Essentials: The Science of Eating for Health, Fat Loss & Lean Muscle | Dr. Layne Norton
6/25/202637 min
In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, my guest is Dr. Layne Norton, PhD, an expert in nutrition, fat loss, and metabolism. We discuss the science of energy balance and utilization, including practical strategies for building lean muscle and losing fat. We also cover optimal protein and fiber intake, artificial sweeteners, seed oils, and animal vs. plant-based protein sources.
Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com.
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Timestamps
(00:00:00) Layne Norton
(00:00:20) Energy Balance, Calories In Calories Out, Food Labels
(00:04:10) Daily Energy Expenditure; Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)
(00:07:43) Tool: Average Weight; Choosing a Sustainable Diet
(00:09:24) Protocols Book; Sponsor: Carbon App
(00:11:29) Tool: Weight Loss, Protein Intake & Building Muscle
(00:14:35) Animal vs Plant Protein, Isolated Protein, Soy, Whey, Leucine, Corn
(00:19:59) Sponsor: Function
(00:21:37) Processed Foods & Calorie Overconsumption
(00:23:27) Artificial Sweeteners, Weight Loss
(00:26:15) Seed Oils, Saturated Fat
(00:30:34) Sponsor: AG1
(00:31:53) Creatine Monohydrate, Dose
(00:35:12) Building Confidence; Acknowledgements
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAndrew Huberman· Host0:00
Welcome to Huberman Lab Essentials, where we revisit past episodes for the most potent and actionable science-based tools for mental health, physical health, and performance. I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. And now for my discussion with Dr. Layne Norton. Dr. Norton, thank you so much for being here. This is a long time coming, and I have to say, as a fellow PhD scientist, I feel a great kinship with you. I know you have tremendous experience in, in fitness and nutrition, a number of areas. I'd like to start, um, with something that's rather basic and yet can be pretty complex, and that's this issue of energy balance and energy utilization. What happens when we eat food of any kind, and how is that actually converted into energy as a way of framing up the discussion around weight loss, weight maintenance, weight gain, and body composition?
Layne Norton· Guest0:54
It's a great question, and like you said, this is one of those things where, you know, people use the term calories in, calories out, and they say, "Well, that's way too simplistic." And I'm like, "If you look at what actually makes up calories in, calories out, it's actually very complicated." So a calorie just refers to a unit of energy, of heat specifically. Really what you're talking about is the potential chemical energy that is in the bonds of the macronutrients of food, right? And by digesting, assimilating, and metabolizing those nutrients, we are able to create