The diet book The 8-Hour Diet, by author David Zinczenko and former Men’s Health editor-in-chief Peter Moore, is another spin on the fasting for weight loss. This diet restricts eating times to an eight hour period - 9am to 5pm or 11am to 7pm - in order to rev up metabolism by introducing fasting or “fat-burning” periods. Here’s an analysis from Coach’s sister title Health & Fitness.
The Positives
If you have to plan your meals to fit within the eight-hour time frame you become a more conscious eater. Mindless eating is a pitfall for many slimmers.
The idea that you can eat whatever you like during the time frame is appealing – if you tell yourself you can’t have a food, you want it even more, so being able to eat what you like may even help you stick to healthier foods.
If your last meal is at 5pm or 6pm, this diet will cut out any late-night snacking!
In order to fight hunger pangs outside your allotted eating hours, you can eat high-fibre and high-protein foods such as yoghurt, nuts and vegetables. These foods are also healthy and nutritious.
The Negatives
You are free to consume as many calories and whatever type of food you desire during the eight-hour period. This doesn't teach you about healthy eating, and could result in excessive calorie intake, which is detrimental to health and could cause weight gain.
Avoid taking a fasting diet to the extreme. All meals consumed should contain a wide range of foods to ensure you get a balance of macronutrients (carbs, protein, fat) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals).
Eating within a restricted time frame, still instils the dieting mindset. If you think you're following a “diet”, you're less likely to want to follow the diet long-term.
This diet ignores the theory of calories in vs calories out. If you eat more calories than you burn off, regardless of when you eat them, you will put on weight.
This article first appeared in the magazine Health & Fitness
