Hello Chuck.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I read your post, and it is quite a thorough treatment and an interesting analysis of dieting. I have Tim’s book The Four Hour Body and have found success with some of the principles. I feel like I am in a perpetual state of needing to lose weight because I have never achieved my target weight loss as an adult. I’m closer than I ever have been, and I’m going to keep working at it. Then I’ll need to figure out how to maintain the weight and not let it creep back up again.

As a scientist, perhaps you will be interested in my latest endeavor. I discovered a company called Viome that uses genetic testing and analysis of the gut microbiome to create a personalized report including recommendations for specific foods to eat and avoid. I submitted my sample and hope to have my results in a few weeks.

Another big focus of mine right now is sleep. The more I learn about sleep, the more I am convinced that it could be even more important than diet or exercise to overall wellbeing. That doesn’t mean throw diet and exercise out the window, but sleep sets the stage that can make diet and exercise easier and more effective. I have intense interest in this topic and will be sharing my findings in future articles.

It is good to see other folks taking steps to improve health and achieve positive results. Your story is inspiring, your analytical ability is impressive, and I wish you the best.