OMAD: My "Celebration Season" Strategy



The month of May is always going to be a season of celebrations for me. It's my birthday month, as well as several other people in my family. It's Mother's Day, which I consider to be one of the most important holidays of the year. Additionally, it's graduation season, and in a large, close-knit family like mine, I don't think I've gone a single year without attending somebody's graduation. I really love that for us--we are not playing about higher education! 

I've settled on an eating pattern that continues the forward momentum of my progress and alleviates the stress of trying to find foods that fit into my calorie allotment while enjoying the festivities with my family: OMAD, or one meal a day. I simply fast the whole day, usually having some coffee to stave off hunger or just the boredom associated with not eating, until the festivities. Here's a closer look at three specific days recently.

Last Friday: That evening, I was going to attend a seafood boil celebration for a family member's birthday. I skipped breakfast and didn't eat all day. I had some coffee while studying in the afternoon, then ate to my heart's content at the seafood boil. I also enjoyed one glass of wine, since I wasn't in the mood to drink much. 

Saturday: I traveled around 2 hours to attend a graduation. I skipped breakfast with a latte and enjoyed myself at a sushi restaurant with 2 indulgent sushi rolls and a drink. On the late night drive home, I had some fries to perk me up while driving. 

Sunday: My husband wanted to treat me to Fogo de Chao for mother's day, which is probably one of my favorite restaurants. I skipped breakfast with a latte, then took the "all you can eat" nature of the restaurant very, very seriously lol! I didn't eat again at all that. 

Here's how I know the strategy works: I don't remember what the scale said the morning after the seafood boil. Sunday morning after my sushi fest, the scale actually went down by 0.2 lbs. Monday morning after my Fogo de Chao bonanza, the scale went up by 0.2 lbs. So for all of those days, I had a good old time eating and didn't drastically derail my weight loss progress. I know people do OMAD as their permanent lifestyle, but I don't see myself doing that. I enjoy breakfast too much lol. But I really like employing this as a strategy for specific occasions, so I'll keep it up. 

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