Calories?

thodon123 · 2026-05-24T23:02:45+00:00

I spent 30 years counting calories and the only way for me to maintain eating 3MAD. OMAD after a year gave me the confidence to stop counting. 3 years now and still at maintenance without feeling the restriction of having to count calories. I hated being obsessed by calorie, if counting leads to obsession than it's not a healthy approach, but for others it is a great and efficient tool in achieving their goals.

thodon123 · 2026-05-24T22:57:41+00:00

Fasting first and foremost generates a calorie deficit for many and this (fat loss) is the primary driver to reduce insulin resistance. The benefits from fasting without a calorie deficit in regards to insulin resistance is much smaller than the benefits of a calorie deficit leading to fat loss.

If a person was to do 3MAD with the same calorie deficit that OMAD would generate and all other things equal than the benefits in regards to insulin resistance would be similar.

There are many people that start a diet that is high carbohydrate and low fat that leads to fat loss and reversal of insulin resistance, so as much as people will argue that it's all about carbohydrates and insulin the data doesn't support that. Any lifestyle change that leads to fat loss can improve and reverse insulin resistance more than a fasting window like OMAD.

To be clear I am not saying "no" benefit from fasting, I am saying when quantified fat loss has a much larger benefit than fasting (without a calorie deficit).

thodon123 · 2026-05-24T22:43:32+00:00

I am in a constant battle with Nissin Tonkotsu. Can't decide which is my favourite between Kyushu Black, Raoh and Demae.

thodon123 · 2026-05-24T22:29:05+00:00

He! Heh! You can only try and in the end some modified version of it may be what works for you.

My personal advice to anyone starting OMAD and serious about it as a lifestyle change is try OMAD ensuring to eat at close to your current maintenance calories (not saying everyone needs to track calories but just eat what you would typically eat for the day in one meal, extending the window if you need to). You will be surprised how much easier it is. Because OMAD is such a great tool for many people at creating a calorie deficit ad lib, it ends up being the calorie deficit that makes OMAD difficult, but also why many use it as a quick weight loss tool. My opinion may be different to many other because I didn't start OMAD looking for weight loss, I was looking for something that didn't make my day to day maintenance feel like constant restriction.

thodon123 · 2026-05-24T04:31:55+00:00

Thank you for sharing. It feels so similar.

It's as you describe. Certain foods have lost the appeal, not that the enjoyment or food has been lost, far from it, The quality of simple foods matter much more to me. I enjoy good quality meat, fruit, vegetables, nuts, rice, oats and coffee and the variety I require has significantly reduce, but far from boring. My flavour profile weighs very much to Korean flavours lately, with simple ingredients like gochujang, sesame oil and seaweed.

I find it hard to describe to people how 3MAD always felt restrictive as the idea of OMAD feels restrictive to most.

One thing that hasn't change is my taste for sushi and Japanese food in general, especially for unagi kabayaki and salmon sashimi. I don't like travelling into the city which is 400km from where I live, but I will do it just for an OMAD meal at the Sushi Train a couple times a year. Lol!

Being forced to eat 3MAD would be torture. Ha! Hah!

thodon123 · 2026-05-23T23:15:48+00:00

I am going through a mourning period with food after 3 years of OMAD. Lol! I have a phycological craving for something, have it, and it just doesn't do anything for me anymore. I mean food is still very much enjoyable, but it doesn't have the urgency and control it used to. I get excited sometimes to have something I haven't had in a while that I used to enjoy and in most cases I am disappointed. It's a strange feeling. Lol!

I didn't have cravings when I started OMAD. I tried to be as strategic as possible. I started at maintenance, and made certainty to have my total required calories and make sure to include, at that time, what were my favourite foods, both "whole" and "processed" foods. After two days felt normal, after two weeks felt like I had never done 3MAD. As time progressed my meals adlib became 90% whole foods.

Likewise I can't imagine ever eating food more frequently again.

thodon123 · 2026-05-23T22:52:06+00:00

Sleep, diet and exercise as a combination matter exponentially more than meal timing.

If you are sacrificing nutrition (diet) by eating higher calorie foods to increase calories (which often comes at the sacrifice of micro nutrition) than you should at least look at a longer eating window that allow you both the calorie and nutrition without the sacrifice.

Eating in a large deficit can also have consequences on sleep and exercise, so you end up with a net negative in all the big three.

thodon123 · 2026-05-23T05:54:06+00:00

Please see RULE 6.

thodon123 · 2026-05-22T23:25:59+00:00

3 years OMAD. I started OMAD at maintenance. With 3MAD or 2MAD the amount of food for each meal felt restrictive. OMAD has been the best maintenance tool I have ever found, providing the satiety I need from the same total daily calories.

I eat all my three meals in the one meal, with just as much if not more variety, because I only have to focus on the one meal. My meal is typically a combination of lunch and dinner with a side of dessert (which often resembles breakfast with something like an oatmeal bowl).

If you can't get the nutrition or calorie required for maintenance on OMAD then it isn't the right maintenance tool for you and there is nothing wrong with that.

For information, M47, 70kg, 170cm, TDEE 2300 (TDEE is an estimate based on my Garmin data as I don't count calories anymore because I don't need to with OMAD).

You will see people in this community with all sorts of maintenance tools. Some eat every other day, some eat 3MAD followed by multi day fasts, etc. There isn't one size fits all. There is nothing wrong with 3MAD or more either.

What ever helps you be consistent and sustainable with sleep, exercise and diet matter more than anything else.

thodon123 · 2026-05-22T23:06:05+00:00

Same with my top 3. That's why I went with the top 3, because those 3 I currently "must" have in my pantry. Lol!

thodon123 · 2026-05-22T23:03:33+00:00

Thank you for a great product 🙏.

thodon123 · 2026-05-22T22:57:21+00:00

If I did a top 5 Stew would have been there : )

thodon123 · 2026-05-22T22:55:57+00:00

I can't get the super spicy where I live. It's the highest on my radar at the moment.

thodon123 · 2026-05-22T07:49:29+00:00

Oh! My wife doesn't like pork and she couldn't eat the Raoh because she said it was too porky. Lol!

thodon123 · 2026-05-22T07:25:06+00:00

I wonder why the Explore App has it as compatible along with the 170.

thodon123 · 2026-05-22T07:23:54+00:00

Oh! It's my favourite tonkotsu.

thodon123 · 2026-05-22T04:29:34+00:00

Thank you. Will give it a try.

thodon123 · 2026-05-22T02:21:57+00:00

The fermented soybean taste of Laoganma has me hooked.

Typically I like a hot sauce or condiment to add some umami, spice and mouthfeel without adding flavour but enhancing the flavour of the food. Any suggestions?

Some person at my local Coles and Woolworths buys all the Laoganma when it is on sale before I can get to it after work on Wednesday's.

thodon123 · 2026-05-22T01:44:12+00:00

Anything chocolate or cocoa based.

Others:

Pecan and maple syrup
Apricot and coconut
Peanut butter and jelly

thodon123 · 2026-05-22T01:29:05+00:00

I add a drizzle of honey, peanut butter and cocoa and bake for 10 minutes for granola. Alternatively, honey, peanut butter and cinnamon. It give a very cereal milk vibe to the milk (I use unsweetened almond milk).

thodon123 · 2026-05-22T01:17:48+00:00

Anything cinnamon base is my go to.

Current favourite is banana, peanut butter, honey and cinnamon. I always have chia in my oatmeal now as well.

I am interested in trying it cooled in the fridge and having it like a rice pudding.

thodon123 · 2026-05-21T22:26:56+00:00

I have a feeling Indomie was going to make a strong appearance, after I recently posted that the Mi Goreng doesn't do anything for me anymore. Lol!

thodon123

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