I’ve Been Really Moody and Gaining Weight, but Not Eating More. Why? How Can I Reverse This?

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I've been really moody and gaining weight but not eating more.

Why?

How can I reverse this? This is JJ Virgin, four time New York Times best selling author, celebrity nutrition expert and Fitness hall of Famer. I've been on a lifelong quest for answers to the toughest health questions and now I'm sharing what I found with you. Welcome to Ask the Health Expert. Liz on Instagram asks. I've been working really moody and gaining weight but not eating more.

Why?

How can I reverse this? Hey, it's JJ and today I have Dr. Steven Gundry with me to answer this question. Now you may know him from his New York Times bestselling books, the Plant Paradox and the Longevity Paradox. And next up, the Energy Paradox. He's a cardiothoracic surgeon who retired to focus on helping patients not need him by using nutrition and lifestyle strategies. Plus, he loves dogs, a man after my own heart, and swears that owning a dog and walking a dog is one of the key aspects to longevity. We'll be right back with the answer, so stay with me.

Hey jj, Virgin here.

Okay, real talk.

So often the holidays sneak up on.

Me, travel, gifts, hosting, you know, all the things and suddenly it's like, wait.

Who spent what and where?

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Well, it turns out some of the most exciting research from the Human Microbiome Project and additional research has shown that the composition of your gut microbiome, number one, determines the foods that you're going to go looking for, number one. And I have divided those bugs into good bugs, which I call gut buddies, and bad bugs, which I call gang members. And not only do bad bugs make you seek out simple sugars and fats, particularly saturated fats, but these bad bugs actually extract more of those calories and pass them into you. These bad bugs are actually incapable of making feel good hormones that actually go to your brain and make you feel good. As opposed to the gut buddies, the good guys, they actually take the foods that they want and they actually make you go seek out resistant starches, leafy greens, because they want it. And they actually guide your brain to seek these foods out and they make you hungry for these foods. I have so many, particularly men who are meat and potato guys, who I tell them the next time I see them in a few weeks they're going to be craving greens. And they walk in shaking their head and they say, this is ridiculous. All I want is green salads and I never wanted a salad in my life. What's happening to me? And I say, your good bugs have taken over your brain and they're actually making you seek these foods out for them. They take more of these calories for themselves. They make more of these guys. And like I talk about in all my books, you should see a giant snake looking up at you from your bathroom toilet bowl and that's all those guys eating the food you ate and not giving it to you. So lastly, the huge benefit of these good guys, the gut buddies is that they make feel good hormones. So, long story short, if you're moody and gaining weight, you've got a set of gang members that you need to banish. And the good news is, in my book, there's good evidence that three days is all you need to change from a bunch of gang members to a bunch of gut buddies just by changing the food you eat. And I give you an entire guide in the Energy Paradox on how to do that.

This is JJ with Ask the Health Expert. I do this five times a week, so make sure you never miss a show by going to subscribetojay.com.

Foreigners this is Anne Bogle, author, blogger and creator of the podcast what Should I Read next? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week I check all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next read. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately, and I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy, troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years, and possibly the rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment. Whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything, you'll learn something about yourself as a reader and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read, with a whole list of new books and authors to try. So join us each Tuesday for what Should I Read Next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and visit our website what Should I read next podcast.com to find out more.