The keto OMAD diets are increasingly becoming popular since most people are praising them for their fast weight loss properties. OMAD is an abbreviation for one meal a day. People choose this meal plan to shed extra pounds as it has been linked to noticeable weight changes. However, there is so much you need to know about these meal plans before embracing them.
Like any other diet plan, these meals, too, have their benefits and drawbacks. You might think that you are consuming the right foods and portions but end discovering you were wrong. Similarly, you might choose various recipes and end up determining they are unacceptable.
For this reason, this article will explore the OMAD keto meals in-depth. We will explore their benefits and risks and then highlight some great OMAD keto meal ideas and recipes.
What Is Omad Keto Dieting?
OMAD is an acronym for one meal a day. Therefore, the OMAD keto diet refers to a keto meal that is taken once in 24 hours. Commonly you are expected to only take one meal, primarily during dinner.
The one meal must contain all the nutrients and help you reach your daily caloric limit. It means that careful planning is needed to avoid malnutrition or fewer calories. The OMAD keto dieting plan is an example of intermittent fasting.
It entails you go for an extended duration without eating or drinking and then eat for a specified brief period. It is, therefore, similar to the type of intermittent fasting known as 23:1 (6). In this practice, you go for 23 hours without eating or drinking and then eating and drinking for one hour.
In this one hour, you must ensure you consume your daily calories. Otherwise, you will not get another opportunity to acquire your calories. If you start the OMAD keto diet during dinner today, you will eat the next day at dinner.
Read More: The OMAD Diet: Is Having One Meal A Day Effective?
Omad Keto Diet Myths And Facts
As mentioned earlier, this type of diet plan resembles the 23:1 intermittent fasting technique. In most people’s minds, the myth is that fasting can help you drop pounds quickly (1). Therefore, they speculate that you can also lose weight fast using the one meal a day diet plan.
The reality is that fasting is not always healthy. You may end up consuming more calories than if you were eating fewer calories throughout the day. Again, fasting makes you lose more muscle compared to fat. These myths can affect how fast or whether or not you see your desired OMAD keto results. So, distinguish between myths and facts.
The second myth about this meal plan is that eating at night can make you gain extra fat or weight. In this diet, you choose to eat whenever you want, so long as it is once throughout the day. In most cases, most people prefer to eat at night or during dinner.
The reality is that just eating at night will not make you fat, this is true if you mostly eat healthy meals. High-calorie foods are the ones that are responsible for weight gain if eaten at night.
Why Start An Omad Keto Meal Plan?
There are several reasons why you may choose to start eating this diet plan. For some, it may be to validate that they eat healthy and clean from now on. However, others may opt for this diet plan due to the following reasons:
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It Improves Heart Health
High cholesterol levels emanating from unhealthy eating cause most cardiovascular diseases. Most OMAD keto meal plans have low or no cholesterol levels at all. Therefore, they may help in reducing your risk of heart diseases.
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It Reduces Vulnerability To Various Cancers
Eating this diet has also been linked to the reduction of your risk of getting certain cancers. Researchers acknowledge that eating the OMAD keto diet alongside radiation therapy and chemotherapy can also help treat various cancers (10). However, more research is required to determine the keto diet plans’ effectiveness in cancer prevention and treatment.
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It Can Improve Your Acne
If you are the type that hates acne, then you will love this benefit of eating the OMAD keto meals. Usually, acne is caused by various factors. It could arise from your hormonal changes, high-stress levels, the medications you are taking, or your diet.
Although eating processed and refined carbs may not appear to affect your skin whatsoever, it does indeed give you acne. These diets tend to alter the balance of your gut bacteria and increase your blood sugar levels.
The effects of these two changes affect your skin profoundly. They give you acne, which may take a while to clear, depending on your diet and consumption patterns.
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It May Protect Your Brain Functioning
The ketones generated from your OMAD keto diet have various neuroprotective properties. These properties allow the diet to strengthen and protect both your nerve and brain cells. As a result, you can protect or reduce your risk of getting conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.
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It Supports Weight Loss
Eating one meal a day may seem like the right way of losing weight. However, there is so much about the OMAD diet that you need to know to support weight loss. First and foremost, you need to know about the foods to eat.
In an OMAD keto meal plan, you need to consume more low-carb and high-fat diets. They initiate faster metabolism, which means burning more calories. You also get to lose weight using the OMAD keto meals due to their appetite-suppressing properties.
Contrary to what you may think, eating one meal a day while implementing this meal plan can suppress your appetite. These meal plans lower your hunger-stimulating hormones, meaning you rarely feel hunger throughout the day (10).
You can, therefore, start the OMAD keto meal plan to lose some pounds. However, before that, you will need to consult with a registered nutritionist or dietitian.
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Eating An Omad Keto Meal For Weight Loss
If your sole purpose is dropping some extra pounds, then you need to take account of the following aspects:
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Your Goals
You need to determine how long you will undertake your weight loss journey. It could be a week, months, or years. If the window is more prolonged, this diet plan may not be the most practical one. It could lead to adverse health effects.
Therefore, talk to your doctor about your weight loss goals and how long you plan on pursuing them. They will recommend a more practical program to help in meeting your needs without compromising your health.
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Your Weight Loss Programs
If your goal is losing weight fast, you need to adopt more programs than just consuming the OMAD keto meals. You need to consider exercise as another activity that can help you burn more calories (5). Exercising while you are on a keto diet can help you attain your desired OMAD keto results faster.
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Your Portions
You are expected to eat fewer carbs when you start a keto diet. However, some people mistakenly substitute these foods with excess proteins. Too many protein servings in your OMAD keto meals are harmful.
Instead of overdoing one food type, you must consume various portion sizes and ratios of every food category. So, ask your nutritionist to suggest the correct food portions of your keto meals. It can save you from making various mistakes that may jeopardize your ketosis results.
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Your Recipes
The only way you can make sure you eat a nutritious OMAD keto meal high in calories is by planning. Plan the recipes you are going to prepare in the course of, for example, a week. Earlier determination of your meals will enable you to fill possible nutritional gaps.
Similarly, it will save you the time of thinking of recipes, especially when hunger pangs. In such a scenario, it is quite possible to prepare unacceptable keto meals due to extreme hunger pangs.
Risks Of Eating Omad Keto Meals
Although these meal plans have numerous benefits, they also have substantial drawbacks. If you have just started this meal plan, then you may experience the following symptoms:
- Increased hunger since you are not used to eating only one meal a day
- Fatigue that may result from an imbalance in energy supply
- Difficulties in concentrating
- Irritability, weakness, and shaking that may arise from your decreased blood sugar levels
Similarly, if you eat this diet long term, you are likely to suffer from the following (8):
- Kidney stones
- High cholesterol levels
- Too much protein in your blood
- Constipation
- Fat build up in your liver
- Impaired growth
- Several vitamins and minerals deficiencies
You may also experience various side effects, which most people refer to as the keto flu. These are:
- Nausea
- Headaches
- Vomiting
- Low blood sugar
To avoid all these risks, ensure you talk to your health care provider. Consultation is even more paramount if you fit any of the following brackets:
- If you are diabetic and insulin-dependent
- If you have any eating disorder such as bulimia or anorexia
- If you are pregnant or are breastfeeding
- If you have pancreatitis or kidney disease
- If you are an older adult, child, or teenager
Recommended Omad Keto Meals
The one meal a day keto meal plan has numerous benefits. However, you cannot reap all these benefits without first shopping for proper meals. Here are some of the meals that you need to purchase to help you prepare a good OMAD keto meal:
Healthy Fats
When you start eating an OMAD keto meal, your nutritionist will advise you to eat healthy fats such as unsaturated fats (9). You can acquire these unsaturated fats from the following:
- Sesame oil
- Avocados and avocado oil
- Hemp oil
- Nut such as macadamia nuts, cashews, and almonds, and nut butter
- Olive oil
- Fatty fish, for instance, salmon
- Seeds such as the pumpkin seeds
Read More: The Best Healthy Fats For Keto, Their Health Benefits And How To Use Them
Vegetables
You need to eat vegetables to help your body acquire various nutrients. Here are some vegetable ideas you can purchase:
- Cabbage
- Turnip greens
- Mushrooms
- Broccoli
- Green beans
- Cauliflower
- Collards
- Cucumber
- Tomatoes
- Asparagus
- Peppers
- Spinach
- Eggplant
- Kales
- Onions
Proteins
You also need to add protein foods to your keto OMAD diet to help attain their body-building properties. The types of protein foods you add to such a diet vary from person to person. It is because some sources contain fat, which some people may be trying to avoid.
Therefore, go through your protein food source list with your nutritionist. Here are some ideas you can discuss with them:
They are nutritious and very affordable. One egg accounts for 72 calories, which may be convenient for you, depending on your daily caloric intake (2).
There are also various ways you can have your eggs in the one meal a day keto diet. For example, you can have them as hard-boiled alongside whole grains or as a scramble in a veggie salad.
- Poultry such as turkey and chicken
- Fish
- Pork
- Unsweetened dairy products, for example, Greek yogurt
Beverages
Water is not the only recommended drink in the one meal a day keto meal plan. Your dietitian might also recommend any of the following drinks:
- Herbal teas
- Bone broth
- Unsweetened almond or soy milk
- Water infused with some citrus slices and mint leaves
Legumes And Whole Grains
You also need to purchase whole grains and legumes since they are some of these meals’ ingredients. You could buy:
- Beans
- Lentils
- Peas
- Quinoa
- Oats
- Butternut squash
- Barley
- Sweet potatoes
Pantry Products
You can also make your OMAD keto meal spicy and delicious by purchasing any of the following products:
- Onion and garlic powder
- Tamari or soy sauce
- Dried spices and herbs
- Cocoa powder
- Almond flour
- Fish sauce
- Coconut cream
The foods that you will need to avoid in the OMAD keto meals are mainly processed foods. These include foods such as:
- Chips/fries
- Fast foods like hotdogs and the likes
- Soda and other sweetened beverages
- Sugary baked products such as cookies, cakes, and biscuits
- Sugary cereals
- White pasta and bread
Examples Of The Omad Keto Recipes
Your daily nutritional value highly influences your OMAD keto recipes. You have to pick a menu that gives your body all the necessary nutrients. It means that your recipes must combine foods from all the food groups. These entail proteins, healthful fats, and carbohydrates.
Here are examples of the recipes you can follow to prepare one meal a day foods for your keto meals (4):
- Cajun-spiced chicken breast with cauliflower rice and a Brussels sprout salad
- Grilled chicken with a bed of shredded cabbage prepared with peanut sauce
- Garlic and herb buttered shrimp with zucchini noodles
- Beef stew prepared with celery, mushrooms, onions, dried herbs and spices, and bone broth
- Pork chops with some non-starchy vegetables of your choice
- Baked chicken with some roasted broccoli and sweet potato toppings
- Chicken breast with green beans and some cauliflower mash
- Garlic butter steak with asparagus and mushrooms
- Stir-fried chicken with some mushrooms, broccoli, peppers, and the homemade satay sauce
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Tips For Maintaining An Omad Keto Diet Plan
Meeting your daily caloric intake, especially using this diet plan, can be challenging. Similarly, maintaining it for weight loss can be tricky and overwhelming for most. Here are tips that can help you stick through with this diet plan:
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Know Your Food Servings
You might exceed your calorie intake if you do not know how many calories are in each of your food servings. It is especially the case when you are adding various carb sources to your food. Usually, experts recommend 20 to 50 grams of carbs daily (7).
A half a cup of beans or any other legumes accounts for 15 grams. So, if you take more than this serving, you might surpass your calories and compromise your keto results. Talk to your nutritionist to determine the number of calories in the food sources in your meal plans.
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Meal Prep
Long hours of starvation may make you prepare anything out of the ordinary to help suppress your hunger pangs. Most of the foods you prepare in such a scenario tend to be unhealthy.
So, meal prepping can save you from making such unhealthy food choices. It can also help you save time if you have a busy schedule.
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Listen To Your Body
You need to listen to your body and determine what it tells you about the OMAD keto diet plan. If you keep falling sick and experiencing fatal symptoms, then your body is rejecting the meal plan. It means that it is high time you stop and avoid this meal plan. If you continue with it amidst such conditions and symptoms, you risk getting more severe health complications.
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Distinguish Your Sources Of Fats
Most keto diets require that you eat foods rich in fat. However, not every other fat is useful. Fats range from saturated fats, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, cholesterol to trans-fat. Keto diet plans advocate for the polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats (3).
You can get the polyunsaturated fats from nuts and fatty fish. On the other hand, you can receive monounsaturated fat from vegetable oils such as olive, canola, sunflower, and avocado oil.
Go through all your OMAD meal ideas and distinguish which have both healthy and unhealthy fats. Remember to keep those with healthy fat options and do away with the unhealthy ones.
The Bottom Line
You are supposed to eat the OMAD keto meals once a day. These meals should contain foods from all food types and additionally be nutritious. Such a meal plan can help with weight loss, clearing acne, improving your brain function, and reducing heart disease risk.
It also has its drawbacks, ranging from nausea, headaches, vomiting, constipation, and impaired growth to kidney stones. Consult with your dietitian for more insight on the most appropriate OMAD keto meals for you.
DISCLAIMER:
Do not implement any of the suggestions in this article without seeking medical advice. These views are primarily for educational purposes.
SOURCES:
- Diet myths and facts (2020, medlineplus.gov)
- Food and Recipes: Cheap, Healthy Foods (2018, medicinenet.com)
- Healthy Eating for Weight Loss (2019, webmd.com)
- Keto diet: 1-week meal plan and tips (2019. Medicalnewstoday.com)
- Reasons for not losing weight on a keto diet (2019, medicalnewstoday.com)
- Should I eat just one meal a day? (2020, medicalnewstoday.com)
- What can you eat on a low-carb diet? (2020, medicalnewstoday.com)
- What foods should you eat on a ketogenic diet? (2018, medicalnewstoday.com)
- What to include on a keto grocery list (2020, medicalnewstoday.com)
- Why is the keto diet good for you? (2020, medicalnewstoday.com)
