IF YOU HAVEN’T jumped on the fasting bandwagon for fear of losing lean muscle, fear not.
A new study from the University of Mississippi shows that when participants paired an eight-hour eating window with regular exercise, they lost more fat – without sacrificing lean muscle – compared to exercise alone.
“We saw that this did lead to more fat loss and reduced body fat percentage over time when healthy adults were following both exercise with time-restricting eating compared to those who were only exercising for at least 4 weeks,” says study author Nadeeja Wijayatunga, assistant professor of nutrition and hospitality management. “It is important to note lean mass preservation.”
Wijayatunga and Michael Hays, tactical dietitian and recent Ole Miss graduate, began their study after seeing the dramatic rise in time-restricted eating. Together, they conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis where they analysed data from 15 studies conducted on time-restricted eating with exercise from the last decade.
“People like time-restricted eating because they feel it’s easier to adhere to because they don’t have to think too much,” she said. “It’s all about time, not calorie-counting or watching out for certain foods.”
The science surrounding time-restricted eating, however, is still developing, Hays says.
“For some people, this may be a good technique to help with body composition goals,” Hays says.
While the difference between those who exercised while following a time-restricted diet and those who used exercise alone was slight, the two groups in the studies were already very healthy individuals, Hays noted.
“They were already physically fit and already had exercise routines,” he says. “When you already have athletic, lean people and you decrease their body fat percentage, that’s significant.”
Time-restricted eating has been criticised in the past for possibly leading to a loss of lean mass, however, Hays and Wijayatunga found that when paired with exercise, time-restricted eating didn’t lead to a reduction in lean mass, even for those who lost body fat.
“That’s why you want to couple diet with exercise,” Hays says. “When you’re losing weight, you never want to lose lean tissue. You want to lose fat.”
Sure do, and this could be the ‘fast’ way to do just that.
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