[eska]

Most of the studies they looked at did not use the most robust methods and included small numbers of people, making it difficult to work out the true effects.

Not a good sign for a meta study. When you average garbage you still get garbage.

As for my personal experience, I looked at scientific papers 5 years ago (no, intermittent fasting isn’t some new social media fad). The consensus back then was that it only slightly increases the speed at which one loses weight, but it helps significantly with adherence to a diet. This was a game changer for me too. With just attempts to control my caloric deficit I failed because I ended up snacking. With intermittent fasting (the strict variant of only eating once after work in my case) I simply had no appetite from the morning until my meal. I also didn’t have cravings before sleep.

[ASalazarMX]

> The consensus back then was that it only slightly increases the speed at which one loses weight, but it helps significantly with adherence to a diet.

This is my experience as well. IF didn't teach me how or what o eat, it taught me not to snack after the last meal of the day, and after losing around 10% of my weight (still obesity grade II), the weight-loss effect was lost. It didn't work for long-term weight loss, it just established a new equilibrium. Also, there's a bounce back if you stop it.

Currently, I'm on Mounjaro (diabetes type II likely caused by obesity and genetics), and IF meshes wonderfully with it, since mounjaro forces you to eat less or feel miserable. So far I've reached obesity grade I (aka plain obesity), and the effect has been very consistent over time, no new equilibrium reached yet.

So, for me, IF is not for weight loss, but it helps if you combine it with a proven method for weight loss.