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

by Jason Fung

“I don’t understand. I eat less. I exercise more. But I can’t seem to lose any weight.” I understand perfectly—because this advice has been proven to fail. Do caloric-reduction diets work? No.

Let me state it as plainly as I can: “Eat Less” does not work. That’s a fact. Accept it.

You can’t outrun a poor diet. Furthermore, more exercise is not always better. Exercise represents a stress on the body. Small amounts are beneficial, but excessive amounts are detrimental.17

Eating more is not the cause of weight gain but instead the consequence. Eating more does not make us fat. Getting fat makes us eat more. Overeating was not a personal choice. It is a hormonally driven behavior—a natural consequence of increased hunger hormones. The question, then, is what makes us fat in the first place. In other words, why is the body set weight so high?

Gary Taubes wrote in his book Why We Get Fat: And What to Do about It, “We do not get fat because we overeat. We overeat because we get fat.” And why do we get fat? We get fat because our body set weight thermostat is set too high. Why? Because our insulin levels are too high.

And so, by extension, stress causes weight gain—something that many people have intuitively understood, despite the lack of rigorous evidence. Stress contains neither calories nor carbohydrates, but can still lead to obesity. Long-term stress leads to long-term elevated cortisol levels, which leads to extra pounds. Reducing stress is difficult, but vitally important. Contrary to popular belief, sitting in front of the television or computer is a poor way to relieve stress. Instead, stress relief is an active process. There are many time-tested methods of stress relief, including mindfulness meditation, yoga, massage therapy and exercise. Studies on mindfulness intervention found that participants were able to use yoga, guided meditations and group discussion to successfully reduce cortisol and abdominal fat.20

Sleeping five to six hours was associated with a more than 50 percent increased risk of weight gain.26 The more sleep deprivation, the more weight gained.

Consider some typical comfort foods. Macaroni and cheese. Pasta. Ice cream. Apple pie. Mashed potatoes. Pancakes. Notice anything? All are highly refined carbohydrates. There is evidence that these foods activate the reward systems in our brains, which gives us “comfort.” Refined carbohydrates are easy to become addicted to and overeat precisely because there are no natural satiety hormones for refined carbs. The reason, of course, is that refined carbohydrates are not natural foods but are instead highly processed. Their toxicity lies in that processing.

SNACKING: IT WON’T MAKE YOU THIN

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

Sugar, Salt and Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us,4 by Michael Moss, and The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite,5 by David Kessler.

Obesity is effectively the result of government policy.

Reducing sugar and refined carbohydrates will reduce insulin. Reducing snacking frequency prevents persistent high insulin levels, a key component of insulin resistance. These strategies lower insulin levels—the crucial, central problem of obesity.

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

Permanent weight loss is actually a two-step process. There is a short-term and a long-term (or time-dependent) problem. The hypothalamic region of the brain determines the body set weight—the fat thermostat. (For more on body set weight, see chapters 6 and 10.) Insulin acts here to set body set weight higher. In the short term, we can use various diets to bring our actual body weight down. However, once it falls below the body set weight, the body activates mechanisms to regain that weight—and that’s the long-term problem.

Traditional stone-mill grinding is preferable. The ultrafine particles produced by modern milling techniques ensure rapid absorption of flour, even whole-wheat flour, by the intestine, which tends to increase the insulin effect.

The whole-grain pastas that are now widely available are a better choice, though far from ideal.

In choosing fats, strive for a higher proportion of natural fats. Natural, unprocessed fats include olive oil, butter, coconut oil, beef tallow and leaf lard. The highly processed vegetable oils, high in inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids, may have some detrimental health effects.

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.

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.