If you’re trying to lose weight but are sick of worrying about what you eat, researchers have good news. You can look at your watch instead.

of 1 year of studyThose who did not change what they ate but ate everything from noon to 8 p.m. achieved significant weight loss. .

The researchers reported Monday in the journal Internal Medicine that dieters in both groups lost about 4 percent of their weight after a year. On the other hand, those in the control group, who made no changes to their eating habits, gained about 1% of their body weight over the 12 months.

The study is the first in the United States to directly compare two weight loss methods, the lead author said. Christa Varady, a nutrition researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Both produced similar results, but she said that focusing on time rather than calories “is an easier diet to follow.”

almost 42% Percentage of Americans over the age of 20 is obese, another 32% are overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Obese people are more likely to develop serious health condition, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer.they also pay About $2,500 more for annual medical care.

As your waistline continues to grow, so does your interest in dieting.how 49% of Americans Try to lose weight each year, according to the CDC. This includes 56% of women and 42% of men.

A proven way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you burn. But that is easier said than done. Preparing and tracking low-calorie meals can be expensive and time-consuming. Dr. Adam Gilden and Dr. Victoria Catenacci A professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine wrote: editorial It accompanies studying. It also requires a lot of discipline. Not many of us can resist the temptation to eat a piece of cake for a colleague’s birthday or eat out with friends over the weekend.

In recent years, Timed Eating (or TRE) has emerged as a popular alternative for weight loss. The idea is to compress your meals into 6-8 hours a day, reduce the amount of insulin your body producesit is important because insulin It encourages the body to store fat. Additionally, studies have shown that people on TRE therapy consume fewer calories each day.

version of TRE intermittent fasting, certainly easier than calorie counting. But are the results the same?

To find out, Varady and colleagues recruited 90 obese people and randomly assigned them to one of three groups.

The first group was asked to eat all meals between noon and 8:00 pm, followed by a 16-hour fast. (Up to two cups of water, tea, coffee, or diet soda were allowed during the fasting period.)

A second group was asked to reduce their caloric intake by 25%, or an average of about 500 calories. People in both of these groups met with a nutritionist to help them follow nutrition advice from the American Diabetes Association. People counting calories also used this time to plan their meals based on their food preferences.

Participants in a third group were asked to maintain their usual diet and exercise habits.

After six months, people in the TRE group lost an average of 8.8 pounds (4 kilograms), and those in the calorie count group lost an average of 11.2 pounds (5.1 kilograms). The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant.

The dieters then spent the next six months in weight maintenance mode. For the TRE Group, that means extending the dining window from 10am to 8pm. For calorie counters, that means. increase calorie intake Based on new energy needed to maintain weight. In both cases, they learned cognitive-behavioral strategies to prevent setbacks.

After one year, those in the TRE group weighed 7.7 pounds (3.5 kilograms) less than they started, and the calorie-tracking group maintained a weight loss of 9.5 pounds (4.3 kilograms). Again, the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant. But the study found that both diet groups fared better than the control group, with members of that group actually gaining weight (about 2.4 pounds or 1.1 kilograms) over the course of the year.

More than 80% of study participants were female, one-third were black, and 46% were Latino. Although this sample is not representative of the United States as a whole, blacks and Latinos are more likely to be obese than whites and Asian Americans. This makes it difficult to extrapolate the findings to the entire population.

It’s unclear whether overweight but not obese people would get the same results from TRE, but Varady said he suspects it still works, perhaps to a lesser extent.

Motivated people looking to lose weight can get good results either way, added Varady. However, in terms of accessibility and time constraints, time-restricted diets may be a better option.

“It’s an easy diet,” she said. “You don’t have to buy expensive products or rearrange things in your pantry. Just pick a time frame and stick to it for as long as possible.”

In an interview, Gilden said he wasn’t sure that people without access to a professional nutritionist would receive the same benefits from TRE.

Varady said her team will continue to follow the study participants to see if they can maintain their weight loss for another year.