Fasting For 12 Hours Per Day

Thoughts? Anyone Doing This Already?

“Simply sticking to a 12-hour eating window could be the key to losing weight without restricting calories

Dieters hoping to shed the pounds should watch the clock as much as their calories after scientists discovered that limiting the hours we eat stops weight gain.

Confining meals to a 12 hour window, such as 8am to 8pm, and fasting for the remaining day, appears to make a huge difference to whether fat is stored, or burned up by the body.

Researchers at The Salk Institute in the US, said it adds more evidence to studies which show that eating late at night causes weight gain.

They suggest restricting eating hours could help fight high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity.

"These days, most of the advice is, 'You have to change nutrition, you have to eat a healthy diet,'" said associate professor Satchidananda Panda

"But many people don't have access to healthy diets. So the question is, without access to a healthy diet, can they still practice time-restricted feeding and reap some benefit?
The researchers studied 400 mice, ranging from normal to obese who were placed on various types of diets and lengths of time restrictions.

They showed that mice which were fed a high-fat diet, but allowed access to food for only 12 hours per day, were healthier and slimmer than mice given access to the same food for the whole day, even though the two groups consumed the same number of calories.

The results were the same even if the diets were high fat, high sugar, or high fruit sugars.

The study also suggests that the odd blip is unlikely to make a difference. A late night weekend takeaway, for example, is unlikely to harm the body's metabolism. However regularly eating at night would have a big impact.

"The fact that it worked no matter what the diet, and the fact that it worked over the weekend and weekdays, was a very nice surprise," says the study's first author Amandine Chaix, a postdoctoral researcher in Prof Panda's lab.

Mice who had become obese by eating whenever they liked during the day, lost five per cent of their bodyweight, when put on restricted within just a few days. At the end 38 week study, they were 25 per cent lighter than the group who had continued to eat freely.

Although mice on a healthy diet did not lose more weight, they gained muscle mass, the study which was published in the journal Cell Metabolism showed.

"It's an interesting observation that although the mice on a normal diet did not lose weight, they changed their body composition," added Prof Panda.

"That brings up the question--what happens? Are these mice maintaining their muscle mass which might have been lost with free feeding, or are they gaining muscle mass?"

A second study found that sticking to a Mediterranean diet can protect the DNA from ageing.

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) in the US found that a diet high in olive oil, fresh fruit and vegetables and nuts, was associated with longer telomeres.

Telomeres are the protective caps which sit at the end of chromosomes and prevent damage to the DNA, much like the plastic caps on the end of shoelaces.

Previous studies have shown that short telomeres are associated with disease and advanced ageing.

"To our knowledge this is the largest population-based study specifically addressing the association between Mediterranean diet adherence and telomere length in healthy, middle-aged women," explained Immaculata De Vivo, PhD, MPH, an associate professor in the Channing Division of Network Medicine at BWH and Harvard School of Public Health and senior author of this study.

"Our results further support the benefits of adherence to this diet to promote health and longevity."

Dr Mike Knapton, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “This large study adds to the body of evidence that longer telomeres are found in those who eat a Mediterranean diet.

“Longer telomeres may partially explain the link between diet and risk of cardiovascular disease.

“Previous findings from the same study had shown that those with unhealthy lifestyles had shorter telomeres.

“These results reinforce our advice that eating a balanced and healthy diet can reduce your risk of developing heart disease.”

The study was published in the British Medical Journal.”
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Replies

  • mtoyia
    mtoyia Posts: 9 Member
    Thank You!
  • SpanishFusion
    SpanishFusion Posts: 261 Member
    Leeg5656 wrote: »
    I know what everyone else is going to tell you, but I'll tell you my experience. I have never eaten before 9am and never after 9pm. From 2005 to 2016, I gained 70#. So for me, fasting for 12 hours alone has never helped me.

    I think it might be good in other aspects, but not weight-loss... for me.
  • mtoyia
    mtoyia Posts: 9 Member
    Leeg5656 wrote: »
    Leeg5656 wrote: »
    I know what everyone else is going to tell you, but I'll tell you my experience. I have never eaten before 9am and never after 9pm. From 2005 to 2016, I gained 70#. So for me, fasting for 12 hours alone has never helped me.

    I think it might be good in other aspects, but not weight-loss... for me.

    Hi Lee —- What has worked for you?
  • mtoyia
    mtoyia Posts: 9 Member
    toxikon wrote: »
    I'd honestly say most people have a daily 12-hour fast due to sleeping.

    There are a few types of intermittent fasting, but I really wouldn't call 12:12 one of them. Popular ones are:
    - 16:8 (8-hour feeding window, 16 hours of fasting)
    - 23:1 (also known as One Meal a Day or the Warrior Diet, 1 hour feeding window)
    - ADF (Alternate Day fasting, 1 day fasting, 1 day eating, repeat)
    - 5:2 (2 days of fasting on 500 or fewer calories, maintenance on the remaining 5 days)

    Studies seem conflicting on the effects of IF on weight loss.

    Give this a read for a good overview: https://examine.com/nutrition/the-low-down-on-intermittent-fasting/

    Very interesting! Thanks Toxi.
  • mtoyia
    mtoyia Posts: 9 Member
    mtoyia wrote: »
    The study didn't logged the calories the mice burned so I'm skeptical of their findings lol
    Me thinks the restricted mice group we're generally hungrier and move about more subconsciously in the cage as the survival/hunting instinct for sustenance kicked in while the ones who had access for food just laze about so they were fatter.

    Just like us ... none of this works without exercise!

    it totally works without exercise

    Besides just intaking less calories...how so?
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited February 2018
    mtoyia wrote: »
    mtoyia wrote: »
    The study didn't logged the calories the mice burned so I'm skeptical of their findings lol
    Me thinks the restricted mice group we're generally hungrier and move about more subconsciously in the cage as the survival/hunting instinct for sustenance kicked in while the ones who had access for food just laze about so they were fatter.

    Just like us ... none of this works without exercise!

    it totally works without exercise

    Besides just intaking less calories...how so?

    Basic CICO

    Calories consumed > Calories burned = weight gain.
    Calories consumed < Calories burned = weight loss.

    eta: this is a stickied link at the beginning of the forums.

    http://fit101.org/the-step-by-step-guide-to-losing-weight-with-myfitnesspal/
  • CarlsbergLewis
    CarlsbergLewis Posts: 186 Member
    12 hours
  • MoveitlikeManda
    MoveitlikeManda Posts: 846 Member
    edited February 2018
    mtoyia wrote: »
    mtoyia wrote: »
    The study didn't logged the calories the mice burned so I'm skeptical of their findings lol
    Me thinks the restricted mice group we're generally hungrier and move about more subconsciously in the cage as the survival/hunting instinct for sustenance kicked in while the ones who had access for food just laze about so they were fatter.

    Just like us ... none of this works without exercise!

    it totally works without exercise

    Besides just intaking less calories...how so?

    weight loss is about how much you eat, you dont have to do any exercise at to lose weight
    if I was lay in my bed all day doing nothing more than nipping to the toile when I need a wee I would still lose weight by calorie counting and eating at a deficit.

    IF is not a diet, its a way of eating that suits some people, it can help by having a shorter eating window but it means NOTHINGS if you are just scoffing in that time, you still need the right amount of calories
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Don't most people fast for 12 hours or so? I eat dinner around 8:30 in the evening...I don't eat breakfast until around 8:30/9 in the morning. Doesn't really seem like a "fast" to me...I'm still eating breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, etc and could most certainly and have most certainly gained, lost, and maintained weight eating this way.

    I used to do 16:8, but I didn't know that was an actual thing...just never ate until the lunch hour...actually ate that way most of my adult life and got fat doing it as well.

    IF is an eating protocol...it doesn't default to a weight loss deficit.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    mtoyia wrote: »
    Thoughts? Anyone Doing This Already?

    “Simply sticking to a 12-hour eating window could be the key to losing weight without restricting calories

    I stopped reading at that point. It's not possible to lose weight without restricting calories. Period. Unless of course you have some sort of medical condition causing the weight loss.

    Anyone doing IF will tell you the same thing, eat more calories than you burn and you're going to gain weight. IF is a way of eating not a way of losing weight. However, used in conjunction with calorie restriction it is supposed to aid in fat loss. I'm in my 2nd month of doing it at maintenance level of calories and have seen no loss or gain. Whether or not it's helped overall fat loss is impossible to tell at this point. Takes more time than that. Just like any fad diet, if you eat more than you burn, you gain. If you eat less than you burn, you lose. It's that simple.

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Don't most people fast for 12 hours or so?

    Seriously! I mean, I actually don't, I eat at 6, noon, and around 9 most days, but I have and it didn't matter. It's far easier for me to eat lots of food eating between 12 and, say, 9 (a nine hour window) than just eating three meals spaced so I can eat breakfast and dinner at home.

    Calling a break of 12 hours without eating a fast seems super weird to me.

    When I was younger and didn't like having breakfast I'd normally eat only between around noon or 1 and dinner (which was often earlier than it is now, since I'd often get dinner at work).
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    toxikon wrote: »
    I'd honestly say most people have a daily 12-hour fast due to sleeping.

    That's exactly what i was thinking! Isn't this the norm for most people?

    I don't personally fast per se, but i have my first meal at around 1pm and finish eating by 7pm. That's just my normal.

  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited February 2018
    Intermittent fasting is a means to help with satiety and adherence. For some people it works well; for others it sucks. It's very trendy and all the fad right now, but there's no magic beyond the satiety/adherence aspects. Meal timing is irrelevant to weight loss - stick to your calorie goal and eat in a pattern that works best for you in terms of overall satisfaction and workout performance. Everything else is majoring in the minors.

    You lose weight via a caloric deficit, not when or how often you eat.
  • vegaslounge
    vegaslounge Posts: 122 Member
    edited February 2018
    I've been experimenting with 16:8 fasting (eat for an 8 hour window) since New Years. For me it's been more of a discipline thing. I'm bad with making promises I don't keep so sticking with a "I can only eat between 4pm–12am" is a challenge that I'm trying to uphold, to better myself for other life challenges not even related to weight loss. Kind of a daily Lent. I'm under no illusion that I'll lose more weight this way (and honestly, I naturally tend to bulk-eat in the evening anyway so this isn't too far out of my league ) but it's really helped in training my mind that I can actually set rules for myself and follow them. Important thing is, I'm eating the calories allotted to me that day. When you eat them makes no difference.

    So, from my anecdotal evidence, fasting hasn't done diddly in how I'm losing weight, how my energy is, etc. I'm using it as a mental disciplinary device, and honestly it's helping me in that regard. And really, I think that's really how it should be used. Heck, the many religions that have fasting days aren't doing it because God is their Weight Watchers coach.

    ~VL