The reason you can’t lose weight (or keep it off) no matter how...

The effects of BRIGHT LIGHT on your mood are more important than anyone realizes.

If you’re feeling down, tired, stressed, or anxious, this may just be the answer you never knew you needed.

I found that out the hard way.

Here’s why:

Keto, Carnivore and Fasting are DECIMATING your metabolism.

The thyroid needs carbs.

Here’s why:

Putting on fat while eating little?

Feeling lethargic all the time?

Almost like your body is preparing for hibernation?

It is.

Let’s talk about why.

"Diets" don't work for fat loss.

Here's why (& how to lose fat sustainably):

1. "Dieting" almost never works:

The % chance of becoming normal weight:

If obese is <1%
If very obese is <0.5%

Losing just 5% body weight is only attainable by ~10-20% of obese people.

Up to 98% of weight loss attempts only last for, at most, a few years. Then the weight is regained.

Clearly, what people normally do doesn't work.

2. Eating less and moving more (forcefully) is a recipe for disaster

The Minnesota Starvation experiment was a study where researchers forced food restriction on men.

It did result in weight loss.

However, this was accompanied by a laundry list of negative effects due to this.

× Cognitive decline
× Body image issues
× Decreased libido
× Depression
× Anxiety

Some men would chew flavored gum until their jaws became sore.

Some would scour through the garbage for more food.

Another classic example is The Biggest Loser.

Forcefully eating less and moving more worked... for a while.

But after, every single participant regained weight, and several got fatter than they were before the show!

This is even with these individuals continuing to restrict their food afterward!

3. WHY weight loss attempts fail.

Undereating causes the metabolic rate to drop.

Overeating (normally) causes the metabolic rate to increase.

If weight does change, returning to intuitive food intake results in normalization of weight.

This has been shown time and time again in the research.

Cutting your calories can “work,” plenty of people do it.

The question is, can it work forever? Is it the solution?

Our bodies need certain amounts of ENERGY in order to function properly in the long run.

Calories are essential nutrients. In fact, vitamins and minerals are useless without them.

The type of food matters:

For example, one study showed that replacing refined carbs with vegetable oil results in more weight loss

despite consuming the same amount of calories.

Animal studies routinely show that obesity is reliably induced by changing the composition of the food,

independently of caloric intake.

4. Why are some people naturally thin?

A landmark 2022 study showed that while people who were effortlessly lean did eat slightly less,

they were actually less active, and had better metabolisms at rest.

This was mainly driven by increased thyroid hormone.

The basal metabolic rate average has gone down over the past several decades, coinciding with the obesity crisis.

The average body temperature has also decreased significantly over the last century.

We also have TONS of historical examples of populations eating just as much, if not more than we do today, while effortlessly maintaining much thinner physiques.

This all tells us that inappropriate weight gain is without question a metabolic problem, not a personal one.

5. The solution

What is it that slows down the metabolism and causes weight gain?

Lots of things can do it, but a few key ones are:

• Poor thyroid function
• An excess of polyunsaturated fats (seed oils)
• Inadequate micronutrients
• Suboptimal light environment / lack of sunlight
• Dysregulated circadian rhythm
• Digestive distress + increased serotonin
• A lack of muscle mass
• Chronic stress
• Chronic inflammation
• Excess estrogen
• Environmental toxins

Of course, overeating is a thing as well, but the question is why do we overeat?

One key cause is poor micronutrient intake.

Adding in vitamins or calcium has been shown to suppress inappropriate appetite increases.

Another study showed that an estimated 45% of weight lost was attributed to increased potassium intake.

You WILL keep eating if you do not supply the body with what it needs.

The other driver of overeating is chronic stress.

By turning on the adrenals, chronic stress:

- Dampens leptin signaling
- Induces binging
- Increases preference for high sugar and fat foods

Food, especially sugar and salt, is our primary means of reducing stress hormones.

There's a reason your body intuitively goes for these types of foods when you are under lots of stress.

6. The bottom line

Asking "how do I lose weight?" is the wrong question in my view.

Weight loss should not be a primary goal.

HEALTH should be the goal:

⬩Deep sleep
⬩High energy
⬩Mental clarity
⬩Motivation
⬩High libido
⬩Smooth digestion
⬩Happiness, laughter, fullfillment

The weight will come off in time, and it will come off the right way!

It does require patience, but I'm way happier I did things this way.

My diet is absolutely delicious: quesadillas, sandwiches, ice cream, orange juice, lemonade, french fries, steaks, etc.

I don't think about what to eat, don't count calories, my quality of life and energy is sky high, and I'm not fat (contrary to popular belief).

Think about it like this:

If someone was always cold, you wouldn't tell them to be more disciplined and just deal with it.

If someone is losing hair, you wouldn't say it's because they aren’t disciplined.

But that's what we do when people are always hungry, or gain weight and don't know why.

Saying someone just needs discipline to lose weight is akin to saying someone just needs to cheer up if they are depressed.

Unhelpful, discouraging to those individuals, and also ignores what will truly lead to success in the long run.

Orange juice is literally one of the healthiest foods on the planet.

It has proven antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and gut health promoting properties.

Don’t believe me? Let’s get into it:

The miracle medicine that’s sitting in your kitchen, and costs you almost nothing.

It sheds fat, improves insulin resistance, stops kidney stones, and might even turn cancer cells back to normal.

The benefits of VINEGAR will absolutely blow your mind:

The animal-based, anti-aging nutrient you aren't getting enough of.

It protects the brain, reduces inflammation, stress, insulin resistance, and might even grow your hair.

The benefits of TAURINE are boundless:

Modern medicine’s greatest contribution to the health of mankind.

It heals cancer, depression and is even a nootropic.

And it’s safe and cheap to boot.

Why ASPIRIN is so much more than a painkiller and a blood thinner:

The ultimate supplement to boost your metabolism:

THYROID HORMONE - A complete guide

1. Symptoms you may be hypothyroid

Just to name a few:

• ALWAYS being tired
• Feeling COLD, especially at the extremities
• Slow / lethargic speech
• Stubborn weight gain
• Poor mood
• Puffy features: cheeks, love handles, general water retention
• Gynecomastia (man boobs)
• Muscular weakness
• Dry skin and hair
• Anxiety
• Hair loss
• Always being sick

Digestion is particularly responsive to thyroid hormone.

• Constipation or diarrhea
• Nausea
• Bacterial overgrowth
• Reflux

are all common in hypothyroidism.

Thyroid hormone is:

⬨ Key for gut regeneration, healing
⬨ Pro-motility
⬨ Vital for producing digestive enzymes
⬨ Required for producing stomach acid
⬨ Critical for gut immunity, gut barrier

2. Why labs are often misleading

TSH is the primary (and often only) metric a doctor will test for hypothyroidism.

A lower TSH should be indicative of higher thyroid hormone secretion, but it doesn't tell the full story.

For starters, TSH can be lowered by:

• Infection
• Trauma
• Cortisol
• Adrenaline
• Caffeine
• Fever

So a low TSH alone cannot rule out hypothyroidism.

The standard TSH reference range is also WAY too lenient (up to 5).

TSH >2 has been associated with:

• Heart disease
• High cortisol

Thyroid hormones:

• T4 (inactive)
• T3 (active, pro-metabolic)
• Reverse T3 (anti-metabolic)

can also be measured in the blood, but this doesn't tell the full story either.

These hormones must be transported through the blood, enter their target cells, and attach to the specific proteins in the cells that facilitate their actions.

Not as simple as thyroid in blood = thyroid activity.

Values of the “free” T3 and T4 can be misleading as well.

Thyroid hormones do not need to be "free" to exert their effects on various tissues, contrary the current medical dogma.

I still think testing can often be helpful, but you can certainly be hypothyroid while your labs look good on paper.

3. Diagnostics

An underarm temperature measured first thing in the morning, leaving the thermometer under the arm for 10 minutes to equilibrate, should start be >97.8°F.

Lower temperatures are highly indicative of hypothyroidism.

This was the gold standard thyroid test (along with aforementioned symptoms) that was successfully used to treat thousands of hypothyroid people before blood tests.

You can have “ideal” thyroid lab values yet be at the temperature of a hibernating bear.

A healthy resting pulse averaged 85 beats per minute, though Dr. Ward Dean has suggested between 65-75 is a good range.

If you eat carbs can and feel more tired and have lower temperature and pulse rate, this indicates a reliance on the stress hormones and a lack of thyroid function.

The response of the Achilles tendon when tapped was another assessment tool.

In a well-functioning thyroid, the foot would swing back energetically due to quick muscle relaxation.

but a slow, controlled return motion indicated potentially sluggish energy status, often a sign of hypothyroidism.

High cholesterol is another sign of hypothyroidism, while thyroid supplementation normalizes it.

4. NOT supplementing thyroid is unnatural

Consuming thyroid gland is as natural and "ancestral" as it gets.

Paleo researchers have stated that we probably consumed lots of thyroid gland throughout human history:

"the shift from scavenging towards hunting... would have increased thyroid gland consumption by hominins and thereby exogenous thyroid exposure."

"these Homo forebears started consuming small animals, such as amphibians, birds, and reptiles. This prey was consumed whole, and the animals’ thyroid glands thus provided a significant amount of thyroid hormone to their hominid predators."

"Nevertheless, tissues and organs (including thyroid glands) are commonly consumed by the primary hunters"

In fact, thyroid gland used to be in common foods like ground beef up until the mid 80s.

It is only recently when we stopped eating the whole animal, including the thyroid gland!

5. Using natural desiccated thyroid (NDT)

Desiccated thyroid comes from the thyroid glands of pigs or cows, and is the traditional way of supplanting thyroid hormones.

A grain (60 mg) is the unit of measurement for supplementation, containing ~40 mcg T4 + ~10 mcg T3.

A starting dose of a half grain is reasonable, and should be continued for 2-4 weeks before adjusting.

The hormones take around this long to stabilize.

As you use NDT, you should consistently track:

1. Morning temperature
2. Symptoms

Once you get to >97.8°F and symptoms resolve, the correct dose has been found.

The brand matters a lot. Many products seem to be unreliable, or outright useless.

That’s definitely been my experience. I’ve tried numerous products over the last few years.

I'll link below the thyroid product I have been using recently for myself and with clients.

I would take it with food to slow the absorption, or even split into multiple doses with meals.

I prefer at dinner.

While some may require full replacement (4 to 5 grains), others find relief with as little as 15 mg (quarter grain).

Broda Barnes observed that his patients often required about two grains of thyroid to alleviate hypothyroid symptoms, occasionally needing more.

If you experience

• Too fast of a heart rate
• Palpitations,
• Anxiety,
• Overheating
• Fatigue
• Shaky feelings

then you might have taken too much thyroid.

The amount taken should be reduced or discontinued entirely.

Effects of over stimulation should resolve in a few hours.

This type of response can also indicate low cholesterol or an issue with liver function, two systems that the thyroid depends on to do its good.

You may also need more nutrients, as the increased metabolic rate demands more resources.

Eat your liver, egg yolks, and oysters.

Many people who should be candidates for supplementation find that thyroid does nothing for them, no matter how much they take.

In my experience, this always seems to be tied to an issue with the gut.

I would try to address this first.

Or, you just may not need it at all. You may need to address other factors.

Of course, supplementing thyroid is not the ONLY way to improve thyroid function, but it seems like an appropriate strategy when other factors have been addressed.