How to fix your broken metabolism by doing the exact opposite

We saw recently with the Biggest Loser study that basal metabolism plummets when you lose weight with calorie reduction. As contestants lose weight, they burn a lot less energy – up to 800 calories per day less than before!
Some of that is expected, since there is less body tissue to maintain, but nevertheless, these contestants burn far less than expected even taking this into account. Even 6 years later, their basal metabolic rate (BMR) remains depressed, as do the contestants themselves.
The story got a lot of coverage, but one thing was consistently missing. How to fix it. That’s what I’ll show you today, and it’s the opposite of what most people expect.
So, let’s think about this problem in the context of the 2 compartment model of obesity that we have used before. There are two compartments for body energy. We take calories in as food. This gets stored in the short term as glycogen, or long term as body fat.
Glycogen is easily converted to energy (calories out), but body fat, not so much. So we can consider the analogous situation where short term energy is stored in a refrigerator and long term in the basement freezer.
This is body fat and manufactured in the liver by the process of de novo lipogenesis. What causes insulin levels to be elevated depends partly on the foods we eat, but also by insulin resistance.
Fructose, for example, can elevate insulin resistance which will, in turn raise insulin levels. Insulin resistance leads to high insulin levels, which leads to higher resistance in a vicious cycle. That is, it can be self sustaining.
Read more in our guides what you need to know about insulin resistance and how to treat insulin resistance.
So during weight loss, if we don’t address the long term issue of insulin resistance, then we won’t be able to efficiently burn fat. Our basal metabolism gets energy from two sources – food, and stored food (fat). If high insulin levels blocks our access to fat stores, then almost all of our energy must come from food. If we reduce food intake from 2000 calories per day to 1200, in theory basal metabolism must also fall from 2000 calories to 1200.
This is a logical response from the body. Where would it get energy from? Fat stores are locked away since high insulin will block efficient fat burning (lipolysis). So, as ‘Calories In’ goes down, so can ‘Calories Out’. This is likely why the Biggest Loser contestants metabolisms plunged so heavily. This is the problem of the solitary focus on caloric reduction. It may be about calories in, but it’s also about ‘Calories Out’.
Consider the analogy of soccer. Soccer’s First Law of Thermodynamics says that to win, you must have more ‘Goals In’ than ‘Goals Allowed’. Goals can’t be created out of thin air. So, therefore if we increase the numbers of ‘Goals In’, we will win every game. So, we move our goalie and position players all to forward and ask them to stay in the attacking zone.
Of course, we lose every single game. By trying to increase ‘Goals In’, we’ve increased ‘Goals Allowed’. The mistake is to assume that increasing ‘Goals In’ will not affect ‘Goals Allowed’. Then we blame players for not trying hard enough. But, in truth the strategy was bad.
Same goes for ‘Calories In’ and ‘Calories Out’. Reducing ‘Calories In’ can result in reduction of ‘Calories Out’. When this happens, you’ll ‘lose’ every single time, as the Biggest Loser suggests. The mistake is to assume that reducing ‘Calories In’ will not reduce ‘Calories Out’. But it does. Then we blame patients for not trying hard enough, but in reality, the strategy is flawed. We can’t ignore insulin.
How to Fix your Broken Metabolism
So, are we doomed to a life of ever growing waistlines? Hardly. Remember, one key to weight loss is to maintain energy expenditure (calories out).
Lowering insulin will allow fat burning (lipolysis). This provides our body with lots of energy. If we have lots of energy coming in, the body has no reason to shut down its basal metabolism. The quickest, most efficient way to lower insulin? Fasting. Ketogenic diets will work, too. But remember that insulin has many inputs and is not simply carbohydrates. Cortisol, fructose, insulin resistance, vinegar, and countless other things play a role in determining insulin levels. Generally, though, cortisol and insulin resistance are the things least likely to be treated.
Once the doors to the ‘fat’ freezers are open, the body says, “Whoa, there’s lots of energy here. Let’s burn a little extra”. Studies of fasting show that basal metabolism doesn’t shut down during short-term fasting, it revs itself up. Four consecutive days of fasting increases basal metabolism by 13%.
Studies of alternate daily fasting (ADF) show the same thing. Basal metabolism is maintained, even over 22 days of ADF. Even with weight steadily decreasing, the resting metabolic rate is statistically identical at the end of 22 days. You can see from the table below, that carbohydrate oxidation plummets as fat oxidation rises, just as seen previously.
This is an important point. In standard caloric reduction strategies, the body reduces its caloric expenditure to adjust to the reduced caloric intake. Stores of energy locked away as body fat are not available. If you reduce your calories from 2000 to 1200 per day, then your body may be forced to reduce calorie expenditure to 1200 per day since it cannot get any from the stored food (fat). Where’s the extra energy going to come from?
However, by lowering insulin drastically during short-term or alternate daily fasting, the body does not shut down. Instead, it switches fuel sources. No food is coming in. Insulin falls. Your body has a choice. It can reduce calorie expenditure to zero, also known technically as ‘dropping dead’. Or, it can force open the reserves and power itself from fat.
The low fat diet does little to reduce insulin levels. So fat stores aren’t efficiently used for energy. Basal metabolism drops almost 400 calories per day. But on the other extreme, very low carbohydrate diets would be the diet that lowers insulin the most. This allows access to the basement fat ‘freezer’. Now our body has the energy it needs to start revving up its metabolism.
It works with surgically enforced fasting such as seen with bariatric surgery, too. The one contestant, Rudy Pauls, who got bariatric surgery fixed his wrecked metabolism. So, is it possible? Definitely. Rudy Paul’s metabolism had slowed more than any other contestant. That’s why his weight regain was so dramatic. By forcing himself to fast, he has partially repaired his broken metabolism.
In order to fix our broken metabolism, we need to allow free access to the energy contained within our fat stores. We need to allow fat burning (lipolysis) to proceed normally. We need to lower insulin. The answer is low carbohydrate diets, or even better – a low-carb diet with intermittent fasting.
This is the George Costanza method. If everything you do makes things worse, do the exact opposite.
It does not matter if you think it doesn’t make sense. Do it anyway and see what happens.
The standard nutritional advice given – to Eat Less and Move More is so flawed that doing anything, even the exact opposite will likely beat it.
Try low carb
Do you want to try a low-carb and ketogenic diet yourself? Use these resources:


Try intermittent fasting
Videos




More with Dr. Fung
He is active on Twitter.
His book The Obesity Code is available on Amazon.
As a side note, Dr. Tung offhandedly mentions vinegar as something that affects insulin levels -- a quick Google search suggests that it lowers insulin, which is consistent with my observation that a bit of vinegar in the morning keeps me from getting hungry while fasting. Another mystery solved. Thanks!
Isn't pushing the caloric intake toward zero the thing we don't want to do? Or am I completely confused?
Your comparing bariatric surgery to fasting caught my attention. People who have bariatric surgery are counseled to eat smaller portions, thereby reducing their daily caloric intake. The smaller stomach increases their satiety and helps keep them satisfied with fewer calories. I've never heard of a bariatric surgery patient being told to fast.
It seems to me that weight loss following bariatric surgery should be considered evidence that calorie reduction causes weight loss. No?
Highlights:
- Eat 6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 big meals.
- DO NOT snack between meals.
- STOP EATING AS SOON AS YOU ARE FULL.
Calories Still Count. Avoid foods that are high in calories. It is important to get all of the nutrition you need without eating too many calories.
DO NOT eat foods that have a lot of fats, sugar, or carbohydrates.
DO NOT drink much alcohol. Alcohol has a lot of calories, but it does not provide nutrition.
DO NOT drink fluids that have a lot of calories. Avoid drinks that have sugar, fructose, or corn syrup in them.
Portions and serving sizes still count. Your dietitian or nutritionist can give you suggested serving sizes of the foods in your diet.
If you gain weight after gastric bypass surgery, ask yourself:
Am I eating too many high-calorie foods or drinks?
Am I getting enough protein?
Am I eating too often?
Am I exercising enough?
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000173.htm
I am a big 6ft4 guy, 90kg, age 33
I should have an RMR of around 2100cals.
But I decided to get a TRUE result because I suspected it was low.
I went to a lab where they measured it using the gold standard breathing apparatus to measure CO2 production while lying down for 25 minutes.
My RMR is less than half : 1029cals !
This is devastating. I have no idea how to fix this.
I have high belly fat. Low muscle. High estrogen and have eaten paler style whole foods heathy diet for years.
Please help - I don't know what to do.
Also, none of the nutritionists and functional doctors have figured it out yet
Any help welcome.
Thanks
Nick
Dr Chi supplements
I am so pleased that you asked that question. I would strongly suggest 'the obesity code' book. It is absolutely priceless and will change how.you eat and your ability to successfully, permanently increase and reset your basal metabolic rate!.
I had a bariatric surgery (gastric sleeve) and for the first 17 days I only drunk clear liquids, followed by two months of blended low carb high fat foods where I could bearly eat one spoon at a time and had them 4 to 6 times a day. Considering carbs and calories, this was almost three months fasting. Lost 100 pounds the first year and 5 years later I'm still on my ideal weight only following Keto.
I hope you did the switch from paleo to Keto and increased your fats consumption right? how about HIIT? Fasting?
Any news on the progress?
Is that true? If not, what is a good resource to show him? He won't listen to me that it doesn't sound healthy.
We have a link here about foods to eat and foods to avoid that may address some of the food items you're talking about.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/foods
Sorry, I am at the beginning of my journey having just completed the Obesity Code, flicked through the Pioppi diet and about to start the guide to intermittent fasting.
I live in the Middle East and they are all about prescribing medications, but I did not return to a clinic because they wanted to me start insulin tablets and I would rather reverse this naturally, than go down that route. So I've started alternate day fasting and to be honest I have more energy on the fasting days than on the days I eat, weird! In fact, when breaking my fast for dinner, I feel exceptionally sleepy about 20 minutes after completing the meal, is this normal?
Finally, how long can I stay on an alternate fasting day programme?
Unless the carbohydrates are noted as insoluble fiber, there will likely be some impact on your blood glucose. If you are insulin resistant and have diabetes, you do need to be concerned about the number of carbohydrates you consume and how those impact your body. You can monitor the impact by testing with a glucose meter. If you follow alternate day fasting, you should also consider what you eat on non-fasting days and how that impacts your blood glucose. Are you following low carb or keto for your feasting days? https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/get-started
Hi, Tammy! Fasting isn't necesary for success. You can certainly follow a low-carb diet! Check out this info! https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/controversies#thyroid
Thanks!