[Manakel]

I've been mostly OMAD for 3 years now. My BMI is 22, I never got sick once since 2019, I'm 46 and my health is better now than in my 20s (I'm a blood donor, my blood gets tested 3 times a year). My energy level is consistent, no glycemic peaks therefore no cravings, no cravings therefore stable mood; I also noticed that my brain works faster; I believe that we awaken our hunter-gatherer instinct when we fast.

[mariajuanesta]

Food makes me extremely sluggish. My mood is affected intensly by food. If I fast all day my mood is high, energy clean, even my periods and digestion are improved. That being said I do OMAD or 20:4. It's a great lifestyle.

[colinsavill]

I find it easy and cheaper to eat really well when I’m only having one meal a day. Buy good whole foods, still much cheaper than 3 crap meals a day.

[monnnmendozaofficial]

The thing I love about OMAD. Is not only it helps me lose weight but it normalize my body problems and especially my overeating disorder. I don't think about food the same way i think about it when i used to eat 3 meals a day. I tend to overeat And this has been a problem to me. Ending up to a yoyo weightloss. For me Omad is really good.

[carolvega_orion]

OMAD diet was a miracle for me, it cured my acne and my gastritis problem, and I also lost 10 kilos in 2 months. now i drink a lot more water, i eat fruit with my food, things i didn't do before. Other benefits, I sleep better, I feel less stressed, and my depression problems have not returned. I feel very good.

[WhiskersAndWords]

Even when I eat one meal every other day, I still eat enough calories and protein, it let's me eat large filling meals with a variety of ingredients and I get all my micronutrients I need. I just eat dinner. My body got used to it, but if I eat earlier it makes me overeat and leaves me hungry and feeling bad. So I think it's a good long term sustainable diet

[Rudyjosephjr]

2 yrs into OMAD. 20/4. I have type 2 diabetes. Helps a lot to reduce my reading. Plus weekly cycling. It became a habit. I dare not eat in the morning or noon else i will get sleepy and sluggish mentally so i only eat in the evening when all work is done and i can relax. By not eating i feel energetic.
Only drink black coffee, tea or mineral water. All without sugar.

[rayj.]

2MAD seems to work the best for me. Eat in the morning between 8 - 10 am. Then eat again 4 - 6 pm. Is is 16:8 IF.

[MICHAEL-wglh]

Some great points doc, I do 20/4 daily fast 95% of the time, omad did not feel good for me eating so much food at once splitting it up over the 4 hours feels so much better, early eating does not agree with me tbh, it makes me sleepy, lazy and ravenous,

[md]

I'm on OMAD and keto, I feel and look amazing! I eat at 4pm. Today I had two ribbeye steaks, 1 avocado, 2 eggs and spinach, some macadamian nuts, and a coffee with heavy cream. Eveything I eat is grassfed and organic. I've never felt better. I also workout in a fasted state. Once I reach my goal weight I'll switch to 20/4 because I'm weight training and would like to bulk up muscle a bit more. So I think 20/4 would let me get in enough calories to build more muscle.

[JanesAdventure]

I have never tried this but intermittent fasting for 16 hours works for me too! Thanks for sharing Dr. Chan!

[ilooi]

Disclaimer: Changed to OMAD for 3 years now. One meal at 5PM, generally eat anything, however I also reduce sugar intakes as much as possible.. mostly same-day cooked clean food.

1) Not eating enough calories (DISAGREE)
I strongly believe my body adapted, became more efficient. It's like saying a car that spends 22MPG should have same tank size as one spending 8MPG to manage the daily "roadtrip" of 10km. So, to make myself clear: If we both eat same apple (same calories intake), I will probably extract more calories from it, than you. Because we all know that there is not a 1:1 caloric transformation in our body, from the "internet calories table of foods" directly to our energy levels. It depends on the body to extract as much as possible. Think it as two kids, one that knows he gets only 1 meal / day .. and the other that gets 3 meals (or a meal whenever he wants). The first kid will surely eat the whole plate and lick it afterwards, while the 2nd one will leave some fries, some salad on the plate, cause he knows he will get food anytime he wants.

2) & 3) Not eating enough protein & nutrients (PARTIALLY AGREE)
It is harder to cover all the required protein and nutrients in only 1 meal, HOWEVER, the vast majority of the people do not cover it in 3 meals combined. It comes down to personal diet ethics. Here is what OMAD actually helps, by simply making you more conscious about food intake, during your OMAD training. Because it requires strong mind and self-consciousness for months in a row, before it becomes standard and casual for your body.

4). Heavy meals at suboptimal times (DISAGREE)
From personal experience, before ever doin OMAD, every time after lunch and dinner a serious fatigue/sleepiness would kick in (it would go away after 15-30min). After OMAD, I NEVER ONCE got sleepy after my meal. Even though I theoretically eat more once, than I did before during lunch and dinner. On the contrary .. I feel energized and muscle tonus skyrockets in the next immediate hours.

I think it is wrong to apply 3-meals standards to OMAD. We clearly don;t comprehend the full picture. What OMAD did for me was clearly improve my metabolism and digestion efficiency.

On top of that OMAD is what the name says. YOU DECIDE when that meal is. You can put it at breakfast, you can puit it at lunch, you can put it at dinner. (Obviously breakfast is the worst of choices, cause body needs to fully wakeup) For me it's ~5PM, because that's when I get home from work.

[YungSchmutz]

I have been on OMAD for 3 months, went cold turkey, start was difficult but when you get used to it it's fine.

[admar]

OMAD works for some people, especially those who gain weight easily and struggle to lose weight fast, some people lose weight with no struggle but others have a hard time and OMAD works great, so it depends not all diets fit one everyone is different

[samuelmontypython]

My question is if eating early in the day is better for you, why do I only feel good when I am fasted throughout the day and then eat dinner as my OMAD? My mental acuity is razor sharp in the mornings and afternoons with my current setup, but I've also tried eating just breakfast for OMAD and I always felt terrible until about lunch time, and by then most of the day is gone.

[pauldavies]

OMAD will make you live longer plus the piraha amazonian tribe eat once a day or sometimes even once every two days and they are muscular strong men.