What is the OMAD diet? Is one meal a day actually good for weight loss? And is it safe?

What does the British Prime Minister do? Rishi Sunak What do you have in common with singer Bruce Springsteen?

They are one of a group of celebrities who promote the benefits of eating just one meal a day.

As a result, the one meal a day (OMAD) diet has become the latest hot weight loss trend. Proponents claim this leads to rapid and long-term weight loss success and improved health, including slowing the aging process.

Like most weight loss programs, the OMAD diet makes big, bold promises. Here’s what you need to know about one meal a day and what it means for weight loss.

Read more: What is a ‘weight setpoint’? Why is it so difficult to maintain weight?

OMAD diet explanation

Essentially, the OMAD diet is a type of intermittent fasting in which you fast for 23 hours and burn all of your daily calories in one meal eaten within an hour.

OMAD dietary rules are presented as simple and easy to follow.

1. You don’t have to follow any calorie restrictions or nutritional guidelines, and you can eat whatever you want as long as it fits on a standard dinner plate.

2. You can drink zero-calorie drinks (water, tea, coffee) throughout the day.

3. You should follow a consistent eating schedule and eat one meal at approximately the same time each day.

Proponents believe that the OMAD diet not only creates a calorie deficit and leads to weight loss, but also increases fasting periods. cause physiological changes It helps improve your health, including boosting your metabolism by triggering a process called ketosis, which allows your body to burn stored fat for energy instead of glucose.

What does the evidence say?

Unfortunately, research on the OMAD diet is limited. Most studies have investigated its effects. animaland the primary research In a human experiment, 11 lean young adults followed the OMAD diet for just 11 days.

Claims about the OMAD diet are typically based on research on intermittent fasting, not the OMAD diet itself.There is evidence Supports the effectiveness of intermittent fasting for achieving weight loss. but, most research It focuses only on short-term results and typically considers results achieved within 12 weeks.

Read more: Does eating time matter? And can intermittent fasting improve my health?science says this

One Long-term study abroad from 2022 They randomly assigned 139 obese patients to either a calorie-restricted diet that restricted eating between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily, or a daily calorie restriction-only diet for 12 months.

After 12 months, both groups lost about the same amount of weight and experienced similar changes in body fat, blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure. This shows that the long-term weight loss achieved by intermittent fasting is not superior, but comparable to the weight loss achieved by traditional dieting methods (daily calorie restriction).

So what are the problems with the OMAD diet?

1. It can lead to nutritional deficiencies and health problems.

The OMAD diet raises many red flags due to its lack of nutritional guidance on what to eat at one meal per day.

The meals we eat daily should include whole grain carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits, protein, supporting good fats and balanced protein sources. Optimal health, disease prevention and weight management.

Lack of a balanced diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies, which can lead to decreased immune function, fatigue, and loss of bone density, leading to osteoporosis.

Fasting for 23 hours a day is likely to lead to extreme hunger and uncontrollable cravings, which can lead to you continuing to eat foods that aren’t good for you when it’s time to eat.

2. It is unlikely to be sustainable.

You may be able to stick to the OMAD diet at first, but you will lose weight over time.

Extreme diets, especially those that prescribe long periods of fasting, are not fun and can lead to feelings of loss and social isolation during meals. It’s hard to say no to an office birthday cake at the best of times. Imagine how you feel when you haven’t eaten anything for 23 hours.

Dietary restrictions can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food, making it even more difficult to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

3. Quick fix doesn’t work.

Like other popular intermittent fasting methods, the appeal of the OMAD diet is that it is easy to digest and results can be seen quickly.

But the OMAD diet is just another fancy way to cut calories to lose weight quickly.

Once you lose weight, things go downhill quickly. the body activates defense mechanisms To protect weight loss. In fact, you’ll gain weight back, a response that stemmed from the need our hunter-gatherer ancestors had to survive when food was scarce.

Read more: Is it true that the faster you lose weight, the faster you’ll gain it back? Here’s what we know about slow vs. rapid weight loss

conclusion

Despite the hype, the OMAD diet is unsustainable and does not provide better weight loss results than previous diet methods. Gradually our old habits creep back in and we find ourselves fighting a series of physiological changes to ensure we regain the weight we lost.

Successful long-term weight loss requires the following:

• Lose weight in small, manageable increments that you can keep up with until you reach your goal weight. Specifically, a period of weight loss followed by a period of weight maintenance.

• Make gradual changes to your lifestyle to ensure you develop habits that will last a lifetime.

The Borden Group at the Charles Perkins Center studies the science of obesity and conducts clinical trials for weight loss.you can Register here to express your interests.