Choosing your meals for OMAD isn’t complicated, but necessary to keep you satisfied and not think about food all day long.
This means you should look for meals that are not only delicious but also curb your hunger.
In this article, I will show you the easy way to create your own meals, give you tips and help to understand what to eat on OMAD.
In general, when you’re doing OMAD, you should eat foods that are filling, nutritious, and can satisfy your personal preferences. Choosing high-fiber and protein-dense foods will keep your satiety high, help with maintaining lean body mass and increase resting metabolic rate.
But before I show you what to eat, let’s start with some basics that are usually ignored. Each section of this guide gives you more in-depth information if you want to learn more.
What Is A Good Meal For OMAD?
Choosing the right meal for OMAD is more about personal preferences than following some diet plan from the spreadsheet. In the short term, ready-to-eat meal plans may be the most precise and accurate way to lower body fat, but in the long term, they don’t work.
You need to learn the skills that can help you transform your existing meals into the much better versions of the food that you already like, want, and prefer.
Thankfully, I’ve made a simple guide where I explain how to choose the right meal for OMAD, and how to build your own meals through the lenses of your personal preferences.
How Much Should I Eat On OMAD?
Generally, when you’re doing OMAD you should be eating until you’re satisfied, but not full. Eating only one meal a day can means you can eat as much as you want, however, if you want to get the best results and learn some valuable skills, you should eat until you’re no longer hungry.
What I like about OMAD is that you don’t really have to count calories, as long as you focus on foods that are satisfying. This will help you stay full, without feeling hungry.
For some people having just one meal a day is a big stretch. Especially if they are accustomed to eating 3-4 meals a day or more.
To learn more about how much exactly should you be eating on OMAD, you can read my guide below.
Learn More: Click here to read the guide on how much should I eat on omad
Can I Eat Anything On OMAD?
In general, you can eat anything you want on OMAD, as long as you have it within the time of your meal. Eating one meal a day means you will get into a calorie deficit, so regardless of what meals you have, you will see results. The only problem is that some foods can trigger more appetite than others.
How full you feel after the meal depends on the satiety score of the foods. Satiety is related to the amount of protien and fiber in each specific food.
Can I eat fast food on OMAD? In general, you can eat fast food on OMAD, as long you eat them occasionally. Fast food is usually stripped off from any fiber and water content, so it negatively impacts the appetite and cravings. Whenever you have a chance, it’s better to eat a home-cooked meal.
Can I eat McDonald’s on OMAD? In general, you can eat McDonald’s on OMAD, as long as it a part of your main meal. McDonald’s meals have a lot of fat, salt, sugar, and cheese content, which makes them extremely palatable. At the same time, they have low fiber and water so they make you hungry sooner.
Luckily, I’ve prepared a whole article where I go in-depth about what happens when you eat whatever you want on OMAD.
Learn More: Click here to learn more can I eat anything on omad
Carbs On OMAD
In general, you can eat carbs on OMAD because they contain several essential nutrients and fibers that give you satiety and lowers hunger levels down. Having one meal a day, regardless if you have carbs or not, will put you in the calorie deficit.
Carbs, together with proteins, has the highest satiety score, which means they make you fuller for longer. Think of your carbs as fruits and veggies.
Fruits and veggies should be an essential part of any caloric restriction diet. They not only provide you with vitamins and minerals, but they also come with a lot of fiber and water content.
Remember that when you’re on OMAD you won’t be getting your typical amount of food as you normally do. So if you want the best results, you need to become more selective and just make sure that you always have some veggies and fruits on your plate.
Plus, carbs also are extremely palatable foods so not only they taste good, but also lowers your cravings and stress.
Learn More: Click here to learn more about can I eat carbs on omad
Rice On OMAD
After talking with multiple clients who have been dieting on and off for years, they have this paralysis of allowing themselves to eat foods that they like. For instance, rice.
In general, you can eat rice on OMAD, as long as you have it together with proteins and fats. Having a mixed meal of rice and protein will give you a good boost of energy and maintain glucose levels. Eating rice by itself can negatively impact blood glucose.
Many people are skeptical about eating rice. However, in many Asian cultures, rice is a staple food. It is part of the tradition. I’ve written a whole article about rice and how to eat it to lower glucose levels while doing OMAD.
Learn More: Click here to learn more about can you eat rice on omad
Proteins On OMAD
You can get enough protein on OMAD, as long as you spread your meal throughout the whole 60 minutes. Start by prioritizing protein-rich sources, eat slowly, and spend as much time as necessary. In case you think you may not be getting enough, you can add a protein shake.
The current international Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 g per kg of body weight
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Is it bad to eat all your protein in one meal? In general, it is not bad to eat all your proteins in one meal because they all will get absorbed. Proteins that come from natural food sources are digested evenly and slowly, where proteins that come from powders have more rapid absorption.
This basically means you can only absorb 20-30g of protein in one meal if that protein is coming from the shakes. On the other side, if your protein is coming from regular food, there is no cap on how much your body can absorb.
Can You Have Protein Shakes On OMAD? You can have protein shakes on OMAD to supplement your daily protein requirements. This, however, shouldn’t be a substitute for high-quality protein-rich meals. Protein shakes should be used as an addition to the regular diet that is high in nutrients.
This means if you believe that your current one meal a day doesn’t deliver you enough proteins, you can either change and add more protein-rich foods to your meal or have a protein shake.
Luckily, I’ve written an blog post where I explain everything in detail about proteins on OMAD.
Learn More: Click here to read the blog post on how much protein on omad
Snacks On OMAD
In general, snacking on OMAD isn’t recommended. However, if you have a strong self-awareness, and you know you can limit yourself to 1-2 snacks in the times when you need some lift-me-up energy boost, then some strategic snacking can make wonders.
Snacking can also be essential during the times when you want to work out because having a small snack before exercise can improve your performance, make you go harder, and increase metabolic rate, together with muscle protein synthesis.
Which means more calories burned. I’ve put together a nice list of snacks you may want to take a look.
Learn More: Click here to read the list of snacks can you snack on omad
When Should You Eat On OMAD?
In general, the best time to eat on OMAD is in the afternoon. Eating one large meal first thing in the morning can lower your energy for the rest of the day and make you hungry at night. On the other hand, eating too late at night can interfere with your circadian rhythms.
However, this will be dependent on your work schedule, workout times, and personal preferences. Personally, like to eat one meal a day between 4 – 8 pm as this is when I feel my energy starts to dip.
Before that time I have a lot of time and energy to do my jobs, exercise, and stay focused. If I eat in the morning, I cannot work out because I feel sleepy.
Do I have to eat at the same time every day on OMAD? You can eat at the same time every day on OMAD because it will help to balance your circadian rhythms, control melatonin levels and help with sleep. Eating at the same time helps the body to adapt and control your energy levels throughout the day.
To find out who to properly plan your OMAD timing, I’ve written an article where I explain all pros and cons of eating either in the morning or afternoon, which I recommend you read.
Learn More: Click here to learn more when is the best time to eat omad
Can You Lose Weight Eating One Meal A Day?
You can lose weight by eating one meal a day because it creates a calorie deficit and drives the body towards a negative energy balance. Having one meal will reduce 2/3 of your daily calorie intake, which will result in using stored fat as a source of energy.
So there is nothing significant about eating one meal a day apart form calorie deficit. In fact, the same results you can get from eating 3 meals a day, but smaller.
But the reason why OMAD is so popular is that it is just easier to eat once and not to worry about counting calories, measuring food, or cutting carbs.
Learn More: Wanna know more about how does OMAD works for weight loss? Check out my article can you lose weight eating one meal a day
How Much Weight Can You Lose On One Meal A Day?
On average, you can lose around 1-3 lbs on OMAD, as long as you stay consistent. The amount of weight loss will depend on few factors like age, gender, physical activity, and lean muscle mass. Also, within the first week, you can lose 3-7 lbs of body weight due to water loss.
That is what usually happen when people switch their diet and restrict total amount of carbs. Carbohydrates likes to bind with water molecules. So when you stop eating carbs, then a lot of extracellular water will be drained.
How to speed up the process?
- Stay active
- Eat slowly
- Eat without distractions
- Organize your kitchen to support your goals
Want more tips? I’ve made a cool checklist on how to stay patient with OMAD. Click here to learn about how much weight can you lose on one meal a day
Conclusion
Doing OMAD is not complicated, however, choosing the right foods can make a massive difference in your adherence and results. In general, I know people like to eat what they want. But this doesn’t build any skills that they can use after they finish with OMAD.