Intense exercise with time-restricted eating produces health benefits

• Researchers report that combining time-restricting eating with intense exercise can get better results than doing either one alone.
• They said people who combined the diet and exercise routines saw more pronounced changes in body composition and cardiometabolic parameters than people who did only diet or exercise.
• Experts say that this combination of diet and exercise isn’t necessarily beneficial for everyone.

There’s good news for those who watch the clock before eating and also like intense exercise.

Researchers from the University of Sfax in Tunisia released a study today saying that combining time-restricted eating with high-intensity functional training may improve body composition and cardiometabolic parameters more than either practice alone.

Published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by a team led by scientists Rania Ameur and Rami Maaloul, the research reenforces much of what is already known about time-restricted eating and intense training.

However, much of that research focused on either time-restricted diets or heavy exercise.

In a press release, the study authors say that “changes in diet and exercise are well-known ways to lose weight and improve cardiometabolic health. However, finding the right combination of lifestyle changes to produce sustainable results can be challenging.”

They explain that time-restricted eating limits when but not what individuals eat. High-intensity functional training combines intense aerobic and resistance exercise.

Experts note that doing either may be beneficial and easier for people to commit to over a significant time period.

In the new study, however, the research team investigated the impact of combining both practices on body composition and markers of cardiometabolic health, such as blood glucose, cholesterol, and lipid levels.