Ghrelin, the hunger hormone
Every person that ever tried a calorie-restrictive diet knows one thing: hunger. You should be able to control hunger with OMAD and here is how. The cure to hunger is eating less frequently, but not less. Fewer meals mean fewer spikes of insulin. If you have one meal a day (OMAD) you will have only one spike of Insulin. As your body gets adapted to this new regimen you will also reduce the number of Ghrelin spikes. This is the hormone that provides the hunger signal from the stomach. But this signal is transient and if you resist it, hunger slowly disappears. Eventually, the Ghrelin secretion will only appear in advance of the one meal a day. This is the route to victory over hunger.
Less Ghrelin, less hunger
As Ghrelin secretion decrease so does your hunger. Because I am adapted to OMAD, I only feel hungry at 10:30 am before my meal at 11 am. If I get busy with workouts or intellectual pursuits, I can ignore my hunger and last longer before my OMAD. Admittedly, this is not a goal easy to achieve, but it makes change your life. With control over Ghrelin by creating a consistent daily eating habit, you will control your body weight.
Caloric restriction and metabolic rate
If you want to lose weight, even without much exercise, it makes sense to reduce your appetite. Reducing your caloric intake may also reduce your metabolic rate. This will make you even more sluggish and more hungry, irritable and more likely to gain the weight back.
Glucagon
Glucagon will only be secreted as Insulin begins to decline, hours after a meal, as sugar declines in the blood. With 3 meals a day, your body will not have the chance to secrete Glucagon. This hormone is responsible for the utilization of glycogen and fat stores for energy. Thus, Glucagon is critical for body weight loss.
As far as hunger is concerned, Insulin increases appetite while Glucagon decreases appetite. The fewer meals, the fewer the spikes of Insulin. In turn, the greater the opportunities of Glucagon to be secreted to suppress your appetite.
Other factors
Ketone bodies and Leptin have important roles in the OMAD regimen as well. They help you deal with hunger and thus help you reduce weight progressively.
