The Hungry Brain

Outsmarting the Instincts That Make Us Overeat

By: Stephan J. Guyenet Ph.D.

Narrated by: Aaron Abano

Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year

From an obesity and neuroscience researcher with a knack for engaging, humorous storytelling, The Hungry Brain uses cutting-edge science to answer the questions: why do we overeat, and what can we do about it?

No one wants to overeat. And certainly no one wants to overeat for years, become overweight, and end up with a high risk of diabetes or heart disease--yet two thirds of Americans do precisely that. Even though we know better, we often eat too much. Why does our behavior betray our own intentions to be lean and healthy? The problem, argues obesity and neuroscience researcher Stephan J. Guyenet, is not necessarily a lack of willpower or an incorrect understanding of what to eat. Rather, our appetites and food choices are led astray by ancient, instinctive brain circuits that play by the rules of a survival game that no longer exists. And these circuits don’t care about how you look in a bathing suit next summer.

To make the case, The Hungry Brain takes listeners on an eye-opening journey through cutting-edge neuroscience that has never before been available to a general audience. The Hungry Brain delivers profound insights into why the brain undermines our weight goals and transforms these insights into practical guidelines for eating well and staying slim. Along the way, it explores how the human brain works, revealing how this mysterious organ makes us who we are.

©2017 Stephan Guyenet (P)2017 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Guyenet wields his degrees in biochemistry and neuroscience while guiding readers through a wilderness of raw data; he explains how the brain works, discusses important research, and develops strategies from this information. His important new perspective on weight loss both informs and inspires." — Publishers Weekly

Game changer

Dr. Guyenet has achieved a next-level diet book! No hype here. The information in this book is essential for anyone struggling with weight loss.

great tie of content and real life

The author, a neuro scientist himself, explained precisely why we over eat and laid out a specific sensical game plan for individuals to follow Based on sound neuro science as opposed to popular conjecture. This exactly is the book I was looking for. I appreciated the detail to help inform my practus.

Important book to understand!

Easy to follow, makes perfect sense, key takeaways - you should plan your meals and learn a thing or two about food and body, if you leave it to your hunch and feel for food chices and amounts - well that is dumpster fire guarantee. 💯🔥🤷🏻‍♂️

Everything you needed to know about eating healthy

if you have any interest in health and nutrition, this is the best book I've ever read on the subject.

Insightful. Great performance.

The subject isn't the easiest to follow without the text. However, the writing and performance compensated very well. Surely worth it.

An excellent summary of obesity research

the book talks a lot about obesity research and the researchers involved in it. I would recommend this book most to someone who is interested in what the research says about the causes of obesity.

Smart and engaging insight into your mind and appetite

This book works really well on at least three levels: first it offers an accessible intro to the science of appetite and overeating. Second, the science is linked to practical things we can do in our own lives to eat and live better. Third, it’s full of interesting stories that make it an enjoyable narrative (or set of many small narratives) to listen to or read.

Interesting read

So much interesting info...
The book helped me to reevaluate my eating habits ...
I will be reading this book again to make sure I can remember all the pearls of wisdom.

everyone should read this book

outstanding! audio books is the way to go. so much great info we can all use for positive health habits!

Great Book About Mechanisms of Overeating

This book is a comprehensive exploration of the nature of the modern obesity epidemic. Professor Guyenet explores the economic, neurological and behavorial mechanisms that underlie the modern epidemic of obesity in industrial economies.