16:8 Eating Protocol!

With Christmas and the New Year hurtling down the tracks, we all tend to over indulge and many folk look to reduce calories and feed the diet industry in January.  Whilst there are endless types of diet programs and a myriad of resources and foods targeted at dieters, research constantly shows that most diets are not sustainable for the average person.

One approach that is gaining increasing headlines is 'fasting'.  'Intermittent fasting' is a term applied to diets that drastically reduce calories for 2 - 4 days of the week.  This can involve eating around 500 calories every other day  or eating no calories for a day or two in the week.  For daily fasting of set durations, the term 'time-restricted eating' is applied. Outside of the fasting hours you are free to pretty much eat what you want.

16:8 is a popular 'time-restricted eating' pattern that some folk follow.  This involves abstaining from any caloric intake for 16 hours and then eating freely for 8 hours.  Research has shown that  following a 16:8 eating protocol is a viable tool for reducing weight and body fat both with and without restricting overall calories.  Research has also shown that this approach can reduce fat mass whilst sparing muscle - the holy grail!  It is also considered a psychologically easier approach to dietary restriction as the most common usage is to not eat from 20:00 until 12:00 the next day - with between 8-10 hours of the period covered by sleep. (There other claimed benefits to this type of fasting, but they are largely unsubstantiated - these include increased cognitive performance, improved cardiovascular health and tissue damage limitation.)

Insulin sensitivity tends to be better in the morning, so actually eating early in the morning may be preferable for some.  Others may prefer to eat later as it is more aligned perhaps with family eating times.  Whatever approach, research has not found any significant side effects, although the initial prolonged abstinence from food can cause some degree of nausea or dizziness. 

Generally speaking drinks are allowed - water of course, tea and coffee (without sugar and milk etc) and some items such as coconut water.

So, if this floats your boat, it is pretty simple - don't consume anything for 16 hours (it needs to be continuous) and then eat freely for the remaining 8 hours.