“What was my experience when adopting intermittent fasting”

“Among the many diet options, this one caught my attention for its simplicity. OMAD (One Meal a Day Diet, a kind of intermittent fasting) is to eat only once a day — the English translation is One Meal a Day Diet. People like Hugh Jackman and Terry Crews have already spoken highly of it, and it has also been recommended by experts from the University of Saskatchewan (Canada). For these and others, I decided to test OMAD. But things weren’t that simple.as I will show next.

In this post, I will explain to all readers of awesome.club what kind of regimen this is, for which cases it is suitable and when it should be avoided.

In itself, the diet is very simple: it establishes that the person must have a balanced meal a day. In between, you can drink tea (without sugar), water or eat a small fruit. Diet supporters usually indicate the following benefits of the practice:

The diet helps to concentrate and improves intellectual performance. Everyone knows the lethargy that comes after a meal, when all the blood in the brain is directed towards digestion. During OMAD, this only happens once.
No need to think about food. The person only needs to worry about what they will eat once a day (instead of the traditional three or four).
The third advantage: you can forget the habit of counting calories, as well as feeling bad when trying on a new dress. When you eat once a day, especially when that meal is not eaten at night, it is very difficult to gain weight. In addition, the main purpose of the diet is to stop the constant flow of calories and force the body to use other sources of energy (for example, accumulated fat), as well as using 100% of the energy obtained, without reserving anything for the future.

Results from a 2017 study indicated that the diet helped people with type 2 diabetes balance blood sugar levels. According to researchers, this type of intermittent fasting promotes the interruption of cognitive impairment, improves memory, sleep, skin condition, bowel function and helps reduce weight.

Actor Hugh Jackman has already revealed that he is a fan of intermittent fasting and regular exercise. He takes 16-hour breaks between meals, and he feels great physically.

There is even historical evidence that the ancient Romans ate only once a day (although not the entire population).

This all looks great, so I decided to give it a try.

1º day. At dusk, I went to the supermarket and thought of everything in order to maintain a balanced diet: I bought fruit, sausage, a small loaf of bread, cooked buckwheat and beans. It looked like everything was perfectly organized. However, I could not eat even half of the food I had prepared. I was used to eating small portions, and that plate of food had completely filled my stomach. After 5 hours, I got hungry again, and it was really hard, as I would have to wait 20 hours before eating again. But the only thing left for me was to hold on, take a deep breath and drink plenty of water.

A great advantage that comes when you set a personal limitation on yourself is the purity of conscience🇧🇷 The more willpower you put in, the more powerful you feel. When I walked through the door of restaurants that smelled of food, I felt very strong.

Not to mention that fasting highlighted feelings and emotions. When passing through a park, I came across an impressive musical performance. I felt the music so intensely that I had to walk away from the place and I burst into tears. At that moment, directly above my head, fireworks began to pop: I stood admiring them with tears in my eyes, feeling completely happy.

twoº day. The next day was a trial by fire for me and my stomach. When I woke up, I felt a great weakness, and could hardly stand🇧🇷 I knew that the ideal would be to eat some vegetables, but as I could only have one meal, I would need to eat as much food as possible.

I had to struggle to swallow beans and tomatoes, and the body received that meal with suspicion: I had to lie down for another half hour after eating. I noticed that I had already started mentally drawing pictures of my altered metabolism: my body would think that “hard times” had arrived and it would start storing fat, and I would, little by little, turn into a doughnut.

3º day. This one was even more difficult for me. He had headaches, trouble thinking, and he just wanted to curl up in the fetal position, motionless on the bed. I felt thin and light, as if I were actress Elle Fanning all coquettish running through the woods. Only I couldn’t run. For me, that diet was incompatible with physical and mental work.

4º and 5th day. I think the last few days have been the strangest. It was easy and difficult at the same time. I seemed to have become a vegetable with a personality. My strength returned, my head stopped hurting. Apparently, the body had begun to adapt: ​​the lipolysis of fats occurred more quickly, the blood vessels appeared to be cleaner and the food became easier to digest.

In the first place, that was all very stressful for my body. Yes, I lost weight. However, it didn’t make sense: if you follow this diet for a long time, you’ll end up regaining the weight a short time later, I believe.

In second place, I got the feeling that this method was not healthy at all. I didn’t understand how it would be possible to consume enough calories in a single meal. In my opinion, it’s much more natural to eat a little three times a day. After all, if you avoid eating 4 hours before bed and about 1 hour after waking up, you will have done 14 hours of a natural fast.

But I also saw some advantages. I realized how much my emotional state depends on what and how much. I realized that I have great willpower, and that I’m capable of doing anything, although I don’t always take advantage of it.

Although the diet didn’t work well for me, doesn’t mean it needs to be avoided by all people.🇧🇷 Even because many artists, athletes and doctors have already recommended this nutritional method, even if practiced occasionally.

What you should never forget is that if you have problems with your blood sugar level or with the mucous membrane of your stomach and intestines, this type of more radical diet can only be done with medical supervision.

If you were curious about this diet, you can read more about it. And if you decide to put it into practice, don’t forget to leave a comment on this post as long as it went. Or do you know of any other diet that works well for your body?