"An appealing feature of [intermittent fasting] is that dieters do not have to focus on counting calories and restricting intake every day as they do with daily calorie restriction," they continued. "Furthermore, the periodic nature of fasting may mitigate the constant hunger associated with [daily calorie restriction]."

A 4:3 model of intermittent fasting may be more effective at lowering a person's weight over 12 months than a diet following daily calorie restriction, new research shows.

Three days of intermittent fasting (IMF) each week was a bit better for weight loss than daily caloric restriction (DCR), the DRIFT randomized trial found. Over 12 months, participants who restricted their energy intake by 80% on 3 nonconsecutive days -- translating to a total weekly energy deficit of 34% -- lost on average 6.