I often recommend intermittent fasting to people for detox and metabolic health reasons. I also do it myself and stick to the eight-hour eating window and 16-hour non-eating window for my own detox and metabolic health reasons. I typically stop eating somewhere between 5 and 7 PM and then start eating again the next day 16 hours after my stop time.
Some people think they can do intermittent fasting for weight loss, and I rarely recommend it for that, because people tend to overheat during their eight-hour period, so it doesn’t end up working out for them, but here’s a study showing intermittent fasting does actually work for weight loss when calories are kept equal between the fasting group and the non-fasting group.
The study was done on mice, but many other studies have shown potentially similar results in humans.
Here is the link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3491655/
And here is my summary of the study:
What’s This Study About?
Scientists wanted to figure out why eating a high-fat diet makes animals (and humans) gain weight and get sick. Is it just because of eating too much fat, or does the timing of eating also matter? To find out, they experimented with mice.
What Did They Do?
The scientists split the mice into two groups:
- “Eat Anytime” Group (ad libitum): These mice could eat a high-fat diet, day or night, whenever they wanted.
- “Time-Restricted Feeding” Group (tRF): These mice ate the same high-fat diet but were only allowed to eat during an 8-hour window each day.
Both groups ate the same amount of calories and the same type of food. Only the timing of their meals was different.
What Did They Find?
Even though both groups ate the same number of calories:
- The “eat anytime” mice got fatter and developed health problems like:
- Obesity
- High insulin levels
- Fatty liver (too much fat in their liver)
- Inflammation
- Poor movement skills
- The time-restricted mice stayed leaner and healthier. They had:
- Better metabolism (how their bodies used food for energy)
- Less fat buildup in their bodies
- Normal insulin levels and healthy livers
- Better coordination and movement
Why Does Timing Matter?
The researchers found that eating only during a specific time each day helps the body:
- Stay in Sync with Its Natural Clock: Our bodies have a “circadian rhythm,” a 24-hour cycle that controls many processes, including how we use and store energy.
- Use Nutrients Better: During fasting periods, the body burns fat more efficiently and avoids storing extra energy as fat.
- Regulate Important Pathways: Key molecules in the body (like CREB, AMPK, and mTOR) worked better with time-restricted feeding. These molecules control how energy is used and stored.
Why Is This Important?
This study shows that when you eat can be just as important as what or how much you eat. Eating during a consistent time window each day can help prevent weight gain and health problems, even if you eat high-calorie food. This could be a simple, drug-free way to combat obesity and related diseases.
BONUS TIP: The first meal after a fast deserves more attention than it typically receives. During fasting, your gut microbiome undergoes significant changes, which become more pronounced the longer you fast. The “bad” bacteria have decreased because they are weaker than the “good” bacteria, so while the numbers are down with the “bad,” it’s time to get more “good” in there, and the best time for that is with the first meal with probiotic and prebiotic foods. The best probiotic foods are fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, kiefer, etc. The best prebiotic foods are high-fiber foods.
Takeaway for Humans
- Eat on a schedule: Try to eat during the same hours each day. Yes, intermittent fasting does work for weight loss, but only if that eight-hour window is not a binge session (the part most people can’t do, especially with their first meal). And remember the bonus tip above regarding the type of foods in that first meal of the feeding window!
- Avoid snacking late at night: This habit will especially disrupt your body’s natural rhythms.
- Health isn’t just about calories: Timing matters more!
- The best reason for Intermittent Fasting is still for detox and improved metabolic health, which also happens to be an anti-aging hack!
- Pro Tip: Most people don’t realize that ANY calories – even cream in your coffee or a teaspoon of honey in your tea – will interrupt the fasting window, so make sure you are being vigilant with only water and other zero-calorie drinks like tea during the fasting period.
Latest Posts
