One Meal A Day - Intermittent Fasting

[Nick Fanis]

And that's exactly what you do with intermittent fasting - so what's your point?

+1000

But people are quick to judge what they are too lazy to research

Btw it's anything but a fad since most Orthodox Christians have been eating this way since 200 AD (basically it's what the Orthodox fasting and daily diet pattern prescribes and very religious Orthodox people observe, they don't do OMAD but basically it's classic 16/8 intermittent fasting and a 3 day fast ,with only water,every 2,5 months)

Many other eastern religions also follow some fasting pattern when it comes to eating.

 

[Happy Enchilada]

Never eat anything bigger than your head.

 

[rghill]

I have been following a 16/8 fasting plan. It's basically skipping breakfast. But I have made other changes to the foods I eat.

I have been doing this since July, and have dropped 30 lbs.

One meal a day sounds extreme. If you would like to do something less, check into a 5/2 plan, where you eat normally 5 days, and skip meals for a 24 hour period for two days.

Adopting a low carb and high fat diet has probably been more important, but be mindful of the types of fat you are eating. Avocados, olives, and coconut good; bacon, soybean and canola oil bad. Eat quality proteins and fats, avoid sugar, and consume limited carbohydrates.

 

[voskarp]

There's a new "revolutionary" diet being hyped every now and then... What about the latest seventeen? Mix 'em all together and you might be on to something!

I think you should eat three times a day, only real healthy food. No fast food junk. No snacks. (Make exceptions for festive situations or a tight spot sometime, not often) If you really want to lose weight eat less every time (and healthier), exercise more, can't go wrong.

 

[Happy Enchilada]

I'd stay away from anything Weight Watchers had to say. Any organization that purports to be in the weight loss business and has a bloated pig like Oprah as a spokesperson is not on the level.

 

[Fretting out]

There's a new "revolutionary" diet being hyped every now and then... What about the latest seventeen? Mix 'em all together and you might be on to something!

I think you should eat three times a day, only real healthy food. No fast food junk. No snacks. (Make exceptions for festive situations or a tight spot sometime, not often) If you really want to lose weight eat less every time (and healthier), exercise more, can't go wrong.

Exactly!

Eat to your bodies requirements

I couldn’t skip a bunch of meals I need energy and focus to work

 

[Happy Enchilada]

Dr Oz claims to be a doctor too.

I'd consult my own doctor and a registered nutritionist before I tried anything like this.

Other famous "doctors" include Dr. Phil, Dr. Ruth, Dr. Jill, and Dr. Dolittle. Just because they call themselves doctors doesn't mean they know their a$$ from third base. My current PCP is a DO, and I really like his approach. The guy I was with for 15+ years before that was all about pumping me full of Rx all the time.

 

[Cyberi4n]

I have been following a 16/8 fasting plan. It's basically skipping breakfast. But I have made other changes to the foods I eat.

I have been doing this since July, and have dropped 30 lbs.

One meal a day sounds extreme. If you would like to do something less, check into a 5/2 plan, where you eat normally 5 days, and skip meals for a 24 hour period for two days.

Adopting a low carb and high fat diet has probably been more important, but be mindful of the types of fat you are eating. Avocados, olives, and coconut good; bacon, soybean and canola oil bad. Eat quality proteins and fats, avoid sugar, and consume limited carbohydrates.

Bingo! This, in a nutshell! Avoid sugar, and eat healthy natural fats.

I'd stay away from anything Weight Watchers had to say. Any organization that purports to be in the weight loss business and has a bloated pig like Oprah as a spokesperson is not on the level.

it's not great business to be in the business of weight loss, hence why I avoid programs like WW - if you get your customers to lose weight as promised, you lose your income

 

[voskarp]

Other famous "doctors" include Dr. Phil, Dr. Ruth, Dr. Jill, and Dr. Dolittle. Just because they call themselves doctors doesn't mean they know their a$$ from third base. My current PCP is a DO, and I really like his approach. The guy I was with for 15+ years before that was all about pumping me full of Rx all the time.

Don't forget Dr. Robert

 

[imwjl]

I'm not going to say don't do what works but I have personal and professional experience to know being honest and reasonable and well rounded are what you do to sustain your well being. I was a teased and chubby kid who's maintained what others call skinny for decades now. It includes a period with close care and bloodwork to know the importance of a well balanced diet and regular activity.

It's not much different than learning to play guitar or a language. Start with foundation basics and stay at it. Stay at goals that are not hard to achieve and that you can maintain.

https://thinkingispower.com/how-to-recognize-a-fad-diet-and-what-to-eat-instead/

 

[jvin248]

.

Lol, "you need more exercise". If you are suffering from obesity it's how and what you are consuming. You need exercise but exercise alone won't get all the results people crave.

The big benefit of exercise is you can block out 'feeding times'. If you are at the gym for two hours a day that is two fewer sugar drinks a day.

Constant small meals all day long continuously spike insulin and thus fat storage rather than fat consumption.
Same when adding sweeteners into the half dozen coffees you may consume a day or the six soda pops - they keep your insulin high.

Don't try to jump into OMAD right away. Start by shrinking the consumption window. Skip breakfast and try to push lunch to 1pm while dinner is 5 or 6pm while cutting out evening snacks. Aim for two as in 'TMAD'. That's easier.






You really need to read product labels (or just eat what is closer to 'real food') because they will hide sugar under six different types so you don't see it at the top of the list. Anything that says 'Low Fat' has more sugar in it and should make your robot call out "warning will robinson, warning!"


The obesity problem kicked off in the early 80s with two food trends. Inflation caused the price of sugar and oils to skyrocket. So the food and drink companies searched for alternatives. Coke introduced 'New Coke' with High Fructose Corn Syrup (now it's hard to find 'throwback' sugar Coke). The oil companies introduced 'Canola' and other oils, previously known as Rapeseed Oil it was used as a machine oil but it was cheap and the manufacturing process of cooking, solvents, and bleaching it transformed it into a Frankenfood they could market as 'healthy'. Then they told the population they needed to get more exercise to combat the problems created by the factory food industry.
Now that inflation is hitting the food industry again in 2021 ... you can bet they are cranking up the chemicals again.




.

 

[old soul]

My mother did this with great results. She had a window of time to eat, and adjusted mealtimes to fit in that window. She lost around 70 lbs within a year.
I can only imagine the shambles I'd find myself in if I didn't eat anything past 230pm like she did.

 

[ChicknPickn]

For years I heard nutritionists saying that "dieting" doesn't work in the long term. Still, I told myself, I'll lose a bunch of weight with this or that extreme strategy, and then I'll be a changed man and keep it off.

The first part - - taking off weight with extreme measures - - often works. The second part - - maintaining a healthy weight - - never does.

The thing is, it's my relationship to food and eating that results in weight gain, and without an exercise regimen, the changes I really want can't happen.

Over time, I've become a believer in "One Day at a Time" weight management. Just for today, I will be mindful of portion size, and I'll eat more fruits and vegetables, and less processed food and animal protein. Just for today, I'll get exercise. Just for today, I won't eat between meals. I'll learn how to be comfortable with hunger.

The results come slowly, but what I'm learning is how not to be overweight. Enough of the old "twenty pounds off, twenty-two back on."

 

[Cyberi4n]

Try it for yourself. You’d be surprised how easy it is two weeks in @old soul

 

[Esquire Jones]

Lots of great advice and personal stories. I also do IF, not so much for weight loss, but general gut health and inflammation. Late snacking is terrible for digestion.

I find it easy to do 2 meals a day by simply skipping breakfast. I’ve read that you should ideally wake up hungry naturally. So sometimes skipping dinner is the best path. But I find it harder to skip dinner for some reason.

My takeaway is that this IF stuff really works to improve your condition.

 

[Nick Fanis]

Constant small meals all day long continuously spike insulin and thus fat storage rather than fat consumption.

+1000

And people still think that by eating 3 squares a day and constantly snacking they "get energy that helps them work" when all they're doing is constantly spiking their insulin and feeding their cravings.

Ridiculous.

Nothing gives you more energy than actual FAT burning and you can get to your fat "storage" when you DON'T eat ,the less OFTEN you eat the more fat you burn.

Not rocket science exactly

 

[SixStringSlinger]

I work with a bunch of ladies who were on and off the IF thing for a few years, often combined with a Keto diet. They mostly did it for weight loss, and while the results were dramatic it didn't appear unhealthy, and they reported a lot of the same benefits as the OP. Lots of "mental clarity" talk, and one lady's (previously high) cholesterol plummeted in the way that makes a doctor really happy.

The first few days of an IF/Keto diet were hell, though. Hangry 24/7 (or at least throughout the work day) for the first 3 days or so. But they leveled out quick after that.

I once did a sort of accidental IF thing, in a way. My job at the time had me eating breakfast really early in the morning (having, by definition, fasted overnight), which is typically a very light meal for me), followed by lunch at around 2 or 3 pm, itself not a big meal. SO not hardcore IF but something like it. I dropped what extra weight I had pretty quick (this job was over the course of a summer), and once the hunger-induced haziness cleared I felt really sharp. Not sure how much of that was an improvement above baseline vs. an improvement over the initial crash, but I was healthy and it felt good.

 

[Wyzsard]

I can't knock the one meal angle but no way it would work for me.

I've lost 72 lbs since January. I eat all I want, but only eat high water content and nutrient dense foods.

I also bought a blood glucose meter and checked before and after I ate anything I normally ate. I also ate each food alone.

For example shredded wheat for it's fiber content. I used to eat it every day, but found it spiked my blood sugar big time. Same with bread, chips, crackers.

Diet sodas : Though less so than regular soda, the artificial sweeteners in them also raise blood sugar levels. Research lead me to find erythritol. It's a natural sugar alcohol that doesn't raise blood sugar. (If one has full blown type 1 or type 2 diabetes, talk to your doc) I have been using erythritol with Kool-Aid. It's 70% sweet as sugar.

Basically, I don't eat red meat or anything that comes in a can, box, or package. Some exceptions are whole foods that must be packaged such as lentils, quinoa, frozen veggies, berries, etc.

I will eat canned beans and veggies but only the no salt added ones. Most all beans other than green beans have added salt but they can be found with low/acceptable levels. Just have to read the labels. And sugar. If A brand has over a gram or two added sugar, I pass.

Back to blood sugar spikes : I started by focusing on the glycemic index of individual foods. GI is how much a particular food raises your blood sugar. A GI of less than 55 is considered low/good. But diving deeper into it I found that the glycemic load is the important number. To determine the GL of a food, multiply the GI x the net carbs (digestible carbs, subtracting the fiber grams from the total carbs), and divide the result by 100 to determine the
For example, 1/2 cup/130 grams no salt black beans have a GI of 30. They have 16 grams net carbs.
30 x 16 ÷ 100 = 4.8 GL

A GL < 10 is good, but keep in mind that that load increases to 14.4 if one eats 1 1/2 cups of black beans.

So 1/2 cup of black beans wouldn't be considered filling by most of us. But half a can get's us there. So what do we do ?

Spinach has a GI around 15. It's a green leaf veggie that is excellent combined with protein, such as beans. Net carbs of 1 cup of spinach is 2g.

15 × 2 ÷ 100 = .3 GL
Combined with 1/2 cup black beans : 45 × 18 ÷ 100 = 8.1 GI

8.1 GL is still below 10. Replacing that extra cup of black beans with a cup of spinach saves the day.

So that's how I do it. Making sure my meals never exceed a GL of 10. It works, and I'm never truly hungry.

I started obese, with a BMI of about 38. Today it's around 29. A loss of 22 more pounds and it will be at or quite near 25 which will drop me out of the overweight category. I'll hit that within the next 7 week's by increasing my exercise. Once I'm there, I'll do whatever it takes to stay there. The majority of my excess fat left is visceral fat In my gut area. The worst kind.

In Jan. I wore a size 46-48 pants. I'm sitting here now in a pair of 34 jeans for the first time since the mid 70's. All because I focused on the GL of my meals and exercise a minimum of 150 minutes a week. And I feel great, not just because of the weight loss and exercise, but my focus/research on inflammation and what supplements and whole foods have anti inflammatory benefit.

I also follow the proper food combination info. For example, that baked potato and rib Eye sure does fill one up and we don't get hungry till quite sometime after we eat it. But there is a reason for that. Starch and protein don't mix well. The digestive juices are different for each and can neutralize each other. Then the meal hangs around longer and begins fermenting. Hello inflammation, free radicals, and other unhealthy stuff depending on the source of protein.

So that's why I can't get on board with the OMAD angle. A very filling meal will mean improper food combos and the negative baggage. And a single meal of a proper combo of foods, even if I eat until I simply can't eat another bite, won't work well from a nutritional standpoint. It won't be enough calories for the day. I'd get weak even if I stopped exercising. And then any further weight loss would be muscle instead of visceral fat. Can't do that.

Short term, OMAD seems to be ok to lose a few pounds until those tight jeans fit well again.

I do have a friend who eats OMAD. He is slim and trim and at the low end of the ideal weight scale/chart. But he is 30 yo and doesn't exercise other than walking a mile or so a day due to his job. He doesn't eat meat of any kind, but does eat quite a bit of peanut butter for protein. And he does admit he feels tired at times and sleeps 9 1/2 hrs a day. So I'm thinking it's not going to be sustainable nor healthy for him.

Anyhow, I'm not a doctor. I'm just going by what works for me. I feel great and have eliminated 2 of 4 hypertension meds, halved the dose of one of the other two, and halved my Metaformin dose. (blood sugar med)

And women flirt with me

 

[FuncleManson]

I say, if it works for you, go for it. But I think there are very few hard-and-fast rules.

My schedule is usually breakfast early, a bigger meal early-afternoon and something small, if anything, at dinner time. But that's not by design, it's just how it usually works out. But if I feel differently on a certain day, the schedule changes. I'm never hungry for very long.

I eat a LOT of carbs--pasta, rice and bread mostly. Relatively little animal products, although I do loves my cheese. I'm in my late 50's and neither obese (5' 6", 150 lbs.) or (at least to my knowledge) inflamed (?). I get a moderate amount of exercise--a lot of walking, a little running and some light weights. Ironically, my one health issue (that I know of) is high cholesterol--go figure.

I would never pretend to know what works for others though.

 

[Digital Larry]

and once the hunger-induced haziness cleared

It doesn't take all that long (5 or 10 minutes) but if you had lived your life (like me) such that you never did that, or you felt that it was a terrible experience to be avoided at all costs, you might have an overly dramatic view of it. IMO those hunger signals are not a warning that you are about to die. They are a signal that you should probably get up and go out of your cave and start running around trying to find something to eat, because it may take awhile. It's not that big of a mental stretch for me to think that feeling hungry is normal and does not have to be resolved immediately every time it happens.

When I started IF these humps were difficult. Now I expect them and ride them out.

My GP and the nutritionist I consulted both agreed, "the best diet plan is the one you stick with". IF is described as a "lifestyle change". OK I bought the book from the guy and sent a copy to my brother who is getting heavier and is diabetic. There are no recurring fees. Pure IF doesn't even dictate what you should eat.