Who isn't looking for weight loss through ways that help in permanent management? A new study says eating less and focusing more on calorie intake earlier in the early part of the day for at least 12 weeks can help you lose more weight than following standard care and receiving nutritional advice.

After analyzing at least 30 clinical trials that involved 2,485 participants, researchers from Bond University in Australia said it is better to change when you eat instead of what you eat.

Intermittent fasting or time-restricted eating, which is limited to consuming meals in a certain window of the day, has produced mixed results in past studies. Some research links the popular weight loss method to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, heart issues, and even reduced inflammation – all of which led to improved immunity. However, a major study has found that limiting eating to less than eight hours a day is more likely to die from heart disease than those who eat in a 12–16-hour window.

The study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open says sticking to an eating window of eight hours a day or less yielded the greatest weight loss. Researchers also determined that those who follow intermittent fasting with a higher body mass index lost more weight than those with a lower BMI.

Whether you practice intermittent fasting or not, experts recommend not eating anything post 6 pm. When you eat late in the evening, your cortisol levels go up restricting digestion which begins to slow your metabolism and makes it hard to even sleep.

Early consumption of dinner helps your body process nutrition better and releases melatonin, which regulates your sleep – impacting overall health and well-being.

Bond researchers also found that when you eat calories earlier rather than later in the day, it results in better weight loss. Eating fewer meals throughout the day, meanwhile, was tied to “small reductions in weight.” Also known as calorie cycling – the process of eating fewer calories towards the evening time leads to physical effects like increase in energy, enhanced workout performance, regulated sleep or sex drive, and elimination of fat loss plateau.

According to experts, exercise plays an important role in health and weight loss, and makes sense to tailor your calories to your activity level. The varying demands of exercise also drastically change your calorie needs on any given day.

And so, it makes sense to schedule your longest and most intense exercise sessions on high-calorie days. On the other hand, save the lighter exercise sessions or rest days for your low-calorie days. Over time, it allows you to lose fat but still maximize performance when it is most important.

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