I Ate One Meal a Day for a Month

I first heard about OMAD (one meal a day) when it was mentioned in diet circles, along with keto diets and I.F. (intermittent fasting.) It was considered an effective way of losing weight and a way of pursuing healthy life-style. There were even claims that it improved longevity and could preserve your youthful looks for longer.

I was familiar with fasting for religious purposes and losing weight but not for health reasons, or beauty reasons. I watched a few videos by Dr Berg who has conducted extensive research on OMAD. He has a YouTube channel which goes into detail about what it entails as well as the benefits. You can watch his videos here.

Convinced that this was something I could benefit from I embarked on a four week challenge.

What is OMAD?

OMAD is the acronym for one meal a day. It is an extreme form of intermittent fasting where you fast for 23 hours and only eat within a one hour window. It’s fame to claim is that it can help you lose weight and preserve your youthful looks.

What Research Says About OMAD

According to scientific research, OMAD promotes multi-system regeneration, and enhanced cognitive functioning.

What Research Says About OMAD

According to scientific research, OMAD promotes multi-system regeneration, and enhanced cognitive functioning.

1. It’s a Lot Easier Than You Think

My greatest fear when I embarked on the challenge was — I’m going to starve! There’ll be nothing left of me by the end of it all.

I need not have worried. The body doesn’t need as much food as we’ve been made to believe. Food is fuel for the body. It will use only what it needs. The rest will either be stored as fat or expelled in other ways.

I did find that the first part of the day was when I felt hungry. Drinking a warm cup of water as soon as I woke up helped. I drank lots of water and by midday I found that I didn’t feel hungry at all.

In the early days I would sometimes eat a slice of toast or some fruit. This only made me hungrier and I would end up snacking throughout the rest of the day.

2. I Made Healthier Food Choices

I am a vegan but that doesn’t mean I was always eating healthily. I enjoy treats like chocolate, baked goodies and ice cream. With a limited amount of time to eat I was forced to look at my food choices more carefully. I wanted to make sure that when I “broke the fast” for my one meal a day I ate nutritious and nourishing food.

The idea with OMAD is that you can eat whatever you want, in whatever quantity as long as the food is consumed with a one hour window. Once that hour is over you can’t just grab a snack to fill you up. And since I could only consume so much food in an hour that’s how most of the unhealthy choices started disappearing from my menu.

I found an alternative way of getting round this minor problem. This became my standard menu:

• Smoothie — made with banana, melon, spinach and oats. That’s three of my five-a-day covered.
• Main meal — rice, noodles, or sweet potatoes served with two cooked vegetables or salad plus other extras. That’s five of five-a-day. Some days I would have homemade vegetable soup served with homemade bread or rolls.
• Dessert — fruit crumble with the crumble. I made the crumble using oats roasted in vegan butter, and sweetened with homemade melon jam.
• Beverage — homemade ginger drink. I minced an inch of ginger and boiled it for five minutes then let it cool. As it was winter I preferred to drink it hot and sometimes added a teaspoon of honey as a sweetener. I accompanied this with home baked goodies, if there were any.

Benefits of OMAD

1. You Gain Extra Time

I didn’t realise how much time I spend buying food, preparing it, eating and washing up. By eating once a day I have reduced this time by 50%.

With more time on my hands I have been able to focus on writing more articles.

2. You Save Money

Eating once a day means your food consumption is reduced by at least 50%. Where I would have spent £20 on food, I was now spending £10.

3. You Develop Discipline

Adjusting your life to eat just once a day takes discipline. I had remind myself why I was doing this.

4. Improves Digestion

OMAD improves digestion. If you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), OMAD can help heal that.

5. Can Help With Weight Loss

When yoh eat just one meal a day, yoir callrie intake is significantly reduced. This can help with weight loss.

6. Helps Your Immune System

When your body has no food intake for up to 23 hours it goes into a state called autophagy. According to Dr Berg, this is when the body recycles damaged protein particles and recycles it into new tissue. It also recycles viruses, mould, candida which helps your immune system.

Will I continue?

Yes, absolutely but I will not do it every single day.

My Takeaway

There are great benefits to OMAD.

You eat less, have fewer cravings, and therefore save money on your grocery bill.

It can help you reduce the amount of junk food you eat. When you eat once a day you crave nutritious and nourishing food which can improve your overall health.

You save time. As you spend less time food shopping, prepping, eating and washing up, you have more free time to pursue other interests in life.