4 Minute Fridays: The Best Diet For Insulin Resistance, The Most Attractive Body Fat Level For Men & One Of The Most Important YouTube Videos On Light Exposure
Dec 05, 2025
Read time: 3.8 minutes
Welcome to 4 Minute Fridays, my weekly newsletter, where I reveal cutting-edge tips to help you get lean, boost energy, and live longer.
What's In Store For Today:
- The best diet for insulin resistance
- The most attractive body fat level for men
- One of the most important YouTube videos on light exposure
Today's issue is brought to you by ​High Performance Founder Private Coaching​.
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Hey friend,
A hill I will die on is getting one 30-minute workout every single day, which is the lead domino to so many great things in life.
It turns on your brain. All the endorphins and feel-good neurotransmitters start cascading through your mind, making you feel positive.
It's a massive net positive for your health and longevity. Exercise, especially if done vigorously, is one of the best ways to keep your body avoidant of disease.
Personally, it has done wonders.
Back when I was a broke, overweight, purposeless, high school dropout, I didn't have control over much, but the one thing that set me off in the right direction was exercising every day.
If I am to impart any type of wisdom and encourage you to do anything, please do at least one 30-minute workout a day.
It could be walking, yoga, virtual reality, video game, games, lifting, or running. I don't care. 30 minutes a day will improve your life. I guarantee it.
Here Is Your 4 Minute Friday:
1. The Best Diet For Insulin Resistance
A new study found something important that most people never hear: Your insulin sensitivity changes how your body responds to different diets.
Over 10 weeks of calorie-restricted dieting, women who were insulin resistant lost far more fat on a low-carb diet than on a low-fat one.
Even though calories and protein were matched on paper, the low-carb group had a major advantage. They didn't experience the same metabolic slowdown as people restricting fat.
Women with good insulin sensitivity, on the other hand, lost the same amount of fat on both diets. For them, carbs vs. fat didn't matter, as long as total calories and protein were controlled.
I've said this before on social media that if you are ​metabolically healthy​, you can get away with a lot more in your diet than someone who is not.
Calories in and calories out are always true, but how your body responds inside that equation depends on your physiology.
With the clients that do our coaching, we don't have them eliminate carbs, but we do have them on lower-carb diets, especially if they are insulin-resistant.
Long story short, we want to match the diet to the metabolism, not the other way around.
2. The Male Body Type Women Consistently Rate As Most Attractive
Breaking News: Most women don't like dad bods.
A new cross-cultural study did something smart: Instead of using fitness male fitness model photos, researchers used DEXA-scanned male bodies. We are talking about real men, real body fat, real proportions.
They blurred the faces, hid the height, and had people from China, Lithuania, and the UK rank the bodies purely on physical attractiveness.
What they found crushed the hopes and dreams of many dad bods on the planet:
The sweet spot for male body fat was 13-14%. Not shredded, not soft, just lean with some muscle. Very low body fat and very high body fat were both rated less attractive.
Shoulders mattered too. The ideal shoulder-to-waist ratio was about 1.57. Broad enough to look strong, but not cartoonishly wide.
The body women preferred lined up almost perfectly with the body most associated with good metabolic health and lower mortality.
This study is consistent with another recent study that women understate how much they care about a man's body (cited in references)
One thing I should add is that this is a general consensus. Some women do prefer higher body fat men, and some women prefer super lean dudes, but for the vast majority, this is what they find attractive.
❤️ My Favourite Thing This Week
If you only watch one YouTube video this month, make it the Huberman Lab episode with Dr. Glenn Jeffrey on Light and Health.
Light is something we experience but don't think of every day of our waking existence. In this episode, we learn about what light does to our bodies and mitochondria, and even our vision.
You'll also learn the worst types of lights and the best types of lights to put ourselves under.
This episode ties vision, metabolism, sleep, aging, and light together in a way that just makes sense, and it has changed how I will light my home and my mornings.
Watch it, then rearrange the bulbs in your home, and your cells will notice the difference.
Client Of The Week - Darren, Professional
Darren came in ready for change, but like many, he needed structure and consistency to make it stick.
In just a few months, he’s down 26.4 lbs, dropped 6 inches off his waist, and has completely overhauled his daily routine. He now hits the gym 3x per week, crushes his daily step goals, and shows up with more energy and motivation than ever.
But the real win? Darren experienced a massive mindset shift, he now recognizes that his old habits no longer serve him. Even during social events, he confidently sticks to his new lifestyle without feeling restricted.
Here's How We Did It:
- Focused on lifting 3x a week for strength and muscle retention
- Set clear, achievable movement targets each day
- Reinforced habits that made social settings easier, not harder
Darren isn’t just lighter, he’s mentally stronger and fully in control of his choices. Incredible work, Darren!
One Quote To Finish Your Week Strong
“Do one thing at a time, and while doing it put your whole soul into it to the exclusion of all else.”
― Swami Vivekananda
You will get more done in three hours of deep, uninterrupted work than in eight hours of multitasking
As promised, get healthier in under 4 minutes.
- Dan
When you're ready, here are 2 ways I can help:
1. The Lean Body 90 System: When you’re ready to get in great shape, Lean Body 90 is the obvious choice. You can get in great shape and reach your fitness goals in just 90 minutes a week. Lose weight and build muscle even without hours in the gym or highly restrictive diets. Join 1000+ students here.
2. Are you an entrepreneur who wants to get lean, boost energy, and get in your best shape? Apply for private one-on-one coaching here.
References
The best type of diet for insulin resistance
Martins C, Bryan DR, Sweatt SK, Garvey WT, Fontaine KR, Dutton GR, Gower BA. The impact of a low-carbohydrate (vs. low-fat) diet on fat mass loss in African American women is modulated by insulin sensitivity. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2025 Feb;33(2):257-266. doi: 10.1002/oby 24201. Epub 2025 Jan 5. PMID: 39756404; PMCID: PMC11969443.
Most attractive body fat level for men
Fan Xia, Justina Sauciuvenaite, Ruth Bissland, Catherine Hambly, Lobke Starr-Vaanholt, Mark D. Faries, Guanlin Wang, John R. Speakman, The relationship between body fatness and physical attractiveness in males, Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 243, 2025, 113240, ISSN 0191-8869, ​https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2025.113240.​
Women understate how much they care about men's bodies
A Worldwide Test of the Predictive Validity of Ideal Partner. Paul Wolfe Eastwick, Jehan Sparks, Eli Finkel, Eva Meza, Matus Adamkovic, Peter Adu, Ting Ai, Aderonke A. Akintola, Laith Al-Shawaf, Denisa Apriliawati, Patrícia Arriaga, Benjamin Aubert-Teillaud, Gabriel Banik, Krystian Barzykowski, Carlota Batres, Takashima, Petr Tavel, Julian Tejada, Eric Tu, Jarno Tuominen, David C. Vaidis, Zahir Vally, Leigh Ann Vaughn, Laura Villanueva-Moya, Dian Wisnuwardhani, Yuki Yamada, Fumiya Yonemitsu, Radka Zidkova, Kristyna Zivná, Nicholas Alvaro Coles
Disclaimer: This email is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, and those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician.