The Obesity Code by Jason Fung — book cover

The Obesity Code

Jason Fung · 2016

Nephrologist Jason Fung argues that obesity is a hormonal disorder of too much insulin, not a simple math problem of eating too many calories, and that the cure is to lower insulin through what you eat and when you eat, including intermittent fasting.

9 min read · 9 chapters · Health

Why it’s on the shelf

Popular reframing of weight gain around insulin and fasting, with a clear practical protocol.

Three of the ideas you’ll keep

The Clif summary of The Obesity Code pulls out 7 insights. Here are the first three.

  1. Stop counting calories and start lowering insulin: weight is controlled by hormones, so the goal is to reduce the insulin your food provokes, not just shrink portions.
  2. Cut added sugar and refined grains first, they spike insulin the hardest. Fructose is the worst offender because it drives fatty liver and insulin resistance directly.
  3. Eat real, whole food with its fat and fiber intact: dietary fat barely raises insulin, and the fiber in unprocessed carbs blunts the insulin spike that refined versions cause.

The other 4 — and the full 9-minute summary — are in the app.

What’s inside: 9 chapters

The whole summary runs about 9 minutes, read or listened to.

  1. Calories Aren't the Code, Insulin Is
  2. Why 'Eat Less' Keeps Failing You
  3. The Exercise Myth
  4. Insulin Resistance: The Vicious Cycle
  5. Sugar and the Fatty Liver
  6. Stop Fearing Fat (and Why Protein Is Tricky)
  7. Protective Foods and the End of Snacking
  8. Sleep, Stress, and the Cortisol Connection
  9. Intermittent Fasting: The Master Tool

Finish The Obesity Code tonight.

Read or listen to the full summary in about 9 minutes, then keep the ideas with a minute of review a day. Start with the 2-minute quiz — no card required.