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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
Eat to Beat Your Diet summary
William W. Li
Burn Fat, Heal Your Metabolism, and Live Longer
17 mins
Table of Contents
Eat to Beat Your Diet
summarized in 7 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 7
Fat 101
In today’s world, it’s clear that “fat” has become feared. But here’s the thing: body fat isn’t inherently evil. It may have been painted the baddie, but science doesn’t entirely support this picture. In fact, fat plays an essential role in the well-being of living organisms.
Fat is the largest gland in the body and one of the most important tissues. Fat aids the functioning of every organ and controls the release of critical hormones. Fat also protects our insides from rupturing when we fall and acts as a built-in sweater when it’s cold. We literally couldn’t survive without some body fat.
What’s problematic is excess body fat. This applies just as much to “skinny” people as it does to those with larger bodies. As it turns out, body size isn’t an infallible assessment of overall health.
Your body has three types of fat: brown, subcutaneous, and visceral. We’ll cover brown fat in the next section, so let’s focus on the remaining two here. Subcutaneous fat lies just beneath the surface of our skin – it’s the pinchable, pokable stuff. Visceral fat, on the other hand, is squeezed into the spaces between our organs. You don’t want excess amounts of either – but, as you’ve probably guessed, visceral fat poses the biggest threat. The increased risks associated with this kind of fat include Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. That’s where our fear should be directed. And because visceral fat can’t be seen from the outside, it’s possible for thin individuals to be packed full of it despite their slender frames.
But there’s good news too: you don’t need to lose outrageous amounts of body fat to significantly decrease your risk of chronic disease. In fact, Dr. Li recommends between 1 and 20 pounds for the vast majority of people. For example, if you lose 11 pounds, you reduce the likelihood of all-cause mortality by a whopping 36 percent.
We’ll explore sustainable – and enjoyable – ways to lose excess body fat in the following sections, but it’s crucial to start your journey to long-lasting health and happiness with a scientific understanding of what fat is and isn’t. Fat doesn’t have to be your foe. It can actually be a very powerful friend.
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What is Eat to Beat Your Diet about?
Eat to Beat Your Diet (2023) is a science-backed guide to healthy weight loss and disease-free living. It reveals surprising links between fat, metabolism, and certain nutrients, showing that eating more of the most beneficial foods is actually the path to increased health and happiness.
Who should read Eat to Beat Your Diet?
- Those who want to lose weight
- People looking to stave off chronic disease naturally
- Health-conscious foodies
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