Fasting and Weight Loss - Solving the Two-Compartment problem

Summary

The speaker discusses the ineffectiveness of traditional calorie-counting diets compared to intermittent fasting and low-carb diets. They critique the 'Biggest Loser' approach, highlighting how severe caloric restriction leads to slowed metabolism and weight regain. The talk emphasizes the role of insulin in fat storage and the body's two-compartment model for energy storage. Fasting is presented as a natural and effective way to lower insulin levels, allowing the body to access and burn stored fat. The benefits of fasting include simplicity, cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and its potential to counteract modern health issues like obesity and diabetes.

Takeaways

• 🔍 The script discusses the ineffectiveness of traditional calorie restriction diets compared to intermittent fasting and low carbohydrate diets.
• 🏆 It highlights 'The Biggest Loser' as an example of a high-profile diet program that promotes calorie reduction and exercise but has shown poor long-term results.
• 📉 The contestants on 'The Biggest Loser' experienced significant metabolic slowdown post-show, leading to weight regain despite severe caloric restriction during the show.
• ⚡️ The script emphasizes that obesity is a hormonal issue primarily influenced by insulin levels, which control the storage and release of fat in the body.
• 🚫 The traditional calorie-in, calorie-out model is criticized for being overly simplistic and not accounting for the body's compartmentalization of energy storage.
• 🍽️ Fasting is presented as a natural and effective method for reducing insulin levels, allowing the body to access and burn stored fat more efficiently.
• 💊 The script refutes common misconceptions about fasting, such as entering 'starvation mode', increased muscle breakdown, and the idea that it's an unsustainable weight loss method.
• 🌟 The benefits of fasting include simplicity, cost-effectiveness, convenience, flexibility, and its potential to significantly impact weight loss and overall health.
• 🌱 Historical and religious practices of fasting are mentioned to illustrate its long-standing recognition as a beneficial practice for both body and spirit.
• 🛡️ The script suggests that fasting can be a powerful tool against modern health issues like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
• 🌐 It concludes by emphasizing the importance of applying ancient techniques like fasting to break free from the constraints of modern health problems.

Q & A

Why do calorie restriction diets often fail in the long term according to the script?

Calorie restriction diets often fail in the long term because they result in a slowed metabolism. As people lose weight, their bodies adapt by burning fewer calories, which makes it difficult to maintain the weight loss and often leads to regaining the weight.

What is the main issue with the contestants on 'The Biggest Loser' diet after the show?

The main issue is that despite significant weight loss during the show, most contestants end up regaining the weight after the show. This is due to their metabolism slowing down significantly, which makes it hard to maintain the weight loss without continuing severe caloric restriction and high levels of exercise.

How does the speaker describe the typical approach to weight loss on 'The Biggest Loser'?

The speaker describes the approach as a calorie reduction diet with a lot of exercise, similar to an 'everything in moderation' approach, but more intense. It is not specifically a low carbohydrate diet.

What does the speaker suggest is the problem with the traditional calorie theory?

The speaker suggests that the traditional calorie theory is flawed because it operates on a 'one compartment model', assuming all calories are the same and stored in one place in the body. This model does not account for the different ways the body stores and uses different types of calories.

What is the 'two compartment model' mentioned in the script?

The 'two compartment model' refers to the idea that the body has two main places to store food: easily accessible glycogen (like a refrigerator) and more difficult to access fat (like a freezer). The model emphasizes the importance of insulin levels in determining which compartment the body uses for energy.

How does fasting affect insulin levels according to the script?

Fasting reduces insulin levels because the body is not consuming food. Lower insulin levels signal the body to start using stored energy from glycogen and fat, making it easier to access and burn fat.

What is the speaker's view on the advice given to people struggling with obesity?

The speaker believes that the advice to 'eat less and move more' is not effective and can even be harmful. They argue that this advice often leads to failure and then blames the individual for not having enough willpower, rather than acknowledging that the advice itself may be flawed.

What are the benefits of fasting mentioned in the script?

The benefits of fasting mentioned include increased fat oxidation, conservation of muscle mass, increased resting metabolic rate, and hormonal changes that promote fat burning. Fasting is also described as simple, free, convenient, flexible, and having unlimited power for weight loss.

How does the speaker refute the idea that fasting leads to 'starvation mode'?

The speaker refutes the idea by explaining that during fasting, resting energy expenditure actually increases, not decreases. This is a survival mechanism to ensure the body is active enough to find food, contradicting the notion of 'starvation mode' leading to a slowed metabolism.

What historical and religious context does the speaker provide for fasting?

The speaker mentions that fasting has been practiced for thousands of years, with ancient Greeks using it for energy and mental focus. They also note that many major religions incorporate periods of fasting, suggesting that there is a deep, intrinsic benefit to the practice.

What does the speaker suggest about the potential of fasting to combat modern diseases?

The speaker suggests that fasting has the potential to help combat modern diseases such as heart attacks, cancer, strokes, diabetes, and kidney disease, which are often linked to obesity and high insulin levels.

Outlines

00:00

🍽️ Diet Failures and Metabolism

The paragraph discusses the ineffectiveness of traditional calorie-counting diets compared to the success of intermittent fasting and low-carbohydrate diets. It uses 'The Biggest Loser' TV show as a case study, highlighting how contestants lost weight initially through calorie restriction and exercise but later gained it back due to a slowed metabolism. The speaker emphasizes that this metabolic slowdown is a well-known phenomenon, yet people are still given the advice to eat less and move more, which often fails in the long term.

05:03

🔥 Metabolism and Exercise After Weight Loss

This section delves into the metabolic consequences of rapid weight loss, as exemplified by 'The Biggest Loser' contestants. It details how the contestants' metabolic rates dropped significantly after losing weight, making it difficult to maintain the weight loss. The speaker contrasts this with bariatric surgery, which seems to maintain a more stable metabolic rate post-surgery, and ponders why this difference exists.

10:03

🍞 The Role of Insulin in Weight Management

The paragraph explains the physiological impact of eating on insulin levels and how this hormone influences fat storage and fat burning. It describes the body's two energy storage compartments—glycogen (like a refrigerator) and fat (like a freezer)—and how insulin affects the accessibility of these energy sources. The speaker argues against the simplistic calorie-in, calorie-out model, proposing instead a two-compartment model that accounts for the different storage and release of energy.

15:05

🚫 The Limitations of Calorie Reduction

This section critiques the traditional advice of reducing calorie intake to lose weight, pointing out that it often leads to a decrease in metabolic rate and weight regain. It references a study where participants reduced their calorie intake but did not lose weight, as their bodies adapted by reducing energy expenditure. The speaker suggests that the body's response to calorie reduction is to protect itself from starvation, which contradicts the desired outcome of weight loss.

20:06

🏃‍♂️ Fasting and Fat Oxidation

The paragraph discusses the benefits of fasting for weight loss and energy expenditure. It explains that during fasting, the body initially burns carbohydrates and then shifts to burning fat, while protein (muscle) breakdown does not significantly increase. The speaker refutes the myth that fasting leads to muscle loss and argues that the body is designed to use fat as an energy source during times of food scarcity.

25:09

🌡️ Fasting and Hormonal Changes

This section explores how fasting affects hormone levels and metabolism. It describes a study showing that during fasting, resting energy expenditure (REE) and oxygen consumption (VO2) increase, contrary to the belief that fasting leads to a 'starvation mode' with a slowed metabolism. The speaker highlights that fasting can lead to a decrease in insulin levels, allowing the body to access stored fat for energy.

30:14

💪 Myths About Fasting Debunked

The paragraph addresses common misconceptions about fasting, such as the belief that it leads to muscle loss and weight loss plateaus. It presents evidence from studies showing that fasting can result in significant fat loss without affecting fat-free mass. The speaker emphasizes the effectiveness of fasting for weight loss and challenges the idea that fasting is not a viable long-term solution.

35:14

🎯 The Power and Flexibility of Fasting

This section highlights the advantages of fasting, including its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, convenience, and flexibility. The speaker points out that fasting can be adapted to any dietary preference or lifestyle and has the potential to address obesity-related health issues. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the ancient practice of fasting and its potential to cleanse the body and promote overall health.

🌿 The Ancient Wisdom of Fasting

The final paragraph discusses the historical and cultural significance of fasting, noting its practice in various religions and its benefits for mental focus and energy. It suggests that fasting can help 'spring clean' the body of excess sugars, insulin, and fats, and that this ancient technique can be applied today to combat modern health problems like obesity and diabetes.

Keywords

💡Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern where individuals cycle between periods of eating and fasting. It is not a diet but rather a method of timing food intake. In the video, intermittent fasting is discussed as an effective approach to weight loss and health benefits compared to traditional calorie restriction diets. The script highlights how fasting can lead to a decrease in insulin levels, allowing the body to access stored fat for energy, which is a key factor in weight loss.

💡Low Carbohydrate Diets

Low carbohydrate diets involve reducing the intake of carbohydrates and increasing the consumption of fats and proteins. The script suggests that such diets work effectively for weight loss because they help deplete glycogen stores, leading to a reduction in insulin levels, which in turn promotes fat burning. This approach is contrasted with calorie counting diets, which the speaker argues are less effective.

💡Calorie Theory

The calorie theory, as discussed in the video, is the concept that weight loss occurs when calories consumed are less than calories expended. The speaker challenges this theory by arguing that it oversimplifies the process and ignores the role of hormones and the body's storage and utilization of different types of energy sources. The script uses 'The Biggest Loser' as an example to illustrate the shortcomings of calorie reduction diets.

💡Metabolism

Metabolism refers to the chemical processes that occur within a living organism to maintain life, including the breakdown of food to produce energy. The video script explains how traditional diets can slow down metabolism, leading to a decrease in the number of calories the body burns, which often results in weight regain after initial weight loss. The speaker contrasts this with the effects of fasting and low carb diets, which aim to maintain or increase metabolic rate.

💡Insulin

Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels by signaling cells to absorb glucose from the bloodstream. In the context of the video, insulin is portrayed as a key player in fat storage and weight gain. High insulin levels promote the storage of fat and inhibit the body's ability to access and burn stored fat. The speaker advocates for diets and practices that lower insulin levels to facilitate weight loss.

💡Glycogen

Glycogen is a form of glucose storage in the body, primarily in the liver and muscles. The script explains that carbohydrates are converted into glycogen, which is an easily accessible energy source. When glycogen stores are full, excess carbohydrates are converted into fat. The process of fasting depletes glycogen, leading to increased fat oxidation for energy.

💡Fat Oxidation

Fat oxidation is the process of breaking down fat molecules to produce energy. The video emphasizes that during fasting, as glycogen stores are depleted, the body turns to fat oxidation for energy, which is a desirable outcome for weight loss. The script argues that this process is more efficient with low carbohydrate diets and fasting compared to traditional calorie restriction.

💡Protein Conservation

Protein conservation refers to the body's ability to maintain its protein stores and muscle mass, even during fasting. The script refutes the myth that fasting leads to muscle loss by explaining that the body prioritizes energy from glycogen and fat stores before tapping into muscle protein. Studies cited in the video show that muscle mass remains largely unchanged during fasting.

💡Starvation Mode

Starvation mode is a term used to describe the body's response to extreme calorie restriction, where metabolism slows down to conserve energy. The video script argues that traditional diets can lead to a starvation mode, but fasting does not. Instead, fasting is said to increase resting energy expenditure and provide the body with the hormonal signals to burn fat effectively.

💡Bariatric Surgery

Bariatric surgery, such as stomach stapling, is a medical procedure that helps people with obesity lose weight by reducing the size of the stomach, limiting food intake. The script briefly mentions bariatric surgery as an extreme measure that can effectively lead to weight loss and maintain the loss in the long term, unlike traditional diets, due to its impact on stomach size and hormonal changes.

💡Two Compartment Model

The two compartment model discussed in the video refers to the body's storage of energy in two forms: easily accessible glycogen (like a refrigerator) and more substantial fat stores (like a freezer). The speaker uses this model to explain why traditional calorie counting methods fail, as they do not account for the body's preference for using glycogen before fat and the hormonal signals that control energy storage and expenditure.

Highlights

Intermittent fasting and low carbohydrate diets are more effective than traditional calorie restriction for weight loss.

The Biggest Loser contestants regained weight after the show due to a slowed metabolism, despite initial weight loss success.

Caloric restriction diets often fail in the long term as metabolism slows down, leading to weight regain.

Bariatric surgery can effectively help keep weight off long term without the same metabolic slowdown as seen with caloric restriction.

Insulin plays a key role in fat storage and its reduction through fasting can facilitate weight loss by promoting fat burning.

The body has two energy storage compartments: glycogen (easily accessible like a refrigerator) and fat (harder to access like a freezer).

A two-compartment model better explains the body's energy storage and expenditure than the traditional one-compartment calorie model.

Fasting can lead to increased fat oxidation as the body turns to fat stores for energy once glycogen is depleted.

Protein breakdown for energy is not significantly increased during fasting, contrary to common misconceptions.

Fasting can increase resting energy expenditure, contrary to the idea of entering 'starvation mode' with reduced metabolism.

Norepinephrine levels rise during fasting, promoting increased energy expenditure to aid in survival and fat burning.

Alternate daily fasting can maintain resting metabolic rate without a drop, while increasing fat oxidation.

Fasting is a simple, flexible, and cost-effective method for weight loss that can be adapted to various dietary preferences or restrictions.

Fasting has been practiced for thousands of years across various cultures and religions for its physical and mental benefits.

Fasting provides a natural and powerful tool for weight management and breaking free from obesity-related health issues.

The simplicity of fasting lies in its non-prescriptive nature; it is an absence of eating rather than a specific diet to follow.

Transcripts

so what we're going to talk about today

is really why intermittent fasting and

low carbohydrate diets work whereas the

calorie counters it just doesn't seem to

work right and the problem with the

calorie theory is that it's just like

raw and because we don't really

understand obesity that's why we can't

cure it right so I'm sure many of you

have seen this show it's called The

Biggest Loser and it's on North America

it's in Australia it's everywhere right

and what people do is they're

contestants that compete to lose weight

and they get put on a diet

it's a calorie reduce diet and they do a

lot of exercise and you've seen jillian

michaels screaming at everybody right so

it's a lot of exercise and they don't

show it on the show but there's actually

a fairly severe caloric restriction as

well it's not a low carbohydrate diet

it's more of a kind of everything in

moderation sort of an approach so the

problem of course is that this show has

been running for a long time and certain

of the contestants have come out and

said well you know this really doesn't

work now the reason more haven't come

out is because they're essentially under

a legal gag order right they're actually

not allowed to say any of this stuff but

certain contestants have actually come

out and so this contestant Suzanne said

well they never do a reunion show why

they've all gain that weight again and

it's not it's not unique to the Biggest

Loser a lot of diets and we've all done

these calorie reduce diets it does the

same for everything it does fine for

about six months but then after that it

just keeps coming back your weight

plateaus then it starts to come back and

everybody knows this right because

everybody's done this diet the question

is why right and that's what we really

have to understand and that's what I

mean by we have to solve the two

compartment problem and I'll explain

that in a second so the Biggest Loser

diet despite the fact that we all know

it doesn't work is actually ranked very

highly so USA News for example just this

past year put the Biggest Loser diet at

number three for weight loss and number

11 overall so really a very good diet

and why not it's a eat less

move more sort of approach right cut

your calories in increase your calories

out and hey presto you're going to lose

weight so that's why it does so well

because all the doctors recommended and

so on

the thing is that there have been some

studies that have been done on these

contestants and it's very interesting to

look scientifically at what actually

happens to these people as they do this

sort of eat less news more approach now

the Biggest Loser of course is that

approach on steroids rates or eating a

lot less and you're moving a lot more

and that's why you get these dramatic

weight losses so one season they

actually took these contestants made

them signed consents and then actually

did metabolic studies on them and what's

interesting is that at first it looks

amazing right and we've all seen that

show right the before on the after it

looks amazing and the studies really

bear that out so if you look at the

before and after if you look at the

composition of weight loss so at week

six and week 30 at the end of the show

is week 30 you can see that they've lost

a lot of weight right this is 60

kilograms right and this is fat mass so

most of it is fat right everybody says

aw you're going to lose muscle you lose

muscle another losing mostly fat there's

a little bit of muscle loss but it's

mostly fat and this is their body fat

percentage you can see it's follows a

pretty steady trend downwards and the

average went from 329 pounds to 202

pounds so an amazing result right

body fat went from 49% to 28% so at the

end of the show you get these great

results you have the end of the show

everybody wins

and they pretend like everything's fine

but we know that it isn't and why not

what's the problem it sounds like it

should work right you keep doing what

you're doing and you'll keep losing

weight but you don't and the reason and

we've known this for at least a hundred

years is that your metabolism starts to

slow down and this is what happened to

the metabolism of all these contestants

and you can see in the solid bar that's

their baseline rate of metabolism before

they start at this and the open circles

is that

afterwards you can see that in virtually

every case these people are cutting the

amount of calories they expend by a lot

okay so you can look at some of these

dramatic examples so this fellow for

example list starts out by earning

thirty five hundred calories a day and

he's dropped all the way to about

seventeen hundred calories a day right

and it's not just him it's everybody if

you take the entire group of people the

average decrease in metabolism is over

seven hundred calories a day right so if

you start by burning thirty five hundred

which is a lot so you start at two

thousand you're going to drop down to

like twelve thirteen hundred by the end

of the show so you wonder why you're not

losing weight well it's because your

metabolism has slowed down so much that

if you're burning thirteen hundred and

you are eating 1,500 remember that's

still a lot less than you used to eat

you're going to gain the weight back

that's exactly what we all know happens

you feel cold you feel tired if you're

hungry you feel like and the weight

is going back up right and that's the

problem right we all know that's the

problem it's the decrease in metabolism

so you can try to make up for it with

more exercise right and that's what they

pretend that you can do so you can see

that baseline there's a certain amount

which is resting metabolic rate certain

amount of exercise during the show they

burn a hell of a lot of calories as

exercise you see that the gram tops your

total energy expenditure is better but

when you stop exercising for like you

know five hours a day then your exercise

goes down but look at what's happened to

your basal metabolism this is your

resting metabolic rate it's already gone

down by week six okay so don't kid

yourself this is happening all the time

but by week thirty it's gone down even

or and that's the whole problem you get

this metabolic slowdown and because

you're not burning as much energy you

don't have that you know liveliness you

don't feel very good and you can see

this in this graph you can see this is

the Biggest Loser contestants and you

see that the basal metabolic rate just

keeps on going down but there's a

similar extreme measure that doesn't

seem to have this problem and the

question is why so you can look at

bariatric surgery so bariatric surgery

is stomach stapling surgery right so you

cut your stomach into the size of a

walnut you really just can't eat and you

can't eat for months and months and

months and guess what

the weight goes down right that's not a

surprise the surprise is that it works

to keep weight off in the long term yeah

there are a lot of problems with this

okay so let's be clear I'm not

recommending it for anybody right but if

you look at the resting metabolic rate

with a similarly sort of extreme measure

it goes back up the question is why so

this is another study of the long-term

effects of Bariatrics and you can see

that a baseline and a follow-up this is

several years later the resting

metabolic rate and the total energy

expenditure how much energy you're

burning has really not gone down right

as opposed to the eat less move more

where it keeps going down keeps going

down until you fail right that of course

is the saddest part of all right the

saddest part of the entire thing is that

we know about this metabolic slowdown

this was shown in 1915 so we've known

about it for a hundred years what I

think is sad is that we give people this

really horrific advice to eat less and

move more and then when they fail we

blame them for it right and that's

basically you're blaming the victim

because here's this poor fellow or poor

lady who's victimized because they're

suffering from obesity from type 2

diabetes you give them really bad advice

which you know is going to fail

because we've all done it it fails every

single time and then when the weight

goes back you say yeah you should have

listened to me better you should have

had more willpower you shouldn't have

eaten that bagel or whatever it is you

tell people right and that's really the

saddest part of all is that we try to

pretend that the advice that we give is

really good and the failure lies with

all of you right but doesn't doesn't

make any sense right how can like forty

fifty percent of the population be so

morally bankrupt that they let this

happen to them is it not more logical

that the advice that we gave was just

really crappy that seems to me much more

sensible so we're going to explain why

this sort of discrepancy exists so in

order to do that you have to understand

what happens when you eat okay so what

happens when you eat is that insulin

goes up so most foods almost all foods

have a mixture of macronutrients fat

carbohydrates and protein so your

insulin goes up to a varying degree and

insulin basically is the hormone that

tells your body to store fat so it stops

your body from burning fat you start to

store some of the sugar and store some

of the fat okay and this is normal this

is a normal situation so carbohydrates

get turned into glycogen which are

chains of glucose so chains of glucose

in the liver is basically a storage form

of sugar okay and when you have too much

of that then your liver produces lipids

which is called de novo lipogenesis and

it basically stores fat okay so when you

don't eat when you're fasting so fasting

is merely the absence of eating your

insulin levels fall and that's a signal

to start pulling some of that energy out

right so you're going to start by

pulling some energy out from the

glycogen which is your stored sugar and

you're going to pour some pull some

energy out of the stored fat so you can

think of it the glycogen like a

refrigerator right you're storing food

energy

and the reason it's like a refrigerator

is that it's easy to access so you can

get put food in easily you can take food

out easily right it's just food energy

and the fat is more like your freezer

okay so you can store more of it but

it's in your basement you know it's hard

to get to it's hard to get out it's hard

to put in so you generally prefer to use

your refrigerator and it's the same idea

you have two storage forms of energy one

easy to use and one not so easy to use

the refrigerator though has a limited

capacity so if you put if you have too

much stuff you have no choice but to put

it in your freezer now the reason that

the calories don't work is that they

operate on what I call a one compartment

model okay so that means they pretend

that all your calories goes in to your

body and it's all the same all your

calories are the same they're stored in

one giant compartment like this sink and

when it comes to taking out energy it

all comes out of the same thing right

therefore if you follow this sort of

very simplistic incorrect model what you

see is that if you simply reduce the

calories going in you'll reduce your

weight and if you increase the calories

out you'll increase the rate but the

entire premise of this sort of calories

in calories out model is completely

fictitious because we know that's not

what happens in the body the body

doesn't have some giant vat of calories

right you can store sugar you can store

fat it's not some giant vat of calories

that's held somewhere in your liver

right but that's what they all pretend

it is so if you have the entire wrong

idea of why this should work then it's

not going to work what instead is a

better model is a two compartment model

that is there are two places in the body

where you can store food you've got your

fridge and you've got your freezer your

calories goes in into your fridge

calories goes

from the fridge because that's the

easiest place it goes but there's a

third thing that you have to consider

and that is how much food goes back and

forth between the freezer and the fridge

because that's what we're really

interested in this the fat but that's

the one that's much harder to get to

right and the question is what's

controlling this because that's really

the key and it turns out that the main

player is insulin we know this because

insulin inhibits lipolysis right what

that means is it stops you from getting

the fat coming out that's a job that's a

normal job so if you have a lot of

insulin right so normally if you eat a

huge meal your insulin is high it's

going to tell the body to move all the

storage in this way if your insulin is

very high then you can't get the food

back out this way and that's the problem

so if you have a lot of insulin

resistance for example which keeps your

insulin levels very high it's like that

freezer is kind of locked away in the

basement behind the lock

you know steel bar you can't get at it

so what happens now when you start

reducing your calories if you start

reducing your calories in and you can't

get at your storage what your body is

simply going to do is reduce the

calories out that's what it does right

because it's not going to keep losing

weight

until you die that's just ridiculous

right so if you look at the Women's

Health Initiative which was a huge fifty

thousand person study they reduce

calories by 350 odd per day for like

seven years and they estimated that

people would lose 30 pounds women would

lose 30 pounds per year right so in

seven years they should have lost 210

pounds right of course that didn't

happen how much did they lose not even a

single pound it was ridiculous because

what happened of course is that their

body is if you're not affecting me in

insulin you can't get at that fat you're

just going to reduce your calorie though

and notice here of course that we're not

breaking any laws of thermodynamics

right calories in calories out yeah

you're accounting for all the calories

but what's important is the

compartmentalization of energy right

that's what we're talking about not the

total energy but where it goes right

because that's what we want to know if

you eat and you just burn it off

who cares that'd be great but if you eat

and all of it goes into fat

well now you care a lot right but it's

not that calories are imbalance if you

eat an extra 500 calories your body

burns it all off as Fat Bob burns it all

off as heat yeah who cares you don't

have any extra body fat but if you get

500 extra calories boom the insulin is

telling it all to shunt into here well

that's a problem and that's really the

problem of the two compartment syndrome

so if you look at what happens during

fasting what happens because everybody

worries about this right Oh what about

protein you're burning your muscle right

so this is a study by Kevin hall from

the NIH and he basically looked what

happens during fasting and this is what

happens right so for the first couple of

days of fasting what you see is that

carbohydrate oxidation goes off it goes

way up right in other words you're

burning sugar you can see that fat

doesn't actually move for a couple of

days

you're not burning a hell of a lot of

fat right and then as you run out of the

glycogen remember that the glycogen is

you're easily accessed energy but

limited in terms of how much you can

store once it all burns out then look

fat oxidation goes off now you're

burning fat for energy that's perfect

that's exactly what we want to do but

what happened to protein are you burning

muscle hell no it goes up slightly okay

at the very beginning then drops so

protein is not a storage form of energy

why would your body

burn it for energy right you hear this

argument all the time you're going to

burn muscle right so it's ridiculous

right because you're telling me that the

way we're designed is to store energy as

fat but when the chips are down we'll

burn muscle right okay like I don't

think so

right it's like if you have a

wood-burning stove you store firewood

right because you're going to burn it

but when the chips are down you don't

you chop up your sofa and throw it into

the fire right it's crazy the other

thing that's ridiculous is that if you

have repeated fast famine cycles like

cavemen might have had for instance so

you store fat burn burn muscle right so

at the end of a few of these cycles

you're like one giant ball of 100% fat

right it's like that's what happens to

the Bears right it's like come on don't

be ridiculous you don't burn muscle

protein yes you do need a certain amount

of protein to maintain your lean protein

right but it's not increased that's my

point it's not that it's not zero there

is some right but it's not increased in

response to fasting so the reason that I

talk about fasting and low carbohydrate

diets is that what it does very

effectively and probably more

effectively than any other intervention

is it empties out that fridge right and

remember what you want to do is get rid

of all that insulin - right because now

if you don't have insulin telling your

body to shunt all that energy into fat

now you can start to move your calories

out this way right if you have a lot of

insulin so we do this for example if if

we give people exhaustion as insulin

they can't lose weight right even if

they fast it's very hard because they

can't access that fat

they just keep reducing their calorie

expenditure but the whole point is that

fasting provides the easiest way you get

rid of all that glycogen you got your

insulin down so you can actually access

your body fat and there and the whole

thing is that why can't you

right you know I asked my son one time a

few years ago you know how do you lose

weight these goes here's six or seven at

the time and he goes just don't eat so

easy right it's like huh

how can you be so right about this point

that has escaped like 99% of the world's

doctors and dietitians right if you

don't need you're going to lose weight

and here's the thing to understand

there's nothing wrong with it that's the

way we're built right that's the way

Lions are built its we tigers are built

that's what bears are built that's the

way we're built we're built to withstand

these repeated episodes where there's no

food right because back in the caveman

days there's no McDonald's there's no

refrigerator there's nothing there there

are times you're going to have nothing

that's why you have fat right that's the

whole point so one of the most ironic

things is that this is what you hear all

the time

fasting is going to put you into

starvation mode right huh

this is actually very ironic because

starvation mode refers to the idea that

your metabolism slows to such an extent

that you're going to regain weight okay

so I've heard that before somewhere

right that's exactly what happens when

you try to reduce your calories right if

you don't do anything about your insulin

and just reduce your calories your

metabolism goes down you're going into

starvation mode but what happens during

fasting does it happen well here's a

study of four consecutive days of

fasting right so this is in normal

people right and what you see is that at

the top the weight goes down right so

that's great that's exactly what we

expect to see but what happens to your

REE this is this middle line here that's

the resting energy expenditure right

that's your basal metabolism it doesn't

go down it goes up

right you're burning more energy than

you did now you might think why is that

so well it makes a lot of sense because

suppose again you're a caveman and

there's nothing to eat it's winter

there's nothing to eat right so if your

body starts shutting down then you're

even less likely to find something to

eat because you're tired you can't go

out there and hunt a woolly mammoth

you're tired right you need to sleep so

that's gonna you're all going to die

like that

right your body is just not that stupid

right your body says wow you have

nothing to eat so I'm going to give you

energy I'm going to increase the amount

of energy you're burning and I'm going

to provide it from your fat stores

because you need to go out and eat and

fill up this refrigerator again right so

that's exactly what you do otherwise we

wouldn't be here right

it'd be like cockroaches and insects

running the world so what happens to

your vo2 right that's how much oxygen

you can metabolize right does it slow

down no it goes up right again you have

more capacity to do exercise more energy

and why is that so one you're burning

fat for energy and your body's like whoo

there's a lot of this right so there's

plenty of it

let's go but the other thing you see is

that the norepinephrine so

norepinephrine and epinephrine are

called adrenaline or noradrenaline so

your body is actually providing you with

a big kick in the pants to keep your

energy expenditure high because that's

what you need to do to survive

so insulin drops which is one of the

major things that we want to see and

your hormone so that's a hormonal

remember obesity is a hormonal disease

it goes up it's providing you the tools

to burn fat so there's no starvation

mode actually it's quite the opposite it

goes up you can do something called

alternate daily fasting which is kind of

one day of fasting one-off and in these

studies is not actually a full fast so

they still allow about 500 calories on

those fasting day so it's not even a

true fast but the calories are low

that you still get the benefits and you

again if you look at the resting

metabolic rate which is the first line

you can see that from baseline to day 22

so you know a couple of weeks of

alternate daily fasting your resting

metabolic rate really hasn't dropped

your fat oxidation goes way up right so

you're burning fat you can't argue with

that

right you can measure these things

you're burning fat why because you have

no carbohydrate to burn right because

you're clearing out that fridge you're

clearing out all that storage sugar and

burning fat that's great that's exactly

what we want do the other thing we

talked a little bit about already is

that you're going to burn muscle right

and again the idea is that here you're

going to burn protein to provide glucose

right and this doesn't actually happen

and this has been known again for 20-25

years so if you look at your reah reah

is this big line camp so it's a

breakdown product of protein so you can

see that you excrete a certain amount of

nitrogen every day you're also taking in

a certain amount of nitrogen every day

right this is under normal conditions

now you fast people like you just give

them nothing to eat well what happens

well there's virtually no you're really

out right now there's nothing going in

to but what you you notice is that

you're not burning muscle because if

you're burning muscle that urea should

skyrocket or at least be as high as this

your body is actively conserving your

protein your muscle mass right and

that's what happens during fasting and

you can do 70 days of alternate daily

fasting right so 70 days is more than

two in a bit months and what you see is

that if you measure fat mass and fat

free mass in this study you can see that

fat mass goes down very nicely from

forty three point five to thirty eight

point one kilos and the fat free mass

your lean mass doesn't move at all so

these are sort of some of the myths that

everybody tells you right servation mode

burning protein and

here's my favorite right it doesn't work

that is never going to work right it's

like okay genius if you don't eat do you

think you will lose weight right well

yes you will right so it's not exactly a

very good comeback for people to say it

won't work because it will definitely

work okay it will definitely work I'm

not saying it's easy okay that's a whole

other thing can you do it that's a

separate question I actually think that

most people can do it but if you are

able to do it yes you will lose weight

right and here's the thing so back in

the 1960s they have done a bunch of

studies on these patients and what they

did was they admitted them to hospital

they did that back then and they just

watched them and you can see that people

lose weight and here's the thing that

always says people are goes oh how about

women women shouldn't fast like why not

don't you think you'll lose weight yes

you will now if you're underweight then

yeah you shouldn't be fasting right

you're going to get a man areia you're

going to get menstrual problems but if

your need to lose weight yes you will

lose weight and that's exactly what they

found in all these studies so you have

men they lose weight women they lose

weight right and what you can see that

it's fairly steady there's no kind of

drop-off right there's no drop off that

kind of dreaded weight plateau because

that's the whole problem with weight

regain is that we all plateau there's so

many advantages to fasting that are just

not available in that it's completely

different from most other diets which

tell you what to do because this is

really the opposite it's something you

don't do right so one of the biggest

advantages is really that it's

completely simple you can explain it in

like two seconds and everybody

understands intrinsically what it is

right now there are variations right

there's fact fasters juice fasts there's

you know water-only fast there's no

water fasts there's all kinds of

variations but at it's very core it's

easy to understand and that's important

because if people don't

understand what you're trying to do they

can't do it right it's free like you

know as much as I would love to always

eat home-cooked meals and you know long

simmered bone broth the truth is that

most of us sometimes don't have the time

and don't have the inclination don't

have the money if you want to eat

grass-fed beef every day it's going to

cost you you want to eat organic all the

time it's going to cost you not saying

that you shouldn't but it's expensive

and some people just have no money so I

have people who write me from the

Philippines and they're like you know I

got all this stuff and I can't afford

anything it's like well there is no cost

there's no cost at all it's convenient

right so again you can cook all you want

but it takes time right it takes time

and sometimes you just don't have the

time but this one there's no shopping

there's no preparation there's no

cooking there's no cleanup there's no

eating right there's nothing it's so

convenient because again the key is it's

not something to do it's something to

not do right and that makes it

completely different in sometimes

something that you can add something

that's completely flexible right so it's

not like oh yeah you need to eat six

times a day right it's like sometimes

you just don't want to eat a snack today

sometimes you're busy right well this is

going to give you more time you can put

it in anywhere you can do it tomorrow

and you cannot do it the whole next week

and then do it again right you can do

whatever you want it's completely

flexible do it for 12 hours you could do

it for 12 days right it doesn't matter

and really the the point is that you can

add it to any diet because again it's

something that you can put in and fit in

wherever you need to right so say you

want to eat the you know the rice diet

or something like that you get still

fast right that's the whole point you

don't eat meat you can still fast right

you don't eat wheat

you can still fast you have a nut

allergy you can still fast right you

don't have time

hey you can so fast you don't have money

you can still fast you're traveling all

day you can still fast right you know

cook yeah you can still fast right and

probably the most important thing is

that it really has unlimited power right

and it's a doctor sometimes you get into

these things where you want to do

something and it's not strong enough

right well you can just keep fasting

until you get the results you see as I

said if you don't eat you will lose

weight right you're almost it's almost

impossible to not write can you keep it

up that's a separate question right I'm

not saying it's easy I'm not saying that

I mean you do have to have the proper

medical supervision especially if you're

on medications so on but you could fast

you could fast I have a 75 year old who

did like 30 days right you felt great

right the world record is 382 days you

can keep going right and this is the

whole point is that this gives you

options because it's not a diet it's no

diet it's nothing right it's like

Costanza to show about nothing right

there's a talk about nothing right

Georgie stands us so smart that's the

whole point is that because it's the

opposite it gives you so much

flexibility and it has the ability to

really free ourselves so the chains that

bind us down right we have all these

problems right the number one problem in

the world today right you got heart

attacks you got cancer you got strokes

you got diabetes

you got kidney disease and it's all due

to obesity it's all due to diabetes but

yet we have the ability to free

ourselves from all of these modern

afflictions right only with the

application of a technique they new

5,000

years ago the ancient Greeks were all

about fasting not for health they didn't

have a lot of obesity back then but

because it gave you energy gave you like

mental focus right that's why they did

it and these involuntary periods of

fasting eventually got taken out right

as we started getting more reliable food

then religion started introducing

periods of fasting right so if you look

at any major religion in the world they

have periods of fasting their periods of

feasting - that's balanced by periods of

fasting right I remember

that they're not trying to kill all

their practitioners right not like oh

you should fast you'll die haha that's

not it at all right it did it because

there is something deeply intrinsically

beneficial to the fasting right and it

was always known always it's a cleanse

it's a detox right there's probably only

one thing that the three most

influential people in the history of the

world agreed on right so the Prophet

Muhammad Jesus Christ and Buddha they

all agreed on one thing and that is

fasting is very beneficial it's uniquely

beneficial not only for the spirit but

also for your body we need to clean

ourselves out of this junk that

accumulates right all this extra sugar

all the insulin all the fat we need to

clean it out once in a while right it's

a spring cleaning that's all it is and

yet with the application of this kind of

ancient time-tested technique we can

break free of all this right you know in

the last century we broke free of a lot

of infectious diseases right

tuberculosis pneumonia and all this and

now all that replaced with was all these

diseases but we have the knowledge we

only have to apply it and that's the

most ironic part of all we won't but

there's no reason why we won't we've

always been told

by everybody that we have to do that and

yet why do we not my son knew it any

questions we have a couple of minutes

left

thank you very much