HOW DOES TIME RESTRICTED EATING WORK-min

HOW DOES TIME-RESTRICTED EATING WORK?

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Intermittent fasting is a common strategy for losing weight and achieving health goals. Time-Restricted Eating(TRE)is a popularnutrition program form of intermittent fastingwhich many individuals have embraced.

Different approaches are used to loseweight. More individuals are beginningto take effective approaches to stay in shape and live healthily. Intermittent fastingis one of most individuals’ popular routes to achieve their fitness goals. Those who have seriously followed it have experienced impressive results.

How Does Time-Restricted Eating Work?

TRE works somewhat differently, unlike mosttypes of intermittent fasting, where you shuffle between low-calorie days and having a diet you wish on other days. It does not have any calorie counting. It involves eating your normal diet but in a fixed time slot daily and having a long overnight fast.

Types of Time-Restricted Eating

The most commonstyles of TRE include;

12:12

Your eating time is set to a 12-hour slot, and you fast for 12 hours.

10:14

Your eating time is set to a 10-hour slot, and you fast for 14 hours.

8:16

Your eating time is set to an 8-hour slot, and you fast for 16 hours

Benefits of Time-Restricted Eating

Helps WithWeight Loss

Time-restricted eating is idealfor overweight individuals or those who have normal weight and want to maintain it. What determines if you’ll lose weight isthe number of caloriesyou’ll consume during the eating hour slot. If you eat fewer calories than usual, you’ll experience a cut down in your weight. If you don’t notice any change in your weight, even after reducing your calorie count, this style of fasting may not be the best alternative for you.

Helps You Maintain the Right Blood Sugar Levels

Too much sugar in the body leads to diabetes and damages toyour body parts. Time-restricted eating will reduce yourblood sugar if your diet contains healthy foods.

Improves Heart Health

Having enough good cholesterol is healthy, but bad cholesterol increases the risks of heart conditions. The outcomedepends on whether this eating pattern affects your weight loss program. For participants who lose weight with this diet program, their cholesterol improves too. If you don’t lose weight after following it, high chances are your cholesterol will not improve either.

Tips forGettingGood Results FromTime-Restricted Eating

Fasting, including time-restricted eating, can be unsafe if not properly done. These tips will help you observe this meal program safely without any negative effects.

OptFor a Short Fasting Period

The good thing about TRE is that its fasting periods are manageable, unlike some regimens, which take as long as 72 hours. Extremely long fasting periods increase side effects linked to fasting, such as irritability, dehydration, mood changes, hunger, fainting, and inability to focus. The most effective way to avoid or reduce these side effects is by adapting shorter fasting periods, especially for beginners inthe dietprogram. The fasting duration is entirely up to you.Ensure you seek assistance from your medical supervisor when you want to increase your fasting period.

Consume Small Amounts of Food on Your Fast Days

Generally, fasting demands you toremovecertain foods and drinks from your diet for some time. Rather than making all changes at once, start slowly. Begin by restricting certain calories before your body fully adjusts to the absence of some calories. Taking this approach will reduce the side effects of fasting, such as being unfocused and fainting.

Always Stay Hydrated

Dehydration can lead to mouth dryness, fatigue, headaches, and extreme thirst. It’s important to stay hydrated on a fast. Fasting limits your food intake, yet some of the fluid, about 30%, usually comes from foods, making it easy to get dehydrated while fasting. Anytime you feel thirsty, drink water.

TrySome Meditation

It’s difficult to avoid food during fasting, especially when feeling hungry or bored. Keeping yourself busy will protect you from breaking your fast. Try any calming activity that’s not strenuous to engage your mind. Reading a good book, doing yoga, listening to your favorite podcast, takinga long hot shower, or meditating will help.

Avoid Breaking the Fast With a Buffet

One of the mistakes done when breaking a fast is celebrating it with a lot of food. This unhealthy way of breaking fast will leave youtired, bloated, and with regrets. Additionally, feasting affects those with long-term goals of losing weight. The best approach when breaking a fastis to continue with the normal portions and resume your normal eating routine.

Break Fasting if You Are Unwell

Fasting comes with hunger, tiredness, and irritability, but it should not make you sick. When starting, you may need to have a snack with you ifyou feel ill. If the illness persists, stop fasting immediately.

Consume Adequate Whole Foods on Your Non-Fasting Days

It’s crucial to maintain a healthylifestyle when you’re not fasting. Wholefoods offer many health benefits and reduce risks of heart conditions, cancer, and chronic illnesses. Ensure your diet consists of eggs, meat, fish, legumes, vegetables, and fruits.

Consider Taking Supplements

Fasting regularly may deny you some essential nutrients. Regular consumption of fewer calories makes it difficult to meet your nutritional needs. Individuals on weight-loss diets are likely to be deficient in calcium, vitamin B12, and iron. Ensure you take supplements to meet the daily recommended amount of these nutrients.

Conclusion

Time-restricted eating is among the successful ways of losing weight. This diet program involves eating for a specific period and fasting the remaining hours. Ensure you consult your doctor before following this type of fasting. Also, follow the tips highlighted above to get impressive results.

Elena Ognivtseva
Latest posts by Elena Ognivtseva (see all)

Nutritionist, Cornell University, MS

I believe that nutrition science is a wonderful helper both for the preventive improvement of health and adjunctive therapy in treatment. My goal is to help people improve their health and well-being without torturing themselves with unnecessary dietary restrictions. I am a supporter of a healthy lifestyle – I play sports, cycle, and swim in the lake all year round. With my work, I have been featured in Vice, Country Living, Harrods magazine, Daily Telegraph, Grazia, Women's Health, and other media outlets.

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