Dear r/intermittentfasting community,
I am interested in learning whether OMAD or 2MAD is better for long-term health from a scientific standpoint. I understand that there are no long-term studies, but I would love to hear your thoughts and arguments for one or another.
Assume that a person wants to maintain a healthy weight / % body fat.
Thank you lots!
Answer
As always, it depends:
- As far as ease of maintenance per se goes, I’d select OMAD (biased as I already do). Shorter window, fewer food choices, single well-defined Ghrelin spike around eating window (assuming its positioning remains consistent) and almost flatline throughout the day’s remainder. It’s just hard to screw up so long as one remains somewhat conscious of their food choices.
- In terms of blood glucose control and metabolic health I’d pick OMAD as well with reservation about eating window placement (earlier = more in sync with circadian rhythm = potentially better) and of course processed carb overabundance.
- For sleep the sweet spot seems to be “not too close and not too distant” from bed-time. I’d probably opt for 2MAD here, ensuring that the second meal is neither too heavy nor too late (some folks report that carb content helps them fall asleep).
- Digestive health: Undecided; common sense compels me to choose 2MAD.
- Nutrient absorption: 2MAD or at least “sparse OMAD” of sorts (e.g. 20:4) for better results; OMAD when “wastage” is actually desired (I get the feeling that, if need be, one might be a tiny bit better off binging on that pizza in an hour as opposed to spreading it out over several).
- Mental health, long-term adherence / sustainability: Whichever best aligns with its practitioner’s personality, lifestyle and goals.
Credentials: Average human with subpar grasp on statistics; facts and figures cited generally stem from his rearmost compartment.