If You Want To BURN Belly Fat, You NEED to See This

0:00 coming in 2026 and I want 2026 to be the year where I finally get a grip of my health, where I finally become the person that I know deep down I could be and I desperately do want to be. And I asked you, Dr. Ben, to make me a plan, the perfect plan, the perfect diet. I know everyone's different, so we're going to Yeah, yeah. You're going to play with me here a little bit, but the perfect plan for 2026. What would you prescribe? >> Right, right. >> diet, lifestyle choices. Okay. And I'm going to write it down. >> Yeah, yeah. So, I would, um, at the risk of sounding too self-absorbed, uh, I this is I'll kind of describe my own approach as a metabolic scientist, but please everyone listening appreciate

0:45 that I will I'm inserting my own constraints because my approach is kind of that of a guy who knows a lot but is also constrained by my demands in life. But I think a lot of people fit into that category. So, Stephen, if you want to look like a freckled, bald, wrinkled man, this is what you can do. All right. So, first of all, zero to little to no carbs for, um, breakfast and lunch. >> Okay, little to no carbs for breakfast and lunch. Carbs for breakfast and lunch. >> You wake up in the morning, and anyone who's wearing a continuous glucose monitor will find that their glucose levels naturally rise in the morning and that coincides with a mild state of insulin resistance every morning because of changes in cortisol and other hormones. So, my view is don't doubly load to the glucose that's already

1:31 happening by eating in the morning with starchy, sugary stuff. So, be very strict with all of your meals up until dinner. >> So, just on point one, so I'm clear, you're saying no carbs, but is there anything that I should be having? >> Yeah. So, any if a person wants to, as much protein and fat as they'd like. And I would say, especially for lunch, let lunch be your biggest meal. >> Okay, so let's go through those three points. >> Yeah. >> Um, why as much protein as I can? >> Yeah, protein and fat. >> Okay, why? >> Yeah, because they won't have an insulin effect. And that's the key. Like my approach to staying lean at 50 years old and having my wife like what she sees is keeping my insulin low. And and still not being hungry all the time. And so protein and fat are the two macronutrients with carbohydrates being

2:16 the third, but protein and fat have little to no effect on insulin. Fat has none and protein may have a modest effect depending on some other variables. So you want to keep insulin low. >> So what would that breakfast look like? >> So for me, I actually don't eat breakfast. And and again, this plays into I'm extremely mindful of my family. So that's going to come back again when we get to dinner cuz we've left that meal untouched for now. >> [gasps] >> In the morning, I make breakfast for my kids every morning. And it's something I remember from my childhood being raised by my dad and he every morning it was just structured and I think all of my siblings and I have thrived in life in part because of the structure we had at the beginning of every day where we would all eat breakfast together, we would read scriptures very briefly, we'd have a family prayer very briefly, and

3:01 just review the day. And I think that was my dad's way of kind of surviving with so many kids just to sort of check in with everyone. >> You had nine siblings? >> Yeah, yeah, there's nine of us, yeah. And so we have I'm very big on that. So breakfast is dad's domain and my wife cheers me on. So I make breakfast for the kids and I am sipping on a cup of yerba mate the whole time. >> Why? >> Yeah, in part because I like the taste, there's a good GLP-1 effect so it helps me feel a little more satiated. And it's just a habit. It's a little bit of a perk, a little pick me up. I don't drink coffee, I drink yerba mate instead. >> What is yerba mate? >> The brand that I get is called yerba mate and it's it's a leaf, it's a South American tea basically and you can get it in any number of ways. This is just a

3:46 really convenient and good way to get it. So I'm sipping on a cup of it would be someone drinking coffee or tea. I'm taking yerba mate tea. Um so I don't eat for breakfast. I find that I'm not generally hungry for breakfast anyway, and so I may as well keep my fasted state going a little longer. So that's what works for me. And then I would encourage people to have a big hearty lunch. Cuz if you have a big hearty lunch, mostly protein and fat, it makes it easier to taper off later in the day. Especially in the evening, if people are noticing that they have significant cravings, especially for carbs, cuz that's the only thing anyone craves, in the evening, have a bigger lunch. See if that helps. >> Okay. >> And then sometime around either before or after, have a good resistance workout. I have my resistance workout in

4:32 the In fact, Stephen, I even have to go a little earlier. So my first thing in the morning is I go on a ruck. At 5:00 a.m. I have my weighted vest and these 15-lb kettlebells, and I hike 1 mile up a hill and 1 mile back. Every morning at 5:00 a.m. And then I get a little work done. And it's just some personal kind of reflection and meditation time, if you will. Then the family wakes up, I'm making breakfast, the family chaos begins, I'm sipping on my yerba mate. Then I go to work. About 10:30 or 11:00 is the good time for me. I go down to the gym on campus, and I do my very brief, very effective, I would say, um resistance training. And then I go into the sauna for 12 to 15 minutes. But in the morning I've done a little ice bath, too. I didn't mention that. I have an ice bath on my back patio, a Morozko Forge, and I love it. It is

5:18 spectacular. Um so then I do sauna session after my workout. Then I go eat my big lunch. >> Why are you doing the ice bath and the sauna session? >> Yeah, so I do I do an ice bath in the morning because it helps me sleep better in the evening. I'm a terrible sleeper. And especially in the northern hemisphere in the winter, the sun isn't coming up till 9:00 or so, 9:00 a.m. And by shocking my body, I get this jolt, and I think it just helps get my clock ticking. And so by the time the evening rolls around, I'm tired and I'm ready for bed. >> Okay, I'm just doing my ketone test to see where it is. We're probably about 30 minutes off me taking that ketone shot. We'll continue with your day in just 2 secs. And I'm now at 0.9. >> It'll keep going. Yep. Yep. So, you're

6:03 0.8 0.9. Next one will be 1. But, it looks like it's starting to curve a little bit, which isn't [clears throat] surprising. You went up pretty quick, and then it's going to curve for a bit. >> And what's going on in my body right now that I have 0.9 >> Yeah. Yeah, so that is a unit of measurement called a millimoles. And so, it's looking at the number of molecules basically in a given amount of of your blood. And so, you took in that ketone precursor, the liver converted it is just continuing to convert it into BHB. >> BHB being ketones? >> BHB being the main ketone. Yep. >> Okay. >> Yep. [clears throat] >> And that's making me >> Well, it's going to make you sharp. >> Okay. >> So, your brain is now using those ketones. Your heart would be using the ketones. Um and your reliance on glucose as a fuel for your brain and your heart would be going down. >> Would my hunger be going down? >> Oh, yeah. Yeah.

6:49 >> So, I'm going to be less hungry. >> Yeah, but also the benefits of BHB in the brain are are myriad, where it's been shown to be an anxiolytic. So, it can control anxiety. Uh it can control it can improve depression. It can help with attention. >> Memory? >> Memory? Oh, yes, certainly with cognition. Yeah. >> I read about I read about the studies on dementia patients that >> Yes, that is It is incredibly We're entering a kind of dawning of an era of ketone research, where the number of NIH and NSF-funded ketone-related projects is wonderful. It's thrilling to see. Where it's going to be a wonderful decade of a lot of great biomedical research on the metabolism of ketones. >> So, let's go back to the perfect day, the perfect diet, the perfect lifestyle for 2026. So, then do my resistance training at some point after I've had my

7:36 breakfast. >> Well, yes. So, whatever for me, I I do bodyweight-based exercises. So, I don't like having a big belly of food. And so, being in a fasted state, my view on exercising, even that's a debate. Do you exercise fasted or do you exercise with fuel? Um like you take a bunch of carbs and stuff. My view is it's dependent on what your goal is. As a middle-aged guy, my goal is not performance. It's not going out and sprinting and showing power. It's to live a long healthy life. And so, it's a more metabolic focus. If your If your interest is metabolic, then I think fasting Exercising in a fasted state is very smart. If your goal of the exercise is performance, like you're a collegiate athlete or you are, you know, you're an elite rugby player or something, okay,

8:22 then don't exercise fasted. Take some fuel before you go work out. So, for me, I've done my early morning ruck, my personal kind of reflection time, ice bath, yerba mate, and then my mid-morning workout. >> Just on that point of exercising fasted. >> Why is that better if your goals are longevity and health? >> Right. Because it's just going to help you continue to burn fat and improve maintain your insulin sensitivity. >> Okay, fine. >> So, I have my mid-morning workout, then I have a nice big lunch, then I have my afternoon productivity, and then I get to dinner. And dinner is the main social meal within my home. Um and so, I have dinner with my family. And that is carte blanche. Whatever the family's eating, I'm eating. I have I

9:08 have daughters, and as a college professor, I've seen enough young women struggle with eating disorders that I always worried would my incessant talking about diet somehow stimulate eating disorders, and I've never wanted to become obsessive about it. And so, I have dinner with my family. Whatever it is. If it's pizza, I'm having pizza. If it's pasta, I'm having pasta. Um now, my wife happens to see things kind of the way I do, so it's usually meat and vegetables in in some mix. And and that's my dinner. And then ideally I'm done. >> What time are you having that dinner? >> Yeah, that's about 5:00 or 6:00. >> And you you avoid eating late. >> Oh, yes. In fact, I would submit, Stephen, if we were to look at any one

9:54 thing someone could do, >> [sighs] >> I would say anyone who says, "Ben, what is the one thing?" If I'm putting a question in your mouth, I'd say stop snacking in the evening. Anything you can do to not overeat and go to bed hyperglycemic or elevated or spike your blood glucose levels, do it. >> Why? >> That's when people are at their weakest. People, you and I could be hanging out all day, walking past a plate of cookies and not be tempted at all until 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. It's just human nature. And yet that is one of the worst times to eat it. Because when you go to bed hyperglycemic, it activates a part of the nervous system, an aspect of the nervous system called the sympathetic nervous system. That's also known as the fight or flight. So, when someone we hear a car crash

10:41 right nearby or we hear a gunshot, then our immediately our heart starts beating faster and harder, our body temperature climbs, and we're stimulated. Hyperglycemia will have that effect, and that is terrible timing. Because when you're going to bed, you're wanting to rely on your what's called your parasympathetic nervous system. The part of your the aspect of your nervous system that is calming. It's lowering your heart rate. It's slowing your heart. It's lowering your blood pressure. It's helping you calm down to sleep better. Hyperglycemia throws that into opposite. So, then you're going to bed, you're lying there wondering why your heart is beating so hard, why you are so hot and uncomfortable, and it's because you just spiked your blood glucose with a bunch of sugar. >> Is there anything else?

11:28 Is there, you know, for people that are focused on that 2026 goal of finally becoming the person that they know they can become. Is there anything else you would say to them? Is there any tools they need to buy? Is there any other tricks or tactics or hacks? >> Yeah. Yeah. I do think that they could if they were adopting this diet, it's definitely going to put them into ketosis. That can take a little time to adjust. So, very relevant to our earlier conversation, I do think exogenous ketones can help a person transition into relying on a ketogenic diet more readily. And anytime a person's losing weight, they run the risk of losing some lean mass at the same time. And we my lab just published a paper about 2 weeks ago at the time we're filming this, finding that in humans in a weight loss

12:13 protocol, if they were drinking BHB or exogenous ketones, they were able to retain more muscle mass, more lean mass in the midst of the weight loss. So, there could be some strategies like that, but I would also add that there are some non um physical ones as well. If someone's trying to say I'm going to be the best version of myself, then start reading more. Too. Read more books. You'll be the best You'll be a even better version. As you're losing weight um in your brain is firing on more cylinders than ever before as it's fueled with ketones, in challenge your brain. Uh you'd mentioned dementia earlier. Ketones are a therapy for dementia, but so too is challenging your brain in the form of um making it learn new things. So, read a good book.

12:58 >> This woman contacted me on the on November the 11th. When you do a podcast, you get lots of feedback. You get like tens of thousands of people sometimes per episode. >> And I can imagine you looking through everyone, finding gems. >> I actually, funnily enough, I do look at the comment section because it's it's a place where I really trust the feedback. So, people that comment on these videos, like I really do trust them because they are typically listeners. They've kind of been with me on this whole journey. So, when [clears throat] they have feedback, when they have, you know, good or bad feedback on the or constructive feedback, we pay attention. >> Well, Steven, I'm pleased that something brought me back. So, the comments [laughter] can't have been too negative. >> No, they were really I mean, they were unbelievably positive. But, I got this one from on LinkedIn from a lady called I'll keep her anonymous. Let's just call her Mrs. L. >> Okay. >> And Mrs. L said,

13:44 "Hi Steven, thank you for the great work you do and the information, insights, and inspiration you provide on keto. My husband lasted 8 hours on a keto diet and was unconscious. It turned out he had a neuroendocrine cancer called insulinoma." >> Oh, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, no. A neuroendocrine cancer called insulinoma. >> I said, "That's exactly what I said." >> Yeah, yeah, I Yeah, did I hear a niner in there? Yeah, something. >> [laughter] >> And if the paramedics hadn't intercepted with glucose, going keto would have killed him. He's amazing. We have three children and he volunteers for 50 more every weekend. We don't want to lose him. >> No. >> Sorry to share this sad story, but it's not the first time I've seen one of your posts or one of your guests talk about ketosis and what's worked well, and in this

14:29 case, it was fatal for him. >> Yes. >> So, I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to share this with love, respect, and kindness to hopefully give food for thought, no pun intended, of how you decide to use your platform and to provide further [clears throat] context and nuance. >> Yeah, yeah. >> What works for you and thousands of others might not work for everyone. I believe it's super important that we share this information and inspiration carefully and in a way that exemplifies a growth mindset, not a fixed mindset. For example, not a fixed one diet or one way of working for everybody. If you read this above all else, please know I'm sending this with the utmost respect and kindness and hope. >> [clears throat] >> Best, >> Love it. Yeah, what a thoughtful What a thoughtful message. Yeah, it is very thoughtful. I appreciate I appreciate any kind communication, by the way, cuz on social media, it is so easy just to

15:16 become the worst version of yourself without fear of any consequence. So, she happened to describe a person who would probably be the the worst individual. So, an insulinoma she describes a neuroendocrine cancer. An insulinoma is an insulin-secreting tumor. So, usually it's the pancreas, which for those watching is here again. Imagine that a part of the pancreas is expanding with a tumor, but it's filled with cells that make insulin. So, it's a bunch of beta cells, which are the cells that make insulin. And this is a guy who can't stop making insulin. Suffice to say, if you now cut your carbohydrate consumption and you're continuing to make tons of insulin, which is not normal. So, this is a very much a disease state, and I appreciate

16:02 her stating it as such. It's a cancer. It's a tumor of the pancreas. So, what would have happened in him? He cuts the glu- he cuts his carbohydrates, but he can't stop making insulin. So, now it's actually back to that diet that you and I that I mentioned at the beginning of our conversation where the people were eating a high-carb version or a low-carb version of a diet. When you spike insulin, you lower both glucose and ketones. And that's what happened to him. He would have become hypoglycemic, and he would almost never make any ketones because he always has high insulin. >> Mhm. >> And so, he would have been depriving his brain of its two fuels in lowering the glucose by pushing it into muscle and fat and blocking the liver from making

16:47 ketones. So, he's the worst person. Anyone with an insulinoma, of course, neither you nor I are giving any medical advice. Um but, if a person has an insulinoma, that's like the worst person to adopt a low-carb diet. They have to eat carbs cuz they're always making insulin. They can't stop. >> What's interesting is it it appears from what she's written that her husband found out that he had this >> Oh, because of adopting the diet. >> Yeah. >> Oh my gosh, that's remarkable. Yeah. So, a person could test this early though Steven so just what you've been doing now over the past period of time by pricking your finger if a person worried that they had an insulinoma they could just on a random morning or fast for fast for 12 hours or so and measure your glucose

17:33 if you have a continuous glucose monitor even easier look at your glucose because in you and I if we fast for 24 hours our glucose levels stay normal they just run along like nothing's happened in a person with an insulinoma they're getting lower and lower and lower and lower all the constantly because they can't stop making insulin and it's always driving their blood glucose levels lower so a person could determine that on their own this would have been a guy who anytime he fasted at all he would have started to feel miserable >> Cuz she says in the message my husband lost it 8 hours on a keto diet and was unconscious it turned out which suggests that they found out >> And we hope the husband's doing well >> Yes >> Boy an insulinoma is a big deal my hope is that they would be able to identify the location of the tumor

18:20 Um and you can what's cool about cancer is that cancer is such a sugar eater it eats so much glucose that you can inject glucose into someone that has a little bit of radiation to it not harmful but then you can do an x-ray and see where does all the glucose go and it would be going to this little lump on the on the on the pancreas and so hopefully they can find it out >> cancer and sugar >> Oh my yes so you I know you've had the authority on this so everything I'm about to say is me quoting Dr. Thomas Seyfried who is he needs all the attention in the world as he has resurrected an almost 100 year old view of cancer being a disease of glucose and sugar metabolism the Warburg effect is called but Dr. Thomas Seyfried has been a champion of of bringing this view into

19:07 the modern era by finding that cancer cells rely on glucose as their fuel, primarily. He also identifies glutamine. But if you can deprive the cancer cell of its fuel, normal interventions, even like chemotherapies, which have terrible rates of success, they become suddenly much more effective. In fact, my part of my motivation and in adhering to a ketogenic diet is is cancer related. When I My mom passed away from cancer as a boy, and it's been one of those diseases that's always scared me a little bit. And I think, all right, my statistical likelihood of getting a cancer in life is going to be higher than average because of a first-degree relative dying from cancer. So, one of the reasons, and I've already outlived my my my saintly mom now, one of the reasons I adhere to a ketogenic

19:53 diet is I want to do what I can to try to kill any little budding cancer cells by starving them of their glucose that they want. >> the Diary of a CEO brand and you watch this channel, please do me a huge favor, become part of the 15% of the viewers on this channel that have hit the subscribe button. It helps us tremendously, and the bigger the channel gets, the bigger the guests.