Intermittent fasting can help people lose weight with much less effort than constant calorie tracking and conscious food restriction as a conventional diet, according to research from Adelaide University.
The trick is when you eat rather than what you eat, or giving up your favorite foods.
The study found that intermittent fasting and continuous calorie restriction produced similar weight loss. However, participants using intermittent fasting did not report needing major changes in behaviours such as monitoring overeating or closely controlling portions to achieve those results.
Researchers examined whether intermittent fasting and conventional calorie restriction affected eating behaviour, mood, sleep, and quality of life in different ways.
The findings suggest that the two approaches may support weight loss through separate psychological and behavioural pathways. This could make intermittent fasting useful for people who repeatedly lose weight and regain it or find conventional dieting difficult to maintain.
Professor Leonie Heilbronn from Adelaide University’s School of Medicine and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute said many diets can produce weight loss but may be difficult to follow over the long term.
She said intermittent fasting could provide another option for people who struggle with standard calorie-restricted diets.
The 18-month trial involved more than 200 adults with obesity. Researchers assigned participants to intermittent fasting, continuous calorie restriction, or standard care.
Participants in the intermittent-fasting group consumed 30% of their energy requirements between 8 am and noon on three nonconsecutive days each week. They then fasted for 20 hours and followed their usual diet on non-fasting days.
The continuous calorie-restriction group consumed 70% of its usual energy intake. Participants receiving standard care continued their normal diets but received healthy-eating guidance.
After six months, participants following intermittent fasting and calorie restriction had each lost around seven kilograms.
Those in the standard-care group lost approximately two kilograms during the same period.
Participants also reported improvements in depression and general well-being, including during fasting days.
Participants following continuous calorie restriction said they had to focus more deliberately on controlling how much they ate and avoiding overeating.
The researchers found that this improvement in conscious eating control accounted for 15% of the weight lost in the calorie-restriction group.
People following intermittent fasting achieved similar weight loss without reporting the same degree of change in these eating behaviours. The findings suggest fasting may reduce reliance on constant decisions about portions and calorie intake.
Although intermittent fasting has become increasingly common, researchers still know less about its long-term psychological and behavioural effects than those of traditional calorie restriction.
Heilbronn said future trials should identify people who find it difficult to improve eating behaviours, as they may respond better to fasting-based diets. This could support more personalised approaches to managing weight.
The peer-reviewed study was published in Clinical Nutrition on May 15, 2026. The National Health and Medical Research Council supported the work through Project Grant APP1143092, while researcher Xiao Tong Teong received an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship from the University of Adelaide.
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