Dr. Alan Christianson - The metabolism reset diet: repair your liver, stop storing fat and lose weight naturally

Published in the United States of America by:

Harmony Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

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Published in the United Kingdom by:

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Text Alan Christianson, 2019

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The information given in this book should not be treated as a substitute for professional medical advice; always consult a medical practitioner. Any use of information in this book is at the readers discretion and risk. Neither the authors nor the publisher can be held responsible for any loss, claim or damage arising out of the use, or misuse, of the suggestions made, the failure to take medical advice or for any material on third-party websites.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Tradepaper ISBN: 978-1-78817-315-5

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-78817-316-2

To Kirin Christianson, for being my biggest fan, loudest cheerleader, and most helpful critic for more than twenty years. Thanks, honey, I love you.

Maybe youve glanced at the plate of a coworker or friend and thought: Why can she indulge in that second piece of birthday cakewithout tracking it or logging hours at the gym or feeling guilty for daysand stay naturally slim while I limit myself to a forkful and feel constantly fatigued and deprived and plagued with cravings... and overweight? Is there something wrong with me?

Heres the essential truth that I hope will propel you into a new chapter of thinking about yourself and your health and your weight: There is nothing wrong with you.

Naturally thin people are not superior. They dont try harder, nor do they possess superhuman willpower. They dont have better genes, and most dont eat fewer calories. They simply have one thing working in their favor: they have a better metabolism.

But for now, lets take assessments of good or bad out of it. The word metabolism is thrown around a lot in relation to diet and weight loss, but what does it actually mean? Your metabolism is simply how you convert fuel into energy. Fuel comes in as food. You never get exactly the right amount of food on a given day, but when you have a healthy metabolism, you can store a little extra food without gaining weight. That second piece of birthday cake isnt going to make or break you. You can also miss a meal without your energy levels crashing.

When the metabolism is not working properly, we store too much fuel and we are unable to retrieve it. This leads to extra pounds and a host of other adverse effectseverything from brain fog to digestive problems to fatigue to diabetes to various forms of cancer.

Theres a common misconception that you are born with either a great metabolism or a bad one. But turns out that metabolism is not fixed. You can change. The key to this change is not in white knuckling it while the rest of your friends and family enjoy their lives, nor is it in forever eliminating your favorite foods. The secret that I discovered in my years of clinical practice and research is simply this: Clean out your liver so that it can burn fat better.

The liver probably isnt even in the top five body parts you consider when you think weight loss, but it should be. The liver is more than just an organ damaged by alcohol or a quivering dish youd prefer to avoid. Its the heaviest internal organ and the largest gland in your body. Its a powerful machine that acts as a filter to remove toxins, aids in digestion, and regulates hormones and blood sugar. Its an incredible multitasker and a vital organ in the truest sense of the wordthe hub through which your bodys energy flows. The liver is responsible for processing everything you ingest, and it also functions as your bodys storage pantry. Nutrients (vitamins, minerals, and other substances the liver needs to work at its best) and fuel (from our main calorie sourcesfats and carbohydrates) you do not need today are stored in the pantry for later. The surplus is essential because you never get exactly what you need each day. If you miss a meal one day, you should be able to draw on your surplus to compensate. And if you overeat, you should be able to store the extra for use on those days when you may not have enough time to take a bite. A healthy liver stores extra energy and doles it out later when you need it.

What happens when your liver is unhealthy? You tend to store fuel as fat, especially around your midsection, and you can no longer tap into the nutrients you need to burn fat. This means that no matter which diet you chooseand how hard you tryweight loss is pretty much impossible.

Sound familiar?

Countless diets have told us to eat this good food and avoid that bad food. Meat, grains, butter, legumes, ketones, potatoes, tofu, canola oilare they good or bad? Each passing day seems to bring a new wave of science that cancels out all previous assessments. In fact, fat, carbs, and ketones work collectively as fuel. A healthy liver can either store fuel or burn it. An unhealthy liver can only store it. All sources of fuel look the same to your livernone are magic tonics or evil villains. This means that once you heal your liver, eating that piece of cake wont be catastrophic. Your metabolism will be flexible enough to adapt and handle whatever curveballs you throw its way.

Thats very good news. And even better news? Healing your liver takes weeksnot months or years. The liver is an astonishingly resilient organ. With the steps Im going to give you in this book, you can restore it to perfect working order in just a few weeks.

When people meet me, many assume that I am naturally thin. I take it as a compliment, but in fact when I was young I struggled with my weight. I was born with cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Perhaps being unable to be physically active put me at risk for weight gain. The first time I was obese was when I was eleven years old. Overweight kids were over three times rarer in the 1970s than they are today, so I stood out. Fat discrimination and fat-shaming are still injustices these days, but back then they were not even concepts; they were just the normal state of affairs. What is now often still held as a private belief was then publicly sharedit was assumed that anyone who was overweight just needed to try harder.

In fact, I was anything but lazy and I tried hard at everything I put my mind to. I hated how I looked and I wanted to change. Willpower was not the problem. Besides my weight, it seemed that I could push through any obstacle. I knew that I had no less persistence than my thin peers did.

I went to the doctor, but his solution of logging calories didnt work. It wasnt until I turned to health books that I was able to make a difference. I read everything I could get my hands on, and based on the advice I gleaned, I cut out sugar, butter, and bread completely. I didnt touch any of those three foods for about a decade. My parents indulged a family member who sold multilevel supplements. Thankfully, this meant that we had protein powder available, and I started every day with a protein shake. For lunch and dinner my mom made good meals with whole foods. I added beginner exercise routines designed for sedentary people, and slowly but surely, I saw things change.