Compressing the eating window also compresses how many times protein can be distributed — and muscle preservation runs on repeated hits of 25-40 g protein with 2.5 g or more of leucine. The conflict is sharpest in older adults.
Time-restricted eating depends on where the window sits in the body clock: an early window (7 AM-3 PM) shows the strongest metabolic effect, and shift work decouples that window from the light-dark cycle.