Welcome to another weekend short of The ZecoHealth Show, this is Weight Management Expert, Narado Zeco Powell
This weekend, I will quickly talk about OMAD
This style of eating has become popular & I will discuss the benefits & downside to this eating approach.
Before I begin, remember to access The Zeco Recommendation Page where I have products that I recommend for health, fitness & fatloss along with my discount code.
The link is in the shownotes & the description of The podcast.
Let’s begin
What is OMAD
According to WebMD it is
The “One Meal a Day” diet, or OMAD diet, claims to help you lose weight by forcing your body to burn fat. It’s a type of intermittent fasting, which alternates between periods throughout the day in which you can eat anything and periods in which you don’t eat at all
OMAD is particularly strict because you don’t eat for 23 hours, then consume all of your calories in a single meal.
This is how it works
Like other kinds of intermittent fasting, eating one meal a day is a way of manipulating how your body finds and uses fuel.
When you eat in a more traditional pattern, your energy comes from the food that you eat.
When you don’t eat for extended periods of time, your body produces less insulin.
Your cells still need energy for fuel, so your fat cells release energy to compensate.
For this to happen, however, you have to avoid eating for long enough that your insulin levels drop.
This is saying that when you don’t eat for an extended period of time, your body then breaks down its own body fat for energy.
This can happen & can be beneficial.
Does this always happen?
Although research has associated fasting and calorie restriction with a variety of health benefits, some evidence suggests that restricting too much — which can include only consuming one meal a day — may do more harm than good.
Studies suggest that this extreme restriction may lead to increased total and LDL cholesterol and higher blood pressure levels compared to normal eating patterns or less extreme fasting methods.
Other studies have shown that eating one meal per day may increase fasting blood sugar levels, delay the body’s response to insulin, and increase levels of the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin.
In addition to these potential adverse effects, eating one meal a day can lead to symptoms including:
Nausea
Dizziness
Irritability
Low energy
Constipation
What’s more, it can be very difficult to take in enough nutrients in one meal. This can lead to nutrient deficiencies, which can negatively affect your health and can lead to serious risks.
Now, these may be worse for individuals who are not metabolically flexible & are insulin resistant.
You may think that by not eating you are forcing your body to burn fat, but if you have a sugar metabolism which means your body isn’t capable of burning fat efficiently, either from food or its own bodyfat, you are likely to have low blood sugar.
I am not saying OMAD is bad, but you have to think about these before making any changes.
The only situation where I see OMAD as beneficial is if you are metabolically flexible, you are producing ketones & this is only a temporary approach.
I would be a good candidate to do OMAD for a short period & only for a short period like few weeks.
Remember, before making any dietary changes, please consult a medical or dietary professional.
Enjoy your weekend fam
