What is the OMAD diet? How long does the OMAD diet take to work? Can I notice immediate weight loss benefits? OMAD diet has received a lot of hype in recent years. Most find it effective for fast weight loss.
You are here means you have come across this diet. You want to give it a try, but you are a bit skeptical. You cannot decide without having a clear idea about its effects. We understand your concerns and answer all your queries in the following.
Keep reading and be familiar with this diet. We will discuss the effectiveness, outcome, and tips to make it achievable.
What Is OMAD Diet?
OMAD or One Meal a Day diet is a type of diet that helps with fast weight loss. The diet will force your body to target stubborn fat. You can say it is intermittent fasting and can support your weight loss. However, it will allow you to have only one meal a day.
It might be effective for weight loss, but you will struggle to follow this diet. Also, the impact will be more when following it for the first time. You will not eat anything for twenty-three hours. But you can eat all the calories in one meal. You will have to be patient if you want to follow this diet.
Some find OMAD effective for fast weight loss since it offers noticeable results. It will work within five to seven days, but you might not expect this benefit from other weight loss diets.
Once you start following this diet, the carbohydrate intake will be less, and your body will eliminate the excess water. In the first week, your body will focus on water weight and enter into a ketosis state in the second and third weeks.
As a result, you will experience more weight loss in these weeks. Your body will start using stored fat as fuel, and you can achieve your dream shape. However, you will have to know the effects on your body before going ahead.
How Long Will You Have to Wait to Notice Improvements?
Even workouts do not help much, and we keep wondering. However, the OMAD diet will not make you anxious since you will get the desired result. It might not work for all, but it will be effective for most of us. You might not get the expected outcome when you have some chronic issues.
In that condition, you can talk to your physician before considering any weight loss diet.
When you follow the OMAD diet, you might start noticing weight loss benefits within two weeks. But your body will enter into the ketosis state after twelve hours of your last meal. Instead of using glucose for energy, your body will use stored fat, and you will notice a drop in weight.
In brief, you can get the benefits from the first day itself. But the impact will be more in subsequent weeks. However, it might take time to get your dream shape. You cannot expect an overnight change in your weight regardless of the diet type. You will need a bit of patience to get the best outcome.
When Can I Get My Dream Shape?
You will have to take your first step if you want to reach the destination. You must not think that your first step alone will take you to the destination. There will be a distance, and you will need patience.
The OMAD diet will start working from the first week, but you might not notice any visible result within the first few weeks. First, your body will target the fat deposits for energy.
Allow your body to work and know what you can do to make the weight loss faster and more effective. Make sure that you have a supportive approach to complement your diet.
You can drink enough water to stay hydrated. Engage yourself in physical activities, get your sleep, keep yourself busy, and avoid tempting foods. Know your goal and focus on things that can take you closer to your dream shape.
It might be challenging but achievable, and you will have to do this to get a fit body and fresh look. Here are a few tips to help you to stay focused.
Start Slow
You will have to start slow since you are new to the OMAD diet. You will find it hard if you set a long-term goal. Instead of following it for a week, you can plan for a day.
Know how your body reacts and how you can control your cravings. Stay active and focus on positive things to feel determined. If you can follow it for a day, you can continue it for days later. Hence, no need to plan for a week or more initially.
Know What Is Achievable
We all follow a goal when it comes to weight loss. However, it is not achievable all the time. If you set an unachievable goal, you will have to work harder to get the result. Sometimes, you cannot be consistent since it will demand more effort every day, and you can expect the outcome. Instead of planning for a year, you can set an achievable goal per week.
Buy Intelligently
While following a weight loss diet, you can focus on healthy foods. You can avoid buying unhealthy and tempting foods. Discard all those foods that contribute to weight gain.
Also, you can ensure that your fridge and kitchen have foods that support your weight loss and overall wellbeing. If you can access unhealthy foods, you might end up eating them. Hence, you can buy intelligently to avoid consuming tempting foods.
How Does the OMAD Diet Work?
As mentioned earlier, the OMAD diet means one meal a day. You can eat only one meal a day. That means you will be in a fasting state. As a result, your body will not get energy from external sources.
Hence, there will be no other option except to use fatty acids, protein, and glycogen. Gradually, the effect will be noticeable, and you will start losing more fat.
Our food has many nutrients and vitamins to offer the required energy and stamina to stay active throughout the day. Also, the food has macronutrients, including carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
It contains micronutrients such as water, phytonutrients, minerals, and vitamins. When you eat anything, you take all these nutrients inside. However, these are large, and your body needs to break them down first to ensure easy absorption. The processing time will vary based on the food type.
Here are more details to help with easy understanding.
Six Hours After the Meal
When you eat any food, your body takes zero to six hours to digest it based on the food type. It is the post-prandial phase that focuses on digestion. During this time, enzymes, neuropeptides, and bile get released. These compounds will support the absorption of nutrients in your body.
Also, the food will not get absorbed from the stomach, but there will be some exceptions. A few things, including water, drugs, fatty acids, vitamins, and alcohol, might cross the barrier and enter circulation.
However, most of your food will enter your small intestine by traveling at a 1 cm pace per minute. When foods are in the small intestine, all the nutrients get extracted and passed to your body.
After Six to Eight Hours
Within six hours of food consumption, most digestion work gets over. It is the post-absorptive stage when all the nutrients are available in the body. Your body can use them to repair and get the desired energy.
Also, your body can store and use them for other metabolic processes. But the glucose level in your body will start to drop within this period since your cells will use nutrients for energy, and your body will rely on the glycogen from the liver and muscles.
After Eight to Twelve Hours
Now, your body does not have nutrients from the previous meal. It has used all nutrients in the last eight hours. Hence, your body will enter into a fasted state. Also, it will rely on internal sources for energy in the absence of food supply from external sources.
Your body will use the stored energy. Also, your glucose level will be low, and your body will utilize glycogen. During this phase, you will notice many hormonal changes. The glucose level will rise, and the insulin level will drop. Your body will use the stored glycogen, push it into the blood, and fuel your energy.
After Twelve to Forty-Eight Hours
During this time, your body will continue to produce glycogen from your liver. It will continue for up to twenty-four hours, depending on your body type and energy level. Your body will struggle more to get the desired energy.
It will start to break down fatty acids for energy. The fatty acids in your body will break down and start delivering glycerol. It is a gluconeogenesis process that takes place in the kidneys and liver.
The process will start when there are no carbohydrates in your body. Since your body will run out of glucose, it will create ketone bodies and get energy. The ketone bodies will work as the primary energy source for the brain.
Once you enter this phase, you will notice a smelly breath. Your breath will start to smell when your body creates ketone bodies. You will have the same impact on your urine. However, it is the side effect of ketosis and will be more when your body enters the full ketosis state.
When a body generates ketone bodies, it creates a waste product known as acetone. However, it is normal since your body produces acetone every day. But it will multiply the process when you enter the ketosis state.
It will not be a comfortable feeling for many of us. When your breath and urine smell, you will not feel good. But it indicates that you are on the right track and progressing. You can achieve the desired benefits with consistency.
After Forty-Eight to Seventy-Two Hours
Now, forty-eight hours passed after your last meal. You might have noticed many changes in your physical and mental health. At this stage, your body will focus on some essential physiological processes. Many things will decide the impact of this stage on your body. But most will not find this stage welcoming.
Your fat deposits, energy level, and daily activities will decide your physical and mental state. You are on fasting for the last forty-eight hours or even more, and the impact will be noticeable. These things will impact your physiological changes positively and negatively.
Since the circulating blood sugar, gastrointestinal mobility, protein synthesis, blood pressure, and metabolic rate will decrease, you will notice many changes in your physical and mental health.
But there will be an increase in ketone bodies, insulin sensitivity, and circulating fatty acids. During this stage, your body will rely on the fatty acids released from the stored body fat for fuel.
You will notice more effects when the gap is more. Your body might be entering the weight loss process, but you will go through physical and mental stress. Hence, you might find it hard to maintain consistency.
How to Maintain Consistency
You will have to be patient while following the OMAD diet. It is possible when your focus is on behaviors, not on the result. You cannot control outcomes, but you can remain busy, stay hydrated, and focus on your body cues. You can also maintain a food journal to write your emotions and thoughts.
You should not expect immediate benefits. Also, you can stop expecting visible results every day. If you do so, you will feel demoralized and might find it hard to maintain consistency. As mentioned above, you will not notice fast visible outcomes.
Even if your body is working, it will take time to show results. Hence, know what you are doing and what your goal is. Stay focused and keep yourself engaged. If you sit idly, it will not be easy to follow the OMAD diet. Here are a few tips you can go through to stay patient and maintain consistency.
Keep Yourself Busy
As mentioned earlier, you can remain busy if you want to follow this diet. OMAD diet will impact your energy level, and the effect will be more initially. What will happen when you are not busy? You might want something to eat and end up eating whatever is available. Hence, plan your day and make sure that you are exploring a lot of things.
You can read your favorite books, spend time in your garden, listen to your favorite music, and talk to your friends. There will be many things to do, but you will have to find something that makes you happy.
Understand Body Cues
Your body will witness many changes while following the OMAD diet. You will notice both emotional and physical changes. Observe your emotions, energy level, feelings, and reaction to foods.
All these will help you to know whether you can follow this diet for a long or not. If you feel the result is not noticeable and the impact is negative, this diet might not be for you.
Maintain a Food Journal
Since it is a new experience for you, you can make it fun. You can understand different signs of your body. Observe all the physical and mental changes and write them down.
You will know what your body feels when you are hungry and how your mind reacts when you do not consume anything. You will notice a difference after following the same diet for weeks. The impact will be less, and you will find it achievable.
Focus on Hydration
While following this diet, you will lose electrolytes and water. Hence, you will have to drink more water to stay hydrated. Less water consumption might cause dehydration and make it harder for you to continue.
Dehydration will cause fatigue, and you will feel exhausted and frustrated. Therefore, you will have to take care of your water intake. Also, limit or avoid alcohol consumption. Alcohol might intervene in fat-burning, and you will not get the desired benefits.
Wrapping It Up
How long does the OMAD diet take to work? It will start working within a few hours after the last meal. When you stop eating, your body will rely on internal sources for energy. Hence, the weight loss process will start on day one.
However, you might not notice any visible results. But you will have to wait with patience to win the race. Patience is the key to getting the desired benefits. This diet will address stubborn fat, but it will take time. The journey might not be easy, but the outcome makes it worth trying. Start slow and maintain consistency. You will appreciate your efforts in the end.
Hi, my name is Jim Yi and I am a Registered Respiratory Therapist / Respiratory Care Practitioner.
I have been earning experience within these fields for over a decade, learning all there is to know about cardio-pulmonary medicine and how to care properly for the body. Alongside my studies, I also trained to become a Fitness and Weight Management Expert.
I have created ShapeDown.com to teach anyone who is willing to listen how to take care of their body. This can be through exercise, nutrition, lifestyle changes, or supplements. We’ll look through it all here.
You can strengthen your body, enrich it, improve your energy levels, and boost your immune system by making some simple lifestyle changes. If you want to make a change and start honoring your body instead of weakening it, let’s start right now. I promise you won’t regret it!
