WHEN You Eat Makes the Difference

Time Restricted Eating:

WHEN You Eat Makes the Difference

What is time restricted eating?

Time restricted eating (TRE) is a type of intermittent fasting that is believed to provide significant health benefits such as weight loss and improved insulin sensitivity by limiting caloric intake to a specified window of time, typically 8-12 hours.

The Theory

Our ancestors did not have 24/7 access to food the same way that we do today in the majority of modern society. It is thought that our bodies evolved to withstandand even benefit from short and long-term fasts, anywhere from 12 hours to several days. With the exception of certain religious practices, the lack of a fasting practice in our culture may contribute to the ever-increasing incidence of obesity, diabetes and other related diseases worldwide.

Our metabolism is made of a complicated set of biochemical that either directs energy towards “fat storage” or “fat burning”. An enzyme in one pathway can directlyturn off an enzyme in the opposite pathway. Theory suggests that the body can only burn fat or store fat at a given time. Therefore, it is only when we have fasted for longer than 10-12 hours that we begin to burn fat as fuel.

The Research

There is a growing body of animal research pointing towards health benefits of TRE.

• Mice fed a high-fat diet within an 8-hour window were healthier and slimmer than similar mice fed the same amount of calories over a 24 hours period.[1]
• The benefits of TRE were observed in mice regardless of the weight, type of diet, and length of time restriction up to 12 hours. There is even benefit if TRE is not followed on the weekends.[2]
• Human research is still in its early stages but one studied showed that TRE earlier in the day led to a reduction in hunger swings and an increase in fat metabolism rather than carbohydrate metabolism.[3]

How you can benefit

Consume your calories within an 8-12 hour period during the day and limit yourself to drinking only water outside of this window. An app called “Zero” (named for the calories consumed during a fast) can help track your fasts.

[1]HatoriM,et al. “Time-restrictedfeeding without reducing caloric intake prevents metabolic diseases inmicefed a high-fat diet.” Cell Metab.2012Jun 6;15(6):848-60. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2012.04.019. Epub2012May 17.

[2]Chaix & Miu, et al. “Time-restrictedfeeding is a preventative and therapeutic intervention against diverse nutritional challenges.” Cell Metab.2014Dec 2;20(6):991-1005. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2014.11.001.

[3]University of Alabama at Birmingham. "Time-restricted feeding study shows promise in helping people shed body fat." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 6 January 2017. <