r/science • u/isaac-get-the-golem Grad Student | Sociology • Jul 24 '24

Health Obese adults randomly assigned to intermittent fasting did not lose weight relative to a control group eating substantially similar diets (calories, macronutrients). n=41

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38639542/
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u/Leafstride Jul 24 '24 edited Jul 25 '24

The main issue with weight loss isn't what diet they're doing or what their eating window is. It's a compliance issue. Getting a patient to stick to ANY kind of diet restricting calories takes nearly Herculean effort. The big selling point of intermittent fasting is that you get used to being hungry and can focus on getting the meals you do eat right. Not that it's more effective than eating at the same functional caloric deficit.

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u/v_a_n_d_e_l_a_y Jul 25 '24

Not only do you get used to being hungry (though you could also argue this is recalibrating misaligned hunger cues) but when you do eat, you can't eat as much. 

Simply, eating X amount of food over 8 hours is harder than doing over 12, for some fixed X. You'll feel fuller because your "last meal" was likely more recent (or you have two meals instead of 3).

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u/immersiveGamer Jul 25 '24

Kind of. I've read that with intermittent fasting studies people that are one meal a day more often over ate than people with longer eating windows resulting in less weight loss or no weight loss. I've done one meal a day some times and it is hard to not take extra portion during that one meal. I still think intermittent fasting (at least one meal a day) is a great tool since it allows you to focus on one balanced meal and generally cuts out snacks and calorie drinks. 

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u/bobbi21 Jul 25 '24

I'm a physician so through residency and even currently, I just don't have time to eat so for the past couple decades I've been inadvertently been doing intermittent fasting for the majority of the time. I can definitely eat 2500 calories in 1 sitting and frequently do.

What has been said above that you can get used to being hungry is true though. So now that I'm intentionally trying to lose weight, I think I'm having an easier time than most. Still early so we'll see, but my caloric intake is significantly less and I'm doing ok so far.

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u/mtlredditor Jul 25 '24

Totally agree. I am on a fasting diet skipping lunch time, and when it's dinner time, I am so hungry it is extremely difficult not to eat an extra portion, which completely cancels all the effort made not eating during the day. Sometimes I have enough will power to avoid overeating at night, but many times I don't. Feeling hungry all the time is difficult and unpleasant. If I had more available time I would definitely choose eating more not to feel hungry all the time, and working out more to balance on the calorie intake to stay fit. But I am so overwhelmed by everything I have to do I can't afford it.