Fasting is not for all

First some disclaimers: One Meal a Day (OMAD) may not be suitable for pregnant women or women who are hoping to get pregnant. Also, it may not be appropriate for people under 20 unless your doctor approves it. Finally, this OMAD weight loss plan is designed from my own experience. I started at age 53. Ten years later, I keep this regimen and I intend to keep it for the rest of my life. It is relatively easy to become adapted to it and make it a life-long habit.

Not a calorie restriction plan

If you are anything like I was, you hate doing any sort of workout daily routine. Especially, you hate a workout routine at the end of the day, after a long day of work. Following your commute, all you want to do is eat and crash on your couch and watch TV. You are obese and have been carrying around an excess of 60 lb or more. This makes it that more difficult to lose weight. Besides, according to Myfitnesspal.com, a 45 min brisk walk can burn a little over 200 calories. So clearly, you are not going to solve the problem by increasing the duration or distance of your brisk walk. Perhaps, you also hate counting calories, let alone weighing and cooking low-calorie meals.

Not a diet, OMAD is a regimen

For the first 3 weeks, we are not going to focus on diet, calorie counting or exercise. We won’t even change our favorite foods. First, we can keep on eating carbohydrates and fats as we are used to, and focus only on one thing: OMAD within a 1 hr window. Sounds hard? it should not be and this is why: You may eat whatever you want and as much of it as you can in a 1 hr window. Are you afraid that you might not be able to fit enough food in your stomach to supply the calories you need?

• a. Your stomach is as elastic as a rubber band, and it can stretch enough to fit a lot of food.
•  b. We are not counting calories, remember?

Your goal is to get to the 21st day. Then, on day 22, you will find with delight that repeating what you did on day 21st won’t be hard at all. Then, and only then, you would be able to move to the second face of this regimen.

Some important notes:

1. If you fail on any one day, either because:

• a. You had a family dinner at an odd time and you were “forced” to eat a second time.
• b. You could not resist the temptation to break your fast with a quick snack.

Then your 21-day streak will be over and you are going to have to start over. Do not feel bad about it. Just find a new determination to succeed and start over.

2. Get a balance that measures not only body weight but also body fat and even muscle mass. After a while, you will be glad that you are able to see progress. Here is an example balance from Amazon.com

3. Before you start, take a picture of yourself. I never took a shirtless picture of myself at my highest weight because: a. I was embarrassed to do it. b. I had no hope that I would lose any big amounts of weight. But believe me, both your weight and image now are going to be great motivators to keep going as your weight decreases.

4. For now, do not be obsessed with calorie counts, fat vs. carbohydrates or any amount of exercise. Try to keep doing what you are doing except for the OMAD regimen. Focusing on one change at a time will be hard enough. The results will occur, anyway.

5. Don’t weigh yourself every day. Do it instead once a week or once a month. Take a picture of yourself once a month as a record of your progress. The quality of the picture is not important.

Once you have reached the 22nd day, you are prepared for the next change. Look at part II in this series for the next steps.