Doctor Reviews OMAD (One Meal a Day)

OMAD (One Meal a Day) has become incredibly popular. What are the pros and cons of OMAD? Is eating one meal a day healthy? Is OMAD hype? An objective look at the science on OMAD.

OMAD or one meal a day is a form of intermittent fasting where you eat once a day. OMAD has become extremely popular
So I went over the science on OMAD

1. OMAD is simple. You eat once a day, within a 1h window, and you’re doing OMAD. No counting calories, no cutting out entire food groups, no complicated meal plans

2. OMAD can help cut calories. you eat less in one meal than if you ate all day. So it naturally cuts calories even if people aren’t focused on them. That can help lose weight with the usual metabolic improvements (glucose, etc)

3. OMAD saves time. Less time eating and cooking

I don’t have anything for or against OMAD. As long as people are healthy, OMAD or IF, fine with me.

concerns:
1. OMAD: it can be hard to fast for 23h/day. But that’s personal

2. Quality. I raised this in the intermittent fasting video. Fasting focuses on quantity. most people who promote fasting promote healthy foods? but OMAD marketed as cheat code: ‘You can eat or drink pretty much whatever you want on OMAD and as much as you want, as long as you do it during your scheduled mealtime’

Fasting won’t fix a bad diet. the real issue is not the fasting, it’s the feasting. It’s possible to lose weight and remain unhealthy. OMAD may help lose weight. then what? OMAD doesn't teach how to eat healthy so people go back to eating the way that created the problem. weight lost during fasting is regained unless there is a change to how people eat. So I hope everybody who’s fasting is eating super healthy!

3. Look at nutrient requirements on OMAD. run your OMAD meal through cronometer

4. if you have conditions like diabetes talk to your doctor before fasting (OMAD or otherwise)

So: make sure I eat healthy foods between fasting, make sure I get my daily nutrients and make sure I don’t have a condition that makes it dangerous. Anything else?

5. OMAD may worsen glucose metabolism? 3 meals a day vs one. effect could come from eating only one meal or from when the meal was eaten

time restricted feeding video: our circadian rhythm can affect our physiology and how we react to food. It’s part of chronobiology

effect of meal timing: if people eat a snack late at night, they can have higher cholesterol and burn less fat than if they eat the same snack in the morning

your body uses up more energy to process food in the morning than at night, so when you eat earlier you end up with less calories even if you eat the same amount of calories (diet-induced thermogenesis)

we get hungrier, feel less satiated and crave more fatty foods at night than in the morning. many studies point to this circadian effect and suggest we front load our calories, a strong breakfast and lunch and lighter meals later

I would do the OMAD meal in the morning or early afternoon (benefit of cutting calories from OMAD + chronobiology benefits of eating earlier in the day)

with new diets it’s an educated guess. unanswered questions with OMAD. marketing claims are hypey. here’s the video on intermittent fasting and the one on meal timing

Connect with me:
Animations: Even Topland @toplandmedia
Video by Polina Tankilevitch, Pexels

References:

Disclaimer: The contents of this video are for informational purposes only and are not intended to be medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, nor to replace medical care. The information presented herein is accurate and conforms to the available scientific evidence to the best of the author's knowledge as of the time of posting. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions regarding any medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of information contained in Nutrition Made Simple!.

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[ravenclaw]

OMAD is basically heavily restricting but honestly i don’t remember ever being hungry while doing this. The less you eat the less hungry you get

[jimroberts]

I've eaten one meal a day for twenty years and am healthier than my peers and look much younger than they do. I eat healthfully and eat around 1, 200 cal. per day. I exercise by gardening, walking, doing yoga, meditation, audio books. I have gotten so used to OMAD that I really don't want a second meal even if offered one. I try to eat between 2-4pm and get at least 8 hours of sleep per night. I do my own cooking or eat out where I can find healthy foods and never buy processed or pre-packaged foods, or sugared foods or drinks. I don't smoke and seldom drink alcohol. To me, this structure for eating OMAD is probably quite similar to what our ancestors followed for the past two million years and eating more than one meal a day is therefore not healthy unless it basically healthy "grazing." I'm almost 80-years old and have no health problems, have never had surgery, or a hospital stay. My medical expenses are so small I don't even deduct them on my taxes. A healthy lifestyle promotes deep sleep, good energy, and positive mental states.

[dooood]

"Fasting is not going to fix a bad diet" words of gold 👏👏👏

[adamletschin]

I've been doing OMAD 3 days a week and 16:8 the other 4 days for 2 years now. There are not enough words to describe how fasting changed my life, not only did my physical health improve dramatically but my mental equity as well..

[cathyx]

I’ve been doing this for ages didn’t realise it was an actual diet looool

[ivankaramasov]

You forgot one extremely positive side effect many people including myself experience: a general better mood and a razor sharp focus. Not everybody experiences this but those who do will never look back.

[barneyrubble]

Of the countless different diets over the years, OMAD for me has proved to be the best for me by far

[Nordbish]

One thing i learned doing omad is that you automaticly shift to better foods because you remember that last time you used your **ONE SPESIAL MEAL FOR THE DAY** on mcdonalds and waking up the following morning hungry af. So it really motivates you to eat better because you dont want the pain

[sterling]

A tip for those who want to do OMAD. Do it gradually. Start by taking away breakfast but eat lunch early. Then make lunch later and later. 2nd replace lunch by eating some fruit or a health shake. 3rd take away the lunch replacement one day per week. 4th move your one meal from dinner back to lunch. I don't think I could manage to only eat a big breakfast. Cut the soft drinks. Cut the sugar. Try to exercise daily.

[velikijoxotnik]

A year and a half ago, I changed my diet to low-carb, varying between OMAD and TMAD, with some multi-day fasts interspersed. I am not fanatical about this dietary lifestyle, but it works well for me. Once I got into this new diet, I realized how much I thrived with it and have made it a permanent lifestyle change. I have a cheat meal whenever I want one (which isn't very often). I don't pass up the opportunity to have social meals with family and friends. I eat smarter. I eat whole, good foods. I eat nothing heavily process, out of box or bag. I love leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables (usually steamed), and eat as much of them as I want, and don't count their carb-content against my daily max-carb goal. Heavily eating satiating proteins and fats, I'm never hungry. I can eat whenever I choose to eat; I never feel that I 'have to eat now or I'm gonna die.' I reached my weight-loss goal of 70 lbs within the first six months of my change to a low-carb, fasting lifestyle. I didn't realize how poorly I felt, until I lost the weight, starting eating nutritiously, and starting feeling good again. I agree wholehearted with you that if losing weight is a goal, you have to make a lifestyle change, not just a temporary dietary change. Temporary diets are failures in the long run. The obesity epidemic in America has proven that.

[roselindthomas]

You keep this short and simple. I was doing intermittent fasting and now I want to try OMAD. I've watched so many videos regarding OMAD and yours by far is the best. Thank you

[swordchild]

The biggest thing I learned when fasting is to be more aware of how my food choices affect my hunger and general being when on and off fasting. I am much more aware of even my tendency to eat emotionally and also in tune with my real hunger than I ever was. I’ve still a long way to go with losing weight but this certainly is helping a lot towards my goal.

[NyteMare]

I used to do OMAD 5 times a day....now i"m down to 4.

[caramelcheesepano]

I like your well-rounded and very objective take on OMAD and fasting. I learned so much from this short video. Thank you so much! Great job👏👏👏

[LifehackAcademy]

I do OMAD for insulin suppression and increasing my overall insulin sensitivity. I'm not diabetic but aware of how insulin works. I tried eating 2-3 days per day and always fall off the wagon and end up overeating. So I've decided, it's better to just not eat and suppress insulin for 20+ hours and eat a decent meal in the evening. And even if I overeat on that one meal, I've still done 20 hours of insulin suppression. The more I've done OMAD the lesser I'm hungry anyway and can plan my one meal properly - put some veggies, eat fruit, make room for a dessert. It is the perfect eating habit.

[MarceloPaciorek]

Thank you for the video! I suffer from chronic inflammation and adopting OMAD helped me feeling less bloated, my blood pressure is back to normal, and heartburn is gone. Now, it took me almost 6 months to from from regular eating, to 16/8, to 18/6 and then naturally to OMAD. As you said, having the meal in the early afternoon turned out to be ideal for me. Thanks again!

[Dajlec]

Morning OMAD is a total NO GO for me. However, dinner OMAD is bearable. It seems to me that most people skip breakfast easier than dinner...I stay motivated knowing that after all day of waiting I finnaly get to eat my dinner...

[Borderlands]

I thought I'd be starving with OMAD but, I'm not. I feel fine and am losing weight. My meal time is between noon and 4pm. Nothing after 4pm.

[DaveRichardsonFitness]

I love that you covered the circadium rhythm. I was listening to Dr Greger on Rich Rolls podcast talking about the same thing - intermittent fasting in the morning vs evening. I eat breakfast and lunch personally 😄

[twobrokewolves]

About the suger cravings, I never thought of it that way. In the morning I almost feel nauseous thinking of eating sugary sweet foods but find myself craving them later in the day.