The Next Big Idea Daily Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Food (But Were Afraid to Ask)
10 snips
Nov 5, 2025 
Julia Belluz, a health journalist and co-author of Food Intelligence, joins to debunk common myths about diet and metabolism. She reveals that metabolic slowdown is a reaction to weight loss, not the cause of it. Julia critiques the obsession with protein, emphasizing most people consume enough without needing to overdo it. She discusses how both carbs and fats impact weight similarly and highlights how our brain and environmental cues drive our eating choices more than willpower. Finally, she explains how food marketing and economics shape our eating behaviors.
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Metabolism Is Usually The Effect Not Cause
- Metabolism rarely explains population obesity or most individual struggles with weight.
- Kevin Hall found metabolic slowdown often follows extreme dieting or exercise rather than causing weight loss differences.
Biggest Loser Study Shows Metabolic Slowdown
- Kevin Hall measured contestants on The Biggest Loser and saw dramatic metabolic slowing during extreme weight loss efforts.
- Those with the greatest slowdown had lost the most weight and kept it off longest, showing metabolic change followed hard dieting.
Author's Personal Metabolism Check
- Julia Belluz had her metabolic rate measured and found it normal for her age, gender, and size.
- She notes most people similarly have normal metabolisms despite personal beliefs otherwise.
