I devoured this book in a weekend. As a 42 year old who has always struggled with 15-20LB extra weight and who loses weight glacially slow, I found this book confirmed what I had long suspected 1) weight loss should not have to be THIS HARD. (I lost 20LB several years ago but it took me almost 2 years of intense, unsustainable effort) 2) our environment plays a huge part in weight loss and simply eating less and exercising more was not the key 3) it's not all my fault. I berated myself for many years for being so "undisciplined" even as I was spending tons of time in the gym and counting calories. I also noticed my weight was pretty consistent, whether I was starving myself or gorging on calories. Over two years of the pandemic, I was eating a ton and barely exercising yet I put on maybe 10LB at max. On the reverse, intense exercise and dieting only lead to ounces lost per week. I sincerely found all the information extremely helpful and this was a very detailed book. This is the best book I have ever read on the biomechanics of weight loss, hormone regulation, and body homeostasis. I was excited to get to the end of the book and fully expecting a detailed, carefully explained process for implementing a correct weight loss procedure. However. I was disappointed to find just a short appendix giving some basic instructions for a suggested fasting schedule. There just was not a lot of information about what the author recommends for eating and when to eat. There are an abundance of ways to practice fasting as well as a welter of foods that one should/should not eat. For example, I would have liked more info about the best oils to use as the book said vegetable oils are not the best. After all the incredibly detailed information in the book, I was surprised that the "How To" section was so lacking. It's like the author just expected people to figure out on their own what and when to eat. It just seemed like such a poor ending to such a detailed book. I still strongly recommend this book! Just know that it's going to take some legwork to figure out how to apply it in your life.

Dr. Fung does an excellent job explaining the decades of research by building the reader’s knowledge base step-by-step by answering a series of simple questions. Each answer prompts the next questions. As someone who has struggled with weight most of my adult life, it’s refreshing to read this analysis, try the recommendations, and see results. My A1C dropped 1.3 points and my type II diagnosis is “resolved” (Doctor’s words.). I’m off all diabetes meds. The 2nd book in the series, “The Diabetes Code”, is next. Dr. Fung also has a large number of YouTube videos covering a wide range of subjects. Excellent as well.

This detailed explanation of what really causes obesity and how to get rid of it was fascinating and valuable. Also includes sample menus and answers many questions. Worth reading and finding out you may be doing things you thought were healthy but are not. Well worth the read. I thought of sending a copy to my doctors who are pretty much old school, but I figured it would not have been appreciated.

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!