A doctor has revealed there’s a way people can lose weight without actually eating less. Prof Tim Spector, appearing on the podcast of dieting guru Dr Michael Mosley Just One Thing on the BBC said that if people only eat at certain times of the day - they can lose weight - even if they’re eating the same number of calories.
The method works by having food within one window - and Prof Spector recommended people should try to eat within a 10-hour period. And he revealed an extensive study had revealed that people who stuck to it lose weight - and have much healthier gut bacteria as a result.
Tim Spector said it was one of his top tips for losing weight: “This idea of time restricted eating which comes under the umbrella if intermittent fasting where you don’t change the amount you eat, or what you eat, you just change the time window you’re eating in.
“In the Uk the average time window is probably about 15 or 16 hours because we snack so much. We’re eating from the time we get up in the morning to just before we go to bed.
“There are lots of studies that show that is very bad for us. It not only gives us lots of sugar spikes, it encourages over-eating, it makes us sleep poorly but it also has a bad effect on our gut microbes. Microbes like us need a good night’s sleep and if you give them that time to sleep then they have a cleaning team which comes out at night.
“They have a shift change as scavengers come out to tidy up your gut lining and make your gut the perfectly oiled machine that our ancestors had and we have lost. A 10-hour time window is optimal. You can go harder but it’s not sustainable.
“You’ve got to find what works for you.”
Prof Spector explained that a big study has taken place which had excellent results. He said: “We did this study, a massive citizen science project. We had around 100,000 people doing this and most people - 80,000 - managed to do a 10-hour time window for several weeks and they felt better, their mood improved, their sleep improved, energy levels improved and other studies have shown their micro bio improves as well.
“It’s about finding a window which suits you. It can be early or late. Some people have a breakfast at 7am for example and finish eating at 5 in the afternoon. Others like myself might eat late at night, finish eating at 9 and not eat again until 11 the next day. Work out what is best for you and it’s got to be sustainable. You don;’t have to do it every single day as we all have social lives, we’re working and we’re doing other things.”
“In these studies nearly everyone who did it did lose a small amount of weight without consciously changing in any way their calories.”
Michael Mosley then added: “Broadly what you’re describing is 14:10 where you try to fast overnight for 14 hours and then you eat within a 10 hour window. There are other variants - 16:8 or indeed some people who go for one meal only also known as the ‘warrior diet’ which I actually think is a little bit mad. I think something like 14:10 is doable. I’m probably more a 12:12 person to be honest.”
