Intermittent fasting is everywhere now, and I'm not convinced it deserves the hype. I tried 16:8 for three months and lost weight, but so did my friend who just ate three balanced meals a day. The science on time-restricted eating shows mixed results for long-term metabolic benefits, and for some people it triggers binge eating later in the day. Is fasting actually better than simply counting calories, or are we just swapping one diet rule for another?