Time Restricted Dieting (TRE) is a strategy that has been around for ages. That said, it’s only in recent years that it has truly taken off as a powerful trend. It has received quite a bit of hype and has become one of those buzz weight loss concepts we hear about all the time. That said, there are a lot of those concepts, and it’s tough to know which ones to believe.
If you’re wondering whether or not Time Restricted Dieting is right for you, it’s a good idea to learn more about it. Find out what it means and what it can do to your body. Don’t forget to think of the bigger picture, too, since you’ll want to make sure to adopt sustainable lifestyle habits for the best diet support.
What is Time Restricted Dieting?
The whole concept of Time Restricted Dieting is that it allows you to skip counting calories in favor of a version of intermittent fasting. It has been taking off in popularity as a result of books such as The 8-Hour diet and The 5:2 Diet. Their exceptional sales and similar philosophies have produced a following that believes in focusing on time limits instead of calorie limits (or carbs or fats).
The premise is that the majority of us spend too much of our waking hours eating. Therefore, Time Restricted Dieting shortens the number of hours in which you are permitted to eat. Different books give different recommendations. Some tell you that you can eat only between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Others shift those times from noon to 7 p.m. Overall, the idea remains the same.
When to Stop Eating
The vast majority of Time Restricted Dieting strategies will focus on stopping your food consumption earlier in the day. The reason is that it gives you the opportunity to burn off all the calories you’ve consumed. When you stop eating while you still have several active hours left in your day, you may burn off the food before it can be stored as fat. That’s an appealing sounding goal.
Furthermore, there have been some limited studies suggesting that the concept has merit. One University of Alabama at Birmingham study followed 11 men and women. It found that those whose Time Restricted Dieting stopped them from eating at 2 p.m. lost more weight than those who stopped at 8 p.m. This, even though they consumed a similar number of calories. Interestingly, those who stopped sooner also experienced fewer food cravings. That said, it’s important to remember that this was an exceptionally tiny study. More research is required before conclusive answers are found.
