The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss (Why Intermittent Fasting Is the Key to Controlling Your Weight)

by Jason Fung

INSULIN RESISTANCE: THE MAJOR PLAYER OPRAH WINFREY HAS waged her weight loss battles publicly for several decades. At her heaviest, she weighed 237 pounds (107.5 kilograms). By 2005, she’d battled her way to a relatively svelte 160 pounds (72.6 kilograms). She was exultant. She’d cut her carbohydrates. She’d exercised. She had a personal chef and a personal trainer. She did everything “right.” She had every advantage not available to the rest of us. So why did she gain back 40 pounds (18 kilograms) by 2009? Why couldn’t she keep the weight off? Why is long-standing obesity so difficult to treat? Time dependence in obesity is almost universally understood but rarely acknowledged. Usually, obesity is a gradual process of gaining 1 to 2 pounds (0.5 to 1 kilogram) per year. Over a period of twenty-five years, though, that can add up to 50 extra pounds (23 kilograms).