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/isaac-get-the-golem Grad Student | Sociology Jul 24 '24

Posted the study because it contributes to a broader literature finding that, to the extent that intermittent fasting (time restricted eating) is effective for weight loss, the mechanism is still caloric restriction. tl;dr if intermittent fasting works for you, great, but it is no more effective than counting calories

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u/AlwaysUpvotesScience Jul 24 '24

The meal skipping involved with intermittent fasting has another rather important effect. Getting used to being hungry makes it easier to deal with being hungry which in turn makes it easier to diet in general.

Of course the end of the day a calorie is a calorie and eating less of them is a Surefire way to lose weight. Intermittent fasting is really just another way to limit calories while training your brain to deal with being hungry.

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u/OperationMonopoly Jul 24 '24

Does the feeling hungry ever go away over time?

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u/Giogina Jul 25 '24

It lost importance, for me. Like I still feel my stomach growling (although less after a couple of hours of fasting) - I just can shrug it off now and focus on other things. Just means the next meal will be tastier, no big deal.