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Time to eat?
Intermittent fasting might be no more effective, but easier to stick with, than counting calories.
Jonel Aleccia
Associated Press
As weight-loss plans go, it’s easy to see the allure of intermittent fasting: Eat what you want, but only during certain windows of time — often just eight hours a day.
Instead of counting calories or measuring portions, dieters just have to pay attention to the clock, said Courtney Peterson, a nutrition researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“You have this really simple rule: Eat or don’t eat,” Peterson said.
The technique has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, becoming a leading trending topic on social media.
But does time-restricted eating, a form of intermittent fasting, really help people shed pounds and boost health?
Here’s what you need to know about the practice:
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is a meal strategy where people switch between fasting and eating on a regular schedule, defined as at least 14 hours with no food, Peterson said. That can mean variations such as eating every other day, eating five days a week and then fasting for two days or limiting daily eating to certain hours.
Time-restricted eating, where people condense all of their eating into a daily window of 10 hours or less, is the most popular form of intermittent fasting. Diners will delay breakfast until 10 a.m. or noon and then eat dinner by 6 p.m. or 8 p.m., forgoing food the rest of the time.
How is it supposed to help?
The theory behind time-restricted eating is that it supports the circadian rhythm, or the body’s internal clock.
Spending more time in a fasting state may boost the body’s processes that govern blood sugar and fat metabolism, for instance, scientists say.
Early studies in mice starting in 2012 seemed to show health benefits from time-restricted eating.
Small studies in people with obesity suggested that the practice might help them lose weight and improve other health markers.
Is time-restricted eating effective for weight loss?
Research has shown that people on time-restricted eating plans tend to eat fewer calories, which could explain weight loss.
Results from combined studies suggested that adults with obesity who limited their eating hours without focusing on calories naturally reduced their energy intake by 200 to 550 calories a day, losing 3% to 5% of their baseline body weight.
But a larger study of people observed over a longer period of time showed that the time restrictions alone might not matter.
A 2022 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine tracked 139 people with obesity for a year. Participants either followed a calorie restricted diet during a certain time window or ate the same number of calories throughout the day. Both groups lost weight — 14 to 18 pounds on average — but there was no significant difference between the strategies.
“Our data right now suggests that time-restricted eating isn’t any better or worse than cutting calories,” Peterson said. Nor does the technique help burn more calories, she added.
Still, Peterson said, the simplicity of time restriction might be easier to maintain than a typical diet.
“Almost no one likes calorie counting,” she said.
Is intermittent fasting safe?
Early clinical trials with eating windows of six to 10 hours found that time-restricted eating was “generally safe,” researchers reported in the journal Obesity.
But headline-grabbing research presented this year at an American Heart Association scientific session suggested that people following an eight-hour time-restricted diet had a much higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease than those who ate over 12 to 16 hours.
That research hasn’t been published in a peer-reviewed journal, noted Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez of the Mayo Clinic.
But he said there is reason to be cautious. Longstanding evidence suggests that skipping breakfast may be linked to cardiovascular disease and death. People should check with their health care providers before trying restricted eating, especially if the fasting window lasts until midday.
Comments continue on counting calories
Barbara Intermill
Seems we are still not finished with comments regarding two recent columns on counting calories. Interestingly, these two letters arrived in my inbox on the same day.
Dee V. from Santa Cruz wrote: “I too have found that plain old-fashioned counting calories is the easiest and most reliable way to achieve a goal and stay there. I don’t do well with a general intention to just eat less, or not so many sweets, or skip the cocktail. (Tracking calories) may not work for everyone, but it works for me.”
Denise Z., a registered dietitian nutritionist in Montana who works with people who struggle with eating disorders and chronic dieting, had a different take: “I was very disappointed in your articles regarding your and your husband’s personal issues regarding weight and choice to focus on calorie counting. This feels very sad to me, as you do have a unique opportunity in your column to share evidence-based information around weight and help lessen the guilt and shame so many already feel around food and their bodies. After studying the research, I changed my philosophy to focus on overall positive health behaviors including managing stress and getting adequate sleep, hydration, nutrition and enjoyable movement while at the same time helping people practice grace and compassion in the process. To tell people to cut calories and exercise more does not work. My hope is to see someone with the influence you have to challenge the diet mentality/wellness culture and off er people more hope!”
I certainly agree that counting calories is not a good option for all people and can even be harmful for those with a history of disordered eating or chronic dieting. And yes, healthful habits like sleep and pleasurable physical activity are priorities for all of us at any weight.
I also agree with the 2022 evidence-based guidelines for the management of overweight and obesity in adults published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. This document states there is no one exclusive course of action when it comes to weight management and that healthy eating habits — rather than weight loss — may be a better goal for some people.
When weight loss is appropriate and desired, however, these guidelines also state that cutting back on calories may be feasible for some people. These experts also stress that, because there are many factors that affect one’s weight, decreasing calories is just one of many strategies that may help a person safely and effectively lose unwanted pounds.
Nutrition professionals recognize that no two people are alike. That’s why an individualized approach is so important in this sometimes very complicated area of weight management. If my comments about my husband and me sounded like a command for everyone to count calories, that was certainly not my intention.
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Southwest Montana Health Care Directory
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