Time Restricted Eating & Meal Timing
Time-restricted eating (TRE) is an eating pattern that involves restricting your food intake to a specific time window each day. For some people, this can be a useful strategy for reducing total calorie intake, supporting a healthy weight, and preventing fat accumulation in the liver. One recent year-long study of people with obesity and MASLD showed a nearly 7% reduction in liver fat content for those restricting their eating window to 8 am-4 pm.1
Enjoying three similarly timed meals per day (with no snacks in between) is excellent for our circadian rhythm and can profoundly affect our metabolic and liver health. Bulking up breakfast or lunch while keeping dinner on the lighter side can also have a positive impact. This is because our bodies process food differently in the evening, which can increase the likelihood of evening and late-night calories being stored as fat in the body and in the liver.2
If you want to try time-restricted eating, the most common approach is the 16/8 method, where you fast for 16 hours and eat during an 8-hour window. As noted above, keeping most of your calorie intake to the early morning or afternoon hours can be particularly useful for improving your metabolic health. Here is an example of what that might look like in practice.
The 16 & 8 Method
- Eat between 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM (8-hour eating window).
- 8:00 AM - Breakfast
- 12:00 PM - Lunch (Largest meal)
- 4:00 PDinner (light)
- Fast from 4:00 PM - 8:00 AM the next day (16-hour fasting period)
While some opt for the more structured 16/8 method or other fasting regimens, it's important to recognize that fasting may not suit everyone. Even a simpler approach, like avoiding late-night snacking and maintaining a 12-hour fasting window from dinner to breakfast, can yield positive results. By prioritizing well-timed, balanced meals and reducing calorie intake during the evening hours, we can positively influence our circadian rhythms and metabolic well-being.
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