Lessons from OMAD

First of a lot of thanks to White-Green that made a comment on my last blog asking about the result of OMAD, it made me go back and reflect, somehow it also helped me out of my current lethargy.

First reflections on OMAD (One Meal A Day), my hundred days ended at the end of June, I continued with eating one Meal a Day through July, it was very conveniant because we were on tour with our theatre most weekdays which meant traeling by car a couple of hours. Not having to think or plan for when to eat and what to eat was a relief, I had my One meal when I came home in the evening and that was great.

My good points from OMAD:
It was a simple as giving up drinking – one meal a day means one meal a day and I did not have to ”negotiate” with myself whether to eat lunch early, whether to have some sort of brunch, whether to buy some foods that is not suitable for meals but more of a snack etc. It simplified my life and I can see that I got very used not to eat… not between meals, not ”because I should”

It was easy to plan.

I was rarely hungry i spite of not eating before six or seven in the afternoon. that is interesting and it has strenghened my belief that a lot of dietary ”rules” are not scientifically based.

Did I succeed all the time? No, Im still a compulsive overeater and OMAD did not cure that even though I think it helped me to handle it. My downfalls came as usual with ravings in the evenings, I can´t see any difference between if I eat three meals during the day or just one.

Did I lose weight? No, not really. As I only had one meal a day I thought that I could cook it with butter, cream and cheese, and calories are still calories, it is possible to have too many calories for one day with just one meal. The problem I got fromOMAD is that I got used to big servings…

Socially I did not suffer at all, on the contrary OMAD helped me to plan my social events to situations that was not based on eating together.

In the beginning of august I went back to ”normal” eating mostly because I DO like breakfast and wanted to see if I can find an eating mode that includes breakfast. At the same time I stopped weighing in, partly because I knew (or maybe feared) in the back of my head, that I was probably eating too much and I did not want to know that… So silly, sooner or later you always have to face the music.

And White-Greens comment somehow gave me courage to step on the scale – NOT a good experience because from the enda of july up until yesterday I had gained seven kilos. Big shock, but really nice that I dared to weigh-in, last year I was in denial fråm midsummer until christmas and had at weight-gain of fifteen kilos, reached an all-time-high and felt really bad. could hardly walk at all, avoided stairs etc. etc. I managed to lose 17 kilos during the first six months but now I have gained seven back again… these numbers may stun ordinary people but as very obese I can see-saw five-twenty kilos in a month… and I have already lost two of the kilos that shocked me yesterday morning….

If I back of OMAD and diet and look upon my life there are other explanations to my weight. Last summer I retired and although I am selfemployd and still get commissions I have joined the ”senior citizen” group and I did not expect myself to get a little lost by that… but I did. I foind it very hard to find routines for my day, one would think that exercise would be easier when I got more time but the exercise I can do is swimming and goint to the indoor pool involves starting the car which mean petrol costs… before I had to go to work anyway and could schedule swimming before starting working.

Despite the shock from the scale, I feel vey optimistic because reflecting make me realise that I have learned many things and I have tools to use.

Another thing I have learned this year is that I bet motivated by punishment more than by rewards… the contract I wrote with my daughter when I vowed to pay mony to a political party I hate, worked, the thought of having to pay money to them prevented me from eating and I forgot the other example but it is threat and punishment that drives me…