A new book has claimed that people can lose weight by eating anything they want, but only during a set eight-hour period. The restriction is that the gap between two meals should be eight hours. According to the book - Freedom to eat - 'Our bodies can’t process the food we eat [after hours], and those calories were stored around our bellies and butts.'
The book claims we can lose ten pounds in a week and up to 20lbs in six weeks, and asks that we choose any eight-hour window for eating, such as 9am to 5pm, or 11am to 7pm. It explains that our extended eating interval throws our digestive system off-kilter and messes with the many hormones and enzymes that manage it.
Dr Satchidananda Panda, from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, says in the book: 'My hypothesis is that staying up and eating late may be the cause of diabetes. 'For the past 50 years or so we’ve been staying awake late into the night. That’s when we see the rise of weight problems.'
To prove his theory, Dr Panda’s laboratory tested his ideas on mice. The mice were divided into two groups and put on the same high-calorie, high-fat diet: One group was given the freedom to eat anything at any time of day. The other mice could eat as much as they wanted but only within an 8-hour time frame.
The study went on for 100 days, and it was only the all-day eaters that plumped up. Dr Panda explains: 'Simply limiting food intake to 8 hour gives you all the benefits - without having to worry about food intake. The book explains: 'In the simplest terms, the 8-Hour Diet is a way of extending the period between your last snack and your “breakfast,” giving your body the chance to burn away your fat stores for the energy it needs. And burn them it does.'
Eight-hour diet co-author David Zinczenko said, 'We're eating throughout the day, grazing all day long, and we're not giving our bodies a chance to process all of the food we're taking in and all the toxins.' Zinczenko says that we can start the day with tea or coffee and eight minutes of exercise to 'jump start the metabolism - then eat breakfast high in nutrients. Even though the books says you can eat what you want during the eight hours, Zinczenko says it isn't an excuse to 'overindulge,' and people should still aim for healthy foods.
While one group ate all their calories in three meals spread throughout the day, the other practised intermittent fasting, eating the same number of calories but in a restricted time frame. Results showed that participants who ate in a smaller window of time had a 'significant modification of body composition, including reductions in fat mass.'
According to Dr Panda’s research, restricting the time period during which you eat makes your body burn more calories throughout the day - so the longer you eat, the lazier your metabolism becomes. After lunch, which Zinczenko says could include a salad, two slices of pizza, and soup, you can have a snack of your choice. Although dinner will be earlier than you may be used to, you are able to consume a large portion of balance of foods, such as vegetables and a rib-eye steak.
Providing it in the eight-hour window, the books says you can have dessert and a glass of wine after dinner, because your body will have plenty of time to process those calories. However, if you fit you food intake into an eight-hour window, your body burns more calories day and night, as well as preventing disease such as diabetes, heart and kidney. The researchers found that those who fasted every other day for two weeks, the insulin in their bodies grew more efficient at managing blood sugar.
