An idea that I’ve held, which conflicts with Ray philosophy is this:

If your metabolism is dysfunctional, eating in a pro metabolic way is a fast track to obesity, and should not be advised.

Case in point, NAFLD the NAFLD subReddit

NAFLD is a syndrome that occurs when your body stores fat in the liver cells. Almost 100% of the time, people who suffer from NAFLD are considerably overweight. For these individuals, the best prescription is simply to lose weight, as study show that even losing 10% of one’s bodyweight can significantly improve NAFLD markers as the body preferentially burns ectopic fat (fat which is stored improperly).

Ray Peat would have you believe , even for those who are significantly overweight and suffering from NAFLD, if one simply increases metabolism by implementing RP principles, which involves eating a calorie surplus, your metabolic rate will increase such that you can lose weight and burn fat off your liver, even while eating more calories.

This simply hasn’t been true in my experience, nor in the experience of others. The most effective way to lose weight, as well as to treat NAFLD, is to cut calories, often drastically, below ones maintenance.

For instance, if you look at the success stories on the NAFLD Reddit, every person who has improved or completely reversed their symptoms did so by cutting their calories and implementing a mild/moderate exercise regimen. Some of these people even cut their calories down to 800-1200 per day. These people are often 280 lbs, mind you, so 800-1200 calories would represent a monumental calorie deficit for someone that size. And yet their symptoms improve in many cases.

TL:DR- I think the RP philosophy works, and is indeed optimal, for someone starting out at a healthy weight, with a relatively healthy metabolism, or at least fairly close to healthy, with no early signs of metabolic syndrome or NAFLD. For individuals who already have these conditions, however, RP principles should be counter recommended.