{
  "slug": "intermittent-fasting",
  "name": "Intermittent fasting / 16:8",
  "aliases": [
    "16:8",
    "time restricted eating",
    "TRE",
    "IF",
    "eating window",
    "fasting window"
  ],
  "family": "fuel",
  "heat": "high",
  "talk": "Lots of talk",
  "mostDiscussed": false,
  "firstLine": "Intermittent fasting / 16:8 means keeping daily meals inside a chosen clock window such as sixteen hours off and eight hours on.",
  "whyLine": "A smaller eating window feels simpler to some people and awkward to others. Hunger at the old meal time, social dinners and fitting enough food around training often determine whether the schedule is sustainable.",
  "feelWords": [
    "16:8",
    "time restricted eating",
    "TRE",
    "IF",
    "eating window",
    "fasting window"
  ],
  "commonPicture": [
    {
      "lead": "The meal window can move",
      "why": "Skipping breakfast and finishing dinner earlier are two different versions described. [community]"
    },
    {
      "lead": "Drinks complicate the label",
      "why": "Water, black coffee and tea appear in fasting logs; cream and other additions change what was consumed. [community]"
    }
  ],
  "watchFor": "An eating-disorder history, pregnancy or diabetes medicines can change whether fasting is appropriate. Fainting needs assessment, not a stricter eating window.",
  "whatPeopleSay": [
    "**The job:** eat inside a daily window and stop grazing at night. [community]",
    "**r/intermittentfasting** is 16:8 screenshots and ‘does coffee break it.’ [community]",
    "**Skeptics:** calories still count; the window is an appetite tool. [community]",
    "**Not a medical fast.** Diabetes meds and fainting are a clinician. [community]"
  ],
  "howPeopleRunIt": [
    "**Pick 12–8 or 10–6 and keep it a week before you judge.** [community]",
    "**Water, black coffee, unsweetened tea outside the window** is the usual rule. [community]"
  ],
  "amountsPeopleUse": [
    "**16 hours ‘off,’ 8 hours on** is the named split. [community]",
    "**Some run 14:10 first.** [community]"
  ],
  "howPeopleKeepIt": [
    "**A calendar window beats a perfect day.** [community]"
  ],
  "howItFeels": [
    "**Week one:** hungry at the old breakfast hour, then it often quiets. [community]"
  ],
  "howLongPeopleRunIt": [
    "**Weeks as an experiment,** not a forever vow on night three. [community]"
  ],
  "deepDive": [
    "**Food still matters within the window:** Community accounts discuss total energy and protein intake alongside the chosen eating hours. A schedule someone can keep does not by itself establish that they are eating enough or meeting their nutrition needs. [community]",
    "**The same window can make two different days:** Skipping breakfast and finishing dinner early both shorten eating time, but affect work, training and shared meals differently. The accounts describe hunger at a familiar meal time, coffee rules and using a wider window first. They do not show that everyone adapts on the same schedule or eats enough automatically inside a shorter window. [community]",
    "**What to notice in a report:** The eating window describes timing, not the quality or quantity of the food inside it. A useful account says whether meals, appetite, social life or training changed, and whether the person found the routine easier to keep. Disordered eating, pregnancy and diabetes medicines can change whether fasting is appropriate; a forum eating window is not a prescription. [community]"
  ],
  "watchForLong": [
    "**Disordered-eating history, pregnancy, insulin:** clinician. [community]"
  ],
  "related": [
    "protein-breakfast",
    "finish-dinner-early",
    "protein-target",
    "last-coffee"
  ],
  "researchPointer": [],
  "playPointer": null,
  "forums": [
    "r/intermittentfasting",
    "r/loseit"
  ],
  "sources": [
    "r/intermittentfasting 16:8 logs",
    "2026 TRE vs calorie-count fights",
    "TRE vs calorie-count 2026 fights"
  ],
  "disclaimer": "Community talk. May contain inaccuracies. Not medical or health advice. No result or safety is promised.",
  "quickAnswerHistory": [
    {
      "field": "communityPicture",
      "rows": [
        "Community notes describe skipping breakfast or late dinner, drinking unsweetened coffee outside the window, and arguing whether calories still explain the result. It is a kitchen clock, not a compound card."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "deepDive",
      "rows": [
        "**A clock, not a religion:** The object is the eating window people can actually keep. Calories and protein still show up in the honest threads. [community]"
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "commonPicture",
      "rows": [
        {
          "lead": "A window, not a food list",
          "why": "16:8 is hours. The plate inside the window is a different fight. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "Coffee still counts as ‘fasting’ in most logs",
          "why": "Black coffee / tea / water. Cream wars start here. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "Skip breakfast or skip late dinner",
          "why": "Two common clocks. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "Not a compound",
          "why": "No vial. Kitchen clock. [community]"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "firstLine",
      "rows": [
        "16:8 is an eating window, not a compound — skip breakfast or skip late dinner and keep the hours the same."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "whyLine",
      "rows": [
        "16:8 is an eating window, not a compound — skip breakfast or skip late dinner and keep the hours the same."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "watchFor",
      "rows": [
        "History of disordered eating, pregnancy, diabetes meds, fainting. This is a kitchen clock, not a protocol or a Research vial."
      ]
    }
  ]
}