The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung Summary
Overview of The Obesity Code
Dr. Fung's revolutionary bestseller debunks the calorie myth, revealing how insulin - not willpower - controls weight. Sparking the intermittent fasting movement, this book challenges everything you thought about obesity. What if your body isn't broken, but your dietary advice is?
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Key takeaways
The Obesity Paradox: Why Diets Fail
Have you ever wondered why, despite following all the "rules," those stubborn pounds refuse to budge? The conventional wisdom about weight loss seems straightforward: eat less, move more. Yet this approach has spectacularly failed. Obesity rates continue to soar despite countless calorie-restricted diets. The truth is far more complex - and liberating. Weight management isn't about willpower or moral failure. It's about biology, specifically hormones. When you reduce calories, your body automatically reduces energy expenditure to match. Your metabolism can vary by up to 50% depending on hormonal signals. We don't consciously control eating - powerful hormones regulate hunger and satiety. Multiple hormones tightly control body fat. And different foods trigger vastly different hormonal responses. Consider the devastating evidence from the Women's Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial. Nearly 50,000 women followed a low-fat, reduced-calorie diet for over seven years. Despite successfully reducing daily intake by 342 calories, they lost barely one pound. Even worse, their waist measurements increased, indicating they'd actually gained fat while losing muscle. This pattern is familiar to anyone who's dieted. You eat less, lose some weight, then plateau as metabolism slows and hunger increases. Eventually, you return to normal eating, but with a slower metabolism, quickly regaining all the lost weight plus more. Everyone silently blames you for failing, when in reality, you're simply responding to powerful biological signals.
The Exercise Myth: Why You Can't Outrun Your Diet
Not All Calories Are Equal: The Overfeeding Paradox
Insulin: The Master Switch of Fat Storage
The Vicious Cycle: How Insulin Resistance Drives Obesity
Sugar's Toxic Legacy: The Fructose Factor
Breaking the Cycle: The Power of Fasting
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"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
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