The Hormone Reset Diet (26 page)

Now that you’re determined to go grain free and unlock your metabolism, vitamin D may kill two birds with one stone. The first bird: it boosts thyroid function, creating a welcoming environment for you to lose weight. The second bird: it is linked to better blood glucose regulation.
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This helps with blood sugar spikes and keeps the lid on overeating. I recommend a dose of 2,000 to 4,000 IU per day.

Eliminating grains can be difficult in a world brimming with bread, cookies, and other yummy baked goods. It’s easy to be drawn to these foods when you are feeling low, tired, or even happy. (I mean, who hasn’t rewarded herself with a cookie?) However, I’m convinced that when you see how good you feel by eliminating grains, you will be motivated to stick with it. It also fires up your intention and behaviors to do a ritual of release. This can be a powerful and subtle way to affirm your commitment, release your desire for refined carbs, and start your reset on the right foot.

Look at going grain free as an opportunity to let go of things in your life that aren’t serving you. Is that morning muffin making you feel energized and joyful throughout the day? I think not. I like to do a spiritual ritual of letting go that is particularly suited to this reset. Use this one, or choose other objects and places that might speak to you:

Go to a body of water with a piece of bread. Stand at the edge of the water for a few minutes, reflecting on what you want to release into the water. Slowly break pieces off the bread (warning: overt symbolism alert!) and imagine yourself, with each piece, letting go
of things that don’t serve you anymore. Watch the bread float away. Observe how you feel. Lighter? Relieved? Joyful?

There is no single way to let go. You might try this variation of the fisherman’s prayer as you learn to let go and yield to the universe: “Dear Lord, be good to me. The sea is so wide, and my boat is so small.”

We need to bust some serious belly fat in this seventy-two-hour reset. Your main enemy with fat loss is the metabolically active brew known collectively as your visceral fat, located in your abdomen. It works against your goal to lose weight and fit into your skinny jeans because it is the epicenter of the inflammation we’ve been discussing.

If your solution is hitting the treadmill 24/7, think again. The varying views on this topic might surprise you. Some believe that aerobic exercise might not be effective at reducing this fat,
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while other folks believe exercise is essential.
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Personally, I’m not that impressed with the power of exercise to get me into my jeans. Most research shows that exercise is only about 4 to 20 percent of the story when it comes to fat loss. We also know that less is more. That’s why I got inspired by Gretchen Reynolds’s scientific 7-Minute Workout,
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and I decided to modify it for myself and other women who shouldn’t be doing squats (one word: hemorrhoids!). It’s short and sweet yet provides you with a great way to get a high-intensity workout. Research shows that it can have similar, if not better, effects than a longer workout. What’s not to love?

The 7-Minute scientific workout is now available in the original and an advanced version, both online and in a free app.
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Just skip the squat and replace it with another plank or wall sit.

Are you wondering if you need to reassess your relationship with grains? There are a few ways to test yourself: by eliminating grains in this reset and seeing what happens when you add them back into your diet (for reintroducing grains, see chapter 10), by testing your blood for an immune reaction, or by testing your genes (usually with a saliva test).

If you’re interested in testing your blood, talk to your doctor about measuring your antibodies against the proteins found in gluten. The two best tests that I recommend are the Cyrex and the ALCAT.

Boost your body and spirit with a simple exercise that yogis have done for millennia, the chin lock, also known in Sanskrit transliteration as
Jalandhara Bandha.
This is thought to stimulate the thyroid, while the breathing also calms and centers your mind.

Start in a comfortable cross-legged position, breathing in and out through your nose. On an inhalation, hold your breath and lower your chin so that it’s “locked” in (or toward) that little indented space in your neck. Hold for ten seconds and then, while you’re still holding your breath, raise your head. Slowly exhale through your nose. Breathe normally for a few breaths. Repeat the sequence four more times, resting in between each repetition.

“I lost 18 pounds. I feel better than I have in months and have been sleeping better than I have in years. I had no idea that food could be my culprit in making me feel so bad.”
—Donna

“I really liked the very subtle approach to removing foods from your daily habits. I found that as I got used to not having a certain food, it was time to remove another, never really feeling like I was going without. I was about 60 pounds overweight, and I lost 20 during this detox. I am planning on continuing for a little while longer, just to solidify my new food code, which is to eat fresh, raw, and nonprocessed, [and] also to limit alcohol, caffeine, and red meat. I couldn’t be happier with this process and my results.”
—Craig

“My husband and I couldn’t figure out why the Paleo diet that worked so well for him was not a good fit for me. I gained weight, and my hormones got all out of whack, while he turned into Captain America. One day he heard an interview with Dr. Sara Gottfried on one of his favorite podcasts and shared with me the impressive work she had been doing helping women cure their hormone woes. Her [Hormone Reset] was the answer. It took me exactly where I needed to go and has empowered me to stay on track and keep improving my health long after the end of the program. I lost 2 inches of scary abdominal fat from my waist, restored my sleep, reduced anxiety, and gained a ton of resources, confidence, and some beautiful daily rituals.”
—Melanie

Good luck with the Grain Free reset. No one can tell you how it will make you feel. Give yourself the gift of curiosity and sacred self-experimentation. With all the talking heads discussing the pros and cons of grains, find out what is true for you, your body, and the bathroom scale. After three days, take a few moments of quiet time
to reflect on how you feel emotionally and physically. Put your hand on your belly, feel the warmth of your hand sending a healing vibe to your long-suffering gut, and take in the love and healing. It’s a powerful retooling for your body, and I often see amazing results in just three days.

T
here is a good reason you aren’t getting thin, despite your skinny lattes, nonfat cottage cheese, and nonfat fro-yos. These items that you
think
will lead to weight loss might actually be promoting weight gain. Despite your best intentions, your daily dairy could be making you fat.

That’s because dairy is one of the top foods that contribute to excess inflammation, a state that causes you to gain weight and become resistant to losing it. Remember that inflammation is your body’s emergency response system, a normal part of what your body does. When your body is functioning properly, inflammation should stop after seventy-two hours. But when prolonged, it’s a problem that I call “biochemistry gone wrong.” The impact of inflammation cannot be overstated. It’s a major contributor to obesity, among many other diseases.

By eliminating this irritant to the immune system, you will be amazed at how quickly you’ll get results. In addition to seeing a reduction in symptoms like fatigue, irritable bowel, anxiety, and even tight jeans, you’ll lose weight as your body’s inflammation
subsides and your misfiring hormones go back into balance. I was stunned to learn that when I added one serving of dairy, after cutting it out for two weeks, I gained 3 pounds overnight—probably because my gut became inflamed and bloated, and I retained fluid.

With the Dairy Free three-day reset, you may be able to determine if dairy is what’s holding you back from reaching your ideal weight.

Do you have or have you experienced in the past six months …

A swelling of the lips, tongue, face, throat, or mouth?

A gurgling belly after a hunk of cheese or bowl of ice cream?

Bloating or an irritable bowel?

The feeling that a meal without cheese is a meal not worth having?

Diarrhea or constipation after make-your-own-sundae night?

An addiction to a milk-based treat, such as a latte or Frappuccino?

A stuffy or runny nose, watery or itchy eyes, coughing, sneezing, or wheezing after ingesting an afternoon yogurt?

Frequent skin reactions, such as a rash, itchy bumps or hives, or red skin?

An unsettling feeling like you are addicted to your favorite cheeses? A habit of being glued to the cheese station at parties?

A tendency toward sinusitis (sinus infection), but you have never figured out why?

A memory of having a rash in reaction to cow’s milk as a baby, but your mom told you that you outgrew it as you got older?

Anaphylaxis—a sudden and severe allergic reaction during which you can have trouble breathing, talking, or swallowing due to swelling?