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Everything you believe about how to lose weight is wrong. Weight gain and obesity are driven by hormones – in everyone – and only by understanding the effects of insulin and insulin resistance can we achieve lasting weight loss.
In this highly listenable and provocative book, Dr. Jason Fung sets out an original, robust theory of obesity that provides startling insights into proper nutrition. In addition to his five basic steps – a set of lifelong habits that will improve your health and control your insulin levels – Dr. Fung explains how to use intermittent fasting to break the cycle of insulin resistance and reach a healthy weight – for good.
Customers say
Customers find the book provides good information on having a better quality of life. They appreciate the author’s ability to explain decades of research in an easy-to-understand manner. The book offers helpful insights into weight loss and health, with the key to effective weight management being understanding hormones. Many readers find it an eye-opener and relatable, providing useful advice on intermittent fasting.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
A reader –
Restored me to sanity doing what I used to do instinctively
This is the best book of its kind on the market, and the only one you need to read if you want to understand how you can lose weight safely and naturally, reverse a number of metabolic conditions without drugs, and improve your overall health.There are a lot of excellent books on the toxicity of sugar, refined carbohydrates and processed foods, as well as books that explain the role of insulin in a variety of metabolic disorders. I have been reading and enjoying lots of them recently. But none of the others offer the simplest and most obvious solution to our exploding epidemics of obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and related conditions. The solution is as old as the human race itself: intermittent fasting.This is something I did instinctively years ago. Dr. Fung’s combination of solid science and plain old-fashioned common sense confirms the wisdom of what I instinctively did for many years: eating very sparingly, sometimes only once a day or not at all if I wasn’t hungry. At 5’8″, I maintained a healthy weight of 125 pounds for many years this way, and my doctors all encouraged me to keep doing whatever I was doing to maintain this weight. It was everyone else who steered me in the wrong direction. (More on that in a moment.) I had plenty of energy, felt wonderful and looked great. I wasn’t skinny by any means. I had enough subcutaneous fat to lend some roundness to my silhouette and keep all my systems functioning normally. I just didn’t have any visceral fat in my belly or internal organs.Fast-forward a few decades, and the picture changes dramatically. Within the past 10 years, I have gained 65 POUNDS, much of it in the form of the deadly visceral fat that gathers around the waistline and internal organs. I can remember the exact point in time a few years ago when I could actually FEEL the fat building up in my stomach. I felt constantly congested, bloated and uncomfortable. Yet I was also constantly hungry.More significantly, routine tests have begun to show some alarming signs. In particular, my formerly low “bad” cholesterol is now alarmingly high — high enough to prompt one doctor to threaten me with statin drugs. (I changed doctors. Statins are crazy dangerous.)What happened to make such a dramatic change? Simple. I live in America. I could probably end my explanation right there, but let me explain what living in America means for metabolic health. We have all been fed the idea (pardon my pun) that we MUST eat at least three meals a day. Some so-called “experts” even insist that we need to eat as many as six meals a day. Just let that sink in. Six. Meals. A. Day. That’s supposed to help us LOSE weight?I was constantly being judged by those closest to me for my eating style, as well as for my weight, which they insisted was “too skinny.” Friends, family members and others frequently accused me of being anorexic, told me that I was setting a bad example for my daughters, that “no one can eat like that.” And because I loved them and believed they had my best interests at heart, I trusted them against my own better judgment.After some 30 years of eating the “normal” American way, I now have ample proof in my own ample proportions that the American way of eating is the one that’s crazy, and that my way was right all along — especially since many of my biggest critics have since died prematurely because of the very eating habits they insisted I adopt.One significant truth that Dr. Fung’s book adds to my own innate pattern is to make sure to stay hydrated. In my younger days, I must confess, I was pretty careless about drinking enough water, and sometimes I used to get very dehydrated. That would then lead to headaches and fatigue which, of course, merely added weight (another pun) to the arguments from others that I wasn’t eating enough. By making sure I drink plenty of water and bone broth on fasting days, I feel terrific when I’m fasting — actually much better than on days when I am not fasting.One suggestion for those of you who choose to follow Dr. Fung’s very simple, customizable, doable intermittent fasting program: Don’t tell anyone else what you’re doing — not even your health-care providers, if they are the sort who believe they know more about your own body than you do. If you do tell other people that you are following the intermittent fasting plan, be prepared to be judged, attacked, criticized and told you’re crazy. Close your ears and trust your gut. Your own body will tell you everything you need to know about what is best for you. Then, just make sure you have your critical markers routinely tested and monitored: blood pressure, blood glucose, insulin resistance, cholesterol levels, etc. And find out exactly what each of those numbers means. Those will give you a clear picture of what is happening with your health.I am now entering my fourth day of reintroducing my old eating pattern of intermittent fasting, and I have already lost six pounds. I’ve chosen to follow the every-other-day pattern, just because it’s really easy. I eat one day, fast the next. And to be honest, my fasting days haven’t been pure fasts. I’ve nibbled on a few things here and there on those days. My eating pattern on non-fasting days has changed as well: I’ve gone back to eating only when I’m actually hungry, and it’s much easier to stay away from sugar and processed foods, since they just don’t taste good and aren’t satisfying. What I’ve discovered is that I will lose maybe two or three pounds on fasting days and gain back one on the following day when I eat. Still, the overall trajectory on my scale is clearly downward, which is already a complete reversal of the trajectory I have been on for the past several decades. And, I feel terrific: I have tons of energy, and I’ve lost that awful congested feeling in my belly. The point is to pick the pattern that’s most realistic for you, and then adjust it and tweak it to make it work for you.(I think maybe those of us who are following Dr. Fung’s suggestions need to form a support group to help strengthen ourselves against the inevitable attacks and criticisms we are likely to encounter. Anyone with me on this?)Bottom line: This book, and your own best instincts, are really all you need to improve your health. Good luck, and enjoy your new life bursting with health and energy!
L Parr –
Decades in medicine…why didn’t anyone teach us about THIS!!!
I am a PA with decades of experience with diabetes and it’s ill effects. I have watched through my career, type 2 diabetics listen to medical advice and never get any better. When my daughter, who was a gestational diabetic with her first pregnancy had a fasting blood glucose of 288 mg/dl, it became personal for me. They gave her the usual Metformin script and sent her on her way. Knowing that these meds do nothing to cure the disease and that it would only head her to a life on insulin and further weight gain I asked her not to take the meds, stop all carbs for the moment and let me do some research. That was when I came across Dr. Fung’s lectures on the internet. As someone who has been studying holistic medicine for 30 years it made complete sense to me.What makes this book and his lectures so valuable, is that he approaches everything from a medical model and shows why modern medicine is getting it all wrong.He explains the process of glucose metabolism in a way I feel most lay people can understand. It’s important for every overweight or type 2 diabetic to understand this process to better understand what they have been doing to their bodies…and unfortunately what we in medicine have been doing to their bodies.What was most valuable to me was him quoting studies that are considered standards in the field of medicine…not studies on rats or studies that have 15 subjects…but studies conducted over years with thousands of participants…like the Frammingham study or the NHANES study. I had seen these studies in the most prestigious medical journals like JAMA…funny how some of the aspects of the studies that he cites just weren’t included or stressed in the outcomes.After going over all the metabolism…the studies on why reducing calories and increasing exercise just doesn’t work…he presents a series of plans to reverse (yes I said reverse) type 2 diabetes. There are several options and one is bound to be workable for most people.My daughter has a hectic schedule and always complained about diets that required 3 or more meals a day…she doesn’t like to eat breakfast and has no time to schedule multiple meals. The four hour intermittent fasting plan worked great for her. After an initial adjustment of about 2 days (headaches which were not relieved by increasing her sodium, my guess was sugar withdrawl), she had no hunger, no cravings and felt great. Within a week her blood sugar was normal. She started this right before the holidays and was concerned about missing holiday dinners…my answer was that of Dr. Fung’s: have your dinner, enjoy it and get back on track the next day. She did just that and got through the holidays effortless and satisfied that she wasn’t deprived of a thing. She remained on her fasting protocol and just had her meal within that time frame. Her blood glucose was higher the next morning but normalized after one day. She chooses now to have one “cheat meal” each week and for 4 weeks the next morning her blood sugar was higher…but got lower each week and after 4 weeks her morning after a cheat meal her blood glucose was normal!Within 10 weeks she has lost 46 pounds and is thrilled with her progress. Her doctor is shocked and initially thought the diet was nuts but now wants to know more about it…hence why I ordered 3 copies of this book…perfect for the medical mind.This diet is basically a ketogenic diet on steroids…great for so many ailments and used by many cancer patients.I started on the diet myself and found similar results with the exception of my cheat day…maybe because of my age, I do not get into ketoses for days after my cheat day which slows down my weight loss. I have still managed to lose 16 pounds in 3 weeks effortlessly with the exception of the 2 day sugar hangover like my daughter experienced. I have since found a product that will put you into ketoses in a day, but it is very expensive and the taste is…not so great. I use it once a week and it allows me to have that cheat meal once a week without sacrificing my progress.My guess it that Dr. Fung will become villified for several reasons:1. His plan works without medicine2. The drug companies will lose a tremendous amount of money3. No special foods or supplements to buy4. No added expenses…in fact my food bills are much lower.5. He exposes the fact that this information has been available to the medical community for a long time and no one has acted on it.I highly recommend this book and highly recommend you read through all the facts and figures he goes over…it makes managing your weight and your diabetes much easier over your lifetime without much thought once you know how your body reacts to food.I also recommend getting an extra copy for your doctor because they will surely think you are nuts when you tell them what you are doing.I will be eternally grateful to Dr. Fung for giving me the tools to cure my daughter and better serve my patients.UPDATE: My daughter continues to do well with blood sugars that remain normal, her biggest complaint is that she has to keep buying new clothes. She has found her weight has stalled and after some investigation I realized why…she had been taking MCT oil, about 3 tablespoons a day in pill form (she doesn’t eat breakfast and doesn’t like the taste of coconut) and she stopped it at the same time her weight loss halted. MCT oil…and there are several like coconut and hazelnut, stay liquid at room temperature. They can be added to food like coffee or smoothies, even salads. I found that I can get back into ketosis at warp speed when I started using it. Amazon has several brands here and I like the 32 ounce Viva labs coconut MCT. I found that although the craving weren’t horrible, I missed my sweets. There is a new book from Martina Slajervoa called “Fat Bombs” that I highly recommend. Tons of sweet treats that are keto friendly. I will say I hate stevia and it’s aftertaste, but found Swerve to be a great substitute. I will also warn you that if you don’t use MCT oil in many of the recipes and sub coconut oil in it’s more solid form, the results are not nearly as good. The chocolate hazelnut smoothie does it for me…sometimes I sub ice for all the water and I get a soft serve like ice cream that tastes like I’m cheating. The MCT oil helps me get right back into ketosis after my cheat days without buying that expensive, horrible tasting powered drink I was using. She also has a book on ketogenic recipes in general that I found very helpful as she has many dinner recipes that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. I have taken my blood sugar both before and an hour after eating these “Fat Bomb” treats, (I’m not diabetic) and my blood sugar stayed the same or went lower…that was using the Swerve, which is expensive but worth it and a bit cheaper if bought in the 3 pack as I do.
Reto Ehrler –
So many informations underlied with studies. Should be read by al doctors and nutrition coaches! To really see the truth about losing fat and stay with a healthy nutrition. Best book ever for that topic!
kostas –
I wish I had read it earlier in my life. I lost 21kg from April 2024 to August 2024. Insulin level dropped to 5. H1ac to 5,5 and blood sugar to 98. They are still improving. I feel amazing.The world needs scientists and doctors like Dr. Fung. I read all his books. I can not recommend it more.
Amazon Customer –
I bought the book after watching his video on YouTube. Best decision ever made. I feel more energized already after following his recommendations for 4 days.
freddie –
Very understable and a good read
Beerwolf –
My doctor recommended this book as way to change eating habits, lose weight, and lower my cholesterol. I read the book and everything made perfect sense. I think the best part is that the author really explained the process before getting to the conclusion and next steps…this allows the reader to understand the “why” not just the “what to do”. In just over a month after starting the changes, I lost over 10 pounds and my pants already feel looser. This is not fad diet to lose weight quickly, it’s a lifestyle change that leads to a gradual weight loss and how to stay at a good weight. I highly recommend this book…just remember to read the whole thing and not jump to the end!