An eating pattern known as intermittent fasting alternates times of eating and fasting. The two most common types of intermittent fasting are One-Meal-A-Day (OMAD) and Alternate-Day Fasting (ADF). Both of these approaches entail drastically cutting back on food intake on particular days or at specific times, but they vary in the precise eating and fasting schedules that are adhered to.
Days of regular eating are interspersed with days of extremely restricted food intake or total fasting in ADF. During fasting days, individuals may choose to eat nothing at all or as little as 500–600 calories. On days when there is no fast, people can eat as usual.
With OMAD, one eats all of the calories for the day at one meal—usually a substantial dinner—and then skips the rest of the day's meals.
ADF and OMAD may not be appropriate for everyone, but they can both be helpful in helping people lose weight and achieve other health goals. Let's take a closer look at both approaches first to gain a better understanding of them.
Alternate-Day Fasting
What is Alternate-Day Fasting?
Following ADF entails fasting every other day, as the name suggests. You don't eat any calories when you are fasting. On the other hand, you are free to eat as much or as little as you like on eating days.
On the eating days, it is advised to eat two to three meals and to refrain from snacking. By using this method, you can typically fast for at least 36 hours (e.g., from 8 p.m. on the first day until 8 a.m. on the second day).
Many opt to follow a modified version of ADF because 36 hours is a long time and difficult for most people to complete. You can have about 500 kcal on your fasting day if you use modified ADF.
OMAD
What is OMAD?
Eating only once a day is part of the OMAD protocol. This meal is typically consumed in a window of one to two hours and may include several courses.
Some people, on the other hand, go even farther and give themselves a four-hour window during which to eat. OMAD is the same as 20/4 intermittent fasting in this instance.
The mealtime is entirely up to you. Nonetheless, the majority of people decide to eat dinner in the evening. This is primarily a practical decision because most work schedules are disrupted by a prolonged meal during the day.
How OMAD Works
You can control how your body finds and uses fuel by eating just one meal a day, just like with other forms of intermittent fasting. The food you eat provides you with energy when you follow a more conventional eating schedule.
Your body converts carbs into sugars when you consume them. A substance known as insulin will transfer excess blood sugar into your fat cells if you have more than your body needs.
Long periods without food cause your body to produce less insulin. Your fat cells release energy to make up for the energy that your cells still require as fuel. But in order for this to occur, you must starve yourself for a long enough period of time that your insulin levels fall.
OMAD: The Pros
There is promising research on intermittent fasting. Although the OMAD diet isn't a miracle cure, it might assist some individuals in reaching their weight loss objectives.
It might facilitate fat burning. Individuals in the study who only had one meal a day had lower overall body fat percentages. This specific group of individuals did not lose a substantial amount of weight.
Nevertheless, intermittent fasting has been shown to be a successful weight-loss strategy in general. Over the course of ten weeks, 7 to 11 pounds are typically lost.
Your metabolism may be enhanced by it. Blood sugar levels in adult males with prediabetes and obesity were found to be improved by a 6-hour eating window followed by an 18-hour fast.
It is important to note that these men did not adhere to a strict OMAD diet, but rather a more general time-restricted eating plan. To find out if eating one meal a day has the same effect, more research is required.
You might sense an increase in alertness. Your body releases more orexin-A during the day when you fast, which heightens your sense of alertness. Furthermore, if you had your one meal in the morning, this wouldn't apply to you if you didn't have OMAD.
You can lose weight by fasting overnight and eating in the morning. Which meal to eat is not specified by the OMAD diet. Nevertheless, compared to those who eat more at dinner, those who fast overnight and consume a larger meal in the morning typically lose more weight.
OMAD: The Cons
There is no solid proof that eating one meal a day helps with weight control, and this diet is very stringent. The discomfort may or may not be worth it depending on your body chemistry and tolerance.
It might not be easy to maintain. The dropout rate from intermittent fasting programs, such as OMAD, can reach 65%. It's just as difficult to stick to as other calorie-restriction programs.
It can increase your appetite. Eating just one meal a day instead of three causes your body to create more ghrelin, the hormone that causes hunger.
It has no greater impact than cutting calories. You won't likely lose more weight from the OMAD diet than if you just cut back on your daily caloric intake, even if it makes you feel more hungry.
OMAD: Safety Concerns
A single meal a day does not pose any significant risks to most people, aside from the discomfort of hunger. Nevertheless, there are certain risks for those who have diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
Your cholesterol and blood pressure may rise if you only eat one meal per day. This happened to a group of healthy adults who gave up eating two meals a day in order to take part in a study. Meals once a day may not be safe if you already have issues in either area.
Your blood sugar may rise if you eat one meal later than usual. People have been asked to eat their single meal between 4 and 8 p.m. in certain OMAD studies. These individuals had higher-than-normal blood sugar levels in the morning, and their bodies had a harder time handling the extra sugar.
Blood sugar crashes can occur during fasting. Any kind of fasting raises the risk of hypoglycemia, or abnormally low blood sugar, in individuals with Type 2 diabetes.
Everybody's experience with weight loss plans varies in terms of safety and efficacy. If you are unsure about trying the "One Meal a Day" diet plan or have any questions, it is best to have a private conversation with a doctor.
Analyzing Alternate Day Fasting (ADF) & One Meal a Day (OMAD)
There are many varieties of intermittent fasting, and while both All Day Fasting and OMAD fall under the category of intermittent fasting, they differ in several ways.
In its strictest form, Alternate Day Fasting, also known as All Day Fasting (ADF), consists of 36 hours of fasting followed by 12 hours of free eating. A more lax approach consists of a 24- to 36-hour fast followed by a 24- to 12-hour window for eating. With ADF, a person consumes approximately 9–12 meals a week, assuming 3 meals are eaten during the non-fasting hours.
As the name implies, One Meal a Day, or OMAD, limits adherents to consuming just one meal a day, usually within an hour, and refraining from consuming any calories for the next twenty-three hours. Some people stick to this schedule but only allow themselves to eat for up to four hours each day, fasting the rest of the time. Seven meals a week will be eaten when adhering to OMAD.
The fact that the person only eats once a day makes timing this meal crucial. After most of the day's work is completed, it might be advantageous to continue the nighttime fast through breakfast and lunch and then have one meal for dinner.
While the timeframes for Alternate Day Fasting and OMAD differ, fasting still permits the consumption of sugar-free tea, water, and coffee without any added sweetener or creamer. Actually, one of the most important things one can do to protect their health and wellbeing during a fast is to drink plenty of water.
Exercise During OMAD, or Alternate Day Fasting
Any healthy routine should include exercise and weightlifting, but before you get started, consider how these fasting plans impact your energy levels. Many athletes follow the practice of consuming carbohydrates prior to a workout in order to maintain their strength and endurance.
When it comes time to work out, energy levels may be declining due to Alternate Day Fasting and Other Mass Axia Disorders (OMAD), which could lead to not only poor performance but also lightheadedness and dizziness.
It might be necessary to modify an exercise regimen to account for energy requirements. For instance, it could be beneficial to adjust days of intense exercise to coincide with periods when the body has enough fuel to prevent injury or overexertion.
Once more, in order to ensure safety when beginning a new eating plan, particularly one that involves exercise, it is imperative that a doctor assess health.
Which approach loses weight the best?
Longer intermittent fasting periods are generally more effective for weight loss than shorter ones. Simply put, the body has more time to access its fat reserves.
Both OMAD and Alternate Day Fasting are highly effective for weight loss because they involve extended periods of fasting.
Does Alternate Day Fasting work better for weight loss because it requires a longer period of fasting? Not always. You can enjoy an extended, uninterrupted fast with ADF. On the other hand, OMAD requires you to observe a lengthy fast each day. With OMAD, the fasting period is longer overall.
Studies contrasting OMAD and Alternate Day Fasting side by side are nonexistent. But in terms of losing weight, they probably resemble each other a lot.
One Meal a Day (OMAD) vs. ADF: Which Will Help You Lose Weight Faster?
Trying One Meal a Day or Alternate Day Fasting is highly motivated by the possibility of losing weight rapidly while eating in place of asking yourself, "If you starve yourself, how long to lose weight?" It's critical to understand which plan will yield the fastest and most efficient results when choosing to forgo food for extended periods of time.
When someone follows OMAD as opposed to alternate day fasting, they usually fit a lot of calories into a set period of time, usually an hour. This might not translate into a calorie deficit or a situation where you burn more calories than you take in, depending on how many calories you consumed before attempting One Meal a Day. As was previously mentioned, research does support the effectiveness of OMAD in weight loss, but progress may be sluggish if a calorie deficit is not met.
But don't panic—it is possible to achieve a calorie deficit without exercising. Even so, exercise can hasten the process of losing weight and allow you to eat more while maintaining a deficit.
Because alternate day fasting involves eliminating 3–4 full days of caloric intake per week, it is likely to produce faster results. It is not recommended to replace or add calories in response to fasting days during ADF. Even if a person consumes more calories than their average daily allowance on days when eating is permitted, there is a greater likelihood that they will experience a weekly calorie deficit.
Because it is possible to enter ketosis after only 12 hours of fasting, both of these fasting regimens have the ability to induce ketosis, a metabolic state that instructs the body to burn fat for energy rather than glucose from the liver.
The body will keep burning fat while it is in ketosis until glucose is added, which occurs when carbs are consumed. Compared to OMAD, Alternate Day Fasting allows for a longer duration of ketosis and increases the amount of time the body is dedicated to burning fat.
It's crucial to keep in mind that calories in compared to calories out will ultimately determine how much weight is lost, even if you're in ketosis.
Which is Better: Alternate Day Fasting vs OMAD?
Examining one's own routines, hang-ups, and habits may be helpful when deciding between One Meal a Day and Alternate Day Fasting.
Some people may find that OMAD helps them maintain a work-life balance and simplifies their lifestyle because they don't have to worry about food most of the time. On the other hand, because meals only need to be planned for three or four days a week, some people might find that Alternate Day Fasting fits into their schedule better.
The bottom line
Both OMAD and ADF are sophisticated intermittent fasting techniques that are undoubtedly not suitable for everyone. ADF is more difficult to follow than OMAD. ADF has the benefit of more potently inducing autophagy and ketosis. Additionally, getting enough nutrients is simpler.
It is impossible to conclude with certainty which of these two approaches is superior. It greatly depends on your unique situation and tastes.
Any form of intermittent fasting has significant health advantages; it can help people lose weight, lower insulin resistance, strengthen their hearts, reduce inflammation, and possibly even lengthen their lives. Finding a method that fits your lifestyle and is easy for you to follow is ultimately what matters most.