If you’ve been following keto for a while, and now you want to try OMAD, you may be wondering can you do omad with keto or without.
You can do OMAD without keto. Doing one meal a day can feel foreign, uncomfortable, and stressful. Therefore, depriving yourself of the foods that you’re used to will add to that stress.
In fact, you shouldn’t really restrict yourself from any type of food while you are on one meal a day. In this article, I will show you how to get the best, and the most sustainable results from OMAD without doing keto.
Do You Have To Do Keto On OMAD?
You don’t have to do keto while doing OMAD. Doing one meal a day is enough to switch the body into ketosis and start using stored body fat as an internal source of energy. Adding more restrictions can lead to lower compliance with the diet.
Studies are clear that the more you deprive yourself of foods you like, and the foods that you crave, the more likely you are to rebound effect (source).
This means, in the long-term, the more restrictions you have, the more likely you are to fall off the wagon and lose control.
Any long-term diet, especially one that is restricting from some type of macronutrient (carbs, or fats), or the whole food groups (meat or grains) is gonna fail in the long term.
It’s fine to do it in the short-term.
However, if you’re looking at the long-haul game, you must not forget that the longer you restrict yourself from something you crave, the more you will want it. And the more you want it, the more “pressure” you will feel.
More pressure creates more stress. And when stress level reaches a peak, we are likely to binge, impulse eat or just lose control.
And once we crack under pressure, we will feel guilty, and shameful and decide to start the cycle once again, with more restrictions.
It’s like trying to swim against the current. Or in this case, trying to fight against human nature. You may not feel that on day one.
But eventually, you will break down.
So adding extra “rules” and following a keto diet on top of OMAD will eventually build up.
Does OMAD Work Without Keto?
OMAD works without keto. One meal a day is a form of intermittent fasting that reduces the number of calories from the food. Therefore, it creates a caloric deficit and leads to weight reduction, without doing keto.
When your body gets less food (negative energy balance), typically 12 hours after your last meal, it will deplete liver glycogen stores and start the process of mobilization of fat through fatty acid oxidation.
As a result, your liver starts to produce ketone bodies that can be used for energy (source).
In the scientific literature, this is called metabolic switch (source).
Your body switches from using an external source of energy (the last food you eat) to an internal source of energy (stored body fat). This process happens with or without being on keto.
In fact, any diet that brings you to a caloric deficit will create that metabolic switch.
So any diet work. But it will only work as long as you do it. Some of the diets are just simply too boring to be sustainable. That’s why people can only do it for so long.
For instance, lately, there is a craze for Egg Fast Diet. All you do is eat eggs. And you lose weight. But let’s be honest, what happens when you stop?
Yes. The weight will come back up again. Why do people do those diets then? Because it’s a short-term win. For example.
If a Hollywood actor is just signed a multi-million dollar contract for the role in a high-end production movie, and part of his contract is that he must be in tip-top shape, then he will do whatever it takes, and use any short-term method to get there.
They are professionals. It’s their job.
So for the 12-16 weeks they will be eating dry chicken breast and steamed broccoli, several times a day.
But what happens after the movie finishes?
That’s how our body works.
OMAD Without Keto Results
The difference between OMAD and keto is that one meal a day allows you to eat what you want. It doesn’t create arbitrary rules, doesn’t require counting carbs, and allows you to enjoy the food much better.
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Take Away
So if your goal is to fit into old jeans. Or maybe you want to start running again. Or even maybe you just want to touch your toes. OMAD is a good place to start. But you need consistency. You need sustainable results
There are a number of studies that document people who are on calorie restriction (aka diet) and deprived themselves of specific foods, are more likely to over-eat.
In this particular study done by Polivy J, a group of restrained eaters consumed more food than any other group (source). They also experienced more cravings. So don’t worry about doing OMAD with keto. Do it as you feel like it and you will hit home.
Go Further with OMAD
This article is part of the How To Do OMAD, which I recommend you read.
In the following pages, I show you all the related aspects necessary to design and personalize your intermittent fasting approach to fit into your lifestyle.
Next: Click here to learn more about how to stick to omad