Decoding Hunger: Dr. John Poothulill's Revolutionary Approach to Weight Management

John's going to be talking about things like how to beat weight gain , diabetes and all about his books and everything that he's up to . So let's get it started , dr Puthle . Thank you so much for joining me today .

During my practice , I noticed my patients gaining weight , some of them developing diabetes and even , in spite of treatment , many of them having complications of diabetes , such as kidney damage , damage to their eyesight , heart attacks , dementia , alzheimer's .

So I was curious why are they having these complications in spite of taking insulin and keeping their blood sugar normal sugar normal ? So this is why this is what I started my journey on how to finding out what is natural regulatory mechanisms of food intake , how overweight happens and the complications such as diabetes .

How do they happen and what to do about it to treat it as well as to prevent it . How do they happen and what to do about it to treat it as well as to prevent it .

So let's go back and say why do we lose weight ? How do we lose weight ? If you take in less calories compared to what you're spending , then the body draws the stored energy that is stored as fat for metabolic actions to produce energy . That is fine . Metabolic actions to produce energy that is fine .

But in order to maintain your natural body functions , the body needs over 100 different nutrients . So how do you provide the body all the nutrients at the right time in the right amount ? If you don't , you start regaining the weight back because you go back to the old way of eating . So the first thing is to find out .

I will take one by one and you can ask after each one . I will stop and then you can ask for the clarification if you need to . The first one is what exactly is what I call your authentic weight ? Because if you look at the weight chart or the BMI table . It is based on white ethnic background in the United States . Go back to the history .

How did the weight chart come about ? It is a recording of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company , who compiled the voluntarily reported height and weight of insurance-seeking people to determine what weight and what height was contributing to early illness , death or longevity . That is how the weight and height table came about . It was not actually measured .

It was reported weight and height . Nobody verified it . It was reported weight and height , nobody verified it . Then they found out they applied that to every person in the world because we learned in our medical school in India 60 years ago the same thing . So that has been the standard all over the world .

So people are classified regardless of their genetic makeup , their ethnic background , their food habits . The same way but that is in last year , 2024 , the American Medical Association suggested that the same BMI chart and the weight table will not be applicable to individual without considering their genetic makeup , their food habits , their illnesses and all those things .

So the first chapter is how to find your own , what I call authentic weight . Any questions ?

Another person can weigh 200 pounds same height . So which one is right ? That depends on how much fat storage capacity you inherited . Inherited , because as long as the fat is outside the blood , it does not cause you any medical problems , but if it stays in the blood , then it blocks the arteries , producing heart attack , stroke , kidney problems and all that .

So that is where you have to determine what is your own authentic weight . So the next question is how do you identify or determine what is your authentic weight ? In most cases , you reach your authentic weight in the mid-20s . Why mid-twenties ? Why mid-twenties ? Because that is when you have reached your maximum height and your bone density is the maximum .

Remember , your weight is a compound measurement of your muscle weight , your bone weight , your fat weight , your water weight , all of or organ weight . All of these are included in your total weight . So the maximum height is and the bone density . They are reached by mid-20s .

So if your blood test shows normal fasting blood sugar , normal triglyceride , normal cholesterol

, that weight is your authentic weight . So as long as you keep close to it not more than 5 to 7 , maximum 10% deviation as you get older , you are going to be fine okay yep , you're good , keep on going okay . so that is what you have to keep tab on .

That is your authentic weight , that is what you want to keep for the rest of your life and you are going to be fine . But if you deviate from that , then the question is why ? That is the second chapter . If you don't put in more calories than you are spending , then you are going to store it in the body as fat .

So what we have to look at is what is making you overeat ? That's the second chapter . Unless you identify your own reasons , the reason that you eat excess , you cannot collect it . Yes , you can lose weight by reducing the amount of calories you take in , but in order to maintain it , you have to match it .

And in order to match it , you need to know what nutrients , how much or what food group , how much each time you sit down to eat . Let me ask you this question Can you tell me when you are going to feel hungry next ?

It doesn't matter whether you are hungry or not , you will eat it , just to taste it or to please the host . Secondly , the child will pick and choose what he or she wants . Grandma made 10 things . The child may take three or four . The next time , grandma make more of the three or four the child enjoyed , but the child may not even touch it .

You've done something else . So what do we do if somebody makes it ? Oh , I have to taste it because the host took so much trouble . Or it is an all-you-can-eat buffet . I need to try everything to get my money's worth , right , absolutely Okay . The third thing is when the child is satisfied .

The child could care less how much is left on the plate , whereas an adult , once you put it on the plate , you don't want to waste it . You would rather put it on your waist rather than put it in the wastebasket , right ?

Now I grew up in India , some days I didn't feel hungry . Now I know why . I said they asked why ? Because you were all eating for me . So that does not make sense . You have to . You don't have to eat clean your plate just because somebody else is hungry .

But so the best way is put smaller quantities , enjoy them and then , if you want , if you need more , you go and take some more . So that is what I in the second chapter .

So the first question is am I really hungry or am I eating because I want to enjoy the taste of food , what's called the conditioned aspect ? You know you drink alcohol because you get conditioned to it , you are habituated to it . You put too much salt because that is what you have enjoyed it before .

So it is strictly for enjoyment , which is what is called the dopamine effect . That is there in the body to help you locate or take food that is immediately needed for function . So the first question is am I truly hungry ? If you are hungry , then you start . How do you know whether you are truly hungry or not ?

The first thing is when you put that food in the mouth , that first bite tastes so good . If you are not hungry , the intensity of enjoyment will not be as much as you will have when you are hungry . After a few minutes have when you are hungry . After a few minutes , your enjoyment , the intensity of enjoyment , starts going down .

That is the time you have to reconsider , reevaluate . Do I still need it ? If you are not sure , take a sip of water and then try it again , why ? Let me ask you this question Before when can you predict when you are going to be thirsty the next time ?

You consumed enough to quench your thirst at that time . Any idea .

They can meter how much is going down . You see , the brain already knows what your water deficit is , the quantity . When the metering tells the brain this much has gone down , the brain says , okay , that's it . Does that make sense ?

What I'm suggesting in this book is that we have a similar mechanism for solid foods also In order to identify the type of solid nutrients . Remember , body needs over 100 different nutrients . You cannot get all of them from one food group or from one meal . That is why we get hungry at different times of the day .

How many times you eat , it doesn't matter , as long as you eat in response to hunger . But the type of food you eat should be based on what the body needs . And how does the body know that ? That is when you chew the food it releases nutrients that the taste buds and mouth receptors can identify and report to the brain . Identify and report to the brain .

Now , each time , is there any food in nature that adult humans can get nutrients from without chewing ?

What is happening is , in the modern age , the foods that we eat require practically no chewing . How much can you chew rice ? How much can you chew pasta , bread , cake , cupcake ? So what happens when you stop chewing ? You swallow , so eating foods that require less and less . And nowadays some people blend the food , puree the food . How much do you chew ?

You don't . So you just keep going down as if you're vacuuming it into the stomach . That is why you end up overeating , because you are not paying attention to the signals of hunger and satiation . That is the third . Any questions ?

So the simple thing is if you go to do grocery shopping when you are hungry , you are likely to buy more things because everything looks appealing , and if the shop provides free samples , you are going to eat it at that time because you want . You're hungry . So you have to go back and look at what made you buy more food , prepare more food , eat more food .

Eat more food . It may be family settings , it may be the environment , it may be the habit of celebrations . Oh , if it is an anniversary , yes , you have to do it . If it is a birthday , you have to participate . So if it is a religious ceremony , you have to do this . So , if it is a religious ceremony , you have to do this .

So there are customs , there are behavior patterns based on society , your ethnicity , your background , your celebrations . You don't need a reason just to get together , have a good time . And what do you do ? Food is the central theme , do ? Food is the central theme , and that is what is happening . That causes excess intake and weight gain .

So you have to analyze each one when you go shopping . Don't go shopping on an empty stomach or when you're hungry . Make a list of exactly what you need . Don't buy on impulse or by visual , because the vendors , the people who want to sell .

They make it so attractive in the box or in the display case and you're tempted to buy it , whether you need it or not . You are tempted to buy it whether you need it or not , and then they do something else that you don't know , that is , they make the taste of the food so enjoyable by adding more salt , more sugar , more fat .

You take one bite and you are hooked . You have to have it . There are some advertisements that you cannot take this just by one . You have to keep on eating . And once you develop that habit , then you are stuck and you associate eating with certain activities . Watching a ball game you have to have your popcorn . Watching a movie you have to have your popcorn .

Watching a movie , you have to have your popcorn , or something else you eat . The problem here is human brain can concentrate only one thing at a time , for example , if you are listening and concentrating to what I am saying , and and if somebody else starts talking , you have to choose , or you cannot do a math at the same time .

When you are talking to somebody else , you have to choose one or the other . So if you are watching something and if you are eating , the visual signals take precedence over the taste signals , so you won't even know what you are eating . You won't even know how much you are eating .

Signals take precedence over the taste signals , so you won't even know what you're eating . You won't even know how much you're eating . You will know only when your plate is empty . Secondly , when you go for an all-you-can-eat buffet , there are a hundred items . How many would you choose , mr Jackson ?

And because of your previous experience , the subconscious mind knows which food will provide the nutrients needed at this time for supper . So it sends a message to the conscious part of the brain oh , the other one looks more appealing for supper compared to lunch . The other one looks better than chicken and you choose those .

So this is how you listen to your own brain and make a decision , rather than what you are used to , what you are conditioned with . So that is how you break your old eating habits and go on to a new one

to help your body bring in the nutrients that your body needs , so that you will not overeat something . Does that make sense ?

Now we are in the cancer epidemic and the next is going to be dementia and Alzheimer's . The incidence of these are increasing as the time I mentioned . The question is why . Every government in the world subsidized grain farming so that they can feed the maximum number of people in each country . The result is grain-based foods became the cheapest food available .

So all the marketing companies food marketing companies they could make cheaper versions of food plates using grains and grain flours . The Industrial Revolution made milling and refining much more simple , so there were different types of flour from different grains that chefs all over the world now use to make very attractive dishes .

Now let me ask you this question If I give you plain boiled rice , can you enjoy it by itself ?

It is pure glucose , attached one to the other and we don't have a taste receptor to receive the complex carbohydrate .

We have a receptor to detect simple sugars , glucose , fructose , maltose , lactose , such as cane sugar , fruit sugar , then that kind of honey fructose , that kind of sugars , but not the compressed carbohydrate , unless it is digested in the mouth and then it releases two maltose , which is two glucose molecules together and that the taste buds , the sweet sensing taste

buds , can detect . So when you don't enjoy it , it gives you the feeling of bulk . The fullness the mouth feel and the enjoyment comes from what you add to the rice and you just keep eating because there is no chewing involved , so you just keep swallowing . You tend to eat more than what you need .

In my way of thinking , grains were never meant for humans , otherwise we would have had beaks to pick them up and the ability to digest the chaff . We don't , but with the milling and refining made it possible for people to eat enormous quantities of grain-based foods , and the marketing companies make it more attractive by adding more salt .

Can you enjoy bread made without any salt ? Try that . That is the reason why you eat more of grain-based carbohydrate In the old days before the agricultural revolution . The best example is the Native Americans who were brought to the reservations in the year 1900 . They had complete physical examination and they did not have practically any type 2 diabetes .

They did not have very much cancer and they had very few people with heart disease , even though the number of people 80 to 100 , were higher than the white population residing in the same area per 100,000 people .

If you take 100,000 white people and 100,000 Native Americans , the Native Americans had more older age group but less incidence of these chronic conditions . Why ? If you look at their eating habits , they moved from one food source to another food source to another .

They ate everything fish , meat , fruits , grains , fruits , nuts , berries , yams , birds but they did not eat one thing , that is , they did not stay in one place to cultivate any grains or eat grain-based foods .

However , when they came to the reservation , what they got most was grain-based foods , and now their incidence of type 2 diabetes is double that of white Americans living in the around the reservations , and the incidence of cancer is also higher .

So this is where I'm coming from that reduce the intake of grain-based carbohydrates and you can reduce incidence of obesity , type 2 diabetes and even cancer . Before the agricultural revolution , the percentage of complex carbohydrate that gave food energy for daily living was less than 35% of total daily energy intake . Now in the developed countries it is 50% .

In developing countries it is 60 to 70% . This is the reason we are having the increasing incidence of obesity , type 2 diabetes and cancer . Any questions ?

Feeling great has two components . One is you want to enjoy what you eat when you eat , because enjoyment of food is one of the few , or one of the only pressure , I should say , that you can enjoy to the fullest multiple times a day , from the time you are born until you die .

Is there anything else you can enjoy so many times a day to the fullest extent ? Can you think of anything else ?

That is where , if you put a baby within hour of birth , if you put the baby on the mother's chest , the baby will reach the breast and start sucking the nipple without any training . How does that happen ? And the baby decides when to drink , how much to drink and when to stop . So we have that faculty from the day we are born . Why do we change it ?

Why do we eat more than we need ? Do you know when it starts going bad ?

You have to bulk up , you have to get strong . You have to get strong . You need to play football , you need more muscles . The child disconnects the natural control mechanism and eat based on what the parents tell , what the school wants , what the sports , the coach wants . You disconnect the natural control mechanisms and start eating with a different objective .

So you need to reset . If you are already older , you're starting to have too much weight , too much fat in your blood , too much triglycerides , your blood sugar is going up , your cholesterol is going up . You need a reset and say why am I eating ? I'm eating for my health and to feel great . Feeling great starts with each meal .

Take your time , enjoy it and when the intensity of enjoyment is reduced , stop eating . You can always go back and eat again when you are hungry , but then this requirement will be different . Your brain will calculate , recalculate and say which food you need at this time compared to the previous one time , compared to the previous one .

Never eat until you feel full in your stomach . Just like you will not drink until your stomach is full . You stop drinking when your thirst is quenched . Similarly , you stop eating and the intensity of enjoyment goes down , not when you feel full in your stomach . If you eat until your stomach is full , you have eaten too much .

So eat for good health and not feel great , and not to fill up your stomach or to get your money's worth or to please your host or any other reason , only because you enjoy the food

. And when the degree of enjoyment is reduced , you stop eating .

Are you in the habit of exercising , mr Jackson ?

Secondly , most of the weight gain happens after age 35 . Because by that time your energy expenditure starts going down . The job you took 20 minutes to do when you were in mid-20s , when you reach 40 , it takes double the amount of time to do the same job . Right ?

You're still going to use your loose muscle mass , muscle power . But what happened is you're already used to a certain volume and type of food intake and you continue the same and you wonder oh , I'm eating the same way , I'm exercising the same way , but I'm gaining weight . The reason is your energy expenditure is going down as you get older .

So if you do not correspondingly reduce the intake , then you are going to get into problems . The first signal is when you do a blood test . If your triglyceride , that's the fat content in the blood if that starts going up either triglyceride or cholesterol you have a problem because you are eating in excess of what your body needs or can use .

So that is what you have to think about and that should come from reduced intake , not trying to outspend by exercise . Yes , you need exercise regardless of your weight , but don't depend on exercise to lose weight .

complications of kidney damage , vision damage , heart , lung , heart and brain problems . So don't go and fall for buying a monitor just because you know the value . That doesn't help you unless you reduce the intake , and most of it comes from complex carb . And how to do that is what I explain in my book Diabetes the Real Cause and the Right Cure .

So these are the two that I concentrate on . Beat the unwanted weight gain that we discussed right now . But the important thing is the incidence of type 2 diabetes is increasing all over the world , primarily because of the increased intake of complex carb . And in type 1 diabetes , insulin is necessary for living .

Without insulin they will die , whereas in type 2 , the problem is excess intake of complex carbs from grain-based foods . It is an oversupply problem , not underutilization of glucose . So the treatment has to be different . It is not insulin , it is reduced intake of complex carbs . So these are the two that I'm pushing right now , because I'm not selling anything .

I don't . I don't supplement , you know , except information of your own health , your own well-being . Try to moderate your weight gain , try to prevent type 2 diabetes or reduce your blood sugar by not putting the complex carb into your mouth , because when digested they release a lot of glucose . That is what causes elevation of blood sugar , not your insulin .

There is nothing wrong with your insulin if you are a type 2 diabetic . That insulin is beneficial only for type 1 . For type 2 , it is a problem of overeating , oversupply of glucose . So that is what you have to concentrate on . It is an easy thing to do . So don't fall for the gadgets and the numbers . And my books are available on Amazon .

My website is drjohnonhealthcom .

Thank you so much for listening and supporting the show and Dr Poole , thank you so much for all that you do and thank you for joining me .