New Intermittent Fasting Option: OMAD Diet

Intermittent fasting has long been held in high esteem among those losing weight. But now a new version of it has appeared - the OMAD diet. What is it and what is the effectiveness of such weight loss?

The familiar 16/8 intermittent fasting pattern is when you eat for 8 hours and withhold food for 16 hours. In the OMAD diet, the intervals of hunger are more serious - it is almost a day - for 23 hours you do not eat anything. With this approach, excess weight goes away much faster than with regular interval weight loss. You can lose 2-3 kg per week. Is healthy weight loss possible in this case, without health risks?

Principles of the OMAD Diet

OMAD stands for one meal a day - one meal a day. That is, you need to eat only once a day, at the same time (plus or minus an hour). Basically, there are no more restrictions. You can eat whatever you want in this meal, without counting calories or restricting. The rest of the time, it is allowed to drink water, coffee, tea, excluding such sweet drinks as soda, cocktails, etc.

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OMAD in translation - one meal a day / istockphoto.com

How much can you lose weight?

It is clear that losing weight if you eat once a day is not difficult. And even if a serving of fried potatoes or a whole cake is eaten at the reception. Naturally, you will not be able to overeat with the OMAD diet, but the main thing here is willpower and endurance, so as not to snack during the day and not to violate the main principle of such a nutritional system.

If you strictly adhere to the basics of the diet, then you can easily lose a couple of kilograms in a week. But it is worthwhile to understand that you can only starve like this for a short time - up to 5-7 days. Sitting on a diet for a month or more is very harmful to psychological and physical health.

With such a diet, weight loss is guaranteed.

With this diet, weight loss is guaranteed / istockphoto.com

Who shouldn't lose weight on the OMAD diet?

Of course, extreme weight loss cannot be practiced by either nursing or pregnant women, this is understandable. But it is worth considering that those who have problems with the gastrointestinal tract, especially the pancreas, or other chronic diseases, should not lose weight in this way - this is fraught with an exacerbation of the "chronicle". Since such a one-off nutrition exacerbates a number of diseases, it also leads to a breakdown and fatigue. Any interval weight loss is especially contraindicated for those who have problems with gallstones. Therefore, before experimenting with your diet, you need to consult a doctor, check the condition of the abdominal organs using an ultrasound scan.

The experience of the American Dio Baluti

Dio Baluti put her diet to the test back in 2018. Little was known about this option back then. slimming, and the girl, rather, acted intuitively: coffee and water in the morning, and lunch at about 17.30. Now she is called the Queen of OMAD - she maintains a page on Instagram and shares her experience of losing weight by 20 kg. Dia says that she has been following this diet for several years and has no health problems.