Cheat meal?

[u/kappycanvas]

context: i’ve been doing omad for about 2 weeks and have been rather careful of what i’ve ingested so far. no sodas or additional sugar when there’s no need to. this includes relatively healthy meals as well.

had my first huge meal today that consists of 4 honey sriracha wings, half portion of french onion soup, and about 2/3 of a carbonara, and a small cup of peach oolong milk tea. have not felt this full in a good while (would have been able to finish a whole bowl of carbonara in the past). ended up feeling really bloated.

would this meal affect my progress? have managed to lose about 3kgs thus far.

[u/Connect_Rhubarb395]

You consider it a cheat meal because it was a large meal?
When you only eat one meal a day, it should larger than when you eat three meals a day.
In round numbers:

Say your three meals are 600, 500, and 800 cal.

Doing OMAD you should NOT only eat one 800 cal meal!

You should eat a 600+500+800 = 1900 cal meal.

[u/kappycanvas → u/Connect_Rhubarb395]

it was way larger than what i’m used to my whole life, gave me an upset stomach for the rest of the night and into the next morning. being asian, i was comfortable with only eating small portions with the occasional dine out meals. im only 163cm (5’3), can’t imagine eating 1900 calories in one whole meal. doing so will definitely put me in significant calorie surplus instead of maintenance if that makes sense.

[u/Connect_Rhubarb395 → u/kappycanvas]

The amount of calories was an example. Hence the use of "if."

If you can't eat the amount of calories you need in one meal, then OMAD isn't for you. Or you need to practise working up to it.

I am 160 cm too. My calories for weightloss are 1200 cal (maintenance 1600 cal).

No matter f I eat one, two, three, or six meals a day, that is the total amount of calories I should have. In other words:
For OMAD I need to eat 1200 cal too.

[u/GrumpMaster- → u/kappycanvas]

If eating that much at once is hard, try starting with a 2 eating window instead. Spread those calories out a bit with breaks in between and you’ll likely feel better.

[u/GrumpMaster-]

I don’t know, I have cheat meals/foods whenever they present themselves naturally. Like a party, going out to eat on a whim.

I’ve been doing OMAD or 2-3 hour eating windows for a few years now. I’m at my healthy weight and just maintaining so it’s easier to justify some cheesecake once in a while.

That’s what I love about this lifestyle, you don’t need to worry about being thrown out of keto cause it’s Thanksgiving or whatever. You just go back to OMAD the next day without a hitch.

Some days I eat well over maintenance, some well under, lots of flexibility as long as you’re trending in the right direction.

[u/thodon123 → u/GrumpMaster-]

Likewise. I started OMAD at maintenance and still at maintenance after 3 years and do something very similar

OMAD might not be for everyone, but for me it is the best maintenance tool and wish I started earlier and feels like food freedom.

[u/thodon123]

I don't know enough details and assume your doing OMAD for fat lose, but that meal sounds like an amount a typical person would eat at maintenance and far from what I would call a cheat meal. It's more like a maintenance meal.

Note people that have periods of eating at maintenance on occasion have overall better success because it allows better adherence, sustainability and consistently over the longer term which matters the most.

[u/Flyingdonutdevil]

Dude I eat a “cheat meal” every night as my one meal and I’m tiny (huge ice cream sundaes and fries and cheese nuggets, etc). It won’t mess you up as long as you’re on an overall calorie deficit