Firstly I would like to express my considerable and sincere gratitude to Dr Mosley for going down this rabbit hole a few years back, and persisting with it despite the nay-saying from many in the field of health! Dr Mosley’s efforts in getting this information out there will, I am sure benefit many, many people.

The new fast 800 book was the first time I had seen reference to Dr Panda’s work on circadian rhythms, and I strongly believe that this work will absolutely revolutionize the understanding of health and wellness.

From what I read about this information in Dr Mosley’s book, I got a copy of Dr Panda’s book, as well as watching his TED talks on YouTube. Dr Panda explains the science of WHY time restricted eating works, and how regular routines are vital to health.

I have done eating within an 8-6 hour window before, and frankly it didn’t work. The weight didn’t come off, (it went UP), I didn’t improve food cravings and I often got muscle twitching (being quite active daily, the major muscles didn’t seem to be getting fueled properly).

What I didn’t know then was the KEY importance of two things:

1. Being consistent in my eating time window. I would often start at different times and so finish at different times.

2. It is better to eat most food earlier in the day, around breakfast and lunch time. I had for most of my life consumed most of my food in the evening.

In the last three weeks I have eaten ANYTHING I wanted, including fish and chips, the full English, chocolate, crisps, etc. I have also eaten plenty of vegetables, cooked and raw, but I deliberately didn’t want cut back because I am on holiday and I wanted to see if this CONSISTENT timing made a difference.

The results have been twofold:

1. I have consistently lost weight over the last three weeks, averaging a pound a week. Three pounds so far in total.

2. My appetite is happily diminishing. I am finding I can pass on dessert because I just don’t want it (there is chocolate fudge cake sitting untouched in my kitchen.) This is quite a difference from before. I would speculate that because the body better processes food during the day, rather than the evening or at night, cravings are reduced as a result. The body doesn’t feel the need for more.

According to Dr Panda, the body needs routine, and when it doesn’t get it, then a kind of ‘jet lag’ is the result. This applies to eating as well as sleeping.

I can definitely recommend Dr Panda’s book, ‘The Circadian Code’. It is a very enlightening read.

For anyone who is interested in my own current routine it is quite simple:

I start eating at 09:30, or as close as possible (that is the easiest start time for me over a week). It might just be something very small, or a large breakfast, depending on what I am doing.

I try to have a large breakfast or lunch. Much to my surprise it HAS NOT made me feel tired or weighed down during the day.

I finish eating at 17:30. I find that I am generally eating much less at dinner time now, and sometimes if I have a large breakfast, I have little or nothing at lunch time.

If you’re new to time restricted eating, Dr Panda recommends starting with a 12 hour window and then gradually reducing this to 8 hours.

My own personal recommendation would be ensure you have the SAME START TIME EVERY DAY. Even if it is just something very small.

I wanted to put this information out there because I feel it might ultimately be hugely beneficial for people.

PLEASE NOTE: ONLY WATER, NOTHING ELSE, SHOULD BE CONSUMED DURING THE FASTING PERIOD-Why? He explains it in the book, but also in interviews you can find on YouTube.

Fourth week in a row. Weightloss. A little, but down the scales go. The Scottish breakfast on Monday was OK. Not as good as Wednesday’s “Full Monty”. The pastry on the butcher’s own pork pies was perhaps a little dry. Last night’s fish and chips hit the spot. And I ate that aforementioned chocolate cake as well.

And no, this kind of menu has never led to me losing weight before.

The research is clear in stating most calories should be eaten earlier in the day. This isn’t my opinion, but research done on animals and humans. All I am doing is trying it out for myself.