A new eating habit for life
Keep the weight off
Our evolution has also been used by vegans to explain that meat eating is not necessary for brain growth. They argue, if that was true, lions would be smarter than us since they eat more meat than humans. Control of fire and skull capacity aside, I don’t need to enter into big debates with either vegans or carnivores. Instead, I attempt to explain with science the basis of the results that I have already obtained over the years. Let me elaborate on this: Back to “The Biggest Loser” (TBL) contestants, remember that I found motivation in the show to maintain my workout routine. I kept my routine workout day after day, month after month and year after year. Even when it seemed like I was not making any progress in my weight reduction goals, I persisted.
Since most TBL contestants eventually gained their weight back, it must mean that I have been doing something right. I lost 28% of my weight and kept that weight until now, almost 10 years since I started OMAD. Some of you who may have blamed yourselves or feel humiliated for your inability to maintain a healthy body shape. Rest assured that there is a way to keep the weight off for the rest of your lives. It is not hard at all, once you get into the habit of feasting and fasting for life.
Is your weight control plan Sustainable?
My goal is to show you how to lose weight in an ultimately “sustainable” way. There it is that word again. What about cravings for sugar or carbs? And the hunger that we must satiate 3 times a day? Surely fasting is not that easy. Some TBL contestants admitted that they did very extreme things to even stay in the game, besides working out. I for one would never advocate the use of any sort of medication. I worked in the pharmaceutical industry and I believe that prescription drugs (let alone illegal drugs) are only to be used for limited time. Drugs should be used only when they can specifically produce a cure. For example, antibiotics for infections. However, I am very fearful of using drugs for the rest of my life because by definition they are not the cure. Take, for example, glucose or cholesterol-lowering drugs.
Since I am not a medical doctor, this is only an explanation of how I see my own health. It is no secret, however, that people go to very strange extremes to lose weight. Eating OMAD is definitely not as extreme as some might think. People are used to eating 3 or more meals a day. Therefore, it is scary to embark on an OMAD regimen for more than 21 days, let alone for life. I started OMAD thinking that I could create any habit by repeating the same behavior daily for 21 days in a row. On the 22nd day of OMAD, I repeated the same habit I had formed in the preceding 21 days, without any difficulty. I simply do not have the urge to violate my new habit at all. OMAD has become an integral part of who I am.
OMAD: a new eating habit for life
I no longer think of food in the evening or in the morning. However, I do enjoy my food at 11 am, like never before in my life. Food tastes much better, and I meticulously keep track of my macronutrients in my account in www.myfitnesspal.com. What about exercise? Is it really necessary for a 50-year-old person to do strenuous exercise in order to lose weight? I always do my exercise routine daily. However, I believe that you could lose weight with OMAD without controlling your macronutrients, calorie intake or exercise. However, you must religiously keep your OMAD regimen.
As my body changed, I found one interesting and unexpected effect of OMAD: the newfound joy in working out. Ironically, I have found, exercise is better when done in the morning before breaking the fast. My research has made me believe that this is an effect of growth hormone which increases overnight, after many hours of fasting. You can eat all you want without restrictions on you one meal. You can eat more natural foods, rather than processed foods that are rich in sugar, or carbohydrates. This further decreases the level of the post-prandial insulin spike. I really have no objection to eating more fats. But keep in mind that fats are a complex subject beyond the scope of this article.
More on my eating and workout routines
You can make your own healthy food choices. In my case, I kept eating a diet high in carbohydrates and low in fat until last year. Then I restarted my OMAD regimen. I tried for several years to keep the weight off with 3 meals a day, and a daily workout routine. During those years, my body weight bounced back up. I restricted my calorie intake, the same way the TBL contestants did (more on this on Part IV). For a few months now, I have come to understand that exercising while fasting is actually more efficient. This way my body begins to make use of my fat stores after 20 hours of fasting.
I do intense calisthenics (pull-ups and push-ups), weight lifting and tennis totaling 130 min daily workout routine. This has helped me maintain and increase my muscle mass. Never was I this fit, not even as a young man in my teens or twenties. I do eat plenty of protein (up to 100g daily). So you see, I never lost weight at the rate some of the TBL contestants did. It took me from 2009 to 2014 to lose 28% of my body weight.
OMAD is doable
Now, after these many years, I am at my lowest body weight since I started OMAD (± 2-3 lbs). So I can say with confidence that I will maintain this low body weight for the rest of my life. I do intend to continue to feast and fast for life. It is my new lifestyle and I do enjoy it, and it has kept me in great shape and health. I wish that all obese people in the world could see that OMAD and exercise are normal and doable. After only a 3 week period of adaptation to a new lifestyle of health and fitness.
