Effects of Fasting & Time Restricted Eating on Fat Loss & Health

This episode I discuss the science and practice of fasting also called time-restricted feeding. I review the data on how limiting food intake to specific portions of every 24-hour cycle (or fasting longer) impacts weight loss, fat loss specifically, liver health, mental focus, muscle, longevity and more. I explain how "fasted" is contextual, and relates to blood glucose levels and their downstream effects, and how the depth of fasting can be adjusted with behaviors such as different types of exercise, or with glucose disposal agents. I also discuss the optimal fasting protocol: and both the absolute (non-negotiable) and variable (contextual) features of a fasting/time-restricted-feeding protocol that will allow you to get the most benefits. I also discuss what does and does not break a fast, the effects of fasting on hormones like testosterone and cortisol and on fertility. I also review how different feeding windows of 8 or 10 or 4 hours differentially impact the effects of fasting, and why the classic 8 hour feeding window came to be but also might be ideal. I discuss mechanisms and offer tools to discern the optimal fasting duration and timing for you.

Read the full show notes for this episode at hubermanlab.com.

Thank you to our sponsors

AG1: https://athleticgreens.com/huberman

LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/hubermanlab

Waking Up: https://wakingup.com/huberman

Momentous: https://livemomentous.com/huberman

Timestamps

00:00:00Introduction, Blood Glucose & Mortality, Mice Vs. Humans

00:06:18Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up

00:09:42Neuroplasticity Protocols & Online Lecture

00:11:20Feeding, Fasting, Performance

00:13:50Calories-In, Calories-Out (CICO); Perfect Diets

00:19:48Feeding-Induced Health Conditions

00:25:33Time Restricted Eating: When We Eat Is Vital

00:29:45The Eight Hour Feeding Window

00:31:26Feeding Deep Into the Night Is Bad (In Humans)

00:36:33Liver Health

00:39:45Time Restricted Feeding Protocol: Rules

00:41:35When to Start & Stop Eating

00:45:38Gastric Clearance, Linking Fasting to Sleep

00:52:35Effects of Specific Categories of Food

00:55:40Precision In Fasting: Protocol Build

00:59:304-6 Hour Feeding Windows

01:03:08Protein Consumption & Timing for Muscle

01:08:13How to Shift Your Eating Window

01:13:20Glucose Clearing, Exercise & Compounds

01:22:37Blood Glucose: Monitoring, mTOR & Related Pathways

01:27:40Gut Health: Fasting, Clock Genes and Microbiota

01:29:15Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver

01:32:00Effects of Fasting on Hormones: Testosterone, Cortisol

01:38:40Fertility

01:41:508-Hour Feeding Window: Weight Loss Without Calorie Counting

01:43:20Eating Every-Other-Day

01:45:29Adherence

01:47:15Mental Focus & Clarity

01:49:12Enhancing Weight Loss from Body Fat: Hepatic Lipase

01:53:15What Breaks a Fast? Rules & Context

01:58:50Artificial Sweeteners, Plant-Based Sweeteners

02:01:42Glucose Clearing II, Cinnamon, Acidity, Salt

02:06:42My Circadian Clock, Zero-App

02:08:20Odd (But Common) Questions

02:09:23Effects of Sauna & Dehydration on Blood Glucose

02:11:12The Ideal Fasting Protocol

02:24:00More Resources, Ways to Support Us, Supplements

Disclaimer & Disclosures