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There are a lot of crazy diets out there that seem to promise you’ll lose a lot of weight, and one of the hottest in recent years is the concept of Intermittent Fasting. Well, according to a new study, folks who spend hours not eating are actually wasting their valuable time. The study, published in the “New England Journal of Medicine,” says the trendy diet isn’t any better than simply counting calories in order to lose weight. In fact, not eating for certain periods of time, in some cases 18 hours a day, didn’t lead to increased weight loss, compared to other calorie counting diets. The authors note, “A regimen of time-restricted eating was not more beneficial with regard to reduction in body weight, body fat or metabolic risk factors than daily calorie restriction.” Researchers at Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, determined their findings by studying 139 obese patients for 12 months, with some put on a calorie restriction diet with time-restricted eating, and some just put on the calorie restriction diet. On average, both groups lost about 14 to 18 pounds, but there was no significant difference between the groups. There also wasn’t a big difference in things like BMI, waist circumference, body fat or metabolic risk factors.
Here's the deal- if it works for you, it works. Just like any diet. There isn't one end all be all except for maybe eat fewer calories than you burn... that always works.
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