If you’re working on improving your eating and exercise habits, it’s important to consider when you plan them. A recent study suggests that combining time-restricted eating with high-intensity exercise can be particularly effective, and the timing of these approaches may enhance their benefits.
Time-restricted diets involve limiting when you eat rather than what you eat. In the study published in the journal PLoS ONE, participants fasted for 16 hours and ate within an 8-hour window. High-intensity functional training (HIFT) combines aerobic and resistance exercises, similar to high-intensity interval training (HIIT) but with different impacts on the joints.
A research team from the University of Sfax in Tunisia found that obese women experienced improved body composition and cardiometabolic health after completing a 12-week program that combined time-restricted eating and high-intensity exercise. The exercise was performed immediately after the eating period ended.
Improved cardiometabolic health reduces the risk of cardiovascular problems and metabolic disorders like diabetes.
According to nutritionist Dr. Adam Collins, combining exercise with diet is the best strategy for improving metabolic health, regardless of weight loss. Considering the timing of exercise and meals may further enhance these benefits.
How to enhance your weight loss strategy with time-restricted eating
Researchers assigned 64 obese women between 22 and 42 years old to three different programs: time-restricted eating only, high-intensity exercise only, or a combination of both. The high-intensity exercise involved training three times a week for 45-55 minutes at 5 p.m.
After 12 weeks, all three groups saw significant weight loss, reduced waist and hip circumference, and improved levels of healthy fats and blood sugar. However, the group combining diet and exercise experienced greater improvements, suggesting this approach is more sustainable in the long term.
Combining exercise with time-restricted eating can reduce the dependence on one or the other to be effective. It can also be adapted for flexibility and sustainability by adjusting the frequency, type, and intensity of exercise.
Further benefits seen in the exercise groups include improved blood pressure and better distribution of lean body and skeletal muscle mass.
The study’s small sample size suggests the need for more research on how diet and exercise can work together to improve health outcomes.
Dr. Collins noted that the timing of high-intensity exercise and fasting after eating may have exaggerated metabolic effects, especially in women, due to the afterburn effect of exercise.
About our experts
Dr. Adam Collins is an Associate Professor of Nutrition at the University of Surrey with expertise in obesity, exercise nutrition, body composition, and energy metabolism. His research is published in journals like British Journal of Nutrition and Applied physiology, nutrition, metabolism.
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Source: www.sciencefocus.com
