When I embarked on the carnivore diet I came in contact with concepts like intermittent fasting and time restricted eating.
It all seemed like gibberish to me until I heard it explained and then it just made sense. It’s something I started to do immediately after learning about it and I’m willing to say it’s just as important as the carnivore diet or healthy eating in general.
The whole concept is to only eat during a certain time every day. Not before, not after. The goal is to give the digestive system a break and allow it to heal things that need healing, instead of focusing on digesting food constantly which is unnecessary. Part of why people get overweight is they eat too much during the day, during too many hours of the day.
When you consider human history, the concept makes perfect sense. We didn’t have constant access to food like we do now so there would naturally be times when we just didn’t eat, a lot of the time being at night. Now that we have a constant food supply some people even wake up for a midnight meal along with what they eat during the waking hours.
This has been pretty hard on human health. People have been experiencing the rise of cancers, obesity, diabetes, heart disease and more recently and it seems to be more and more related to diet. But people are learning it’s not only about what you eat, but when you go about eating it.
I personally eat during an 8 hour window of the day at most, more recently like a 6 hour window. I have two meals most of the time, one at about 10 in the morning, the other at 2 or 3 in the afternoon. As a woman, I consume more food during menstruation so I’ll eat a third meal during those times but always within the eating window.
I got much of my information about this from YouTube videos, namely one with Joe Rogan and Dr. Rhonda Patrick where she explained the science. Most people eat within a 15 or 16 hour window or more, never giving their digestive system a break. If you eat only during 8 hours of the day (even with no change in diet otherwise) you will burn more fat, build more muscle and reap other benefits too.
For example lots of people who try this time eating window notice things like better sleep, more stable moods and less issues with hunger. Many people deal with the “hangry” phenomenon of being angry and hungry when not eating often enough and this is all but eliminated by restricting when you eat. The fact that your body isn’t worried digesting food, allowing you to actually rest at night. Many people with gut issues also experience a decrease in discomfort by doing this.
As far as I’m concerned it’s just as important as what you eat and I’ll say it is easier to stick to than a strict diet. Many people lose a lot of weight just eating one or two meals a day in a set time, even without full diet change or exercise. I don’t recommend everyone try the carnivore diet but I do recommend everyone adopt a time eating schedule and just give their digestive system a break. You’ll be surprised at how good you feel!
Here’s the interview with Joe Rogan and Dr. Rhonda Patrick for those interested.
