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Nutrition OMAD vs IF for productivity

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Matiseli

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Hello.
Which diet do you think is better for a mental clarity? OMAD or the classic form of intermittent fasting (16: 8)? Does not consuming 2,000 calories at once (OMAD) lead to overloading your digestive system and leave you tired for rest of the day?

PS: I don't want to lose weight and 2K calories is a must for me.
 
Matiseli said:
Hello.
Which diet do you think is better for a mental clarity? OMAD or the classic form of intermittent fasting (16: 8)? Does not consuming 2,000 calories at once (OMAD) lead to overloading your digestive system and leave you tired for rest of the day?

PS: I don't want to lose weight and 2K calories is a must for me.
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I have done both for long periods of time. I find that alternating by the feel of the day helps.
Making sure you eat enough is key to going those long periods. I had great results from OMAD but I was trying to lose some weight. Gained strength though which was a plus. On OMAD I usually Woke up at 4-5am and ate around 4-5pm.
 
Matiseli said:
Hello.
Which diet do you think is better for a mental clarity? OMAD or the classic form of intermittent fasting (16: 8)? Does not consuming 2,000 calories at once (OMAD) lead to overloading your digestive system and leave you tired for rest of the day?

PS: I don't want to lose weight and 2K calories is a must for me.
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Experiment, see how you feel. Being tired after a meal can depend on several things, such as meal timing. I don't know of many folks that eat OMAD early in the day as an example.
 
Vary it. I tend to 16/8 during the week because of the structure of work and the break periods. Weekends are more OMADish as I get busy doing stuff..
I much prefer OMAD as it's as easy as pack some fluids and go. It seems more primal and instinctual. Eat for what you have done.
My 16/8 meals are usually one or two good protein shakes during the day with some cheese, meat, or something else light like that and a big meal at night when I get home.
I've switched to 16/8 as I keep hearing as we get older we need more protein and more often
 
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Matiseli said:
Hello.
Which diet do you think is better for a mental clarity? OMAD or the classic form of intermittent fasting (16: 8)? Does not consuming 2,000 calories at once (OMAD) lead to overloading your digestive system and leave you tired for rest of the day?

PS: I don't want to lose weight and 2K calories is a must for me.
Click to expand...
Definitely make IF fit your lifestyle and not the other way around. I think OMAD is better in a lab but 16:8 is better for livability and sustainability. You can float with different time windows. Some days I'll fast for 16 hours and most recently I fasted for a day and a half because work required it. Not ideal but that's how life is.

If you eating 2,000 calories is necessary for you than work on increasing your eating window until it becomes comfortable and enjoyable for you to eat that much. For many starting in late afternoon is recommended because the digestion will happen while your asleep and lounging around.

Remember IF should enhance your life and not burden it.
 
Adam R Mundorf said:
Definitely make IF fit your lifestyle and not the other way around. I think OMAD is better in a lab but 16:8 is better for livability and sustainability. You can float with different time windows.
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One option between OMAD and 16:8 that is food-for-thought, so to speak: Early Time Restricted Feeding -

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Adam R Mundorf said:
Definitely make IF fit your lifestyle and not the other way around. I think OMAD is better in a lab but 16:8 is better for livability and sustainability. You can float with different time windows. Some days I'll fast for 16 hours and most recently I fasted for a day and a half because work required it. Not ideal but that's how life is.

If you eating 2,000 calories is necessary for you than work on increasing your eating window until it becomes comfortable and enjoyable for you to eat that much. For many starting in late afternoon is recommended because the digestion will happen while your asleep and lounging around.

Remember IF should enhance your life and not burden it.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your suggestion. When I eat something big like 1,5K calories I am usually very tired for next hour or so. So, even from this point of view, it is probably better to divide my calorie intake into two meals.
 
Matiseli said:
Ok, thank you for your help. I'm just wondering why the OMAD diet is referred to as a mental productivity diet?
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I noticed with me I just a) don’t have to worry about what or when I’m going to eat... b) I just feel like I’m running on all cylinders when I IF or OMAD. I just don’t get as cloudy throughout the day. I definitely know people who feel the opposite thought. But if you search the internet you’ll find EVERYONE will say EVERY diet is this or that at some point. Some people thrive on a vegan diet. Some people thrive on a carnivore diet. It really does come down to the individual. I do way better with lower carbs. But when I’m eating like less than 5-10g a day I only have a few weeks before I start bottoming out and need to introduce some back I I’ve noticed.
I say pick one. And try it for a few weeks and see.
 
If you look at research done on students and if they ate breakfast, there is some compelling evidence that breakfast is wonderful for improving focus.

In personal experimentation I can't say that I've noticed a difference a performance difference when eating breakfast or fasting 16:8/20:4.

Edit: cleared up some poor and confusing wording.
 
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I'm with @silveraw on this. Although I enjoy IF in various forms (18-6 or 20-4), I've never found that it gave me mental clarity. I also haven't found keto to improve mental clarity either.

I do notice that eating during the day may make me sluggish at work if it's anything more than half of a regular meal. I feel lighter and able to move around more comfortably to work when fasting.
 
I was tempted to start another thread, but thought it should fit well here: For those that do IF and/or OMAD, how did you transition? Cold turkey or some type of taper?
 
steve-in-kville said:
I was tempted to start another thread, but thought it should fit well here: For those that do IF and/or OMAD, how did you transition? Cold turkey or some type of taper?
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Easy transition for me.Had been training early in the morning in a semi fasted state, water,coffee, amino acids, for 20 yrs or so. I would eat solid food post work out after system settled down. Switched to adding quality fat to my coffee and no solid food until noon or later each day. Plenty of energy, no hunger, from day one. It is possible my system is not IF. No food after 5-6pm and then high fat coffee around 4am. Not a large no cal window there. Have been debating going water,coffee, salt only until noon. Currently one day into a 3-5 day water,coffee,salt fast. Feel fine.
 
I tried 16/8 last summer. Normally, I ate something around 5am, again around 8am. When I tried IF think I pushed eating off until 10am which gave me until 6pm as a eating window.
 
steve-in-kville said:
I was tempted to start another thread, but thought it should fit well here: For those that do IF and/or OMAD, how did you transition? Cold turkey or some type of taper?
Click to expand...
I found that doing low carb/paleo for a couple of weeks helped with the transition to fasting. Less carb cravings, much easier to fast after some time doing low carb. I don't do low carb anymore though.
 
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