The 8 Hour Diet claims it's not about what you eat, but rather w - 21 News Now, More Local News for Youngstown, Ohio -

The 8 Hour Diet claims it's not about what you eat, but rather when you eat

Feast for 8 hours, fast for 16 hours...that's the idea behind the 8 Hour Diet.  It's a weight loss plan based on the work of scientists, who studied the eating habits of mice.

"Even though these two different groups of mice were eating the same number of calories the mice that ate for 8 hours a day had much lower markers for mouse diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer's," said Peter Moore, co-author of the 8 Hour Diet.

Peter Moore, the co-author of the diet, says people can reap the same benefits if they, too, consume all of their calories within an 8 hour window.  That means no more counting calories or skipping sweets. However, Moore says that doesn't mean people should overeat.  In addition to losing weight, he says the diet has been shown to increase brain cells.

"That is based on again the animal world.  If you are fasting that means you are looking for food and that you will need to have additional sharpness to find your next meal and surprisingly enough that works in humans, too, even though we always know where our next meal is coming from," said Moore.

While that may be the case, it is also one of the reasons health experts believe the diet is flawed.

"When you stop eating for long periods of time like that your metabolism drops and so your body is not sure when you are going to feed it next.  So, the next meal you it you are packing all of that as fat," said Humility of Mary Health Parnters' nutritionist Cindy Heslop.

Heslop says the diet could also impact your mood and social life.  She recommends people follow a healthy, sensible diet for sustained weight loss.