Intermittent fasting is a popular approach to dieting that focuses less on what you eat and more on when, but it isn’t one size fits all. There several versions of the eating plan, with one of the more well-known options being the 16:8 intermittent fasting method, which many people use to lose weight. But first things first: Time-restricted eating isn’t about changing your diet or .
Instead, intermittent fasting requires you to fast for a period of time each day or week, per the . And because of the shorter eating window, by the end of the day or a week, you will likely be in a calorie deficit. But how and when you fast can vary.
Some people create and adhere to their own time-restricted eating pattern by stopping eating by 6:00 p.m., for example.
If you're not sure where to start, there are four common methods for intermittent fasting: the 16:8 method, the 5:2 method, alternating the days you’ll eat and fast and time-restrictive intermittent fasting. Here's what to know about the 16:8 intermittent fasting method in particular. The main rule of the 16:8 intermittent fasting plan is fasting for 16 hours of the day and eating normally for eight.
It's not a diet, so unless you have individual dietary restrictions, you can eat whatever you want within the eight-hour time frame. But the plan will work best for weight loss if you are already making smart, nutrient-rich choices, said NBC News health and nutrition editor Madelyn Fernstrom, Ph.D.
For some people, restricting the.