Has anyone here tried and more importantly stuck to OMAD? If so, what time of day do you eat? What did you eat? Did you track calorie intake? Did you drink electrolytes while fasting?
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Had to Google that one…looks interesting, wonder if it’s possible with Diabetes.
My approach has been mostly the opposite in terms of not letting the stomach get empty.
Curious to see if anyone has tried fasting though and been successful at it.
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Me too.
One Meal A Day!
Here is a good description.
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I’ve eaten OMAD for several years now (going on 4). Generally I prefer to eat 4-5 hours prior to bed, as it allows me to dose for most of my gluconeogenisis blood sugar spikes prior to going to sleep.
I track pretty much everything I eat with MyFitnessPal.
My total daily calories range between 600-1,200, and until recently was primarily beef (carnivore diet).
I’ve added some carbs back into the mix, but usually keep total carbs under 20 grams/day.
I do take electrolytes, the product I use is called Saltstick (capsules).
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I think the catch is in one of the first paragraphs (bold emphasis added):
OMAD is frequently recommended as a weight loss plan, as well as a form of treatment for type 2 diabetes, primarily due to the myriad health benefits of intermittent fasting.
The link is to the “New England Journal of Medicine” (which I believe to be reputable) and the executive summary (I’m not a subscriber) is:
Evidence is accumulating that eating in a 6-hour period and fasting for 18 hours can trigger a metabolic switch from glucose-based to ketone-based energy
So that’s kind of keto-diet-for-eaters-of-ice-cream.
IMO it sounds like an extremely reasonable approach to manage carb intake, and I like the sound of @Jim_YYC’s approach which makes it work for T1Ds. Based on my limited experience eating once a day is fine and when I have done it I have done carbs - I like beef, but I love broccoli, so I eat my burnt steak with microwaved broccoli. Ice cream would be fine too.
The thing to watch out for is the basal. My basal is such that if I don’t eat I don’t go low, rather I die of starvation. A simple day, or maybe two, without food and with whatever levels of exercise are normal should allow that to be figured out. I noted that @Jim_YYC does dose for the steak, but that’s pretty tricky; it means doing a bolus for something that I suspect other T1Ds cover with the basal. An alternative is to wait for the alarm at 1am and do a simple (not extended) bolus at that point, assuming a CGM and a pump and not having to go in to work tomorrow.
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my husband has inadvertently been on this diet for the last year as he works so much. Has not been good to his body; his heartburn is worse and he has gained weight.
However, he does not have diabetes. It might help with reducing blood sugar spikes but I would not see it as worth it.
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I have done it as a type 1 - I had problems with huge spikes within the few hours after I ate dinner. If I were to do it again I’d do lunch time so I had time to bring it down or adjust better during the day.
I have instead moved to essentially skipping breakfast only and have found that to work better for me - I like to eat, and this way I’m not thinking about the one meal I get. It’s easier mentally and I have had the best A1cs of my life due to flat CGM lines overnight and through lunch! (Thank you Tandem/Dexcom)
Here is my average blood sugar for the past 2 weeks:
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@jbowler This is exactly what I’ve done (and constantly change, as my basal insulin requirements change depending on the pharmaceuticals I’m on). I’m using a 20 yr old Minimed pump (no loop), and have 3 distinct basal profiles stored. Each is tailored for a different calorie / carb regime, depending on my diet. As well, I have +/- 100% temporary basals, which allows complete flexibility.
The stabbing hunger pangs are attenuated by eating a higher fat - low carb diet. The body transforms unsaturated fats into a compound called oleoylethanolamide (OEA), which regulates hunger & weight.
I’ve also recently reintroduced Häagen-Dazs ice cream into my diet, and discovered that eating an entire container tends to throw a wrench into a lower carb diet 
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I could do that too, and often do, but with coffee with cream and Splenda in it. Do you strictly have water/black coffee/plain tea during morning hours?
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Usually yes, unless I feel like eating breakfast. I’m not doing intermittent fasting for the supposed health benefits, mostly just to eat fewer calories and improve my blood sugars, so I will put heavy cream in my coffee (if/when I drink it).
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When you ate primarily carnivore did you incorporate any veg at all? Or just protein and fat?
No veggies or fibre. Strictly red meat (protein + fat).
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I wish I had your discipline!! I would LOVE to be able to do this for health (autophagy + BG control) as well as mental (less decisions) AND you probably saved money too!!! I spend a S%&* ton on different “diets” that I figure will be the answer, then give up, then try something new (throwing out or donating stuff), etc., repeat. I have been this way for a while and I’m driving myself crazy!
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I got as far as meat (including white meat, which also has no carbs) + broccoli or spinach (anything in a WIC bag that I can fry in a microwave.) Broccoli is, of course, a fruit, so definite carbs there.
Doing full no-carbs means no fish - fish hasn’t gone through rigor mortis so still has carbs in the muscle cells. Ha, I guess lutefisk is ok and, reading that link the unfermented base product stockfish would also be fine. Well; I never knew that people do hang fish. I guess it’s obvious since I did know about air-dried meat and fish, just hadn’t thought it through.
Now, what about scallops, or, indeed, the humble snail? If someone offers me a plate of scallops the change of me not eating them is -100%.
There lies the rub. Today I ate french toast and my blood sugar hit over 280 - I don’t know, it was 250 heading up when I replaced the G6 and 287 flat with the new sensor. I wouldn’t normally eat french toast (well, I’d eat French toast, in very small quantities, but that was not what I ate and the quantities were not.) I had also eaten a fig (my blood sugar was 61mg/dL; good excuse eh?:
And that one isn’t even ripe.
One meal a day; so I sit under that tree and make like Isaac Newton? (That would not work, unlike apples and even pears figs don’t fall off until they are small, crusty and incredibly sweet.) Nah; that’s not the problem, it’s the people around me who utter phrases like, “Would you like one of these?” The answer is “YES”, but then I would be a fool to actually eat it, wouldn’t I? Oops, I’m a fool.
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While there is some good research on the positive effects of intermittent fasting on blood sugar, it is not recommended for anyone who has struggled with disordered eating or body image issues. Intermittent fasting is also known to be a trigger for developing a full blown eating disorder for someone who is already predisposed.
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Do you eat only lunch and dinner or do you snack? What would a sample day look like (if you’d be comfortable sharing)?
Thanks!
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I eat random things every day! I’ve been vegetarian since February, and since September I’ve been counting my calories and losing weight so I’m only eating lunch and dinner; maybe a very small breakfast. I eat things like homemade dishes (not too often), personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut, frozen vegetarian dinners, breakfast egg sandwiches, bags of frozen vegetables, Chipotle bowls, etc. I don’t eat out a whole lot anymore.
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