Research

Hormonal

Combining continuous energy restriction (CER) with 16/8 time-restricted feeding (TRF) yields equivalent weight and fat loss to CER alone, but superior preservation of fat-free mass and skeletal muscle.

If you are trying to lose weight while keeping your muscle, adding an 8-hour eating window (like 12pm-8pm) to your calorie deficit won't make you lose fat faster than just eating fewer calories. However, it may help you keep more muscle mass. Focus on hitting your protein and calorie targets; the timing is a tool for adherence or muscle sparing, not a magic fat-loss multiplier.

ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
CER + TRF is as effective as CER to promote weight and fat loss, but, CER + TRF seems to be more efficient in maintaining lean body mass.
Daiani Evangelista Ribeiro et al. · Nutrition and Healthy Aging · 2021

Why this rating

Randomized controlled trial with a small sample size (n=24) and short duration (8 weeks).

Source

Continuous energy restriction (CER) plus 16/8 time-restricted feeding improve body composition and metabolic parameters in overweight and obese, but no more than CER alone

Daiani Evangelista Ribeiro et al. · Nutrition and Healthy Aging · 2021

DOI 10.3233/nha-200106

rct · n=24Cited 6×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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