Why "Eat Less, Move More" Fails So Often

Obesity has quadrupled over the last 50 years. Among people on supervised calorie-restricted diets, more than 80% of the lost weight comes back within 5 years. "Eat less, move more" is a good place to start, but hardly a place to finish in terms of optimizing fat loss. On its own, it does not reliably work, and for many people it causes harm.

Why "Eat Less, Move More" Alone Does Not Work

The vast majority of weight loss attempts fail in the long run.

In people on supervised calorie-restricted diets:

• After 2 years, ~50% of the weight is regained
• After 5 years, more than 80% is regained

But why? Is it just because people are lazy and unmotivated?

Calorie Restriction Slows Your Metabolism

Reducing calories induces long-term metabolic slowdown.

This is largely due to:

• Reductions in physical activity
• Lower thyroid hormone output

These are major issues.

How can you "move more" while intentionally reducing your body's ability to generate energy?

Dieting Lowers Leptin

Weight loss attempts also lower leptin.

Leptin is a hormone that increases metabolism. Supplementing leptin after weight loss:

• Boosts energy expenditure
• Increases thyroid hormones T3 and T4

It brings them back to normal levels after weight loss.

Sufficient leptin is what allows the body to naturally regulate body composition. But normal weight loss advice causes a drop in leptin.

This makes it nearly impossible to keep the weight off in the long run.

Fat Tissue "Remembers" Being Fat

Fat tissue "remembers" being fat after weight loss.

Fat tissue structure stays dysregulated, even after losing the weight.

In other words, the fat remains "primed" in an obesity-like, stiff, inflamed state.

This makes it easier to regain the weight after dieting.

Cutting Calories Raises Cortisol

Cutting calories raises cortisol.

Cortisol rises to give your body extra energy by turning your tissues into energy.

But high cortisol is a huge problem for your health. It can also promote fat gain, especially around the belly.

It also drives overeating.

Weight Loss Is Not the Same as Being Naturally Lean

The main point here is that WEIGHT LOSS is not the same as being NATURALLY LEAN and HEALTHY.

• Tanked metabolism vs high metabolism
• Less energy for exercise vs active
• High vs low cortisol
• Low calories vs normal calories
• Need to constantly remember to diet vs don't think about it

The question shouldn't be "how can I lose weight?"

It should be "how can I get my physiology to be the same as a naturally lean, healthy person?"

Exercise Can Lower Your Basal Metabolism

Exercise can also lower basal metabolism.

The idea is that exercise = calories burned on top of what you're already burning, so this = weight loss.

In reality, the body compensates and burns less in other areas when physical activity is increased.

This means you will have to exercise EVEN MORE than you think.

And this is on top of already lowering your basal metabolism because you're eating less.

Why Naturally Lean People Resist Fat Gain

If you TRY to make people obese, it takes MUCH more calories than expected.

For naturally lean people, the amount of food needed to make them fat far exceeds what is expected.

Some men required 10,000 calories to fatten up properly.

The healthy body can use extra calories and stay thin.

Forcing people to become obese takes more than DOUBLE the calories of naturally obese people.

Obese men came in burning ~2,400 calories.

Men who were made obese in the lab by overfeeding? Over 5,000.

Simply eating more and moving less does not explain it.

There are fundamental problems with obese physiology.

Why Do People Overeat? The Real Drivers of Appetite

Let's suppose you are fat simply because you're eating too much.

The real question is, why? Why can't you regulate your food intake properly?

There are TONS of factors that govern this.

High Cortisol

High cortisol can cause overeating.

Simply telling someone to force themselves to eat less in this situation is incredibly unhealthy. It also makes the weight loss much more difficult.

Controlling cortisol is VITAL here. I have written a full guide on how to lower cortisol and calm chronic stress.

Leptin Signaling

Leptin signaling is what tells your brain to stop eating.

In obesity, leptin signaling is impaired.

After weight loss, leptin levels are too low.

This means you will be hungrier AND your metabolism will be slower.

This needs to be addressed.

Gut Health

Your GUT is also key for appetite control.

If your gut health is off, your body will not be able to properly perceive appetite signals, leaving you prone to overeating.

Simply telling someone to eat less in this scenario does not help.

I have covered more on how gut bacteria control your metabolism and fat loss.

Poor Nutrition

Overeating can be caused by poor NUTRITION.

Adding in vitamins or calcium suppresses inappropriate appetite increases.

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

Evaluating this is VITAL.

Or, you can just eat even less and get even fewer nutrients.

The Type of Food

The type of food matters, too.

The "satiety index" was studied to see which foods stimulate the most satisfaction after eating.

What you eat matters, beyond simply how much.

Simply eating an "unprocessed" diet can cause reduced food intake.

This is subconscious calorie reduction, because with a more whole food diet the body is:

• Getting proper appetite signaling in the gut
• Getting more nutrients

Stop aiming to "eat less." Aim to "eat RIGHT."

Poor Sleep

Poor SLEEP can also contribute to overeating.

Sleep is vital for regulating hunger and satiety hormones.

People can eat north of 300 calories extra per day from this alone.

Undereating is also a great way to worsen your sleep.

I have gone deeper on sleep, melatonin and circadian rhythm in a separate guide.

Circadian Rhythm

Your hunger hormones also vary with your circadian rhythm.

If your circadian rhythm is thrown off by:

• Not seeing enough bright sunlight
• Erratic sleep and wake times
• Inconsistent feeding times

then you're not going to be able to regulate appetite properly.

Eating Less Is a Consequence, Not the Goal

Focusing on these areas of your HEALTH is what matters: leptin and leptin sensitivity, along with the other factors above.

The net effect could be that you eat less. But this is a consequence, not the thing you should aim for.

How to Increase Metabolism Naturally: Why Is Your Body Primed to Store Fat?

The real question is: why is your body primed to store fat?

Your body could use extra energy for plenty of things. Why does it choose to not use it at all and store fat instead?

Let's go through a few.

High Serotonin

High serotonin causes obesity.

Serotonin released systemically from the gut lowers metabolism and:

• Prevents "browning" of fat, which increases energy production
• Drives insulin resistance

without increasing calories.

Gut Issues and Endotoxin

Gut issues can promote fat gain without changing calories.

The primary reason is endotoxin, an inflammatory bacterial component.

Give endotoxin = obesity

Eliminate it (here, with antibiotics) = obesity gone

Thyroid Hormones

Thyroid hormones are also a key player here.

These are the primary hormones that upregulate your metabolism.

As mentioned, cutting calories lowers thyroid hormone output.

I have a full root-cause guide on how to boost metabolism naturally.

Vitamin D

People with low vitamin D are at over double the risk of becoming fat within a few years.

Vitamin D:

• Ups thyroid hormone production
• Regulates gut bacteria
• Improves leptin sensitivity
• Increases fat metabolism

Vitamin D deficiency makes weight loss efforts less effective.

After surgery to lower food intake, animals with low vitamin D lose less fat, especially in the belly area.

Zinc

Low zinc status drives weight gain. Adding it back induces fat loss without changing diet.

It also lowers triglycerides.

Zinc is one of the most common depletions in obesity.

Muscle

Having enough MUSCLE also prevents fat gain and helps in weight loss.

Your muscles consume a ton of energy, especially fat, even while at rest.

Having lots of it is one of the easiest ways to protect yourself here.

It's going to be hard to have enough muscle while eating very little.

Low Testosterone

Low testosterone is another factor that can cause you to put on more fat.

Testosterone is one of the primary hormones responsible for reducing body fat and putting calories into muscle instead.

Low T is common in long-term calorie restriction.

I have written more on how to increase testosterone naturally.

High Prolactin and Low Dopamine

High PROLACTIN can also contribute to fat gain. One possible cause is a pituitary tumor.

Raising dopamine also increases metabolism.

Inflammation

High INFLAMMATION can DIRECTLY cause fat gain, too.

This is because various components of the inflammatory cascade can:

• Inhibit mitochondrial energy production
• Directly expand fat tissue

Meanwhile, anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10) reverse this. Once again, without a change in the diet.

Inflammation can come from:

• Poor antioxidant status
• Persistent infections
• Gut dysbiosis and inflammation

Seed Oils and Diet Composition Drive Fat Gain

SEED OILS promote obesity, regardless of calories.

Seed oils have TONS of LINOLEIC ACID.

This is a fat that is not very abundant in nature, but we now MASSIVELY overconsume it.

A diet with as much as we eat today (8%) induces fat gain relative to an "ancestral" amount (1%).

Seed oils are metabolically distinct. They can cause your fat tissue to want to store more fat. Simply eating less does nothing here.

In fact, this is well known in research.

The "high fat diet" used to make animals fat has an increased "feed efficiency."

In other words, more calories stored per calorie consumed, compared to the healthier diet.

It is very common in these studies to see animals eat the same amount or even FEWER calories on the fattening diets.

The diet COMPOSITION is what makes it fattening. The calorie amount does not.

Obese People Don't Consistently Eat More

There's also tons of evidence that obese people do not eat more than lean people to begin with.

At least, not consistently.

Yes, You Can Get Lean on Twinkies. That's Not the Point.

Yes, you can get lean on Twinkies.

You can eat less and move more and lose weight. It is possible and happens all the time.

If you did it, I'm happy for you.

BUT in the LONG RUN, the questions are:

1. Is it sustainable practically?
2. Is it going to be healthy?
3. Why doesn't it work for most, statistically?
4. How likely are you to regain the weight?

This is not a simple cure-all. My issue is when people pretty much say "oh, it's not working? Just eat EVEN LESS and move EVEN MORE."

This approach is not mimicking the naturally lean.

The goal should be to get your body's physiology to be similar to that of the naturally lean. People who don't need to consciously think to be lean.

In other words, a healthy person.

You don't want to be on a diet forever.

Calories Still Count. The Model Is Too Simple.

I am not saying we can violate thermodynamics.

My problem is when people act like:

• Calories out or stored is static
• Calories stored are all held equal (muscle vs fat)
• Calories in is all about willpower or gluttony
• Fat loss is more important than health

Losing weight the right way can be difficult, but it's not impossible.

We help folks optimize their overall health all the time, including for weight loss.

FAQ

How do you increase metabolism naturally?

Get your physiology closer to that of a naturally lean person. That means addressing leptin, thyroid hormones, cortisol, gut health and endotoxin, serotonin, vitamin D, zinc, muscle mass, testosterone, prolactin and dopamine, inflammation and seed oil intake. Eating less may follow, but it is a consequence, not the goal.

Does cutting calories slow your metabolism?

Yes. Reducing calories induces long-term metabolic slowdown, largely through reduced physical activity and lower thyroid hormone output. It also lowers leptin, raises cortisol and is commonly linked to low testosterone.

Why do most people regain weight after dieting?

In supervised calorie-restricted diets, ~50% of weight is regained after 2 years and over 80% after 5 years. Dieting drops leptin, which makes you hungrier and slows your metabolism. Fat tissue also stays "primed" in an obesity-like, stiff, inflamed state after weight loss, which makes regain easier.

Does exercise increase metabolism?

Exercise can lower basal metabolism. When physical activity goes up, the body compensates and burns less in other areas. That means you have to exercise even more than you think, on top of the slowdown from eating less.

Do obese people eat more than lean people?

There's tons of evidence that obese people do not consistently eat more than lean people. Lab studies also show that naturally lean men can need up to 10,000 calories to fatten up, and men made obese by overfeeding burned over 5,000 calories compared to ~2,400 in naturally obese men.

Do seed oils cause weight gain?

Seed oils are high in linoleic acid. A diet with as much linoleic acid as we eat today (8%) induces fat gain compared to an ancestral amount (1%), regardless of calories. They can cause your fat tissue to want to store more fat.

Can poor sleep make you overeat?

Yes. Sleep regulates hunger and satiety hormones, and people can eat north of 300 extra calories per day from poor sleep alone. Undereating also worsens sleep.