Juice cleanses, salt cleanses, apple cidar vinegar, are among the trends in health many are adopting to lead a supposed richer lifestyle.

Joining that group of trends is one meal a day (OMAD) and intermittent fasting — which has youtube search results in the thousands. Though many are subscribing to it, are these diets safe and most importantly, do they work? 

Brittany Demarco's wedding is two weeks away and she has been an avid user of the OMAD/intermittent lifestyle for her big day.

"I try to do it Monday, Tuesday, where I’m eating from when I wake up [at] 6:30 in the morning to 11, and then I stop eating until the next time I wake up," Demarco said.

The rest of the week, she alternates with days where she eats clean proteins and vegetables and others where she allows herself some wiggle room. Demarco says she adjusts her eating plan around her social schedule and gives herself the weekends off to enjoy with her fiancé.

But even on those off-days, she maintains one rule. 

"I try still never eating past 7 p.m. [because] I think that’s still like mom and grandma say rule of the thumb," Demarco said.

What Demarco described — eating for several hours then fasting — is more aligned with intermittent fasting. The OMAD diet is also one gaining a cult-like following. Jon Mabb, who owns the Glens Falls gym Primal Movements and has a master's degree in nutrition, says OMAD is dangerous way of dieting.

"Somebody might eat the wrong foods, they might not have a balanced diet, so if you're gonna eat one meal a day it has to be so balanced," Mabb said.

Mabb says the founder of the OMAD diet has no background in nutrition and neither do many people using it to lose weight. He says intermittent fasting is a safer option, since most people fast between dinner and breakfast. He says there are variations of how many hours you fast, versus how many you eat.

"Every single person, to some degree, intermittent fasts," Mabb said. "I know people that do 12 and 12, I know people that do 18 and six."

And Demarco says, while the diet is controversial, she’s been eating this way since high school. She’s tried other diets and fads, but says this one helps her feel great, makes her skin glow, and helps her shed a few pounds in the process. 

"I love food so that’s why I have my own little way of doing it. I did it for a whole two weeks of fasting, where I’d stop at a certain time, I believe it was 11 a.m., and I’d save myself just a little bit of carrot and apple toward the end of that, like 1 p.m. [I] did that for two weeks and I think I lost nine pounds," Demarco said.

Demarco said she uses the app MyFitnessPal to log her food a day before she eats it, which helps her stay on track. She typically has an omelet for breakfast and protein shake before she works out, then eats other things like a salad with protein before she fasts.

Demarco has other snacks like nuts and fruits to help her stay full throughout the day, and says she doesn't fall off the wagon by occasionally indulging in some healthy sweets like Atkins bars or some Halo Top ice cream.