Nutrition
16:8 intermittent fasting schedule: examples and how to start
16:8 is the most popular form of intermittent fasting. The idea is simple: you eat all your meals within an 8-hour window and fast for the other 16 hours, every day. It needs no special foods, apps or supplements — just a schedule that fits your life. This guide shows sample schedules, what you can and can’t have during the fast, what the research actually says, and how to start.
What 16:8 means
16:8 is a form of time-restricted eating. It tells you when to eat, not what or how much. Much of the 16-hour fast happens while you sleep, so in practice many people simply skip breakfast or stop eating earlier in the evening.
Other common daily schedules use the same idea with different window lengths:
| Plan | Fasting | Eating window |
|---|---|---|
| 12:12 | 12 hours | 12 hours |
| 14:10 | 14 hours | 10 hours |
| 16:8 | 16 hours | 8 hours |
| 18:6 | 18 hours | 6 hours |
| 20:4 | 20 hours | 4 hours |
| OMAD (23:1) | 23 hours | 1 hours |
Sample 16:8 schedules
| Routine | Eating window | Fasting | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early bird | 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM | 4:00 PM – 8:00 AM | Breakfast and lunch, early dinner |
| Office hours | 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM | 8:00 PM – 12:00 PM | Skip breakfast; lunch and dinner |
| Evening lifter | 2:00 PM – 10:00 PM | 10:00 PM – 2:00 PM | Late lunch, post-workout dinner |
Early bird suits people who are hungry in the morning and happy with an early dinner. Office hours — skipping breakfast and eating lunch and dinner — is the most common. Evening lifter keeps a later meal after training. The intermittent fasting calculator works out your exact window from your first meal time.
A sample day (noon to 8 PM)
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 7:00 AM | Wake up; water, black coffee or tea |
| 12:00 PM | First meal: a protein-rich lunch |
| 3:30 PM | Snack, such as Greek yoghurt and fruit |
| 7:30 PM | Dinner — the last meal before the fast |
| 8:00 PM | Eating window closes; water or herbal tea only |
What you can have while fasting
- Water, sparkling water, black coffee and plain tea are fine.
- Anything with calories — milk, sugar, juice, snacks — ends the fast.
- Diet drinks and gum are debated; if they make you hungrier, leave them out.
What to eat in the window
16:8 decides when you eat, not what. The quality of what you eat still matters most for health and body composition:
- Build each meal around a protein source, especially if you train.
- Add vegetables, fruit, whole grains and healthy fats.
- Two or three proper meals usually work better than grazing for eight hours.
- Don’t try to cram a whole day’s snacks into the last hour of the window.
Training and 16:8
You can train fasted or fed — it mostly comes down to preference. If you lift in the evening, the “evening lifter” window lets you eat before and after training. If you train in the morning, either start your window earlier or have your first meal soon after. Aim to hit your daily protein target inside the window; if you are trying to build muscle, that matters more than the timing.
What the research says
Intermittent fasting works mainly by making it easier to eat less. When calories are matched, the timing itself doesn’t seem to add much:
- In the 12-week TREAT trial by Lowe and colleagues (JAMA Internal Medicine, 2020), adults eating in a 16:8 window lost only slightly more weight than a control group eating three meals a day, and the difference wasn’t statistically significant.
- In a year-long trial by Liu and colleagues (New England Journal of Medicine, 2022), time-restricted eating combined with calorie restriction produced similar weight loss to calorie restriction alone.
So 16:8 is a tool, not magic. If a fixed window helps you snack less and eat more deliberately, it can work very well. If it leads to overeating at night or makes training harder, a different approach may suit you better.
How to start
- Begin with 12:12 — for many people that just means no late-night snacks.
- After a week or two, move to 14:10.
- Move to 16:8 once 14 hours feels comfortable.
- Keep the same window most days — consistency makes it easier.
- If you lift, fit a protein-rich meal after training inside the window.
Mild hunger around your usual breakfast time is normal for the first week or two and usually fades. Feeling dizzy, weak or unwell is not — stop and eat.
Who should skip it
Talk to a doctor before fasting if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, under 18, have a history of eating disorders, or take medication for diabetes or blood pressure. Fasting is a way to organise meals, not a medical treatment.
Try the Intermittent Fasting CalculatorYour eating window and fasting hours for 16:8, 18:6, OMAD and more.Frequently asked questions
What is the best 16:8 schedule?
The one you can stick to. Noon to 8 PM is the most popular because it only means skipping breakfast, but 8 AM to 4 PM suits early risers and 2 PM to 10 PM suits people who train in the evening.
Does 16:8 work for weight loss?
It can, mainly because a shorter eating window helps many people eat less. In trials where calories were matched, time-restricted eating didn’t cause meaningfully more weight loss than calorie restriction alone.
Can I drink coffee during a 16:8 fast?
Yes, black coffee is fine. Milk, cream, sugar and syrups add calories and break the fast.
Can I build muscle on 16:8?
Yes, as long as you eat enough total calories and protein inside the window and keep training. Fitting two or three protein-rich meals into the window, including one after training, makes this easier.
Should I do 16:8 every day?
Consistency makes it easier, but it isn’t all or nothing. Many people keep a similar window on most days and relax it for social events.
References
- Lowe DA, Wu N, Rohdin-Bibby L, et al. Effects of time-restricted eating on weight loss and other metabolic parameters in women and men with overweight and obesity: the TREAT randomized clinical trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2020;180(11):1491–1499. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32986097/
- Liu D, Huang Y, Huang C, et al. Calorie restriction with or without time-restricted eating in weight loss. N Engl J Med. 2022;386(16):1495–1504. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35443107/
General fitness information, not medical advice. Figures are estimates calculated with the formulas cited above. Check with a doctor or qualified coach before major changes to diet, supplements or training. Read the full medical disclaimer and how we write and check these pages in our editorial policy.
