The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss by Jason Fung, MD answers a lot of questions we’ve all had about both weight loss and weight gain. It’s a well-written, easy-to-follow book that explains why so many of us are overweight or obese and why when we lose weight, we’re likely to regain what we’ve lost.
The Obesity Code begins with a look at the past few decades and how obesity has become an epidemic. Fung does a great job of explaining the science in terms that we can understand. I rarely felt like I needed to start skimming because I couldn’t understand.
Basically, according to Fung, we can pretty much pick a diet and we can work hard at losing weight and eventually we can take off the weight. Most of us then begin to slowly put the weight back on and sometimes put even more weight on. This is because our weight is really the result of hormones, especially insulin.
Because we’ve eaten so many simple carbs and processed foods and eat so many meals and snacks, many of us have become insulin resistant. That makes our bodies release more insulin and it’s insulin that makes us gain weight.
The Obesity Code covers why we’re so overweight and why “eating less and moving more” doesn’t work. Eating less makes us tired and often slows down our metabolism. Moving more makes us eat more. Basically, the body wants to weight what it wants to weight. Unfortunately, our unhealthy food choices makes our bodies want to be overweight.
Fung does come up with five basic steps of weight loss. This is not a diet book, however. It does not give you menus or recipes. Instead it discusses what to eat and what not to eat.
Interestingly, Dr. Fung points out that we all worry about what to eat but we don’t think much about when to eat. He says the advice to eat small meals every two or three hours is disastrous. Also, he dismisses the idea that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. He says, if you’re hungry, eat when you get up. Otherwise, wait until you’re hungry.
He ends the book by discussing fasting as a way to reset your body’s set point for weight. There are various different ways of doing intermittent fasting and he covers most of them. I just recently wrote about intermittent fasting so was glad to read about it.
I thought The Obesity Code was fascinating. It’s easy to read and understand and really makes sense of the weight problems most of us deal with. I wished there was a bit more information about fasting in this book.
Because the book has been around for a couple years, there’s a lot of information online about it so you can find more advice on the fasting that way. Oh, and Timothy Hoakes wrote the foreword, which I thought was great.
The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss
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Dr Fung has two other books. One of which is devoted entirely to intermittent fasting. The book is titled The Guide to Intermittent Fasting. In it, Dr Fung provides information on the hows and whys of fasting as well as guidance to various fasting patterns. There are a few recipes at the end of the book that support his fasting protocols.
I’ve seen others refer to The Guide to Intermittent Fasting but I haven’t read it. I’ll have to put it on my to-read list.