Restricted eating for a span of three months could potentially maintain weight loss.
Revised Article:
Over the past few years, the popular diet lifestyle of intermittent fasting has been making waves in the health and wellness community, especially for those aiming to lose weight. However, there's been some division on the ideal time to chamber the intermittent fasting "eating window" - morning or evening. Recently, a groundbreaking study presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) 2025, puts this debate to rest and provides compelling evidence that maintaining long-term weight loss is achievable with time-restricted eating - regardless of the time of day!
Let's Get Flexible with Time-Restricted Eating
Intermittent fasting, also known as time-restricted eating, is a timely method for creating calorie deficits by limiting eating periods. For instance, a person might choose to fast for 12 hours and eat for the next 12 hours, or fast for 16 hours and eat for eight hours. Research conducted by Alba Camacho-Cardenosa, PhD, of the Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs.GRANADA) and the Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS) at the University of Granada in Spain, provides a game-changing outlook on this dieting strategy.
The Study: Who, What, When, and Where
Camacho-Cardenosa and collaborators recruited 99 Spanish participants with an average age of 49, who were deemed overweight or obese. Participants were randomly assigned for 12 weeks to one of four groups:
- Regular eating windows (12 hours or more)
- Early time-restricted eating (8-hour eating window starting before 10:00 am)
- Late time-restricted eating (8-hour eating window starting after 1:00 pm)
- Personalized time-restricted eating (8-hour eating window of their own choice)
The scientists noted each participant's body weight, waist, and hip circumferences at the outset, after 12 weeks, and 12 months following the study's completion.
Hooray for Hefty Losses!
After 12 weeks, researchers found that all time-restricted eating groups dropped more weight than those maintaining regular eating patterns. "This finding demonstrates that time-restricted eating can be an effective tool for short-term weight loss, even without strict calorie counting," Camacho-Cardenosa stated. Notably, the early time-restricted eating group experienced the most substantial decline in hip and waist circumferences.
It's All About Persistence
When revisiting participants at the 12-month mark, researchers discovered that those in the regular eating group experienced weight regain, while all three time-restricted eating groups kept off the pounds. Moreover, the habitual eating group saw an increase in waist circumference after 12 months, whereas the time-restricted eating groups stayed lean and fit.
"...This demonstrates that time-restricted eating can be a sustainable long-term approach. It means that this strategy does not just help people lose weight, but it can also help them maintain it, which is a colossal challenge in most weight loss programs," highlighted Camacho-Cardenosa.
The investigators will now explore how time-restricted eating paired with exercise affects cardiometabolic well-being and "ectopic fat depots." Additionally, they aim to identify which individuals benefit most from specific mealtime routines, helping to personalize the approach for maximum results.
Are You Ready to Jump on the Intermittent Fasting Bandwagon?
Mir Ali, MD, a board-certified general surgeon, bariatric surgeon, and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in California, hails the study, explaining, "What the study showed is that the time of day is not as crucial as the amount of time you stay away from eating." For those looking to shed some pounds and keep it off, the following expert tips can help you get started!
- Examining your daily routine, assess how your eating times and nutritional requirements can be adjusted to fit an eight-hour window. Consider aspects like meal preparation, food choices, and accompanying lifestyle adjustments.
- Remember why you're eating - is it true hunger, or maybe boredom or accessibility?
- How are you eating? Are you mindfully chewing your food, and giving yourself ample time to savor your meals (20-40 minutes); or gobbling it down in a hurry?
- What are you eating? Focus on choosing wholesome, nutrient-dense foods that offer a variety of flavors and textures, rather than convenient, calorie-dense junk foods.
- When are you eating? Are your meals well-spaced out, or do you graze all day long?
- Intermittent fasting, a method for weightloss, involves limiting eating periods and creating calorie deficits, providing a viable strategy for short-term weight loss without strictly counting calories.
- A recent study presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) 2025 offers compelling evidence that time-restricted eating can help maintain long-term weight loss, regardless of the time of day.
- In the study, participants who followed time-restricted eating, regardless of the eating window time, experienced more weight loss compared to those maintaining regular eating patterns after 12 weeks.
- Even at a 12-month follow-up, time-restricted eating groups kept off the pounds, while the habitual eating group experienced weight regain and an increase in waist circumference.
- Future research will aim to identify the effects of time-restricted eating paired with exercise on cardiometabolic health and personalize the approach for maximum weight management and health-and-wellness benefits.
