Tag: Knowledge recall

The nonconscious brain handles automatic behaviors, habits, and cravings, all below awareness. Kahneman’s framework describes System 1 (fast, automatic, always running) versus System 2 (slow, deliberate, one thing at a time). Bargh’s automaticity research is widely cited for the claim that most behavior originates nonconsciously. Your conscious mind thinks it’s deciding; mostly it’s rationalizing. Deliberate resistance has to win every round against something that never stops. This companion covers the two systems, how this applies to eating, why conscious decisions fail, and working with the nonconscious rather than against it. (5 min read)

Metabolic adaptation is the body’s response to chronic calorie restriction: lowered metabolic rate, decreased energy expenditure, increased hunger. Research by Zauner found resting energy expenditure rising rather than falling in short-term fasting — a small study, and the larger one puts the rise at 6% by 36 hours, gone by 72 and absent in men. Fothergill’s study of Biggest Loser contestants showed metabolic suppression persisting 6 years after weight loss. The key difference is hormonal: restriction signals scarcity; fasting signals temporary fuel switching. This companion covers the metabolic adaptation problem, the hormonal environments, why fasting differs, and practical implications. (4…

The lipostat is the body’s fat-regulation system — a biological thermostat for body weight. When you lose weight, the lipostat increases hunger and decreases energy expenditure to push weight back up. Research by Fothergill on Biggest Loser contestants showed metabolic suppression persisting 6 years after weight loss. Rosenbaum and Leibel documented adaptive thermogenesis in humans. This companion covers the biological thermostat, how the lipostat defends against weight loss, the asymmetry problem, whether the set point can change, implications, and working with the lipostat. (4 min read)

The body compensates for exercise calories through increased hunger, reward eating, reduced non-exercise movement, and metabolic efficiency. Research by Pontzer found that above moderate activity levels, total daily energy expenditure plateaus — the body compensates for additional exercise. Studies show people typically compensate for 50-90% of exercise calories. This companion covers compensation mechanisms, the research reality, why this matters, the “outrun your diet” myth, what exercise actually does, and the practical approach. (4 min read)

The fed-to-fasted transition is usually presented in five stages: fed (0-4 hours), early fasting on liver glycogen (6-24 hours), gluconeogenesis (24-48 hours), ketosis (one to three days), and protein conservation (five days and beyond). That framing is Jason Fung’s presentation of mainstream physiology rather than a measurement — the phases are real and the tidiness is editorial, with the boundaries overlapping and blurring. Understanding them removes mystery from fasting; treating the hours as thresholds you cross on a schedule puts it back. This companion covers each stage in detail, what’s happening hormonally, how it feels, why this matters, and practical…

Your body maintains blood sugar during fasting through multiple mechanisms: the liver releases stored glucose (glycogenolysis), produces new glucose from non-carbohydrate sources (gluconeogenesis), and hormones like glucagon and cortisol regulate the process. Research by Cahill documented how humans remain functional through extended fasts because the body has evolved reliable systems to maintain glucose without eating. Blood sugar doesn’t crash: it’s carefully maintained. This companion covers the fear versus reality, the three mechanisms (glycogenolysis, gluconeogenesis, ketone adaptation), hormonal regulation, what “low blood sugar” actually means, and the irony of frequent eating. (5 min read)

Insulin sensitivity means your cells respond efficiently to insulin, so a small amount effectively moves glucose into cells. Insulin resistance means more and more insulin is required to do the same job. You want sensitivity. In a small isocaloric trial of eight overweight men with prediabetes, eating earlier in the day improved insulin sensitivity without weight loss, which separates timing from calories; it is the right kind of evidence at a size that cannot prove anything on its own. Resistance is a step toward type 2 diabetes; that it also drives fat storage and hunger is the carbohydrate-insulin model’s proposal,…

Adrenaline (epinephrine) increases during fasting. Resting energy expenditure rises rather than falls in short-term fasting — about 14% over three days in one small study, though the larger study puts it at 6% by 36 hours, gone by 72, and absent in men. The tempting explanation, that catecholamines drive it, is one that study’s own authors decline: metabolic rate peaks when noradrenaline has not yet moved. This is the body mobilizing energy stores, signaling fat cells to release fatty acids. What none of it establishes is how fasting feels — a review argues that alertness while foraging would have been…

Whole foods leave you satisfied and stopping. Processed foods behave differently — satisfaction delayed or incomplete — though how the reward signals compare in size is not measured here. The difference the research does define is composition: fat with sodium, fat with sugar, or carbohydrate with sodium, each above a set threshold. Research by Hall showed people on an ultra-processed diet took in 508 more calories a day than on a nutrient-matched unprocessed one — while rating both equally pleasant, with eating rate rather than reward explaining the gap. Processed foods combine fat, sugar, and salt in concentrations that are…

The hypothalamus is the brain’s weight regulation center — a small region that integrates signals from hormones (insulin, leptin, ghrelin), nutrients, and the nervous system to control hunger, satiety, and energy expenditure. Research by Fothergill on Biggest Loser contestants showed metabolic rates suppressed by hundreds of calories daily — even years after dieting. The hypothalamus maintains a defended “set point” that fights weight loss through increased hunger and decreased metabolism. This companion covers the command center’s key players, hormonal inputs, set point defense, how the set point can change, and why hormonal approaches may succeed where calorie restriction fails. (4…