Intermittent Fasting vs Calorie Deficit

[J777]

Scientifically, is there any advantage in Intermittent Fasting vs Calorie Deficit? Lets say a person needs to eat 2000 calories to lose fat. The person has exactly the same macros in both scenarios : 40 P, 40 C, 20 F

The same person in scenario A - skips breakfast and fasts for 16 hours ( the person can eat from 1 till 9 pm) and has two large meals and a small snack from 1 pm to 9 pm. The person has 1 meal of 700 calories, meal 2 of 900 calories and a snack of 400 calories


The same person in Scenario B has 4 solid meals a day, where each meal is 500 calories.

In both cases the same person has 2000 calories. Will Intermittent Fasting yield better results in terms of losing fat?

[BeauFlexington]

IF is an eating schedule. Fat is lost by calorie deficit (only).

[n0useforaname]

Scientifically, is there any advantage in Intermittent Fasting vs Calorie Deficit? Lets say a person needs to eat 2000 calories to lose fat. The person has exactly the same macros in both scenarios : 40 P, 40 C, 20 F

The same person in scenario A - skips breakfast and fasts for 16 hours ( the person can eat from 1 till 9 pm) and has two large meals and a small snack from 1 pm to 9 pm. The person has 1 meal of 700 calories, meal 2 of 900 calories and a snack of 400 calories


The same person in Scenario B has 4 solid meals a day, where each meal is 500 calories.

In both cases the same person has 2000 calories. Will Intermittent Fasting yield better results in terms of losing fat?

If workout intensity, macros/micros, calories, etc.. are the SAME.. then no, no advantage.

IF is liked because you can eat larger meals... and some people actually train better fasted (myself included).

[Jasonk282]

At the end of the day calories in and out are what matters. If you're not in a deficit you're not losing weight.

[jwarrenfit]

IMO there is a no noticeable difference in terms of body comp for the average male who is 10% bf or over. I do think those that are considered obese would benefit more from fasting as apposed to small frequent meals in terms of insulin sensitivity, satiety, and mood.

For those trying to get in the lower single digit bf % I do think there is a body comp benefit once you start looking at nutrient timing things like carb back loading, refeeds, intraworkout supplementation ect... again very small things in the context of the overall picture but appreciable for those with low bodyfat

[Ferdi92]

2000 kcal stays 2000 kcal. I was sick of food preparing the whole time. 4-6 meals a day all I did was going to the gym and eating or preparing my food. IF just gives you a different eating schedule.

[Ch1106652]

I've done both, and much prefer eating throughout the day instead.

I always found myself up late having stopped eating at 8ish and beings so damn hungry!

Or indeed having to get up early and not eat.

Also not 100% sure on the catabolic effect of not eating for 16 hours, do we actually keep supplying nutrients?

[gloria7]

Your post shows that you understand what IF and a deficit is, your title doesn't. A caloric deficit is a caloric deficit. IF can be practiced whether you're bulking, cutting or maintaining your weight, based on your eating timing preferences.
2 people eating the same amount of food, assuming they have also the same stats and activity factor, will lose or gain the same amount of weight whether on IF or not