I Have the Worst Obesity Genetics Possible. I'm Not Obese.

I recently used Claude to analyze my raw DNA data from Ancestry.com.

Regarding obesity, hunger, and satiety, the results were about as bad as they can get.

Out of 18 obesity-related genes tested, 13 came back unfavorable. Only 3 were favorable.

Translation: My body really wants to be fat.

My obesity genetic risk score: Very High.

I have hits across every major obesity pathway. Appetite, fat storage, satiety signaling, energy expenditure. All of them.

Here's what that means in plain English:

• I get hungrier than most people eating the same food.
• My brain doesn't hear the "I'm full" signal well.
• I burn slightly fewer calories at rest.
• I gain weight more easily and lose it harder than most.

The summary from the analysis was blunt: "You're playing on the hardest difficulty setting."

And yet, I'm not obese

I've maintained 10-15% body fat for the past 8 years and gone as low as ~7%. Currently sitting at 10-12%.

If you're curious what I look like at different points along that range, check out this article: What 15 to 7% Bodyfat Really Looks Like

So what gives? Is it just willpower?

Honestly, in my case, that's a lot of it.

And for a long time, that's all I thought was necessary to be lean: more willpower/discipline.

I assumed people who struggled with weight just weren't trying hard enough. Didn't have enough discipline. Needed to just eat less and move more.

Those things matter, and to a point that is true. But I'm starting to realize there's more to it.

Here's what it takes for me to stay lean

• I cook almost all of my food.
• I track everything I eat.
• I have a high level of muscle mass.
• I lift 2-3 times per week.
• I do 4-8 hours of endurance training per week.

But it's not easy. I think about food a lot. I'm hungry most of the time. This is just how it's always been.

Any time I've relaxed my diet or stopped tracking, I gain 10-15 pounds within 1-2 months. No exaggeration. Every single time. And I could easily keep gaining if I let it go.

My current intake to maintain around 190 pounds is 3,600-4,000 calories per day. And I have to be fairly strict to not go over that. My body wants 4,500-5,000. At least.

The amount of effort I put into staying lean is not reasonable for most people. I know that now.

This changed how I think about obesity

For years, I thought it was 90% discipline, 10% genetics. I didn't think there was as much variance as there is.

Now I think it's closer to 50/50. Maybe even 60/40 in favor of genetics for some people.

That's not to say anyone, regardless of genetics, can't get lean. I just think it's much harder for some people than others.

The rise of GLP-1 drugs has reinforced this. Millions of people who "couldn't" lose weight are now losing it easily. The drug quiets the hunger. Turns out, when you remove the constant noise of appetite, eating less isn't that hard.

That tells me the hunger was the main problem, not the willpower.

Yes, some people are just fat, lazy pieces of shit, and the problem is them, not their genetics.

But for many people who have tried to lose weight for years, genetics is a big reason for their struggles.

If you don't have genetics like mine, you can't understand how relentless the hunger can be. You never feel full. You always crave the foods you're trying to avoid. Dropping weight takes very focused effort.

Even when I was "fat" at ~18%, I was still hungry all the time.

In a similar vein, I can't understand how people have trouble gaining weight. Just eat more! But now, with how much research I've been doing, I realize some people have essentially built-in GLP-1s. They just aren't that hungry. They have no problem not overeating.

I can't relate.

So what's the point?

This isn't an excuse to be obese. Far from it.

If you have genetics like mine, you can still be lean. But you need to understand it will take more work than it does for other people. That's not fair, but it's reality.

And you may need to accept a slightly higher low point than most. Some can maintain ~10% pretty easily; your equivalent "easy" might be more like 15%.

You'll need:

• More structure
• More consistency
• More awareness of what you're eating
• More movement built into your life

And honestly, you might need to accept that 10-12% body fat isn't a realistic long term target. That's a full-time job for people with my genetics.

But 15-18%? That's doable. That's where my body naturally wants to be, and it's where I spent most of my 20s. You can look better than most, feel pretty good, and perform well above average at that level without making fitness your entire identity or having to strictly watch what you eat.

One more thing

I'm genuinely curious what would happen if I tried a GLP-1. Based on my genetics, I'd likely be a high responder. Might be a fun experiment to document.

The problem is, I think I might like it so much I'd never want to come off. 😂

We'll see.

Capacity Training

I built Capacity Training to give your training more structure. It plans your running and your lifting together, built from your training history, your goals and the time you have to train, and adjusts as you log.

Run faster. Get stronger. capacitytraining.app

Mike