
Show HN: The 8 hour diet web app - shaunau
http://the8hour.diet
======
NicoJuicy
I'm fat again, but had awesome good results with the book: burn the fat, feed
the muscle.

Biggest problem is, i get back into my old habbits.. It took 2 years to regain
my weight that i lost in 6 months ( 25 kg = 55 pounds) -- way more muscle than
i had before.

Short:

\- Eat every 3 hours

\- Muscle exercise ( male - see comment/reply below) - preferrable in the
evening

\- Cardio in the morning, after a protein shake ( Tip: Rope Skipping). Try
HITT ( interval training) when you can.

\- no alcohol

\- Min. 5 x / week, doing sports

\- Enough of sleep!

\- Muscle confusion --> Change your exercise routine regulary due to muscle
memory

Now, i'm back again at coding late at night, barely enough sleep and no sports
:(

~~~
simonbarker87
> \- Muscle exercise ( male) - preferrable in the evening

Assuming you are implying that weight training is something that only men need
do for this approach to work I would say that the health and fitness industry
has done a huge disservice to women by suggesting that weight training is only
for men.

My wife started lifting 3 years ago and loves it, she hated cardio and now
rarely does any beyond weekend mountain biking but she lifts for an hour 5 - 6
times a week. The upshot of that change is that her back pain has gone, she
can eat more calories than she used to (healthy food though), her posture is
much better, she can lift heavy things without a problem and she carries less
needless body fat. The benefit it had to her mountain biking was huge, she
went from being last up the hills in out group to being the first up everyone
with a decent amount of gap to second place.

There is no need for men and women to train differently.

~~~
NicoJuicy
I know what you mean. I'm not saying that weight training is not good for
females.

But because of the hormone testostore, men create muscle faster and with that,
loose weight faster because of the higher calorie requirements. I'm not saying
it's impossible for women. I'm saying it's harder to have fast results with
weight training.

For women, cardio is normally a faster way to get lean fast. I suggest to read
the book: Burn the fat, feed the muscle which has really learned me a lot
about "the body", metabolism and losing weight

~~~
simonbarker87
Cardio is not a faster way to lose weight for women (or men). The only way to
lose weight is to eat fewer calories that you burn in your total daily energy
expenditure. If one of the ways you achieve that deficit is with exercise (you
can still lose weight by doing nothing and sitting on the sofa so long as you
eat few enough calories) then you may as well lift weights rather than do
cardio ( a nice mix of both would be better).

The main reason for this is that maximal strength is related to the number of
muscle fibers pulling together, so when lifting on a calorific deficit your
body will try to not burn muscle for energy as every muscle fiber is being
employed to move weights, so instead will focus on fat.

If you lose weight on a cardio dominant exercise program the body will burn
fat and muscle for energy as the fast twitch fibers primarily employed for
lifting are not being used when running and so are as much a dead weight as
the excess fat that is trying to be lost. This is why many cardio only people
end up dissatisfied with their "goal weight" physiques because they lost as
fat and muscle and still look quite soft - this can lead to excessive dieting
and other such body image/eating issues.

Fundamentally (and barring any hormonal issues related to things such as the
thyroid) losing weight is a calories in vs calories expended calculation. The
type of weight you lose (muscle vs fat) is determined by the exercise that you
do. Some studies have shown women who have low levels of fat and engage in a
strength training protocol lose more fat than muscle compared to those who
just stick to cardio.

The fact that women have low levels of testosterone compared to men is a big
help as they literally can't get bulky and have very low amounts of visceral
fat which is great for long-term health.

I don't think we are fundamentally disagreeing but I just want to highlight
that women should lift just as much as men do.

~~~
NicoJuicy
Yeah indeed. I saw my comment is away ( probably from editing in "not so
recent" tab, where i mentioned that 70% is eating right and 30% is exercise).

All in all, i don't think we disagree. But tend to push another perspective.
Which ain't bad after all

------
yetihehe
I strongly prefer closed loop weight control [1], I've already lost about 4kg
in 20 days. Yep, sometimes I'm hungry after eating too much on weekends, but
this diet typicaly starts slowly so you have time to adapt. I've even made a
simple webpage for phone to simplify calculations. I've used 200g daily weight
loss as reference slope.

[1]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13413725](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13413725)

~~~
drivers99
Thank you for posting this. This makes a lot of sense compared to something
like the Hacker's Diet. (Quick summary of hacker's diet: weigh yourself each
morning, use app/spreadsheet to calculate moving average, count calories and
adjust amount based on current vs desired trend.) Also it makes a lot more
sense than a thought I had: plot a trend line similar to the one in the
article but only compare the daily weight to that trend and don't eat on a day
that is above the trend (terrible idea).

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask but:

Do you use a very accurate body weight scale or does it not matter as much
over time? Mine can show pretty large fluctuations by weighing twice when
there should be no change (weighed twice in 1 minute without eating or
excreting). On the other hand, maybe it doesn't matter too much since the
noise might be smaller than the difference between starting and ending weight
for the day.

How do you measure the food and drink throughout the day? I have a good
digital food scale but I'm picturing I'd have to probably carry it with me at
first. Trying to picture how to do that at a restaurant. I suppose you would
eventually know what works for lunch without a scale and then weigh yourself
before dinner to see where things stand. I eat out at lunch a lot so I'm
thinking about how to make this work.

~~~
yetihehe
Mine weight scale has resolution of 0.1 and accuracy of about 0.2-0.3. It
doesn't matter that much because if your input is noisy your output will be
noisy but if you use it intelligently you don't have to eat -0.2kg ;). I've
seen that typically I need to eat about 0.7-1.5kg daily and if some day I get
result lower than 0.2kg I just eat 0.2kg, no less. It may mean that I eat very
little for about two days and then it's back to normal amount. Your mileage
may vary, but if you use this diet you WILL lose weight. After going to target
weight my calculator maintains constant weight reference so that I can control
my weight and don't have yoyo effect.

Measuring food - I just weigh myself after morning piss and calculate amount
of food to eat that day. 1/4 for breakfast, 1/4 for lunch and leave 1/2 for
dinner, but before dinner I make last measurement and eat accordingly. Before
that diet I've only eaten 2 toasts for breakfast, but now I'm feeling fuller
through day. For food weighing I have small pocket scale which can measure up
to 0.5kg (res 0.1g) but I could use a scale which has a resolution of 0.01kg.
I don't measure drinks, this is a small source of noise but not really
important. After several days of measuring various foods you have pretty good
mental scale. I don't eat lunch with friends/coworkers, so premaking measured
food portions was best case for me.

------
florin_link
I think it's called Intermittent fasting with an 8hour food window. You can
find lots of links, but the idea is to restrict the calories a bit within the
8h window if you want to lose weight. If you eat much more than your calory
intake, you will gain weight. Intermittent fasting is believed to burn the fat
within the 16hour fasting window, as the body would enter a ketosis stage.
There are various forms of this intermittent fasting, but this daily one seems
the most popular.

~~~
gtirloni
I have had good results with the Fast-5 diet, which is the same but in a
5-hour window.

------
kome
Regularity is one of the most important reasons about why Italians are - in
general - pretty slim.

\- Coffee or milk in the morning (or both) and cookie (optional).

\- Morning: nothing.

\- Lunch (1pm to 2pm): Most important meal of the day. Eat carbs AND proteins.
And perhaps a dessert.

\- Afternoon: nothing. If you are a kid: something sweet (4pm).

\- Dinner (8pm to 9pm): something light, bread, cheese, vegetables, fruits. No
need for complicated stuff.

And here you go. You will stay slim, I promise. This site use the same idea:
regularity helps a lot.

~~~
doublerebel
Don't forget an active lifestyle. In my experience the average Italian does
plenty of walking. Caffeine and a constant slow burn make for a high
metabolism and happy body.

But yes I think many of the Mediterranean cultures have it figured out. The
espresso-high fat (croissant) breakfast and one huge meal work great with my
intermittent fasting.

------
wapz
Has anyone here who's _not_ trying to lose weight try any of these diets? I'm
thinking of trying the every other day diet because it supposedly helps your
immune system and boost focus (I don't know the validity of this part). I have
no intention of losing weight though and have actually been trying to gain
weight.

~~~
simonbarker87
If you want to gain weight while training I would recommend the If It Fits
Your Macros diet ([http://iifym.com](http://iifym.com)) and eating about 500
cals above you total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) coupled with a decent,
tried and tested weight training program that incorporates progressive
overload. Take a look at the FAQ on
[http://reddit.com/r/fitness](http://reddit.com/r/fitness)

~~~
wapz
Thanks I'll look into this. For 3+ months I tried my best to eat well over my
daily energy expenditure by drinking lots of juices and eating tons of pasta.
I would just end up feeling bloated (I'm a guy) and have to cut down on actual
food intake after a few days and my weight goes back to before. I know muscle
gain is the best way to gain weight but I actually want a little more meat
(I'm 5'8 and 135lb [~173cm/59kg])

~~~
simonbarker87
If you want to put on muscle then follow a decent program and eat 1 g per
pound of body weight of protein, 0.5 g per lb of body weight of fat and then
set your carbs to give you a 300 to 500 calorie surplus. Don't drink your
calories (well protein shakes are fine but chicken/tuna would be better), eat
them. This might be of some help:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/4d6fg2/m_28_175_lb...](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/4d6fg2/m_28_175_lbs_189_lbs_3_months_jim_stoppanis/)

Oh, and use MyFitnessPal

------
dhimes
After reading an article[1] from the National Academy of Sciences, I decided,
with the blessing of my doctor, to try the intermittent fasting stuff.

Over the years my bloodwork has continually gotten worse, regardless of body
weight (+/\- 50 lbs) or exercise level (varied from a couple hours a week to
jui jitsu training). I am facing diabetes and cholesterol issues, and looking
at the trend it looked like my next appointment was going to have me on
medication for both.

So I tried the intermittent diet. I gained 15 lbs and had the worst blood work
to day.

Then, I tried (1) adding a few beans to my diet regularly, and (2) eating
vegetarian (pescatarian I think- milk eggs fish are allowed) two days a week
(and regular carnivore stuff the rest of the week). I also started eating a
_lot_ of curries and strong spices (I sailed Thailand) if that matters. I had
always eaten that food, but now I'm eating it more because my kids are older
and will eat it too plus I have my pescatarian days to myself (I cook
different food for the rest of the fam) so I use those seasonings then.

Best blood work in decades.

So we are probably very individual machines- or at least it's not a "one rule
for everybody to obey" situation- when it comes to nutrition.

[1][http://www.pnas.org/content/111/47/16647.full?sid=0f3f0b04-4...](http://www.pnas.org/content/111/47/16647.full?sid=0f3f0b04-46c2-42ed-92f4-aa03644145a6)

------
Elte
Last summer I tried intermittent fasting as an experiment attempting to lose
some body weight to become a more efficient runner. I figured it would work
for me because generally I would not get hungry in the morning until I
actually ate something. I regularly work out twice a day, so to accomodate I
took some protein / BCAA's around the workout that fell outside the eating
window. Within the window my diet was high in healthy fats, plants and protein
- basically all the stuff recommended for this kind of diet.

It worked great for about a month or so, and I lost a couple of kg. Then the
cravings started, mostly for sugar. Could no longer focus at work, was
irritable, exercise performance declined. I ended up gaining all the weight
back + about 1kg or so before I decided to cut it off. Right now I'm on a
predominantly plant-based diet for about half a year now, feeling great,
faster and lighter than ever.

My point: if you're a (semi-)serious athlete with the same goals I had, by all
means try it out, but don't expect a silver bullet. The overwhelming majority
of athletes follow a normal diet schedule and eat significant amounts of
carbohydrates. I encourage everyone to experiment with their body to see what
works for them - it's the one thing that's all yours, after all. Just don't
assume you're the exception.

~~~
ivanche
Just wanted to add my experience with intermittent fasting. I'm 38 yrs old
now. I started in May 2016. My rules are:

1) from 8pm until noon next day - eat nothing, drink lots of water and 1 cup
of coffee when I get up. On training days BCAA during the training and whey
shake afterwards.

2) from noon until 4pm - eat 2 meals of proteins, fresh veggies and fats.
Important here is _no carbs_!

3) from 4pm until 8pm - eat everything, and lots of it :)

Results are great! I am close to max strength now, my concentration is better
than ever, sugar cravings are next to none. I lost 5kg of mostly fats.
Subjectively I look better than ever.

To conclude, the best is to try - maybe it'll fit you, maybe it won't. You
have nothing to lose :)

EDIT: formatting

~~~
Elte
Haha I'd like to add one disclaimer: don't try during race season ;).

------
ilitirit
I lost an average of 400-500g a day (went from 100kg to 90kg) by eating only
once a day (dinner - usually fish or chicken with vegetables) and no regular
change to my activities. I did usually have 1 or 2 "cheat" days though,
usually over a weekend when we had family dinner and/or when I went out
drinking. Sometimes I had an apple for lunch.

I suspect that my body was just "normalising" and after a certain threshold it
would probably have become harder to start losing weight without exercising.
After I traveled for work my diet got totally screwed up and I went back to
100kg. I'm now on day 3 of the same diet and am currently at 98.5kg. As for my
mood, well-being etc, nothing's really changed except for the mild hunger
pangs (which I got used to quickly) and that I seem to get drunk quicker when
I drink.

This is just a personal anecdote. Don't take it as medical advice of any sort.

~~~
elorant
I was doing something similar, two meals a day instead of your one, and then
GERD occurred and fucked me really good for six months. My doctor told me that
consuming all food in one or two sittings is the worst thing you can do long
term because you end-up overfilling your stomach with food and given enough
time acid will start escaping upwards. Of course everyone's organism is
unique, I'm just expressing my concerns from my experience with similar
dietary habits.

------
jasdeepsingh
Is there any research proving that the 8 hour diet actually aids in weight
loss? Curious.

~~~
Rainymood
Yes. It has been scientifically proven that if you eat all your foods in an 8
+ \epsilon hr window that you will gain 5lbs whereas if you eat them in an 8
hr window you will not gain any weight.

~~~
WildGreenLeave
It almost sounds like you are not being serious, but, do you have a source?

~~~
Rainymood
If you can't tell whether I'm serious then I have some bad news for you. If it
wasn't clear, obviously I omitted the "\s" sign.

------
elcapitan
What works for me is eating in the evening (from 6pm to when I go to bed),
mostly low-carb, and then not eating until the next evening. I do drink coffee
over the day, which contains some fat (if not filter coffee).

I often do running in the morning, in that case I have some protein-heavy
stuff afterwards to ensure that my body doesn't burn muscle tissue instead of
fat.

This works well to reduce body fat at a rate of about 1-1.5kg per week.

Low-carb and in particular low sugar is really key for not being hungry over
the day. Sugar is basically the recipe for getting hungry very soon again for
me.

I think that "works for me" is really important though here.

~~~
nsebban
Genuinely curious : what type of coffee has fat in it ?

~~~
elcapitan
Sorry, the milk in my coffee obviously. I take it for granted and forgot to
mention ;)

------
manibatra
Here are a couple of posts that I wrote about my fitness routine and diet.
Hope it helps even though I am not a great writer. Happy to answer any more
questions too :)

[https://medium.com/@manibatra23/2016-a-reflection-e80378393f...](https://medium.com/@manibatra23/2016-a-reflection-e80378393f3b)

[https://medium.com/@manibatra23/2016-a-reflection-
diet-30c15...](https://medium.com/@manibatra23/2016-a-reflection-
diet-30c15970e7f7)

------
Rainymood
Having tried multiple diets (keto, 8 hour window, 4 hour window, alternate day
fasting) I have come to the conclusion that everyone has a different body and
YMMV.

What works for me is skipping breakfast, just drinking some coffee and eating
regularly throughout the day (lunch, dinner) while trying to generally eating
some protein rich foods. This works for me, but my girlfriend for example cant
skip breakfast because she'll faint. Again, YMMV.

------
3131s
This diet will work of course, as it is just a variant of the "eat less" diet.
My own heuristic is to not eat after dinner, which typically lowers the window
of eating to maybe 10 hours a day for me. I eat as much as I can (tending
towards vegetables and maybe 40% of calories from the fat in healthy oils),
but I don't consume any sweetened drinks or much packaged food.

------
mattbgates
Combine this with the keto diet and it is awesome ;)

~~~
soloadventurer
I agree. I follow a stricter eating window of 23/1 where I eat all my calories
in about 1 hour. The benefit of keto is you do not have sugar crashes, and if
you are careful with caffeine you can eliminate those crashes as well. A
constant supply of energy is wonderful. I also lift weight at the end of the
fasting window, before I eat, and have not experienced any issues. I have been
keto for a few years though, so I'm very keto adapted. My carb intake is less
than 5g per day (I don't eat plants).

~~~
helb
The 23/1 window seemed a bit extreme to me, until i realized that, on some
days, i manage to eat just one meal…

Do you happen to have any useful sources/links on this? I've found something,
but it seems to be pseudoscientific nonsense for the most part…

Thanks!

~~~
mattbgates
I put them in the link to that post above, but:

Best websites for Dietary Information:

[http://AuthorityNutrition.com](http://AuthorityNutrition.com)

[http://Ruled.me](http://Ruled.me)

[http://Nowloss.com](http://Nowloss.com)

[http://Ketogenic-Diet-Resource.com](http://Ketogenic-Diet-Resource.com)

[http://KetoDietApp.com](http://KetoDietApp.com)

[http://HealthfulPursuit.com](http://HealthfulPursuit.com)

[https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/](https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/)

------
toomanybeersies
I can talk to 10 lean muscly people at the gym and get 10 different sets of
dietary advice.

At the end of the day, the majority of diets are just tricks to help you lose
weight, like how mnemonics are a trick to help you remember, they don't
actually physically improve your memory.

------
batina
This is just intermittent fasting. You can read more about it at
[http://www.leangains.com/](http://www.leangains.com/) or watch Fasting Twins
videos on YouTube.

------
sgift
Wake me up when we have a pill to fix body weight that really works. Not being
able to eat whatever I want makes me surly.

~~~
russiansdidit
It does exist, your neighbourhood Amphetamine variety will do just that. You
will be able to eat whatever you want, you just won't want to eat anything.

------
dharness
I know a lot of people who do a 6 hour diet. How about:

theNhour.diet/?N=8 theNhour.diet/?N=6

------
askvictor
Web app is nice, but a phone app that reminds you would be nicer for creating
the habit.

------
phillipb
What a great simple concept!

------
iEchoic
This is very heavily Leangains-influenced, no? Would be nice to credit that as
a source, if so.

~~~
snowcrshd
Kinda. That page left out the part about macro cycling that leangains
advocates for.

