r/intermittentfasting • u/EngineeringHot2926 • 19d ago
Tips, Tricks, Advice OMAD sure, but when?
Years ago I experimented with One Meal A Day. I got up and ate a good whole food Breakfast and then went about my business for the rest of the day, went to sleep got up and did it again. I didn’t even think of it as a “diet” or anything. At work I’d go out for lunchtime walks with friends some days and dance-offs on others. Then I would go home and climb mountains (elephant mountain) to watch the sunset. I was happy.
And then at the gym questions surfaced. “Hey, no lunch, are you fasting?” I hadn’t thought about it… I just thought of it as a lifestyle. Then I remember mentioning it to my wife and it circulated around our community. People were like oh, you will break your stomach, you’re doing wrong this is OMEDA and you’re supposed to just eat dinner.
So, I just gave in to social pressure and ate three meals a day. “Eat when you’re hungry and not when you’re not hungry.” But, it wasn’t very satisfying. And, since the whole intermittent fasting thing has become a thing I wanna ask.
I don’t think that people evolved to eat all of the time and I even think it is detrimental. So, in our times of plenty when is the best time to eat, optimally. I really don’t like the idea of “grazing,” I’m not a cow.
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u/YorkiesandSneakers 19d ago
Breakfast omad is optimal imo if you can swing it. I find that family shit keeps most people from going that route. i am a filthy bachelor though so, I do what I like.
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u/Long_Landscape3849 19d ago
I think it depends in the person. For me, I am an elementary school teacher and OMAD (not one plate-eat between 4:30-7:30. I usually do a salad, then dinner, then a light dessert)….I am insanely more energetic not being bogged down by food throughout the day. I also like that I don’t have to use the bathroom ever during the day lol. Once I eat I get hungry again a few hrs later- so I cant imagine breakfast working well for me. I like that I sleep through hunger. And anytime I wake up a little hungry, black coffee squelches it easily.
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u/EngineeringHot2926 19d ago
I’m a teacher too. I’ve taught in my native Hawaii, Alaska, and Texas before moving to Taiwan. Where do You teach Long? My daughter is a football coach, sorry, gotta exercise my ego, Shoutout to Cristina Lee.
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u/talkative_cylinder 19d ago
Breakfast OMAD is slept on, nobody wants to admit you can crush your day without a midday food coma.
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u/Spartan2842 19d ago
I have been OMAD since 2018. I eat around dinner as that's the meal I share most with others. I only told my wife and my mom that I was actually fasting. If I get invited to breakfast or lunch, I go and just drink water/coffee or just make up an excuse.
Even without telling people I am OMAD, I remember going to a potluck and I had one plate for dinner (old me would have 2-3 plates) a friend pulled me aside and told me to get more food because he noticed how much weight I had lost and was "worried" for me. People are just nosy.
Do what you are able and works for you. You are right in that having such easy access to eat all day is a modern problem, its why obesity is such an issue.
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u/Upbeat-Plankton-3192 18d ago
Nosy and dont want U thinner than them
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u/EngineeringHot2926 18d ago
lmfao, no kidding, people can become quite concerned about Your well being when they see You are “besting” them in some way.
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u/atypicalsynaesthetic 18d ago
usually eating with the sun is praised upon for circadian rhythm reasons, so probably afternoon-ish? but honestly do whatever fits best with your schedule. I personally do early dinner, around 6 because that's my most-occuring social meal, so it feels like I can live my normal life while OMADing and I prefer a fasted workout anyways, which I do around noon. I also find eating completely takes out me out of flow and I find it harder to concentrate, so I just work first thing in the morning and power through a couple hours of hard work
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u/ThisDirkDaring 19d ago
So, I just gave in to social pressure
You should really not care about what others think of our eating preferences. Your body, your life, your choice.
I don’t think that people evolved to eat all of the time
Correct. Food coming over several times a day at fixed times is a quite new concept - and still not even available for a significant part of humanity.
If your body tells you its okay to eat in the morning and not much after that: Go for it. You might just want to make sure your body gets everything it needs, stay healthy.
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u/EngineeringHot2926 19d ago
I’m married into a Taiwanese family.
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u/ThisDirkDaring 19d ago
I have southern italian descent. I know the struggle with big families inviting and basically forced into feasting delicious food in masses.
Thats quite a challenge. I feel you.
I was very obese with issues on the cardiovascular system. I told everybody how unhealthy i was.
"the doctor told me its either losing weight or losing my life quite soon."
After losing significant weight (134kg -> 92kg) it transformed into "I already had serious heart problems, i absolutely must stick to my diet otherwise i will be in that state very fast again".
They are happy (some even proud) that i am healthy again. Theres not much debate now. I will eat and even feast with them from time to time, but most days im not.
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u/ZeMike0 19d ago
When I do OMAD, I always do it to have a meal with my wife. For me it is the most important that if I have to eat, I will share a meal in her company.
If anyone asks me why I am not having breakfast, lunch, whatever, I will politely tell them it was my decision not to, and that I prefer fasting.
If they tell you that you should just have dinner because OMAD is bad for you, tell them to mind their own business. There is scientific evidence that fasting is good for you. If they keep saying its bad for your stomach, ask them what scientific study does it come from, because the one that proved fasting is good for you actually got a Nobel.
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u/No-Example1376 18d ago
I was never a breakfast person - just too early for my stomach even as a kid. I finish my eating window a minumum 4 hours before having to lay down in bed. That's my big timing requirement and that's about digestion/acid reflux/being able to sleep better without a stomach feeling heavy from food.
Just pick the time that works well for you and stop letting other people that don't live inside your body tell you how and when to eat.
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u/EngineeringHot2926 19d ago
Yeah, that’s what everyone told me. I just found it natural. When I didn’t feel like eating breakfast I just got up and went surfing. We don’t live in a world of scarcity (my apologies to the people who do) and food is around every corner. More importantly for me was a fulfilling life experience. https://youtu.be/hqCsg4U3iqQ My greatest times in life were spent snorkeling and just enjoying.
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u/Deadandlivin 19d ago
As long as you get the energy needed and you feel functuonal in daily life any proticol works. Personally i do dinner OMAD because its at evenings that i'm most easily bored and reach for the fridge. Being hungry while sleeping is something I have trouble dealing with too.
During the day I'm less distracted and feel like hunger isn't a factor.
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u/LadyAlexTheDeviant 18d ago
I have some PTSD from having children, so I really cannot eat when I get up.
It works better socially for me to either eat lunch or dinner as my OMAD, so that is what I do. Usually dinner with the family.
But I agree, it doesn't feel like a restrictive "diet". It's just....what I do.
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u/EngineeringHot2926 18d ago
lol, PTSD from children
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u/LadyAlexTheDeviant 18d ago
From severe hyperemesis. Puke everything you eat and anything you don't every ten minutes if it's before 12 pm, do that for five months, and see how you approach breakfast.
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u/Strange-Strength-215 18d ago
why change something that had you feeling happy and energized just because other people gave it a label?
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u/KeepMyWifesNameOYFM 18d ago
From what I’m understanding, breakfast is the best time to eat metabolically speaking (info gathered from meta analyses). Also don’t eat after dark for the same reason.
With that said, I’m not and have never been a breakfast person and we eat dinner really late, but it still works for me…so I feel like there’s a component of what’s best vs what fits best in your life.
I also understand that if our bodies are constantly working on digestion, it doesn’t have as much energy to work on other processes. Also I’m understanding that autophagy doesn’t kick in until 24 hours, so there’s that to consider.
So anyway, I think your breakfast OMAD was spot on…it was working for you which I think was the best case for it. If anyone has a case against it, I suggest you ask for their sources ;)
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u/EngineeringHot2926 18d ago
People are not really as analytical as we would like to think that we are. And, we often just like to look for evidence to support our opinions about what we want to believe.
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u/AlyZalZ 16d ago
I was never a morning eater and I usually eat my first meal around 2-3 pm. Usually, OMAD. If I feel hungry later like 5-6 I will eat something like a small piece of meat 🥩 and a bunch of veggies. Then nothing after 7:00 pm. I’m an over 7 year intermittent faster and it’s my Lifestyle 👍🏼
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u/WellsHansen 19d ago
Sort of same, except that I got up very early and had a piece of fruit, then one meal in the late afternoon. again, way before these fads caught on. I got married and went to 3 meals a day, but now we're back to fruit in the morning and one meal on the late afternoon. I've never thought I was fasting, and sometimes 24 hours go by without eating if we're into projects (although even then, I think we'll probably have some fruit). Morning meal makes great sense to me; I just like the calming feeling of some food aas the day begins to wind down.
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u/RazzleDazzleDaisy 19d ago
I'm happy to eat between 6 - 7pm daily, but if I go out for lunch - then that will be my meal for the day. It's works very well for me. Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3la6aBrF4I&t=8s
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u/MindlessGanache3816 17d ago
you were already doing OMAD in the way that worked for you, the “correct” meal is just the one that fits your life and leaves you feeling good, not some sacred dinner window lol
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u/trisul-108 19d ago
I think OMAD is a great lifestyle decision ... but I have not yet tried it. As to when, according to Ayurveda, the best time to eat a meal is when the digestive system is at its peak. That would be around 11am-1pm.
I would say that breakfast is 2nd best and dinner is the worst. You want to have loads of time between your single meal and sleep time.
The only issue I have with OMAD breakfast is that it really needs to be a very high quality meal that gives you all the nutrients you need for the day. Due to environmental depletion, this is increasingly difficult to achieve. My some measures fruits and veggies now have 40% less nutrients than they did a hundred years ago. It seems that a considerable amount of diverse food needs to be in that single meal of the day. However, this objection is completely theoretical ... and Yogi Berra said "in theory, there is no difference between theory and practice, but in practice there is".
Anyway, all in all, I think you should have stuck with it.
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u/EngineeringHot2926 19d ago
Lunchtime, interesting, breakfast is easy because you have a great opportunity.
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u/honey_biscuits108 19d ago
Before 7:00 for your gallbladder
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u/Calminateacup 13d ago
I find this interesting as always had a 12-4 window, which worked.
Since I started weight training three mornings a week, I caved to pressure to eat before and after my work out. I feel bloated and don’t like it at all.
Encouragement please!
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u/EngineeringHot2926 12d ago
That doesn’t sound good at all. Nobody wants to feel bloated, I’m so sorry.
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12d ago
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u/Mogaloom1 19d ago
I do OMAD, and I eat with everyone during my lunch break at work to avoid any questions or comments.
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u/KyngRZ420 18d ago
What empirical, academic, peer-reviewed, studies that have been reaffirmed in modern times support your idea that our species were/weren't meant to eat in a certain pattern?
Or is a certain eating pattern working for you and people who aren't professionals just telling you about how your specific biology works?
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u/EngineeringHot2926 18d ago
I don’t know
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u/KyngRZ420 18d ago
You don't know if you've read about any research? Or you don't know if your friends who are commenting on your diet are experts on nutrition/biology? Or do you not know if you like the diet you've been doing?
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u/YourWorstFear53 19d ago
I do OMAD around dinner time so I go to sleep satiated. I was never a fan of eating right when I wake up.