Stubborn, diet-resistant weight gain isn't about eating too much or exercising too little; it's not about excess calories or saturated fat. It is, in fact, a complex hormonal issue.
Hormones regulate our body fat, they tell us when we're hungry, when we're full, they increase our energy levels and slow us down - and the hormone that plays a central role is insulin.
It is insulin which floods the blood after we've eaten, transporting excess sugar out into temporary stores in the liver and longer-term fat stores around the body.
Dr Jason Fung says that he encourages his patients to fast for days, even weeks with dramatic results. Longer fasting periods produce lower insulin levels and greater weight loss.
But if you're not hugely overweight things don't have to be quite so draconian. All you need to do is skip a few meals.
Start off by aiming for a good old-fashioned 12-hour fast. It's easy. Just eat nothing after your evening meal at 7pm or 8pm (no peanuts, no ice cream, no fruit or milky drink) until your healthy breakfast at 7am or 8am the next day. That's what everybody used to do in the Sixties before bedtime snacks were invented.
While an overnight fast can work wonders, you can undo all that good work if you have a stressful day. Insulin levels are deeply vulnerable to the stress hormone cortisol, so all your healthy eating could count for nothing if you live a life of permanent bubbling stress.
This is because cortisol tells the body to flood the blood with sugar, which - unless you are very active - your insulin levels will rise to compensate.
Marital disputes, problems at work, arguments with the children and sleep deprivation are all serious stress triggers which increase cortisol, increase insulin and lead to weight gain.
When it comes to sleep, studies show anything less than seven hours a night can cause your stress levels to rise to the point where weight gain starts and just five to six hours a night is associated with a more than 50 pc increased risk of weight gain. Good sleep and stress reduction are equally important factors in your multi-factorial diet plan.
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