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

by Jason Fung

He realized that to make a difference to his patients, he would have to start by acknowledging a bitter truth: that our venerated profession is no longer interested in addressing the causes of disease. Instead, it wastes much of its time and many of its resources attempting to treat symptoms.

Seventy percent of your tendency to gain weight is determined by your parentage. Obesity is overwhelmingly inherited. However, it is immediately clear that inheritance cannot be the sole factor leading to the obesity epidemic. The incidence of obesity has been relatively stable through the decades. Most of the obesity epidemic materialized within a single generation. Our genes have not changed in that time span.

Caloric intake and expenditure are intimately dependent variables. Decreasing Calories In triggers a decrease in Calories Out. A 30 percent reduction in caloric intake results in a 30 percent decrease in caloric expenditure. The end result is minimal weight loss.

If we reduce daily calorie intake by 500 calories, we assume that 1 pound (0.45 kilograms) of fat per week is lost. Does that mean that in 200 weeks, we would lose 200 pounds (91 kilograms) and weigh zero pounds? Of course not. The body must, at some point, reduce its caloric expenditure to meet the lower caloric intake. It just so happens that this adaptation occurs almost immediately and persists long term.

Obesity is a hormonal dysregulation of fat mass.

OBESITY IS NOT caused by an excess of calories, but instead by a body set weight that is too high because of a hormonal imbalance in the body.

To put it simply, you cannot eat more to weigh less, even if the food you’re eating more of is as healthy as vegetables. So should we eat more fruits and vegetables? Yes, definitely. But only if they are replacing other unhealthier foods in your diet. Replace. Not add.16

She found that instead of reducing the obesity, diet beverages substantially increased the risk of it by a mind-bending 47 percent.

Insulin can increase independently of blood sugar.

The toxicity lies not in the food, but in the processing.

There are no intrinsically bad foods, only processed ones. The further you stray from real food, the more danger you are in. Should you eat protein bars? No. Should you eat meal replacements? No. Should you drink meal replacement shakes? Absolutely not. Should you eat processed meats, processed fats or processed carbohydrates? No, no and no.

THE MULTIFACTORIAL NATURE of obesity is the crucial missing link. There is no one single cause of obesity. Do calories cause obesity? Yes, partially. Do carbohydrates cause obesity? Yes, partially. Does fiber protect us from obesity? Yes, partially. Does insulin resistance cause obesity? Yes, partially. Does sugar cause obesity? Yes, partially.

The solution? Stop eating all the time.

There’s a simple answer to the question of what to eat at snack time. Nothing. Don’t eat snacks. Period. Simplify your life.

And if you don’t have time to eat? Then don’t eat. Again, simplify your life.

Coffee, even the decaffeinated version, appears to protect against type 2 diabetes.

The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study estimated that drinking at least three cups of coffee or tea daily reduced the risk of diabetes by 42 percent.

Eggplant, kale, spinach, carrots, broccoli, peas, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, asparagus, bell peppers, zucchini, cauliflower, avocados, lettuce, beets, cucumbers, watercress, cabbage, among others, are all extremely healthy carbohydrate-containing foods.

Fasting follows feasting. Feasting follows fasting. Diets must be intermittent, not steady.