A recent review of randomized trials finds that eating within an eight-hour window produced small drops in weight and body fat for athletes, while strength, endurance, and muscle mass stayed largely unchanged — with important caveats about study size, duration, and practical implementation.
Across 16 randomized trials with 245 athletes, 16:8 time-restricted eating (TRE) produced small reductions in body weight and body fat compared with typical eating schedules.
Muscle mass and measures of performance — strength, muscular endurance, power, and aerobic fitness — showed no meaningful differences between TRE and control groups.
If you try 16:8, make sure your eating window allows enough total calories and protein and that meals are timed to fuel workouts and support recovery.
Maybe you're intentionally fasting until noon, or maybe your schedule just works that way. Either way, if you train regularly, you might wonder whether going that long without food could eventually affect your strength or endurance. That's one reason researchers are taking a closer look at time-restricted eating (TRE), particularly the popular 16:8 schedule.
About the review TRE focuses on when you eat rather than necessarily changing what you eat. Elite athletes also appeared to have somewhat larger changes in weight and body fat than recreational athletes, but the evidence wasn't strong enough to draw firm conclusions. Fuel the body you're building.* ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (222) Shop now Shop now Your eating window still needs to work around your workouts The fasting window itself may not explain the changes in body composition.
For athletes, though, there's an important consideration. Their muscle mass didn't meaningfully change. grass-fed whey protein isolate+ with complete aminos Strong.
Fasting around your workouts doesn’t necessarily mean sacrificing strength or endurance.
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