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

by Jason Fung

Natural, unprocessed fats include olive oil, butter, coconut oil, beef tallow and leaf lard.

Full-fat dairy is delicious and can be enjoyed without concern of fattening effects. A review of twenty-nine randomized control trials50 showed neither a fat-gaining nor reducing effect. Full-fat dairy is associated with a 62 percent lower risk of type 2 diabetes.51

THERE ARE FIVE basic steps in weight loss: 1. Reduce your consumption of added sugars.

2. Reduce your consumption of refined grains. 3. Moderate your protein intake. 4. Increase your consumption of natural fats. 5. Increase your consumption of fiber and vinegar.

When we talk about fasting to break insulin resistance and lose weight, we are talking about intermittent fasts of twenty-four to thirty-six hours.

What we’re describing here is the process the body undergoes to switch from burning glucose (short term) to burning fat (long term). Fat is simply the body’s stored food energy. In times of food scarcity, stored food (fat) is naturally released to fill the void. The body does not “burn muscle” in an effort to feed itself until all the fat stores are used. It’s crucial to note that all these beneficial adaptive changes do not occur in the caloric-reduction diet strategy.

Regular fasting, by routinely lowering insulin levels, has been shown to significantly improve insulin sensitivity.8 This finding is the missing piece in the weight-loss puzzle.

Alternate daily fasting over seventy days decreased body weight by 6 percent, but fat mass decreased by 11.4 percent.

feasting must be followed by fasting. When we remove the fasting and keep all the feasting, we get weight gain.

See appendix B for some practical tips on successfully introducing fasting into your lifestyle.