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Mon, August 3, 2026 at 9:50 PM UTC
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If you’re looking to lose weight but dread counting calories, the 16:8 diet has probably come across your radar. This approach to intermittent fasting requires you to fast for 16 hours a day and restrict your eating to an eight-hour window. But during your eating window, this diet doesn’t require you to track calories, macros, or anything else. We asked dietitians to explain the 16:8 diet and share who could benefit from trying this time-restricted eating pattern. “For those who find counting calories or following a highly restrictive diet unappealing, the 16:8 diet may be worth considering,” explains Jennifer Pallian, a registered dietitian and founder of Foodess. “For many people, that simpler structure may make it easier to stick with over the long term than traditional calorie restriction.”
Meet the Experts:Jennifer Pallian, registered dietitian and founder of Foodess; Courtney Peterson, PhD, associate professor of nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a researcher in the field of intermittent fasting; Kristina Varady, PhD, associate professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois Chicago; Sarah Mirkin, registered dietitian nutritionist and certified personal trainer
There’s plenty of research indicating that the 16:8 diet can help you lose weight. But this diet isn’t recommended for everyone. Keep reading to learn more about the 16:8 diet and find out if it might be effective in helping you reach your goals
What is the 16:8 diet?
The 16:8 diet is a version of intermittent fasting that restricts eating to an 8-hour window. During that time, you’re allowed to eat and drink what you want with no calorie restrictions. During the 16-hour fasting period, you can (and should) drink plenty of water. Black coffee and tea are fine, too
What time period works best? Keeping your eating window earlier—say, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.—seems to be the most beneficial. The body’s biological clock is primed to eat earlier in the day, explains Courtney Peterson, PhD, associate professor of nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a researcher in the field of intermittent fasting. “In most people, blood sugar control is best in the morning and gets worse as the day progresses. You also digest food faster in the morning. So there’s a metabolic advantage to eating earlier in the daytime,” she says.
But if that timeframe seems unrealistic, don’t worry. Recent findings suggest that bumping your eating window just a little bit later, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., could also be effective for weight loss
⏰ When following the 16:8 diet, you restrict eating to an 8-hour window and then do a 16-hour fast. ⏰
Can the 16:8 diet help you lose weight?
Research points to yes. In 2025, a scientific analysis of 55 studies around intermittent fasting concluded that “Across most studies, intermittent fasting was associated with moderate but clinically meaningful weight loss.” When 23 obese adults restricted their eating from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for 12 weeks, they ate around 350 fewer calories per day compared to the control group, according to a Nutrition and Healthy Aging study published in 2018. They also lost a few pounds and saw a drop in their systolic blood pressure (the top number). However, that study was very small, and more research will be needed to confirm the results.
Going for longish periods without eating seems to send the body into fat-burning mode and limit blood sugar spikes. “Those two factors combined mean that you’re reducing the blood sugar highs and lows that make you hungrier,” Peterson says. Time-restricted eating also keeps your appetite in check by lowering the hunger hormone ghrelin, she adds
There’s another reason why 16:8 dieters might end up eating less. “I think participants found it difficult to eat all of their regular meals and snacks within the 8-hour timeframe,” says Kristina Varady, PhD, associate professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois Chicago and a co-author of the Nutrition and Healthy Agingstudy. If trying to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. feels like a squeeze, you’ll likely end up skipping a meal or shrinking your portions.Beyond weight management, the 16:8 diet may improve several markers of metabolic health, according to Pallian. She points to a 2025 study which found that the 16:8 diet led to improvements in fasting glucose, insulin sensitivity, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), blood pressure, HDL (“good”) cholesterol, and other aspects of the lipid profile. Another scientific article published in 2024 states that intermittent fasting positively affects the immune system by improving gut health.
What are the drawbacks of following the 16:8 diet?
While the 16:8 diet seems like a great way to drop weight fast, it does have some cons. Sarah Mirkin, a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified personal trainer, says, “I think that it limits food intake to such a small window of time that it’s difficult for someone to meet their nutritional needs.”
Indeed, fasting for a long period of time probably means you’re not able to enjoy three full meals with snacks each day. Whether you’re skipping breakfast or dinner, missing a meal always results in not receiving adequate nutrients. And since the 16:8 diet gives you license to eat whatever you want, you might be tempted to fill up only on fatty, processed foods, especially if you’re feeling ravenous. Hunger can also cloud your better judgment and lead you to binge eat as well. “Studies show that the majority of people are not able to sustain it for very long and oftentimes end up binging on unhealthy foods, causing weight gain,” Mirkin says. Other drawbacks of 16: 8 fasting include poor sleep, muscle mass loss (since it doesn’t allow enough time during the day to meet protein needs), disordered/binge eating, weakness, nausea, and fatigue, Mirkin says.
To help you make better food choices and avoid binge eating, Mirkin recommends sticking to a 12-hour eating window instead of an 8-hour one. “This allows adequate sleep and prevents late-night munching. It also allows you to fuel evenly throughout the day so that a person is able to meet their nutritional needs without watching the clock so closely,” Mirkin explains
Additionally, one study has linked intermittent fasting to a higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, though experts say more studies are needed to validate this finding
Is 16:8 diet better than other types of intermittent fasting?
It all depends on you. Researchers suspect that the 16:8 diet isn’t quite as effective for weight loss as more extreme forms of fasting, like alternate-day fasting. On the other hand, studies suggest that alternate-day fasting doesn’t produce better weight loss results compared to daily calorie restriction. Plus, eating only every other day is very restrictive and can be tougher to stick to
The 5:2 diet is another intermittent fasting method, which allows you to eat normally five days a week and restricts your calories to just 500 to 600 for the other two days. The advantage of following the 5:2 diet versus the 16:8 diet is that you can eat normally on any days you want, depending on your schedule. However, research shows that the 5:2 diet isn’t more effective than continuous calorie restriction when it comes to weight loss
So what if you think you could restrict your eating to fewer than eight hours, but aren’t sure you could commit to alternate-day fasting? You might want to try shortening your daily eating window a little bit more. According to a 2020 study Varady co-authored, adults with obesity who restricted their eating to 4-hour or 6-hour windows ate about 550 fewer calories per day than the control group and lost about 3% of their body weight
Should you try the 16:8 diet?
The best diet is one that you can stick with, and that means finding a plan that fits into your daily routine. If you already tend to eat dinner on the early side, the 16:8 diet could be great. But for some people, stopping eating by 6 p.m. could have a negative impact on their social lives—dinner or drinks with friends could get trickier. (Still, there’s always weekend brunch!) It might impact things at home too, if your family tends to eat on the later side. “People should choose the diet that best fits with their lifestyle and weight loss goals,” Varady says.
On the other hand, an intermittent fasting-style diet just might feel simpler than trying to follow a more complicated eating plan—and that can count for a lot.“The idea of having a simple rule to follow may make it easier for people to avoid any mindless eating,” Peterson says. “I have had some people tell me that intermittent fasting made it easier for them to eat healthfully.”
Just remember: While you don’t have to track your calories during your eating window, you shouldn’t let things turn into a free-for-all. “It’s smarter to still eat moderately,” Peterson says. Stick with mostly healthy, minimally processed foods like lean proteins, complex carbs, and plenty of fruits and vegetables. As for portions? Eat until you’re satisfied, not stuffed
⚠️ Botton line: Just because you don’t have to track your calories, it doesn’t mean you should let things turn into a free fall diet. ⚠️
Finally, keep in mind that intermittent fasting isn’t for everyone. You shouldn’t do the 16:8 diet if you use insulin, have ever had an eating disorder, or are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, Peterson says. Pallian notes that this diet is also not recommended if you’re undergoing cancer treatment. Always talk with your doctor before starting 16:8 fasting to make sure it’s safe for you
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