The Study
The Effects of Continuous vs. Intermittent Caloric Restriction on Fat Loss: A Randomized Controlled Trial
This study compared two ways of dieting and found both helped women lose fat, but it couldn't prove one way was better than the other because the group was too small and we couldn't be sure everyone ate exactly what they said. So we can say both seem to work, but we can't say one definitely causes better results.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Two groups of women tried different ways to lose weight: one ate less every day, and the other ate less most days but took breaks to eat normally every week and two longer breaks.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 562 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — you can lose the same fat with less strict dieting if you include planned breaks, and you might be more likely to stick with it long-term.
- 2Both groups lost almost the same amount of fat (about 9 kg).
- 3The group with breaks ate fewer total calories but still lost the same fat.
- 4They also kept more lean mass (though not statistically proven) and stuck to their diet better.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Nutrients
Year
2026
Authors
Kelly Johnson, B. Curran, Sydney Roberson, Haley Corso, Emily Hoelscher, Bill I. Campbell, Kamryn Rabon, Amelia Lovering, M. Albert
Related Content
Claims (7)
The total number of calories consumed versus expended determines whether a person gains or loses weight, and the proportions of protein, fat, and carbohydrates in the diet determine how body fat and muscle mass change.
Among adult women with obesity, a diet plan that alternates between periods of reduced calories and normal eating leads to less total calorie reduction than a continuous diet, but results in the same amount of fat loss.
Among adult women with obesity, a diet plan that includes periodic breaks from calorie restriction preserves slightly more lean body mass than continuous calorie restriction, even when less total energy is reduced.
In adult women with obesity, fat loss over 12 weeks is the same whether calories are restricted continuously or intermittently with diet breaks, even though the continuous group consumes fewer total calories. This shows that the total amount of energy deficit, not the pattern of restriction, determines fat loss.
In adult women with obesity, following either continuous or intermittent calorie restriction with 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day for 12 weeks leads to an increase in fat-free mass due to changes in water content or glycogen storage, not an increase in muscle tissue.
About 70% of the energy the body uses each day comes from basic life-sustaining processes, and significantly reducing calorie intake triggers biological changes that increase the likelihood of regaining lost weight.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.