Why We Get Fat

Most people believe that losing weight is about eating fewer calories and exercising more. But what if our struggles aren’t about willpower, but rather the way our bodies store and burn fat? In this introduction, you’ll discover why conventional wisdom often leads to frustration instead of progress. We’ll explore stories of populations that barely had enough to eat, yet still faced rampant obesity, suggesting that something deeper is at play.

The stakes are high, as many of us wrestle for years with unsuccessful diet plans. A new perspective on weight gain promises to transform our understanding and help us finally see lasting results. It requires a shift in focus: from blaming ourselves to investigating the intricate processes beneath our skin. Let’s begin with the science, not the shame.

In the pages ahead, you’ll find that understanding the biology of fat storage is more reassuring than you might expect. When we see how hormones regulate weight, everything from cravings to energy levels starts to make sense.

We’re told that weight loss lies in the balance between energy intake and output. But that approach ignores how the body partitions calories in the first place. If it were just about counting calories, no child with stunted growth would also become overweight, and no impoverished community would suffer from obesity while malnourished.

Historical anecdotes, such as the Pima or certain African tribes, show people who consumed meager diets yet still became fat. Their bodies seemed to lock away fat despite scant calories. Clearly, regulating how our cells store energy isn’t simply a matter of willpower.

This hints that our physiology, not just personal discipline, plays the decisive role. By studying such paradoxical cases, we see that the idea of laziness or gluttony as the primary cause of obesity may be deeply flawed.