Stop Counting Calories! Diet Myths Exposed (And What to Do Instead) | Dr. Nick Norwitz : 1245
The Human Upgrade with Dave Asprey
Dave Asprey
4.6 • 7.3K Ratings
🗓️ 28 January 2025
⏱️ 92 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Everything you’ve been told about weight loss is a lie!
In this episode, Dr. Nick Norwitz, a metabolic health expert with accolades from Oxford and Harvard, joins Dave to expose the biggest myth in dieting: Calorie Counting. Together, they dismantle outdated weight-loss advice and reveal the truth about metabolism that could revolutionize your health.
Dr. Norwitz shares cutting-edge science and personal stories that challenge the “eat less, move more” narrative, uncovering why traditional dieting often fails—and what actually works. From the role of ketosis in healing chronic illness to the surprising ways fasting affects hair loss, metabolism, and inflammation, this episode is packed with actionable insights that you won’t hear anywhere else.
You’ll also learn how viruses might be fueling food addiction, why gut health is the missing key to metabolic recovery, and how new research could unlock the future of personalized medicine. If you’ve ever felt like your metabolism was holding you back, this conversation will give you the tools to take control of your health for good.
What You’ll Learn:
• Why calorie counting is useless—and the better way to lose weight
• The shocking truth about how your metabolism ACTUALLY works
• How ketosis and fasting can heal inflammation and chronic disease
• The role of gut health and microbiome diversity in weight loss
• New research on food addiction and its surprising link to viruses
• Why individualization is the key to sustainable health
Resources:
• 2025 Biohacking Conference: https://biohackingconference.com/2025
• Nick Norwitz’s YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@nicknorwitzPhD
• Nick Norwitz’s Website – https://www.nicknorwitz.com/
• Follow Nick on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/nicknorwitz/
• Danger Coffee: https://dangercoffee.com
• Dave Asprey’s Website: https://daveasprey.com
• Dave Asprey’s Book – Smarter Not Harder: https://daveasprey.com/books
• Dave Asprey’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/daveasprey
• Upgrade Collective – Join The Human Upgrade Podcast Live: https://www.ourupgradecollective.com
• Own an Upgrade Labs: https://ownanupgradelabs.com
• Upgrade Labs: https://upgradelabs.com
• 40 Years of Zen – Neurofeedback Training for Advanced Cognitive Enhancement: https://40yearsofzen.com
SPONSORS:
- Quantum Upgrade | Go to https://quantumupgrade.io/Dave for a free trial.
- fatty15 | Go to https://fatty15.com/dave and save an extra $15 when you subscribe with code DAVE.
Timestamps:
• 00:00 Trailer
• 00:39 Meet Dr. Nick
• 04:44 Nick’s Health Journey
• 07:54 Keto Diets
• 09:37 Modern Medicine Challenges
• 13:31 Exercise vs. Diet
• 14:32 Obesity Memory
• 17:36 Keto Cycling
• 20:51 Microbiome Health
• 26:26 Fasting & Hair Loss
• 34:56 Alzheimer’s Insights
• 45:11 Cold Plunge Benefits
• 45:43 Dopamine Boosts
• 46:26 Cold Plunge & Inflammation
• 47:15 Best Time to Cold Plunge
• 48:18 Pain & Dopamine
• 49:31 Exercise & Stress
• 51:49 Cholesterol & Inflammation
• 01:05:42 Debunking Calories In/Out
• 01:07:09 Food Addiction
• 01:11:15 Metabolic Health Tips
• 01:24:13 Nick’s Mission
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The calories in calories out hypothesis, I feel like it's just a way to shame fat people because |
| 0:05.0 | it doesn't usually work. It's technically accurate and practically useless. The thing about calories |
| 0:09.8 | and calories out is it's not a model of obesity in the first place. It is just describing what |
| 0:14.8 | has happened. There are a group of people who say that all you have to do to lose weight is exercise |
| 0:20.4 | more and eat less. |
| 0:21.7 | And I did this for 18 months straight in my early 20s. I never lost a pound. |
| 0:25.8 | Most people are not overweight because they have a slow metabolism. They have a slow metabolism |
| 0:30.9 | because they're overweight. What are the top three blood markers that you think are most |
| 0:36.0 | important for people metabolically. |
| 0:38.7 | You're listening to The Human Upgrade with Dave Asprey. |
| 0:44.9 | This episode is going to be a lot of fun because you're going to get some new information |
| 0:50.0 | on papers that just came out. |
| 0:53.1 | And our guest today is Dr. Nick Norwitz, who's a PhD researcher, |
| 0:58.2 | educator, and just an absolute OG when it comes to metabolic health, valedictorian at Dartmouth |
| 1:06.0 | and PhD in metabolism from Oxford, little things like that, getting his empty at Harvard. |
| 1:13.2 | And I'd say we share that mission of making metabolic health, something that we all think |
| 1:19.3 | about because metabolism powers energy, which powers longevity, which powers willpower, |
| 1:26.4 | and which powers just being kind to other people. |
| 1:29.9 | Nick, welcome to the show. |
| 1:32.6 | Thanks for having me on, Dave. |
| 1:34.1 | So many things. I want to get the latest updates on stuff you're excited about. |
| 1:37.6 | We're going to get there in a second, including some stuff about hair loss and some stuff |
... |
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