Anyone doin One Meal a Day (OMAD)

[ErikaH64]

I too am doing OMAD. I eat at about 6.30pm. Not hungry at all. I’ve cut out all the commonly mentioned carbs
and trying to increased my water consumption. This I’m finding the hardest to do... any ideas on that one?

 

[Claudia 1961]

I also only eat once a day with low carb and high fat this keeps my bloods level and reduce the amount of insulin I have to take, my usual meal is 1 Avocado, 2 slices bacon and 2 poached eggs with a chaffle.

But you eat vegetables too with that or not?

 

[Annb]

Occasionally I have only one meal a day but most times it's one meal (which these days can't include much in the way of veg due to digestive issues) plus another very small meal. More often than not, my one meal is a breakfast of bacon and egg with the intention of having a 2nd meal later, but I don't get around to it for one reason or another. I really don't eat much in the way of calories or carbs these days. I do drink water, tea and coffee in order to keep fluid levels up since I ended up in hospital, dehydrated as a result of not thinking about either food or drink when busy. So, unintentional OMAD is what I frequently end up with. 2MAD also happens fas often.

It hasn't brought my BG down and it hasn't caused me to lose weight. The Diabetes nurse thinks it's because my body has gone into starvation mode and is hanging on to everything it can. This has gone on for many, many months (years, in fact). I'm finding that the condition of my nails and hair has deteriorated - some kind of mineral deficiency? At 77 and no longer able to be active (arthritis), it seems like a losing battle, but I keep on, hoping for some improvement.

 

[bulkbiker]

I too am doing OMAD. I eat at about 6.30pm. Not hungry at all. I’ve cut out all the commonly mentioned carbs
and trying to increased my water consumption. This I’m finding the hardest to do... any ideas on that one?

Drink when thirsty .. don't force it.

 

[Annb]

I too am doing OMAD. I eat at about 6.30pm. Not hungry at all. I’ve cut out all the commonly mentioned carbs
and trying to increased my water consumption. This I’m finding the hardest to do... any ideas on that one?

My brother had to have a kidney removed and was advised to drink at least 2 litres of fluid daily so, to make sure he does, he has 2 one litre jugs of water in his fridge and keeps taking a drink from that whenever he is in the kitchen. So he makes sure to have at least the 2 litres.

My fluid is usually tea, occasionally coffee, and even more occasionally, water. The drinking mugs I use are measured at 250 ml each, so I write down every time I have a mugfull of anything. 8 of these a day is my quota but I do try to have most of it during the morning. It's almost 10.30 am and I've already had 4 of my mugs of tea.

 

[destiny]

Ive been doing this for months, I didn't realise it was something other members did. I lost my appetite and just put it down to changes in the weather, then illness. now its just stuck with me. Its easy, but if I feel hungry or low ill have something as a snack. I take 15 units of Lantus at the start of my day and let it keep my levels balanced, Ive lowered my use of insulin to an average of 5 units before bed. I drink coffee, no sugar, with diluted juice or zero calorie drinks. I have a small meal around 7 pm. It seems to work for me. Its like my metabolism changed completely. Yesterday I was told Id lot weight in the 2 weeks since my friend last saw me. I haven't been trying.

 

[sewist22]

I too am doing OMAD. I eat at about 6.30pm. Not hungry at all. I’ve cut out all the commonly mentioned carbs
and trying to increased my water consumption. This I’m finding the hardest to do... any ideas on that one?

Have a bottle of water on the worktop, or wherever you are, and maybe a straw and just have a sip when you see it.My cousin (88)was hospitalised as he fell in the garden through dehydration-it's the worst thing to do and the easiest to prevent! We are about 90% water anyway-or should be!

 

[iwhoadmin]

I do intermittent fasting which for me consists of 2 meals a day, one at 10-11AM and the other at 3:30 to 4 PM. Keeps BG steady on the lower side all night. I do drink a lot of liquids all day, which helps with the hunger pangs. However when I am weak in the evening and grab something small my BG stays high for most of the night.

 

[Patrick Chilombo]

I have been diabetic since 2014, at my age 71 I find it hard to maintain acceptable water consumption. But I hv cut down on carbs but its hard cos my staple food is thick mealie meal porridge! Any guidance on what to avoid generally ie milk, soya, millet, cassava, meat, fish. Firgive my ignorance please, this is my first post on this forum! OMAD.... does it lead to one coming off meds... I have had it with the drugs.

 

[Annb]

I have been diabetic since 2014, at my age 71 I find it hard to maintain acceptable water consumption. But I hv cut down on carbs but its hard cos my staple food is thick mealie meal porridge! Any guidance on what to avoid generally ie milk, soya, millet, cassava, meat, fish. Firgive my ignorance please, this is my first post on this forum! OMAD.... does it lead to one coming off meds... I have had it with the drugs.

For some people OMAD can help to get into remission, I doubt if, alone, it will do the job, but I could be wrong there. However, it doesn't work for everyone. No two people are the same or react the same way to treatment or diets. The only way to find out is to try, testing as you go and see if you can get to a BG level that you are happy with and then see if it is possible to reduce meds and how far.

It seems that you are including quite a lot of carbohydrate in your diet (particularly "thick mealie porridge" but also millet) which won't be helping to get your BG down. Meat and fish as well as eggs and some cheeses are good for keeping BG low, or at least avoiding too many spikes. Salads and non starchy vegetables are good as well, if you can take them.

Fluids are important so it's a good idea to have a strategy to encourage you to drink, even a little at a time, to try to keep yourself hydrated (we are 90% water, after all). It can also help you with any pangs of hunger.

 

[deeplydippy]

5 years and yo-yoing weight loss and gain. Let’s face it all Diabetic food is bland and depressing unless you can be bothered to do recepies that ingredients cost a fortune. There’s no optimism with this. It will kill your one way or the other.

 

[Annb]

5 years and yo-yoing weight loss and gain. Let’s face it all Diabetic food is bland and depressing unless you can be bothered to do recepies that ingredients cost a fortune. There’s no optimism with this. It will kill your one way or the other.

Recipes for low carb eating don't have to be horribly expensive or tasteless. It depends on how low carb you want to be but, at moderately low carb levels, you can make tasty stews using stock of different flavours - not purist I know, but acceptable, or tinned tomatoes (cheap tins of chopped tomatoes make a very good job with some mince and some onions). You don't have to buy expensive special pasta but can use vegetables to bulk out the protein element. There are lots of ways to make low carb meals which can help and they can be very good as a single meal in a day, if that's what helps you get your BGs under control. It takes a bit of thinking through and organising, but if it works, it'd be worth it.

 

[Hippo123]

Drink when thirsty .. don't force it.

I would drink a little and often. If you wait till you’re thirsty, you are dehydrated.

 

[bulkbiker]

I would drink a little and often. If you wait till you’re thirsty, you are dehydrated.

So what's the point of thirst?
It's a trigger to drink surely?

 

[Annb]

So what's the point of thirst?
It's a trigger to drink surely?

It's a bit like pain - warns that you are doing something risky.

 

[bulkbiker]

It's a bit like pain - warns that you are doing something risky.

By the time you get pain it's probably a bit too late.
Thirst is a trigger to drink before you get dehydrated.

 

[Annb]

By the time you get pain it's probably a bit too late.
Thirst is a trigger to drink before you get dehydrated.

That's what I meant - thirst is a warning that you are doing something risky and shouldn't be ignored.

 

[Annb]

By the time you get pain it's probably a bit too late.
Thirst is a trigger to drink before you get dehydrated.

In my experience, pain isn't what happens when you are dehydrated, just reduced blood pressure and weakness. That comes just before collapse. When that happened to me, though, I didn't feel thirsty, or I would have had some water. That's why I have to keep checking that I have had sufficient fluid.

Other people may well be affected differently though.

 

[Tiltil]

I too am doing OMAD. I eat at about 6.30pm. Not hungry at all. I’ve cut out all the commonly mentioned carbs
and trying to increased my water consumption. This I’m finding the hardest to do... any ideas on that one?

I am trying to be on OMAD .I am vegetarian I have half handful of cornflakes with 4 tablespoons of milk. I have yoghurt with tia seeds at about 10.30. I have homemade watery soup for lunch, and a light meal at 5.30. By when I’m very hungry. I am ok with the day. I am struggling to loose weight. My weight from 112 lbs to 107.7 lbs.
how can you help me?

 

[Annb]

I am trying to be on OMAD .I am vegetarian I have half handful of cornflakes with 4 tablespoons of milk. I have yoghurt with tia seeds at about 10.30. I have homemade watery soup for lunch, and a light meal at 5.30. By when I’m very hungry. I am ok with the day. I am struggling to loose weight. My weight from 112 lbs to 107.7 lbs.
how can you help me?

I find it quite difficult to eat many vegetables - those very low in fibre are all my system can cope with. I think, though, that it must be very difficult to keep your carbs low on a vegetarian diet. I assume that you can eat eggs and some cheeses - my son, also vegetarian uses Lactofree cheese. You've done well to get your weight down a bit, but you don't say how long that took you. It seems to me that none of your meals is very satisfying and one good meal could replace what you do eat very well. If you want to do OMAD, perhaps you could choose a time of the day when you feel most tempted to eat and have one, reasonably large and nourishing meal at that time. Plenty of fluids for the rest of the time though. You don't mention diabetes but if you also have an issue with that it might help if that one meal could be fairly light on the carbohydrates as well.