The OMAD diet, otherwise known as the One Meal A Day diet, has gained in popularity due to its convenience and simplicity. Many people experience weight loss and other health benefits doing OMAD. However, what if you’re doing OMAD and not losing weight?
The answer may surprise you.
What Is OMAD?
Let’s cover a few basics regarding the OMAD diet. Firstly, you need to know that OMAD is a very strict form of intermittent fasting.
All of your daily calories are consumed during a one-hour period of the day. That means that you fast for 23 hours per day and eat everything within one hour each day.
OMAD is also sometimes referred to as the 23:1 method due to its timing.
Secondly, OMAD is a much easier way to put the body into calorie deficit to attain weight loss. Doing OMAD provides a simpler way to consume fewer calories. This is because the diet does not revolve around measuring foods and counting calories.
Thirdly, there are many healthy benefits to OMAD. Some of those include better insulin levels, improved cholesterol, less inflammation in the body, improved digestion, more HGH, energy, mental clarity and improved sleep.
To learn more about the basics of OMAD, you may enjoy reading our related article, “What Is The OMAD Diet – Weight Loss Fad or Fix?”
So Why Am I Not Losing Weight Doing OMAD?
The biggest reasons you may not be losing weight on OMAD are varied. Let’s have a look at some of the main reasons why people have trouble losing weight on OMAD.
1. You’re Overeating
People eat to survive. But they also eat because of how it makes them feel. If you are struggling to see the pounds go down, ask yourself if you are truly fasting when you are in fasting mode.
Things like stress, personal emotions and interruptions can throw us off track and lead to overeating. All of these things can lead to sabotaging your results.
In the end, you may be eating far more calories than required which will throw off your weight loss efforts.
2. You’re Impatient
We all want to lose weight yesterday and have it be gone for good. But the reality is that it just doesn’t work that way. It took time to gain weight, and it will take time to lose it.
It is easy to become discouraged when you don’t see quick results with a diet. OMAD results may take several weeks before you start to see a difference.
Don’t give up if you are not seeing immediate results. The chances are that your body needs time to adjust to your new habits.
3. You’re Not Eating Enough
One of the benefits to OMAD is that by eating only one hour during the day, your body will soon adjust to taking in less calories that it is used to.
However, if you find that you are stalling out, it may be because you are eating too few calories per day. Eating too few calories can slow your weight loss results, put you into a nutritional deficiency and slow your metabolism.
The recommended amount of daily calories for weight loss in women is an intake of 1200-1500 and 1500-1800 for men.
The general goal is to reduce your calories by 3500 per week in order to lose 1 pound. That works out to be approximately a 500 calorie deficit per day.
4. You Need To Improve Your Nutrition
All foods are not created equally. The foods that you choose to eat on OMAD matter.
If you want to improve your chances for weight loss success, avoid things like processed, convenience foods that are not only high in calories, but also cause inflammation in your body.
Try to avoid too much sodium and high calorie fried foods. Instead, choose nutritious whole foods. Things like fresh vegetables, fruits, high quality meats, nuts, seeds and portioned whole grains are excellent
5. Too Much Stress Can Affect Your Weight Loss
Things like working out too much or feeling mentally miserable during your diet can work against you.
The stress hormone cortisol is increased during fasting which helps you to fight inflammation and promote weight loss. Conversely, too much cortisol in the body can lead to fat storage (mainly in the belly).
If you are feeling deprived and stressed doing OMAD, then it probably isn’t the right approach for you. Your mental state is important when losing weight.
You may prefer to try intermittent fasting or keto. Ultimately, whatever you choose needs to be compatible with you!
6. Ditch The Scale
The scale can be an incredible source of stress for people. Keep in mind that your results are defined by more than just a number.
Therefore, try to remove the stress of regular weigh-ins and focus more on the quality of foods you are eating and the way you feel.
Choosing healthier foods, getting regular exercise and reducing stress will help you to see results in the way you look and how your clothes fit. Ultimately, taking better care of yourself will yield positive results!
To minimize scale stress, try measuring your hips, waist and chest once a week to see how you are progressing.
If you are struggling to lose weight on OMAD, you may enjoy watching this video of one man’s experience, struggles and thoughts on why weight loss might not be happening as quickly as you’d like.
What Happens If I Stop OMAD?
It is important to keep in mind that suddenly stopping any weight loss plan, can backfire. There is a real risk that you will regain your lost weight with the possibility of even a bit more.
Weight loss is a slow, steady progress. For women, things like hormonal changes, menstrual cycles and menopause can all have effects on losing and gaining.
Watch what happens to your body week by week as you make small changes. As you become aware of the details and improve your technique, OMAD can be an effective weight loss choice.
Final Thoughts on Doing OMAD and Not Losing Weight
In the final analysis, we are all human and we make are going to make mistakes. Everyone has stress in their lives, some more than others.
OMAD can be a promising weight loss approach because it is essentially easy. However, the choices of foods you eat on OMAD and whether or not you are truly fasting, can make or break your results.
In order to lose weight with OMAD you need to know what your goal is. Be realistic, choose nutritional foods and decide what is right for you.
For example, if you like the idea of losing weight but you also enjoy eating out with friends regularly, any plan you choose will probably yield disappointing results.
Therefore, decide what you truly want and set your priorities straight. Don’t stress about it. Just commit to what you want.
Once you make that choice, weight loss with OMAD can be possible.
The world is in a rat race of losing weight. It is more so with losing belly fat. At least I feel that way.
Scientific evidence or a study will be helpful to know if OMAD has proven itself in weight loss in the belly. I did a quick search with OMAD and found a 7-11 lb loss of fat weight in 10 week period- WebMD reports
It is great. They should define diets that are nutritious, plant-based diets, and more fruits and veggies per WebMD.
Not your kind of diet! You have addressed this well in your blog. Can you stay hungry for 23 h at a stretch day after day and discipline yourself to stay over weeks to see the benefits? If it is not you, that becomes hard. I like eating small meals a few times and am a foodie.
But if you are goal oriented and can do it, go and you may get the result you want.
Thank you for bringing OMAD up-another intermittent fasting mode.
OMAD is an extreme form of intermittent fasting. This is definitely not a diet that is right for everyone, especially if you are the type of person that functions better with more small meals. But it is interesting to learn more about!
In the long run, it’s best to do what works for your own personal needs. Glad to hear you enjoyed the post.