“The OMAD Intermittent Fasting Diet Helped Me Lose 120 Pounds”

My name is Ariana T. (@_actuallyariana) and I am 27 years old. I live in Chicago, Illinois, and I am a project manager. I finally realized that I wasn’t focusing enough on nutrition to lose weight and incorporated the OMAD style of intermittent fasting to lose over 120 pounds.

I have always been a fatter girl. I was still quite flexible and shopped at large stores, but still had access to everything everyone had. It wasn’t until I got to college that I started noticing little issues in my life caused by my weight.

For example, I started to really hate summer. I never wanted to walk far. And one day I realized how small everyone is. But still, I continued to truck. Granted, I also always had in mind that I didn’t want to lose weight because I didn’t want to have to buy new clothes.

With every visit to the doctor, I still had high blood pressure. And with each appointment, the number on the scale kept increasing. Around the age of 25, my weight peaked at 310 pounds.

Fast forward to 2018, when I strapped in (a bit) and got a gym membership at 24 Hour Fitness. I tried to eliminate a diet that lacked nutritional value. (For example, I remember making it a habit to leave the gym every Friday night and go next door to buy some chicken wings.)

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After many unsuccessful cycles of trying to exercise a poor diet, I finally got serious and straightened out.

There are two memories etched into my brain that ultimately made it all click. The first was on a trip to Six Flags with my cousins. I stood in line for about 45 minutes to do my favorite ride, only for the employee to tell me I was over the required weight. I was extremely embarrassed. The second was on a trip to San Francisco to visit a friend. We walked so much and I was always so tired. I knew after my second visit that I didn’t want to be miserable or associate a negative feeling with going to visit her.

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So I started adjusting my diet with a basic approach: calorie counting.

I went to very old school and started by counting calories. I finally tried the Keto Diet, 21 Day Meal Plan, Plant Based, Low Carb Diet, and Whole30.

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What ultimately worked was intermittent fasting (IF) and calorie counting. I swear by doing intermittent fasting, especially OMAD (which means “one meal a day”). Despite all the diets and ways of eating that I have tried, this method is the most consistent thing that I do almost non-stop. (Please note: OMAD can be an extreme form of intermittent fasting for some people. This is exactly what works for me. Always talk to your doctor before making a major diet change!)

So I usually skip breakfast and lunch. But if I do a workout in the evening, I’ll have a snack ahead of time, then dinner. I also make sure to drink water throughout the day.

This is what I eat in a day now.

• Breakfast: I fast during breakfast, so I usually only have black coffee and water.
• Breakfast: Ditto for lunch!
• Having dinner: Salmon, sautéed vegetables, cauliflower in rice, two eggs, pork rinds and fruit (usually strawberries, half an apple or a pear).
• Dessert: Two pieces of chocolate.