Eat all your meals inside a window of roughly eight hours and fast for the rest. It works for weight loss, which is genuine. The catch: in the best trial so far it worked exactly as well as plain calorie restriction, so the fasting window itself adds nothing measurable except rules.
A one-year randomised trial in 139 adults with obesity compared time-restricted eating with everyday calorie counting and found no significant difference in weight loss, waist circumference or metabolic markers. Weight came down about 8% in both groups. If the schedule helps you eat less without counting anything, it is a useful tool; the evidence does not support it as superior mechanism.
Doing it: If you want to try it, pick a window you can hold on your worst week, not your best one. Eat normally inside it. Skip it entirely if you have any history of disordered eating; a rigid eating window is a poor fit there.
Who it suits: People who find calorie counting unpleasant and portion control easier with rules. Not for anyone with a history of eating disorders, and check with your doctor if you take glucose-lowering medication.
Sources
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