OMAD and Protein

OMAD and Fitness

My weight loss and fitness were not based on some system given to me by a trainer, nutritionist or doctor. I simply started by eating one meal a day (OMAD), following the example of General Stanley McChrystal. He described his approach in a 60 min interview back in 2009. This approach simply worked for me, and I that was good enough. I admit that it was a slow process, as I lost 28% of my body weight between 2009 and 2014. Progressively, I transitioned from a mild daily 45 min brisk walk to an intense 90 calisthenics workout. Only since 2008, I have become interested in the mechanisms by which I changed my body from obese to fit. My big question was how could I have become a fitness fanatic since I never had before.
 

Muscle growth is not weight loss

As a scientist, I believed that there had to be a scientific explanation for my transformation. Why is it that I always failed to lose weight, let alone become fit. I have learned that obesity and diabetes form a spectrum of diseases with a common cause: hyperinsulinemia. Of course, insulin is stimulated by carbohydrate intake. Thus, the cure is either a low carbohydrate diet or a time-restricted diet (i.e. OMAD). Better yet, one can apply both by eating a single low carb meal every day. Still, fasting is the most efficient and consistent strategy to decrease insulin levels (1).

Perhaps, I could have obtained the same result in a shorter time, if I had changed my low-fat, high-carb diet. However, back in 2009, my goal was to keep my diet as it was, thinking that changing it would only make me more stressed. So I continued to lose weight slowly, and keep eating the food I enjoyed. Later, I started to put more demands on my body and focus on more intense pushups and weight lifting. To my surprise, my body responded. Then, I began to supplement my diet with whey protein and Greek yogourt. My muscle mass began to grow like never before in my life. I credited my pushup pyramid routine with the transformation I was undergoing. Only now I understand the role of the high protein content in my diet along with OMAD.

 

Does fasting reduce muscle growth?

Between late 2014 and early 2018 (age 58 to 61), I returned to my 3 meals a day. My breakfast and dinner were quite small, but in each case, I had a 5.3 oz container of Greek yogourt. This provided me with a total daily intake of 24g. I also had a scoop of Whey protein (24g) in a cup of ultrafiltered homo milk (13g), which is low in carbs (3g). In my main meal, I’d have chicken, salmon, tuna or beef stake and/or egg and cheese. Then I reached close to 100g of protein a day. I admit that I did this with a very superficial understanding of the role of protein in muscle growth.

I knew that I needed to replenish my muscle masses. However, the conventional wisdom is that protein may adversely affect longevity. I just didn’t care, I was more interested in growing my lean body mass. I soon realized that without OMAD I was gaining weight again. Instead of turning back to OMAD, I thought I needed my breakfast to perform my workout routine. As it turns out, all foods can stimulate insulin, and dairy products, in particular, are strong stimuli (2). Nevertheless, animal proteins tend to cause you to feel fuller for longer, especially whey. Dairy intake is associated with the lowest incidence of obesity and type II diabetes.

 

mTor: anabolic/catabolic regulator

In early 2018 I began to do more research and to my delight, I learned that I had been doing all the right things between 2009 and 2014. OMAD was the best thing I had ever done for my health and fitness and didn’t even know it. I have learned that OMAD is not just a weight loss approach. Above weight loss, OMAD is a disease-preventing, longevity and fitness-promoting lifestyle, strongly supported by scientific studies. Routine fasting may prevent and even cure of type II diabetes and obesity (3) and all the complications associated with the former. Fasting and OMAD in particular, activate autophagy, a cell-recycling system associated with disease prevention and longevity. However, following protein absorption, mTor an inhibitor of autophagy is activated. mTor is critical for protein synthesis leading to muscle hypertrophy and preservation.
 
 

Protein/Fasting Myths

I have had reservations about the suppression of muscle growth by fasting until recently. How could one benefit from the longevity effects of fasting if one wants to promote and preserve lean body mass? Growth hormone is known to help preserve muscle mass and bone density. Yet, one of the most potent stimuli to growth hormone secretion is fasting. With fasting, growth hormone increases to maintain body muscle mass and body fat is lost. Therefore, fasting and high-protein intake are not mutually exclusive, regarding muscle hypertrophy and autophagy.

 

Maintenance of skeletal muscle mass is regulated by the balance between anabolic and catabolic processes. mTor is at the center of this balance as a dual regulator of anabolism and catabolism in skeletal muscle mass. I am now very clear in my understanding of why my 4 years of OMAD were beneficial for my muscle growth and fitness in general. In protein, I now consume more than 1g per kilogram of body weight every day in my one single meal.

Here is an interesting conversation between Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, self-described muscle-centered medicine expert and Dr. Mark Hyman, a renowned functional medicine expert.

References

1. When to Eat. Jason Fung. In: The Obesity Code. Chapter 20, How your hormones adapt to fasting. p. 240. 2016. GeryStone Books (pubs).

2. Liljeberg, EH and Bjorck, I. Milk as a supplement to mixed meals may elevate postprandial insulinemia. Eur J. Clin. Nutr. 2001. 55(11): 994-9.

3.  Intermittent Fasting. Jason Fung. In: The Diabetes Code. Chapter 15. p. 190-207. 2018. GeryStone Books (pubs).

4. When to Eat. Jason Fung. In: The Obesity Code. Chapter 20, Myths about fasting. p. 243. 2016. GeryStone Books (pubs).

Close Menu