One Meal A Day

Hello~ I have a question about OMAD. I notice most posts about OMAD is a dinner meal, but wouldn’t that cause energy spikes and means you’re digesting during sleeping, when your digestive system is slowed??

The reason I ask is because I believe I have hurt my metabolism by eating too few calories, and those calories being “empty calories” for too long, thus putting my body in “starvation” mode. I 7-day fast regularly(once a month, and am currently on day 4), but have considered OMAD after breaking to sustain my weight loss.

Thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read my post, and to those who decide to respond. Peace and blessings from the Most High to you.

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OMAD can be done at any time of the day! Just many people tend to do it at the dinner meal for many reasons:

  • The social aspect of it (most social gatherings are dinners, so you can still enjoy dinners with friends/family)
  • Typically people aren’t so hungry in the morning, and are more busy around lunch, so the dinner meal is the easiest one to cook a proper dinner (or family dinner) for example.
  • Many people tend to get hungry and participate in mindless eating in the evenings, so it’s easier to abstain from food all day and eat in the evening!

There are no rules about when the OMAD should be though, it’s just about keeping a small window and eating your ballpark of calories in your window.

You are correct about eating too few calories as well, it’s kind of like “the biggest loser” show, where they lose a bunch of weight and restrict their calories too much, and workout hours and hours and hours a day but it’s not very sustainable in the long run, and metabolism gets lazy and lets you manually do all the work, which is why many people gain weight back like that. (As opposed to letting your body have time to rest and digest with a fasting/eating window like OMAD, and then building muscle as well through strength training so your body burns more calories at rest overall)

:smiling_face_with_three_hearts: The key is to do what’s best for you and your lifestyle, and whatever you can be the most consistent at, because at the end of the day, consistency is key!!! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Great job keeping up with 7-day fasts every month, that’s not an easy thing to do!!! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: Keep doing your best, and focus on whole and nutritious foods (grocery shopping the perimeter of grocery stores), and nourishing yourself and everything will fall into place!!! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

And welcome to our community! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Thank you so much, Yasemin, for taking the time to reply. What you stated makes perfect sense, and I’ve read the same thing in many articles as well. I read through @wildbill-hiccup posts of his OMAD journey and it seemed to work for him just fine, but everyone is different.
I’ve been scouring the refeed posts so I can get a better idea of how to reintroduce food into my body after fasting so long, and the consensus seems to be avocados, bone broth, and very soft steamed veggies with a type of probiotic, such as kimchi or yogurt.
Thank you for the break down of calories you do per day. That helps me a lot because I’ve been a big calorie tracker for a while.
I look forward to this journey, and the new community I hope to become a part of :smiley:

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:smiling_face_with_three_hearts: You’re doing awesome so far, because seeking out a community, researching, educating yourself, immersing yourself into the journey by reading and scouring the internet are all exactly the way to make your health a priority and prioritize yourself! You’re spot on about the refeed! Those are all my best picks too! You can add some nuts/nut butter in there too as long as you’re able to not overdo it (some of us go a little crazy on nuts and nut butter)

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It’s easy to do. Small bites of peanut butter means small calories, right?? :wink: I actually have to break my fast a day early, but 6 days is better than none. I’m trying to reverse my insulin resistance and get rid of PCOS, so I’m excited to learn and grow with everyone active here. Thank you for you, making this platform easy and accessable to anyone who needs it.
If I may ask, how have you been able to get in up to 1500 calories in one meal?? I have a lot of low calorie high protein recipes (from tiktok Hah), but this is my main concern going forward. I work out plenty, walking and heavy lifting at my job, and want to make sure I can keep my metabolism running high going forward. Thank you for your kindness. Yahspeed~

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7 day water fast: Broke 6th day
Starting LBs: 140
Ending LBs: 130
Goal: 120 LBs
I have broken my fast today. I didn’t start eating until 5PM, and it was almost a heartbreaking experience Hah I was so clear headed and energetic, finally hit that high. I am refeeding, but it’s so hard to go back to relying on my gut.

Actually, I have had some pretty bad experienced refeeding, including throat swelling closed and vomiting stomach acid (Husband had to place healing hands), gaining 15lbs in two days from bad refeed choices, and my last experience being my lymphs in my neck swelling to the size of golf balls.

Thankfully, with this wonderful community and a new appreciation of my boundaries, I have eaten some turkey bone broth, some yogurt with a little bit of almond butter and some frozen blueberries, and a small bit of kimchi. Around 200 calories overall. Thank you, Yasemin, for posting your refeed experience and suggestions.

Starting with this meal, I hope I can begin my OMAD journey. Will post my meal tomorrow. Blessings to you and yours.

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**Note: I had to substitute the homemade turkey bone broth with beef because they didn’t have turkey option, and I don’t know the macros to upload it myself Hah

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Had a serving size of walnuts. Been speed walking and on my feet since 645 this morning Hah Done for the night.

I made a Mediterrainian meal for my family tonight. Chicken souvlaka, spakanopita, gemsita (I used quinoa instead of rice), a greek salad with all the fixins, and just finished up a chocolate guiness cake. I learned today that I can taste food without swallowing (almost a reflex to spit it out and rinse my mouth Hah) , but it’s only something I hope to keep under control on my last day of fasting.

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That’s a great goal! You will get there I have no doubt about it! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

This is really tough, sorry you had those experiences!!! I wonder why! 🥹 Happy your husband could place healing hands and healing energy! Regarding the 15 lbs in 2 days, that’s how we live and learn! I remember for me the worst feeling after one of my fasts was that there was something sitting in my stomach like a rock, and it was so awful, we just live and learn… and one time when I basically clogged my intestines by eating too many almonds LOL gave myself sharp shooting pains in my stomach and went to the doctor, this was many years ago… ridiculous things happen on this journey :joy: but we sure do learn along the way!

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Honestly the calories creep up fast! I wouldn’t worry TOO much, unless you’re going OVER.

30g of cheese is about 120 calories
A nice heaping serving of meat can be several hundred calories (let’s say 500-600 for fun) but obviously depends what kind of fish or meat, & how it’s cooked, etc.
2 eggs can run you 140 calories
2 tbsp nut butter around 200 calories
1 Avocado can be up to 200-300 calories

Then add in some sauces and seasonings and bam already around 1500 calories they creep up quick. This is just an example of how calories can creep on quickly just put some random stuff together in my head to make this list hahaha! Hopefully people feel full more quickly while eating only OMAD, so it makes them eat LESS than if the were eating multiple meals a day! That way they might not even be eat that much!

One of my OMAD staples were also big fat Cobb salads, easily 1500 calories: I would do some lamb skewers, goat cheese, avocado, eggs, and just really load it up, was so easy to reach 1500 calories but you’ll get tired of chewing and you’ll get full before you finish :joy: definitely a ridiculous amount of food in 1 sitting and usually hard to finish eating up to 1500 calories of GOOD/NUTRITIOUS/WHOLE foods in 1 meal because it’s so filling.

Then on the other hand, people can go to the drive through and get a meal that will run them 1500+ calories and not even satiate them :joy:

Throwing around some examples :joy: hope this helps

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Thank you :slight_smile: Victory is already acheived, I just have to wait for the physical manifestation.
Oh yeah, that makes perfect sense. Eating whole foods does fill you up!! I ate ate all I did last night in my refreed and felt full, but not miserable.

The body is such an intricate and interesting mechanism. One thing I always say to my family is ‘Being a body is so haaaard’ Hah

Thank you for the encouragement. This goal is already in sight :smiley:

This helps a ton, thank you for breaking it down so simply!! Your brain is a treasure cove of information!!

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Wake up weight: 129.4 lbs

Going to breakfast with my hubby, but am going tk keep it light with one egg, coffee, and water. He will be confused, but understanding. Will be going to dinner with my sister tonight. Will post what I eat then. Shalom~

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I have had dinner. I had steamed broccoli and carrots. A couple bites of salmon. I am satiated. Eating again around 11AM. Shalom~! (It says 20g of salmon, but after taking the couple of bites I ended up giving the whole thing to my sister. Too much for me right now.)

Screenshot_20250311_173637_Intermittent Fasting|230x500

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Wake up weight: 129.4

Did lots of walking yesterday. Going to a dinner show with my family, and it’s at 11AM, so hopefully I’ll be able to eat that and be satiated until tomorrow at 4PM. If not I have some stuff on standby, like boiled eggs or walnuts. This refeed is going extremely well. A very pleasant experience, and one I give credit to the Most High for helping me acheive and maintain. To Him be the glory!!

It’s kind of funny how I give myself a goal of OMAD, yet this week has not been catering to that possibility very well. But it’ll all work out

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I am in regrets Hah I had a small salad with red onions and boiled eggs, which was fine. What is not fine is the four pieces of fried pollock I had with it. Too much food, too much grease, just too much everything. I think the breading was cornmeal, but even that was too much for me. My tummy hurts :< I will definitely be walking a lot tonight and possibly going back to kettle bell.

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Had a Pure Organic fruitbar. Small, but 50 cals. All fruit. Nice treat.

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Wake up weight: 130

I definitely feel a lot better than I did yesterday. My appetitw has grown, so I included some grilled chicken nuggets with my dinner of breakfast casserole.

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Well done!

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Thank you so much!!

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