OMAD / WARRIOR | EXPLAINED

Before I start
I would like to point out…
This practice has nothing to do with any religious purposes.

“OMAD”
the acronym of…
One Meal A Day.

Lifestyle or way of eating in which the practitioner have or consumes only one meal on every 24 hours. It is probably if not the most at least one of the most extended versions of intermittent fasting.
Some dieters go even beyond and incorporate one 48 hour fast once a week.
This approach is been around since forever, even in ancient times it was the preferred way of eating by the Spartans.
A good reason why is called by many .

Spartan way of eating.

In our modern era…

OMAD method is being used by many top notch performers including The U.S. military specially in Vietnam.
Ori Hofmekler’s version of it gains popularity under the name of:

Warrior diet.

Even thought a lot of people do not believe in it, used correctly it provides tremendous amount of health and performance benefits :

Difference between OMAD & The Warrior Diet.

There is actually not big of a difference between those two.
I see them as two modifications of the same thing
Which is:

Intermittent Fasting (IF)

For very long and extended periods of time…

*They are used for the same purposes and goals and both provide identical results and benefits.

*The only difference is a tiny detail in the concept of the warrior diet.
This is more of a feature type of thing which allows the practitioner to push his or her eating window up to 4hours a day and than fasts for the others 20, which sounds a lot more suitable for some people specially in the beginning.
It is a great option and I do not see nothing wrong with it.
I use this feature myself when I was in the process of my adaptation to OMAD, so I most definitely look on it as an effective and useful tool.
On another hand not everybody have the physical ability to get all of his or her daily calories on one sitting, so you may find this approach more beneficial if you are that type of person.

For me personally is the opposite I always eat until reach fulness and not a single bit more.
I start to eat and when feel full I stop immediately.
After reach the condition of fulness my appetite drops to 0 immediately.

I do think is the best way…
but probably not for everybody specially when the person is in the middle of his or her adaptation process.

Truth to be told it was not for me either.
Actually I started with an 8 hour – 2 meals per day
Steaks and Eggs…

When I already felt like I’ve mastered it I’ve cut it down to 4 hour window.
Than adopted OMAD and this helped me develop an amazing relationship between me and my body.
This helped me understand all of the signals it sends me and I know exactly what I need to do in order to get results, but this does not comes easy.
And is very understandable, because of the fact:

We live in a society and time where everybody is so attached to food.
A lot of people do not understand it but is so painfully true:

Food is a drug.
More and more people are becomes addicted to this it.

Cons and what can go wrong.
The biggest and probably the only one disadvantage is based on a huge misconception that is already spread out on the internet.
I see this also as probably the only one risk with this lifestyle.

The most common thing I see amongst most of the OMAD practitioners and “Gurus” is not putting enough emphasize on the type of the foods that should be consumed for best results.

More and more often so called “Coaches” promote not only the very narrow minded but also totally incorrect statement that as long as someone has only one meal per day, there is no difference between the different foods and where the calories come from.

Which leads to misleading the masses…

AND…

On another hand I feel most of them react like they’ve been waiting for it since their whole lives.

So what happens than?
A lot of people start using the OMAD method as an excuse to never quit their self destructive habits such as binging, over eating, consuming processed junk food or unnecessary amounts of excessive calories.
They actually feel good about them selves, because they eat only once a day or in the mentioned above 4 hour eating window.
They use OMAD because they “think” it will free their minds from the feelings of shame and guilt which eat their character and robs their personality from the inside.

Most of them usually have a wrong mindset or they desperately want to believe that:

If they eat junk such as pizzas, pastas, sweets and all other forms of garbage they will achieve exactly the same results such as someone who consumes only natural organic and unprocessed whole foods as long as they have only one meal per day.
Which is a trial error because the foods we eat are the thing that make up our cells.
This misunderstanding can lead not only to blood sugar and pressure dysregulations during the fasted periods, but also hyper tension.
When not used correctly the method actually can produce opposite results.

*When practitioner consumes junk food, it can actually develop or worsen food addictions.

To give some more of a brief example I would like to fit a quick reference here and say:

40gr of protein from whey powder are not the same such as 40 grams of protein from Grass Fed Beef or Wild Caught Salmon.
50gr of Carbs that come from Sweet Potatoes/Yams or Jasmine/Basmati white rice
AKA SAFE STARCHES
are not the same such as 50gr of carbs that comes from Cereals or high processed fructose syrup.
20Gr of fats from vegetable oil aint the same thing such as 20gr of fat from yolks of Free Range Eggs.

How see that statement is :

They think it is ok to have some
poison food
as long as they have it only one meal a day.

Which actually corrupts the lifestyle from the inside and destroys the whole Idea of developing healthy habits for awesome and productive life.

This probably sound really harsh and I agree with you if think that way, but actually it is the painful truth world needs to know.

The other common mistake is to under eat, one meal or not calories do matter.
It is extremely important to make sure you provide adequate amount of high quality calories for your body and brain each and every day.
Lack of nutrients can lead to many problems from mood swings and increased anxiety to even more dangerous blood glucose fluctuations which can cause panic attacks.
The bottom line is if you do not have the right amounts of right nutrients in your system during the fasted period, you ain’t going to be able to perform at your best. So I highly recommend to keep that in mind when you decide to get involved in this lifestyle.
For bodybuilders the right ration between Proteins and Carbohydrates or Proteins and Fats has the exact same importance such when eating multiple meals.

OMAD & KETOSIS
When added to keto diet it can takes it to a whole different level.
It will help your body tap to its own energy source a lot faster and (IMO) way more effectively.
*Ketosis makes fasting really easy, because you are going to be full and satisfied during the fast instead instead of hungry. Ketosis keeps your blood sugar stable of during the long periods of eating.
*Both of them produce some identical results to a certain point.
*If the bodybuilding is not the only thing In your life or let say it is not your primary focus and you do not want to prioritize it as your main goal

Than…

You may find combination of Ketosis and OMAD can easily be
your best formula to:

KICK ASS

in life…
In combination with coffee for me is like the
Ultimate Tool For Mental and Cognitive performance or productivity
if you will.
The KETO/OMAD combo unleashes unbelievable amounts of power and creativity for activities or things like:
composing/ producing music, writing articles & books, designing logos or websites, shooting photos or even filming and editing videos

I use it all the time.
Probably 75 to 80 percent of the year nowadays.
Before I used it 100%.
The reason for this is because bodybuiling and fitness are not the only thing in my life and I do not want to prioritize em to a point where can affect my performance in my other endeavours.

OMAD and BODYBUILDIND.

A lot of people want to proove that you can’t build muscle using OMAD or if you do it you will loose some or even all of that you have. But in my personal opinion this is total balloony.
I feel I gained the most quality muscle mass when I was on OMAD type of eating.
Often I do hit the gym twice a day on fasted state.
On the image above I practiced one meal a day for around 3 months.
In this particular period my food choices were mostly
Lean chicken Breasts, Lean Steaks and Lots of Basmati White rice.
When I do The rice instead of the Fats and ketosis, I am able to bring a lot better conditioning I am fuller, probably 5 X Times more vascular.
I am able to lift heavier weights and I get really dry and lean easily.
So If the bodybuilding is your main focus try to eat same foods and keep your food intake to one meal every day.

Mine is not so I go keto most of the time.
But keep in mind all I did here was Inspired by the Great Serge Nubre (RIP)
Who use to eat Tons of Red meat (Mostly horse) with rice and beans.
I highly recommend try it and see for your self.

My favorite pros of
OMAD.

1. Increased drive and motivation.
2. Increased growth hormone production.
3. Improved Insulin sensitivity.
4. Improved digestion and absorption of nutrients.
4. Liver Detox.
5. Improved ability to focus and paying attention.
6. Opportunity to really enjoy your food and cook it with passion.
7.Better absorption of water (HyperHydration)
8. Lots, I mean Lots of free time.
9. Better body respond to coffee and green tea.
10. Better quality of sleep.

Best time to eat.
The best time to have your daily meal is post workout.
This is the time when your body really need the nutrients.
Because of the training session during this window of time you already have a fairly elevated metabolic rate, something which helps with the digestion, processing and IMO absorption and overall utilization of nutrients.
So…
When to have your meal really depends on your daily schedule and how you plan things.
But…
For me the perfect scenario is:
To have a very light session in the morning to ignite the fire of productivity for the whole day.
I do it right after wake up.

There are three main reasons for it:

#1. It helps me become more alert and awake a lot faster than if I do not do it.

#2. I feel amazing during this post workout fasted state.
(Which actually is the most important and lasts until at least in the middle of the day…)

#3. After I make sure I feel amazing I am able to perform at my best.
(So I do It…)

For my AM workout I feel I do not need to go as heavy as I can every time.

*NOTE:
This is probably not for everybody. I do not encourage you to do it specially when adapting.
BUT when already adapted I definitely encourage you to try it.)
To a certain degree I feel like it unlocks my productivity…

Actually is the opposite.
I perform like quick type of a pump/feeder or even cardio workout in order to get the blood going and than after I finished with it work on tasks during the whole day.

Around…

05:00 and 06:00PM.

I hit the gym for the real Heavier workout, which includes lots of volume, isolation, variety of exercises and intensity.
Than I enjoy my meal as a post workout and reward for the whole day.

Why I prefer to eat my meal during night and why I think this is the best way.
There are more and more evidence which supports the statement that says

People are nocturnal eaters.

And I totally agree with it, but for me this is not the main reason why I do it.
I feel eating around an hour or an hour and a half before bed is the most essential way for my body, but you can arrange your meal timing based on your daily schedule…

During the day I take care of my work, and when I am ready to settle down I have my meal.
Since I was born I always have the biggest appetite a little before bed and I was almost never really hungry trough out my days.
During the day of fasting all I care about is:

GETTING STUFF DONE.
You will find yourself a lot more passionate and excited about it.
Me personally I can’t even think about food in middle of task or project.
The warrior diet helps you stay focused on your life and goals instead of eating and snacking which often lead to other distractions.
The longer fasted periods unleash your productivity and bring a better version of you.

Adaptation
Adaptation to OMAD is not an easy task, but trust me is more worthy than you can imagine.
Even though that process can be so far away from pleasant specially if not done in the correct way.
This is not a dieto or road to something besides becoming a
better version of your self.
It is a great self improvement journey.
*One of the greatest I have.

For me it was…

Something that uplift the quality of my life to a whole different level and I so thankful I heard about it.
I guarantee it will do the same for you and you will feel exactly the same.

As long as you willing to really stick with it, put in work and do everything the proper way…

Other than that I do not see any real disadvantages of this method.
*REMEMBER

Nothing great, worthy and valuable comes easy.
And believe me
OMAD/ WARRIOR DIET is
Exactly that type of thing.

If you take it as a self improvement journey instead of diet or whatever adaptation will help you to understand and know yourself better.
You will build a really stronger and deep relationship with your body.
You are going to feel a lot more honest and loyal to yourself.
Which will probably show you for the first time in your life what the quote

“Stay true to yourself”

Really means…

In the end of the day everything depends on how you going to approach it.

So just incase you really decide to take this road and approach it correctly…

The biggest piece of advice I can give you is :

Be prepared to become a completely new a lot more powerful version of your self.

It was pleasure.
Until next time.
Yours Truly :
-PETEONTHEBEAT