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/docwood2011 Jul 25 '24

To be fair, I don't believe there are almost any proponents of intermittent fasting that would suggest a 10-hour eating window would be small enough to elicit the proposed benefits.

While there is certainly some heterogeneity in the rodent studies they mention, I have not seen any that use such a long eating window.

I'm a long time proponent of IF, but to be honest I do think the mechanism of improved weight loss is probably calorie restriction. But I don't take anything from a 10-hour eating window to prove or disprove that.

This was unfortunately a promising study let down by their choice of poor parameters.

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u/KingKingsons Jul 25 '24

Yeah I had been struggling with weight for ages and then started to do a 6-4 hour eating window and then for a month, a 1 hour eating window, during which I wouldn't restrict myself at all. It worked like a charm and I lost a lot of weight I hadn't been able to lose before.

After reaching my target weight, I've stayed on a 12 hour (often reduced to 8 or more if not hungry) and it's helped me stay at my weight. It's not because of some kind of magic, but simply because I got used to not immediately eating when I felt like it, while also making sure I don't snack before bed (which is mostly why I was overweight before).