A Doctor’s Argument For Why Most Diet’s Fail: The Hidden Hormone Problem Driving Weight Gain and What To Do About It with Dr. Jason Fung

Dhru Purohit Show

Dhru Purohit

Alternative Health, Medicine, Health & Fitness

4.7 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 11 March 2026

⏱️ 109 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This episode is brought to you by Cozy Earth, LMNT, Maui Nui, and One Skin. When we think about weight loss, it’s usually framed as a matter of willpower. Eat less. Move more. Try harder. But this episode explores an alternative perspective. Dr. Jason Fung argues that obesity isn’t simply about calories, but about hunger, hormones, and what he describes as a biological “fat thermostat” that may be working against you. Today on The Dhru Purohit Show, Dhru sits down with Dr. Jason Fung to unpack his framework for understanding weight gain and fat loss. Dr. Fung explains why he believes calorie restriction often fails, the three types of hunger he describes, and how what he calls “over-hunger” may drive weight gain more than overeating alone. He also breaks down his concept of the “fat thermostat,” metabolic compensation, and what he believes we can learn from other cultures about food environments. He shares his views on GLP-1 drugs, protein needs, and the three “golden rules” he recommends for resetting hunger naturally. Dr. Jason Fung is a Nephrologist, researcher, and bestselling author known for reshaping the conversation around obesity, diabetes, and fasting. His books, The Obesity Code, The Diabetes Code, and The Complete Guide to Fasting, have sold over 1 million copies worldwide and have challenged conventional treatment approaches for type 2 diabetes. He is also the author of The Cancer Code and cofounder of The Fasting Method, a program that helps people lose weight and reverse type 2 diabetes through evidence-based fasting. His work has been featured in CNN, Time, The Atlantic, and Forbes. In this episode, Dhru and Dr. Fung dive into: (0:00) Intro (00:37) The Real Problem Isn’t Overeating. It’s Over-Hunger (5:26) The 3 Types of Hunger (And Which One Is Controlling You) (13:08) Are Some Calories Actually More Fattening Than Others? (17:07) The “Fat Thermostat” That’s Secretly Defending Your Weight (33:51) How Ultra-Processed Foods Hijack Your Hormones (41:46) The “Healthy” Ultra-Processed Foods Hiding in Plain Sight (45:10) What Other Countries Get Right About Food (That We Don’t) (52:00) Who Told Us We Needed to Snack Every 3 Hours? (55:50) Are You Eating Enough Protein? (1:03:23) GLP-1s: Breakthrough Tool or Temporary Fix? (1:12:34) The 3 Golden Rules That Actually Reset Hunger (1:19:45) Can You Overeat “Healthy” Food? (1:21:45) Why Mindless Eating Is More Powerful Than You Think (1:29:35) The Hidden Habits That Keep You Hungry (1:37:12) Health Markers That Reveal Your Metabolism Is Struggling (1:45:10) Where to Go Deeper with Dr. Jason Fung Also mentioned in this episode: The Hunger Code: Resetting Your Body's Fat Thermostat in the Age of Ultra-Processed Food Dr. Jason Fung Masterclass The Biggest Ozempic Mistakes: What to Do After GLP-1 Drugs to Keep the Weight Off for Good with Dr. Holly Wyatt and Dr. James Hill For more on Dr. Fung, follow him on Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or visit his Website. This episode is brought to you by Cozy Earth, LMNT, Maui Nui, and One Skin. Right now, get 20% off your Cozy Earth sheets and sleepwear. Just head over to cozyearth.com/dhru and use code DHRUP. Check out LMNT’s new refreshing slim sparkling cans in Pineapple Salt, Lemonade Salt, Black Cherry Salt, and Orange Salt! Right now, LMNT is offering my listeners a free electrolyte sample pack with any purchase. Head over to drinkLMNT.com/dhru today. Right now, Maui Nui Venison is offering my listeners a limited collection of my favorite cuts and products and a FREE 12-pack of venison jerky sticks with your first order of $79 or more! Just go to mauinuivenison.com/dhru to secure your access now, but hurry, supply is limited! Right now, One Skin is offering my community 15% off; just go to oneskin.co and use the coupon code DHRU to save 15% and give your skin the scientifically proven, gentle care it deserves. Sign up for Dhru’s Try This Newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Dr. Jason Fung, welcome back to the podcast.
0:02.9	A pleasure having you here, brother.
0:03.9	Oh, thanks for having me.
0:05.3	It's a real pleasure.
0:06.3	We're talking today about hunger, weight gain,
0:10.2	and the drivers behind why people overeat.
0:14.2	But starting at the basics,
0:16.1	one of the most fundamental questions you want people
0:18.6	to think about today is not why are we gaining weight,
0:23.7	but rather why are we hungry? Why are we so hungry in the first place? What's the distinction
0:30.8	between those two questions? And why is it so important as the foundation of what we're getting
0:35.8	into today? Because I think that what we need to focus on is sort of the deeper reasons behind why we're
0:44.0	eating, right?
0:45.2	Because if you think that we're overeating, that's fine.
0:48.3	But if your advice is just eat less, well, that's not super helpful because you never understood
0:53.3	why you're eating in the first place, right? So it's just like if you have an alcoholic and you say, well, that's not super helpful because you never understood why you're eating in the first
0:54.7	place, right? So it's just like if you have an alcoholic and you say, well, alcoholism equals alcohol
1:00.5	in minus alcohol, oh, just drink less alcohol. Well, it doesn't work like that, right? You can't just
1:05.2	tell somebody. You understand why they're drinking more, right? And it could be depression,
1:10.3	could be, you know, addiction. And you
1:13.3	have to treat that root cause, right? So it's about getting to that sort of deeper level of
1:17.2	understanding. If you think about, say, calories and hunger, if you simply reduce your calories,
	...

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