Is the Omad diet safe? The Omad diet is a type of intermittent fasting that has you eating one meal a day. And it restricts caloric consumption during a specific window of time. The full words for the acronym of OMAD are one meal a day. So that is what this diet is which is a one meal a day diet program.
Is the Omad diet safe?- Photo credit: Lanasweet
Eating just one meal a day and fasting for the rest of the day is something that most people can’t do for too long. It is a weight loss strategy that some people try to employ but is not sustainable because the calories are too restrictive and too low.
You will lose weight in the short-term eating one meal a day because it will put you in a caloric deficit. But it is not sustainable because the number of calories you will be receiving will be more than likely less than 1000 calories a day. And your calories being this low would be difficult for you to be able to function properly from a day-to-day energy perspective.
Eating in such a restrictive way will also lead to lean muscle mass loss which is not ideal. Because lean muscle mass is what drives the rate of your metabolism. There are research studies that show that fasting is linked to reducing cholesterol levels, reduction of inflammation health markers, reduction of blood sugar levels, etc.
Some of the negative downsides of eating one meal a day are the following:
- Low Energy
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Irritability
- Extreme Hunger
- Loss Of Muscle
- The rate of your metabolism dropping.
- Constipation
There are certain groups of people that are not ideal for the OMAD diet:
- which are pregnant women,
- women that are breastfeeding
- children
- teens
- older adults
- and people with eating disorders.
If you are planning to try the OMAD diet it may be best to consult with your healthcare professional or nutritionist to see if it is ideal for you. Some people that do employ this fasting strategy may do it once a week and then eat normally for 7 days a week.
One of the reasons why eating one meal a day is so difficult for so many people is if you wait for an extended period to eat that one meal you are more than likely to overeat. Why? Because you are so hungry and because you waited too long to eat that one meal.
The Bottom Line is the OMAD diet is a fasting diet that requires you to eat one meal a day. It is a diet that will put you in a caloric deficit. And it is important to know you will lose weight in the short term. But it is not sustainable from a long-term perspective because you are not consuming enough daily calories which would affect your day-to-day energy levels.
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References
- Malinowski B, Zalewska K, Węsierska A, Sokołowska MM, Socha M, Liczner G, Pawlak-Osińska K, Wiciński M. Intermittent Fasting in Cardiovascular Disorders-An Overview. Nutrients. 2019 Mar 20;11(3):673. doi: 10.3390/nu11030673. PMID: 30897855; PMCID: PMC6471315.
- Park H, Shin D, Lee KW. Association of main meal frequency and skipping with metabolic syndrome in Korean adults: a cross-sectional study. Nutr J. 2023 May 11;22(1):24. doi: 10.1186/s12937-023-00852-x. PMID: 37165359; PMCID: PMC10173485.
- Stote KS, Baer DJ, Spears K, Paul DR, Harris GK, Rumpler WV, Strycula P, Najjar SS, Ferrucci L, Ingram DK, Longo DL, Mattson MP. A controlled trial of reduced meal frequency without caloric restriction in healthy, normal-weight, middle-aged adults. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Apr;85(4):981-8. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/85.4.981. PMID: 17413096; PMCID: PMC2645638.
