Last Updated on November 17, 2022 by Lori Geurin
In this blog post, you’ll learn six benefits of OMAD fasting and precautions to consider when trying One Meal A Day fasting.
You’ve likely heard of intermittent fasting, but there’s a new kid in town that is all the rage called OMAD. It stands for ‘one meal a day.’ In this post, I’ll share OMAD health benefits and precautions that are important to be aware of if you decide to try this fasting schedule.
I’ve been doing OMAD on and off for a while now. And my husband, David, has been practicing OMAD for a few months. He usually does it a couple of days a week and has noticed several benefits, including
- Weight loss
- Improved body composition (in his words, “I feel less fluffy.” Love that!)
- Fewer cravings for sweets
- Increased energy
You may ask yourself how this is possible…especially in such a short time. And that is what I’m going to share in this post.
That, and a few other facts about OMAD (including examples of OMAD schedules), I hope you’ll enjoy…
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What Is OMAD Intermittent Fasting?
OMAD is a form of intermittent fasting. You may have heard it called the One Meal A Day diet. Simply put, you eat one meal a day and fast for the other hours.
You may be familiar with other intermittent fasting schedules like the 16:8, the 18:6, or the 20:4. These ratios show you the hours you spend fasting to the hours you spend eating (your eating window) based on a 24-hour day.
For example, a 16:8 fast means that you fast for 16 hours and eat all your meals for the day within the 8-hour time frame.
For OMAD, it’s a little different…
OMAD Diet Rules
There are some different interpretations of how to do OMAD. Some say it’s to be done in a 23:1 ratio, with 23 hours spent fasting and 1 hour of eating your meal for the day. But, for this post, I’m going to focus on a slightly different approach than this that I also like to follow.
One of my favorite intermittent fasters, Gin Stephens, talks about this OMAD approach in her book Fast, Feast, Repeat.
Here’s how it works.
You can have water, unsweetened tea, and coffee during the fasting window. Clean fasting is the best only way to fast, especially if you want to continue fasting as a lifestyle, lose weight, and get back in touch with your hunger/satiety signals.
RELATED: Break Your Fast, Still Burn More Fat and Intermittent Fasting & Coffee: Does Coffee Break a Fast?
OMAD Fasting Schedule
With OMAD, you have flexibility. Most people doing OMAD eat within a time-restricted eating (TRE) window of 2 to 4 or 5 hours. Here are a few examples of OMAD fasting schedules. Keep in mind that these aren’t set in stone. I just created them on the fly to give you some idea of what OMAD can look like:
- 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.: Open your eating window with a healthy coffee drink, and finish your main meal by 11:00 a.m.
- 3:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.: Open your window with a small snack, followed by your main meal at 5:30 p.m., then finish eating dessert by 8:00 p.m. (my favorite schedule for OMAD fasting)
- 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.: Eat your main meal between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m.
- 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.: Eat your main meal at 1:00 p.m. and finish eating dessert by 4:00 p.m.
So, if you decide to try OMAD, make it your own. Choose the schedule or schedules your body responds to best, and don’t worry about what everyone else is doing, fasting-wise.
It can take a while to figure out which fasting schedule (or schedules) you like the best. Have fun experimenting with different ones and testing how you feel and how your body responds.
Now that we’ve covered OMAD fasting schedules let’s jump into some of the
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6 Benefits Of OMAD Fasting
There are some compelling benefits of following an OMAD fasting schedule. Here are a few.
- Weight loss – People have reported losing incredible amounts of weight with the OMAD diet. Feel free to look at this Reddit link for so many testimonials.
- Autophagy (in overdrive!) – One of the most incredible things about fasting is that your body turns on this amazing natural process of cleaning out old, damaged cells and producing brand-new healthy ones. Recent studies suggest autophagy may even increase your lifespan.
- Saves money – Because you eat less food, your grocery bill goes down. This is always a perk!
- Less hunger and cravings – I know this sounds too good to be true, but trust me on this one. I was skeptical at first, too! (You can read about how intermittent fasting eliminated my hypoglycemia here.)
- Saves time – As you might have guessed, when you’re only eating one meal a day, your time spent in the kitchen prepping food for meals is significantly reduced.
- Increased energy and focus – Who doesn’t love being more productive? When you’re OMAD-ing, you don’t have to deal with that after-lunch brain fog that results when your body is busy digesting your meal.
Related: Inspiring Weight Loss Success Stories With Clean Intermittent Fasting
For more on the health benefits of intermittent fasting, check out 9 Health Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting.
(You may want to learn about clean fasting to improve your fasting results.)
Check out these 30 fun facts about yourself to enjoy more engaging conversations.
OMAD Fasting Precautions And Safety
Though intermittent fasting is a healthy practice that can be done by many adults, according to Dr. Eric Berg, some people should not fast. They include the following:
- Babies and small children
- Women who are nursing or pregnant
- Thin people with neurodegenerative conditions
- People who have a recent history of eating disorders
It’s also important to mention that although OMAD has some great benefits, it’s not for everyone. I have read a few posts from women who have experienced hormone issues and hair loss they believe was connected to prolonged OMAD, so this is something to be aware of.
Hair loss can happen when you lose a lot of weight (but it generally grows back).
I haven’t practiced OMAD long enough to be able to recommend it for the long term. I’ve used it more occasionally to alter my intermittent fasting schedule because I don’t want it to be the same every day.
Gin Stephens is a huge proponent of OMAD and says she usually follows this fasting schedule. Many other people are living the OMAD lifestyle and loving it too.
I like Gin’s take on OMAD because it’s not a strict 23:1. It’s based upon the concept of one meal a day, but she listens to her body’s needs (great advice for us all), and if she’s feeling hungrier one day she might add a snack, enjoy dessert, or extend the time she’s eating.
RELATED: Intermittent Fasting Plateau: 9 Tips To Boost Your Weight Loss
OMAD Research Findings
I couldn’t find much research on the long-term effects of OMAD, but I did notice a couple of things worth sharing. On a positive note, one study found that type 2 diabetes patients saw improved blood sugar counts after trying OMAD. (1)
Another study compared two groups of normal-weight people over six months. One group ate one meal a day, and the other ate three. The research found that the people in the one-meal-a-day group lost body fat despite maintaining weight. They also experienced decreased blood pressure and total, LDL, and HDL cholesterol. (2)
I have seen some fantastic OMAD health benefits for myself and my husband when it’s used less frequently. (And it sure is nice to have fewer dishes to clean up.) It has helped so many people lose weight, lower their insulin levels, and upgrade their overall wellness.
As I mentioned earlier, my experience with OMAD is not a consistent daily OMAD. I like to switch up my fasting schedule to keep my body guessing. This approach works great for me, but you may prefer something different. So find what works best for you.
RELATED: The 5-Day Fasting Mimicking Diet Plan
Is it safe to do OMAD every day?
It depends. If you’re having a single plate of food every day, and that’s it, you’re going to miss out on essential vitamins and minerals your body needs.
So, if you’re underweight or suffer from nutritional deficiencies, you might do better switching up your timing schedules to make sure you’re eating enough healthy foods.
Because I have a chronic illness and my doctor says my body doesn’t do a great job absorbing nutrients, I like to use OMAD as an occasional approach, but not every day.
Talk to your doctor so they can guide you based on your specific health requirements.
Is OMAD good for weight loss?
Yes, many people have lost a lot of weight following OMAD.
The key to losing weight and keeping it off is finding something healthy and sustainable for your lifestyle. This will encourage you to stick with your plan long-term.
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Summary – OMAD Fasting Benefits & Precautions
I hope this has given you some helpful info about OMAD. I’m passionate about sharing the fantastic impact intermittent fasting has had in my life and the lives of so many other people.
I just want to caution you to be aware that OMAD is not for everyone. As always, listen to your body and consult your doctor before changing your diet or eating schedule.
I would love to hear about your experience if you’ve done OMAD.
I wrote an eBook all about my experience with intermittent fasting. This method allowed me to burn fat, lose weight (effortlessly), and be healthy….without feeling hungry – even curing my hypoglycemia. If you’d like to learn how I accomplished these great results, you’ll want to check out my book HERE!
Have you tried OMAD? What do you think of these OMAD benefits and precautions?
The information provided in this article has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to treat, prevent, diagnose, or cure any disease or health problem. Please talk to your doctor about OMAD and/or Intermittent Fasting to learn if they might be a good option for you.
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Your blog says: in a research the OMAD group had worsening blood pressure and cholesterol. Is that correct??
“Another study compared two groups of people. One group ate one meal a day and the other ate three. The research found that the people in the one meal a day group had worsening blood pressure and cholesterol readings. (2)”
Hi Virginia! Yes, that’s correct. I found this interesting when I was writing the article and just now went back to read the research. You can find it >> here.
There’s a lot of interesting information in this trial if you want to scan it. It’s important to reiterate that there haven’t been many studies done on the long-term effects of OMAD. Also, this particular study included a very small group of healthy, normal-weight men and women (32 people, I think).
It seems like the cause of the blood pressure rise is in question here in the report:
“Although within normal values, both systolic and diastolic blood pressures were higher than baseline during consumption of the 1 meal/d diet. Experimental data for normal-weight men and women on the effects of consumption of 1 meal/d rather than 3 meals/d on blood pressure have not previously been reported. Overweight men and women showed that consumption of 1 meal/d, with caloric restriction, improved blood pressure and heart rate after exercise (22). In animal models, intermittent fasting without caloric restriction has been shown to decrease blood pressure and heart rate (15). The observed increase in blood pressure in our subject population consuming 1 meal/d may be due to a circadian rhythm in blood pressure (23). Diurnal changes may have occurred, because blood pressure measurements were obtained in the late afternoon in the 1 meal/d diet versus early morning in the 3 meals/d.”
And, the study said this about participant’s cholesterol:
“Total, LDL, and HDL cholesterol were 11.7%, 16.8%, and 8.4% higher, respectively, in subjects consuming 1 meal/d than in those consuming 3 meals/d.”
There’s much more, but I hope this helps answer your question. It seems that there is still much to learn about OMAD and how it impacts our bodies and our health. This is definitely something to watch for in the future! X, Lori