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Diet is key if you're trying to lose body fat [3], and creating a calorie deficit [4] is essential. Staying on track with calorie cutting can be so difficult, especially if you're exercising (it can increase hunger) or cutting out your favourite foods (it increases cravings).
Personal trainer Mounir Azegra [5], who shares his evidence-based information on weight loss and fitness to help others achieve their goals, offers a solution that may help you easily find success. Mounir says, "you don't have to precisely track your caloric intake to have control over your nutrition. Taking measures to decrease your portion sizes [6] and the amount of food you eat goes a long way. Skipping breakfast [7] may be a good approach for some people seeking to moderate their food intake," especially if you tend to overeat or if you hate the tediousness of counting calories.
With intermittent fasting (IF), instead of eating all day, you choose a shortened eating window. One popular example is to skip breakfast, as Mounir suggests, and eat from noon until 7 or 8 p.m. Referred to as 16:8 [9], it's an easy way to cut calories, and research proves it can help people lose body fat [10] because they don't eat as much as they would if they ate all day.
Don't worry: research also shows that skipping breakfast won't slow down your metabolism [11]. But if you're not into skipping breakfast, you can eat from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. and skip dinner instead [12]. There are so many different methods of intermittent fasting [13], from eating in a four-hour window [14] to fasting every other day [15], so find one that works for you.
Aside from helping you cut calories with minimal effort, IF also makes you feel less hungry [16] and can decrease cravings for unhealthy foods. Giving your body a break from eating can also help eliminate bloating issues [17] and help you sleep better. Intermittent fasting allows you the flexibility to eat larger, more satisfying meals [18] while also giving you the freedom to eat the foods you love.
Mounir notes, "When it comes to sustainable fat loss [19], there's no one 'right' approach. The key is to experiment with different approaches and find what suits your preferences best." If nothing else has worked, and you're struggling to find a way of eating you can maintain and still see results, intermittent fasting might be just the thing [20]. Just be sure to talk to your doctor first.