Because acidity disrupts the body's chemistry, the hormones needed to convert fat into fuel also fail to function properly, so the obesity persists no matter how healthy your diet becomes.

It turns out, though, that it's not so easy to do the chemistry that transforms a corn stalk into a liquid fuel that works.

I was forcing my body into a chemistry that only burns carbohydrates for fuel by elevating my heart rate so high each time I went out and ran.