The Hormone Reset Diet (20 page)

Do you have premenstrual syndrome (PMS)?

Do you find, perhaps paradoxically, that the more caffeine you drink, the more tired you feel once the buzz wears off?

• If you have five or more of these symptoms,
you are very likely addicted to caffeine and it is robbing you of energy.

•
If you have fewer than five of these symptoms or are unsure,
you might have a caffeine addiction, and I urge you to remove caffeine from your diet periodically, such as once per quarter as outlined in this program.

In my opinion, there are two crucial factors: whether you are genetically hardwired to be slow at metabolizing caffeine (as I am) and what you drink in your coffee (i.e., sugar and/or cream). The takeaway is that I believe you must remove coffee if you want to lose weight, reduce stress, sleep better, live longer, and reset your broken metabolic hormones.

Let’s trace the path of your steaming mug of coffee. The caffeine from your cup of joe goes directly from your stomach to your hypothalamus, which regulates hormone levels and prods your pituitary to tell your adrenal glands to release more cortisol. The newly ingested
caffeine can also inhibit adenosine, one of your body’s natural calming mechanisms. One serving of strong coffee reduces blood flow to your brain by 20 to 30 percent,
¹
so you become less resourceful and more irritable.

If you’re already stressed, you’ve got double trouble. Particularly if you are a high-stress type, the elevation in cortisol from the carbs and sugar can raise your blood pressure by constricting your blood vessels.
²

Increased cortisol may also keep you from sleeping soundly. Cortisol raises blood glucose, which may make you feel foggy, and when it drops, you feel hungry. As your body demands more glucose, the cells say, “
Whoa!
We’re shutting down.”

The result? You’re in a vicious cycle of caffeine, rising cortisol, and unstable blood sugar. Remember insulin resistance? That’s when your body doesn’t have the capacity to regulate your insulin levels. It turns your waist into a magnet for fat, and because visceral fat has four times the cortisol receptors of fat elsewhere, you keep taking on more fat.

Jill, a patient of mine, felt a true physiological need for caffeine, similar to how a diabetic needs insulin. She couldn’t imagine life without coffee. The thought of removing it from her daily routine almost caused her to miss out on one of the most important decisions of her life, which was doing the Hormone Reset Diet. In retrospect, she was glad that she didn’t run screaming from my office when I suggested she remove caffeine for twenty-one days. Instead, she dove in and emerged detoxified, caffeine free, and slimmer.

Believe me, I understand. I’ve been looking high and low for medical reasons to stay addicted to caffeine. But when I put my doctor hat on, I simply have to conclude from the science and the observations in my medical practice that there are strong links between caffeine and weight gain, anxiety, insomnia, and maybe even breast cancer. Over the past decade working with women, and in my own life, I have become a believer in the periodic reset of cortisol with the complete removal of caffeine. I see the proof in my own flat belly and thousands of other flat bellies from the twenty-one-day Hormone Reset Diet. As a recovering caffeine addict, I know your first instinct might be to plead for mercy regarding caffeine and insist on being the exception to the rule. If you stand up to that voice, believe me: you’ll be happier, well rested, and thinner!

Never fear. I will make this caffeine free process
painless,
even fun. You’ll see the positive results almost immediately, which will give you motivation to keep going. Let’s get started!

If you are wigging out about how you can possibly survive without caffeine, I understand. I have an addictive personality. If something is worth doing, it’s worth overdoing. When a friend texted me about her favorite new dry shampoo, I found myself applying so much I ran through an entire bottle in one week. When I learned from my friend Dave Asprey that his mycotoxin-free coffee, Bulletproof, was being studied by researchers at Stanford for its effect on cognitive performance, I immediately ordered twenty pounds.

I get it. You need energy, and when there is a strong-smelling, delicious-tasting habit widely available every morning, it’s hard to resist. Let me help you with my simple, top-secret strategy to employ in the days leading up to the Big Wean. Ideally, you’ll start weaning off caffeine the day you start your Hormone Reset, during Meatless.

• Days 1–3: Say goodbye to your last cup of coffee. Drop your caffeine intake in half.

• Days 3–5: Greet the day with a mug of black tea, no more than two cups.

• Days 6–8: Switch to green or white tea, no more than two cups on days 6 and 7. By day 8, one cup only.

• Day 10: It’s herbal tea from now on, baby—for the rest of your Hormone Reset. You’ve got this!

When you are getting off coffee while living in a coffee-obsessed culture, I urge you to keep your eyes on the prize and on how to create greater ease with weight loss via normalized cortisol.

You may be wondering if you can just switch to decaffeinated coffee. The answer: no. Even though decaf coffee contains smaller amounts of caffeine, like regular coffee it also contains acids that affect blood sugar and cortisol levels, and it has similar effects on cholesterol. Decaf coffee also raises blood pressure and sympathetic nervous system activity.
³

According to the annual stress survey by the American Psychological Association, women report higher stress than men, are more likely to feel their stress is on the rise, and experience more extreme stress: 25 percent of women state their stress is at an 8 or higher (on a 10-point scale) versus 16 percent of men. Many studies now document what I’ve seen in my medical office: women are more likely to overeat in response to stress compared with men.
⁴
Overeating can elevate cortisol, glucose, and insulin levels; fan the fire of persistent inflammation and oxidative stress (which is like the industrial waste of your body and makes you feel prematurely old and toxic); and ultimately, cause weight gain.
⁵

Growing evidence suggests that these biological factors work together to accelerate cellular aging by shutting down the telomere care system (the caps on your chromosomes that are an indicator of how fast you are aging).
⁶
In fact, excess cortisol can shrink the hippocampus by killing brain cells (your hippocampus is where you store memories and regulate emotions). Keep in mind that you’re already producing more cortisol as you age. Let’s not hasten the process by downing a cup of coffee to rev up.

In my practice, many women have stress stuck in the “redline” position, and stress eating is a typical response, which leads to weight gain. Even worse, chronic stress changes food preferences. Studies show that when you are under stress, you are more likely to eat foods high in sugar or fat, or both. High-fat and sugary foods temporarily comfort your stressed-out brain, and that’s why you crave them. But the effects last only while eating, and in the long term, you are left with extra weight and continued cravings.

Chronic stress not only alters your appetite and the types of foods you crave, but it also leads to your losing sleep, drinking more alcohol, and getting less exercise. When you are sleep deprived and hungover, what do you crave? Coffee! All of these factors contribute
to weight gain. It started with stress and coffee, and it escalates to overeating the wrong foods and gaining more weight. So, let’s keep it simple: dump the caffeine.

Obesity results from chronic problems with energy balance in your body, which is definitely caused in part by high stress. Scientists define stress as the behavioral and physiological responses generated in the face of perceived threat. In girlfriend language, you press the “on” button for your sympathetic nervous system (the fight-or-flight half of your nervous system), which tells your adrenal glands to pump out more adrenaline and cortisol. The system works well for most humans, unless you happen to be female and stuck with a prolonged stressor—such as working at a demanding job, raising a family, or just having a lot on your plate, no pun intended. In this case, you may start to see the ravages of stress and high cortisol: sugar cravings, increased fat storage, and ultimately, stress-induced obesity. Get a group of girlfriends together, and I’m sure you’ll hear familiar refrains:
Stressed all the time. Can’t lose weight. No time for myself. Can’t live without coffee or wine.
It all drives me to drink, but I know better.

You aren’t alone. Chronic stress, overeating, and drinking coffee are extremely common and may lead to the type of metabolic harm that sets you up for rapid fat storage and difficulty losing weight. We’re again in that vicious cycle of caffeine and cortisol.

Deep sleep doesn’t just feel good. It has solid benefits when it comes to weight loss, and I absolutely love it when I can lose weight during sleep. I advise a few simple rules for great sleep: eat a modest dinner three to four hours before bedtime, turn off screens (TV, tablet, laptop) one hour before bedtime, and refrain from alcohol, which limits deep sleep. (Remember, alcohol also has the unfortunate property of slowing down your fat-burning mechanism.) Most important, become caffeine free so you can fall and stay asleep.

Aim for eight hours of sleep. The irony is that caffeine is used to counteract sleepiness, yet consuming caffeine limits your subsequent sleep by disturbing your delicate inner clock. Don’t wait to catch up on the weekend—it doesn’t work, especially if you’re middle aged!
⁷

A good night’s rest is also good for your waistline. Sleep:

• increases glucose metabolism and is linked to better blood sugar control;
⁸

• boosts secretion of growth hormone, which—along with cortisol—regulates belly fat;