I have been struggling with my body weight since I was 35, and I’m now 60.
I know that not all listeners are familiar with the kilogram as unit of measurement, but we can use the BMI (Body Mass Index) formula to discuss this. It should be somewhere between 22 and 25 and mine has been 33 for a long time. A very long time. No matter what I tried.

Yes, I tried some diets but they only work if you keep doing them. So if something does not become normal or easy than at some inevitable point you will stop and gain weight again.
Yes, they talk about changing your life style but any change that is too drastic is bound to fail in the end.

And then recently I read this book. This absolutely changed my life and that is why I am so motivated to tell you all about it.

Book obesity code, Jason Fung, a Canadian nephrologist (kidney specialist).
He is also a functional medicine advocate who promotes a low-carbohydrate high-fat diet and intermittent fasting. But we come back to that later.

Not another diet hype. That is an industry on its own.
This is scientific stuff. With lots of links to research papers.
With large groups and thoroughly peer reviewed.

And this does not mean that this story is for everyone.
There exist other medical reasons why people gain weight.
But, assuming most people start out in life being healthy, then most people gaining weight are not ill.
So, if you gain weight, consult your doctor first to rule out any medical reasons.

Jason Fung noticed that practice didn't match with theory.

Everybody who is given insulin gains weight.
Even diabetes type 2 people.
There are even several scientific studies that proves this. Give people insulin and they will gain weight.

So what if insulin is the culprit for gaining weight?
Insulin is a hormone. Its job is to send signals through the body.
Its use is to allow body cells to absorb nutrients in the blood stream.

Every time you eat the insulin peaks and subsides normally three times a day.

Body process called gluconeogenesis. Making fat in the liver for one day storage.

If you eat the body makes insulin. That is normal.
If you eat more, the body makes more insulin.
Body cells adjust to the higher level and become tone deaf to insulin: Insulin resistant.
This means next time the insulin level needs to be higher.
And higher levels of insulin mean you will gain weight.

If you eat sugar, it is so easy to break down that it goes immediately into storage, e.g. body fat.

The thing is, wheat is chemically a long string of sugars. So the body will break it down into sugar and send that too to storage.

And almost any food we buy these days contains sugar.
Except unprocessed foods like vegetables.

How to lose weight? Well, the body needs to access the fat in storage. So we need to extend not eating until the liver has run dry of the daily dose of liver fat.

This is very easy. Just extend the daily period that you do not eat.
When do you not eat? When you sleep. So, skip breakfast. The name says it all, you are breaking your fast.

Drink some coffee (no sugar of course), or tea, or water and try to start eating later in the day.

And another word for not eating is fasting. But it is a voluntary fast!

So I tried this for one day. Skip breakfast and try to eat it at noon. I mean, what could possibly go wrong, right? The next day I had lost some weight. And it was sooo easy! I could say 300 grams but again, your mileage may vary or you have no clue what one gram is, let alone 300. But that is not the point. The point is that I lost weight! And to me this has been super easy.

So the solution turns out to be:

• extend the time your insulin levels are low. 16, 24 or 36 hours.
• eat as little sugar as possible.

Which brings me to food categories.

• carbohydrates. Sugars, wheat, flour
• proteins.
• fats. Oil, etc.
• vitamins and minerals
• fibers

Average digestion times of

• carbohydrates. 30 minutes. After which you will be hungry again
• proteins: 3-5 hours
• fats. Oil, etc. up to 40 hours
• vitamins and minerals. needed
• fibers. Leave the body

How has all this theory changed my life and diet?

• I try to start eating at noon, sometimes an hour earlier
• I eat as little carbohydrates as possible. Little to no bread, definitely no sugar, avoid artificial sweeteners
• my meal at noon is most of the times quark with some fruit for flavoring
• evening food:
  • Vegetables are good.
  • Some meat is good.
  • I try to avoid desserts
• No eating between meals (this will cause an extra insulin peak I want to avoid)

Since I started 2 month ago I have on average lost 4 kilograms. It could have been more but then there’s the occasional dinner with friends and what is bad, but soo good, is unavoidable.

So, some other stuff that is good to know:

What’s that about exercising?

• Well, we humans, excel at walking and thus wearing out our prey. So walking is good. Everyday for half an hour is great.
• Doing an intensive workout for a minimum of 10 minutes per week is good to keep our cardiovascular system and our brain up to speed
• Can you compensate cookies with sports. Well, every cookie would take you about 2.5 hours of intensive sports, so no, you can not compensate bad eating with sports.

What’s with the calories in are calories out? Studies have proven that this is a false claim. It just doesn't work that way.

What about stress. Well, it turns out that stress leads to heightened levels of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol. And when cortisol rises, so too does the insulin levels in your body. So, this simply means that stress will lead to weight gain.

Can I simply drink diet sodas. Well, bummer there, because although it diet sodas do not contain calories nor sugars, they will result in a rise in your insulin level, so they are not good for loosing weight.

[The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett] The Fasting Doctor: “Fasting Cures Obesity!”, This Controversial New Drug Melts Fat, Fasting Fixes Hormones! Skip Breakfast!

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-fasting-doctor-fasting-cures-obesity-this/id1291423644

Jason Fung YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RuWp3s6Uxk

I hope you found this explanation helpful. Have a nice day.