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Sara Gottfried MD
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Sara Gottfried MD
  • Home
  • About Dr Sara
    • Media
    • Contact
  • Books
    • Women, Food, and Hormones
    • Younger
    • Brain Body Diet
    • Hormone Reset Diet
    • The Hormone Cure
  • Upcoming Events
  • Blog
    • Recipes
    • Women’s Health
    • Hormones
    • Weight Loss
    • Cleanse
    • Stress Management

Detox Diet

Why Can’t I Lose Weight and Keep It Off? (Hint: It’s Not Your Fault)

By Sara Gottfried, MD | October 17, 2016

Have you tried every diet imaginable, and still find it hard to lose weight? Or maybe you lose weight, only to gain it back within a few months? Chances are…

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Detoxification: Your Questions Answered

By Sara Gottfried, MD | October 3, 2016

What does detox mean, in a nutshell? Detox is nutrient rehab. Detoxing means cleaning out the body, removing toxins, clearing out your jammed hormone receptors, and resetting key hormones. Most…

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30-Day Challenge: The ONE THING YOU CAN DO TO RESET YOUR HORMONES

By Sara Gottfried, MD | September 12, 2016

I am often asked: What’s the ONE THING that will fix my hormones as fast as possible? My answer is to drink a green protein shake every day until your…

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Grain-Free vs Gluten-Free: What’s the difference?

By Sara Gottfried, MD | February 15, 2016
Grain-free vs Gluten-Free: What's the Difference?|Women's Health|Sara Gottfried MD

If you have given up gluten but got a partial response, or don’t feel like you got the relief you wanted in terms of weight loss, brain fog, and/or autoimmunity,…

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Dial in the Carbs: Choosing the Right Dose for You in 3 Easy Steps

By Sara Gottfried, MD | January 18, 2016

Confused about carbs? You’re not alone. There’s a lot of conflicting information out there. Maybe you’ve been Paleo for a while, or perhaps you’ve just started to ditch carbs in…

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What to Do When You Fall Off the Wagon and Have a Food Meltdown

By Sara Gottfried, MD | January 4, 2016

In my book, The Hormone Reset Diet, I came clean and shared my history as a food addict. While I’ve been binge-free for more than 10 years, there’s an occasional moment…

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Is the Autoimmune Protocol Necessary?

By Sara Gottfried, MD | March 25, 2015

In my last post about autoimmune disease, I explained how autoimmunity is a con artist, mimicking a number of different diseases and symptoms in the body. When considered collectively, autoimmune diseases—such…

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Detox, Retox, Detox: My #1 Recommendation to Upgrade Your Health

By Sara Gottfried, MD | March 13, 2015

One of the top questions I get asked is what I recommend to help the body fix itself, at a foundational level. Perhaps you are craving this knowledge, and want nothing…

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America’s #1 Addiction Might Shock You

By JJ Virgin | October 14, 2014
Gorgeous Woman Shocked With Sugar Addiction News

“I wanted to do it alone,” a client told me. “I didn’t want anyone else around. Minutes after I began, I felt this rush of euphoria and I couldn’t stop.…

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How to Conquer Cravings + 5 Substitutions That Will Satisfy

By Sara Gottfried, MD | October 10, 2014
Woman Crave for Sugar and Sweets

Few of us are immune to cravings. Research shows that cravings are unrelated to body mass index. Yet for women who are overweight or obese, cravings usually are for foods high in fat and…

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PRAISE

“For the first time in my adult life I feel that I have gained control over food. I feel healthier, look better and have gained an interest in making sure that what I am putting into my body is the best it can be. And I lost 10 pounds in all the right places.”

– Janice Lunde, Dr. Sara’s Detox Challenge Participant

“Dr. Sara is the height of excellence! She is incredibly knowledgeable and gives very generously of her time. I feel so blessed to have been able to work with her.”

– Yvonne Varah

“You don’t have to settle for being stressed out, binging on sugar and chocolate, and aging prematurely. Stop blaming yourself and step into sacred action. It’s your birthright. You can have the joyous, mission-driven life you want, and Dr. Sara is here to show us how.”

– Marci Shimoff, New York Times Bestselling Author of Happy for No Reason and Love for No Reason

“Dr. Gottfried offers powerful and effective tools for addressing the most difficult health issues facing women and men today. She is warm and kind and has so much experience to draw upon, it’s inspiring. Thank you Dr. S!”

– Cassandra Mick

“Dr. Sara Gottfried is a modern-day healer goddess if ever there was one, and she also happens to be a Harvard Medical School graduate and rigorous physician-scientist.”

– Christiane Northrup MD, author of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom

“Dr. Gottfried’s book and detox came at a time when I was ready to give in to old age. Hot flashes, low energy and libido, weight gain, increasing blood pressure and cholesterol levels were unacceptable to me. I now know that hormone levels and what I eat are a huge influence on how I feel and look. To now be able to control something that was out of control is empowering…”

Cheryl V., Dr. Sara’s Detox Challenge Participant

“My health coach told me about your book and I took the [hormone] test, and lo and behold, I found I was a mess, hormonally speaking. Now I’m getting on track and I love your videos and your book. I feel like I’m getting my life back again, when not long ago I truly thought I was losing it!”

-Tracy, Registered Nurse

“You don’t have to accept the hormonal hell of being tired, stressed, overweight, and never in the mood for sex as you grow older. In her fabulous new book, the brilliant Dr. Gottfried gives you an effective, easy-to-follow plan to balance your hormones and become lean, energetic, and loving life again. Stop settling and reclaim your sexy!”

–JJ Virgin, Author of Six Weeks to Sleeveless and Sexy and The Virgin Diet

“I lost 10 lbs., reset my hormones and metabolism and eliminated my sugar cravings! I have also found that I respond to stress much differently, I feel it, notice it and move on from it. Stress no longer has a grip on me. Dr. Sara’s conference calls and detox information was invaluable. I am so grateful for this program. Thank you Dr. Sara!”

–Sophia, Dr. Sara’s Detox Challenge Participant

“The Hormone Cure is the playbook for your mojo, your mind, and your bootie. With every chapter I thought, ‘So THAT’s how that works.’ I wanted to call every girlfriend and give them the goods on how to glow… now and always.”

-Danielle LaPorte, Author of The Fire Starter Sessions and The Desire Map

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In my thirties, I was a hormonal hot mess. I had In my thirties, I was a hormonal hot mess. I had a lot of fatigue, sugar cravings, and unexplained weight gain. My condition was ignored by my doctors. I had to turn my medical training on myself and what I learned was both shocking and empowering. I was headed toward a metabolic crisis. I am not alone. According to research from the University of North Carolina, 80% of Americans are metabolically unhealthy. Aside from weight gain, fatigue, and sugar cravings, it can do other unseemly things like rob you of fertility, crank up chronic inflammation, and even cause depression. It is primarily a downstream result of the Standard American Diet and lifestyle. It is contributing to nine out of the ten leading causes of death in the United States. These statistics are frightening but I don't want to scare you. I want to motivate you. 💥In my new, free 30-minute Master Class with @onecommune I provide a simple, science-backed process for proactively and effectively addressing your body’s needs, so you can sustainably lose weight, end chronic fatigue, and eliminate mood swings and sugar cravings. 👉Watch the FREE Master Class. Follow the 🔗in bio In this Master Class, I am going to take you by the hand and help you make choices based on evidence-based medicine. We will talk about what to eat and when, how to exercise, and what supplements you might consider to address the root causes of problems most women face starting in their thirties and forties. I am going to help you understand your hormones better, and why you're struggling with your weight. This Master Class gives you three tools to take back control of your metabolic health. 👉Follow the link in my bio to watch the FREE Master Class today.
You are never too old to balance your hormones. Y You are never too old to balance your hormones. Yet on social media and elsewhere, I hear women say, “I’m in menopause — it’s too late for me.” Not true. Many of the hormones I address in my book WOMEN, FOOD, AND HORMONES, especially insulin, growth hormone, testosterone, and estrogen, are modulated by food, detoxification, ketosis, and timing of meals. There is no upper limit on the best age to achieve hormonal balance. Similarly, you are never a lost cause. Even if you’ve been frustrated by a lack of results and feel like your metabolism is the slowest of your life, you can still make progress. Keep the long view. If you follow the evidence-based Gottfried Protocol I share in my book you can get your metabolic hormones back on track, and lose weight regardless of whether you are omnivore, pescatarian, vegetarian, or vegan. If you chase symptoms with medication, you are less likely to heal than if you chart a new path with the lifestyle medicine of the Gottfried Protocol. You can wipe the slate clean and create hormonal homeostasis. You’ll come to love and value your body in a whole new way, and you’ll be inspired to eat this way because you feel so good and your health problems resolve. Don’t forget that my new, free 30-minute master class with @onecommune is out tomorrow! In this class, I share a simple, science-backed process for proactively and effectively addressing your body’s needs, so you can sustainably lose weight, end chronic fatigue, and eliminate mood swings and sugar cravings. 👉Follow the link in my bio to sign up. #womenfoodhormones
Nutritional ketosis is one of three steps that I h Nutritional ketosis is one of three steps that I have used over the past two years to help me reach a healthy and sustainable weight that I can maintain. The other two steps are detoxification and intermittent fasting, and these three form the essential components of the Gottfried Protocol that I share in my book WOMEN, FOOD, AND HORMONES. You enter nutritional ketosis when you follow a food plan that is low in carbohydrates, moderate in protein, and high in fat. In my protocol, I have adjusted the classic ketogenic diet to make it more effective at restoring insulin levels in women and helping you lose weight. If you follow my protocol from the book you will be: ▪eating more plants ▪consuming tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and the occasional spoonful of ▪medium-chain triglyceride oil (MCT oil ) that is associated with weight loss, improved satiety, and removal of alcohol) ▪eating more pre- and probiotic foods Success on a ketogenic diet is multifaceted — part of it is psychological. The diet’s fat-burning power often results in weight loss, improved lean body mass, and increased metabolic rate in a short time, which in turn inspires continuing adherence to the plan and then more improved outcomes. Nonetheless, pitfalls exist, and I devote an entire chapter to troubleshooting these and showing you how to avoid them. One of these issues is that with low carb diets some people restrict vegetables, prebiotic fiber, and phytonutrients too much. For many women, this can exacerbate thyroid problems and disrupt hormone balance because it can affect hormone detoxification. It’s important to find the carb limit that works for your body. My book shows you how to identify your personal carb threshold. And don’t forget that my FREE Master Class in collaboration with @onecommune goes live this Thursday! 👉Sign up now to watch it at the link in my bio so you can dive deeper with me into the 3 science-backed ways that get your metabolism back on track. #womenfoodhormones
After two failed attempts at keto, I was determine After two failed attempts at keto, I was determined to figure out why it wasn’t working not only for me but for other many women who came to me for help. After over three years of research and experimentation, I developed a health and weight loss plan that has helped me lose 20 pounds of mostly fat. That plan forms the foundation of my most recent book called WOMEN, FOOD, AND HORMONES. Alongside nutritional ketosis and intermittent, detoxification is the third important piece of the Gottfried Protocol. Activating the body’s detoxification pathways is essential to prevent the problems that women commonly experience in ketosis, so we do that first. Why? Detoxification clears out your liver and eliminates any recirculating, tired hormones that are clogging up your metabolism. It also supports the body as it rids itself of stored toxins as fat is melted off. The detoxification component stresses the importance of daily bowel movements. A daily bowel movement is healthy and detoxifying. One of the common complaints I hear from women doing keto is that they become constipated while on this kind of diet. For women who are struggling to lose weight on a keto diet, there needs to be an emphasis on this detox component that includes enough fiber to keep the bowels moving daily. My new book shares all the insights and knowledge I have learned over the last two years as I found a way to make the ketogenic diet successful for me and dozens of my patients. This book is the personal transformation that I needed and couldn’t find. It got me to a healthy and sustainable weight that I’ve maintained for the past two years. If you’re >35, let me save you decades of struggle. And starting this Thursday, you can take my FREE Master Class in collaboration with @onecommune where I will dive deeper into 3 science-backed ways that get your metabolism back on track. Sign up at the link in my bio to get notified when it becomes available. Have you signed up yet? #womenfoodhormones
Every year as the holiday season comes around, I s Every year as the holiday season comes around, I see women and some men making these mistakes. OVERFUNCTIONING Overfunctioning can occur on autopilot. My default setting used to be that I feel overly responsible for family, friends, and colleagues. But I’ve learned that one of the best gifts you can give people you love or work with is to take a step back and let them function for themselves. Be willing to sit with the discomfort of letting others be responsible for themselves. It may feel like you’re sitting on the razor’s edge. Leave unstructured time in your schedule. Big, yawning gaps where you practice letting go of keeping yourself busy. 👉My tip: Go on a “NO” diet. Practice saying “no” to every request (or “not now” if that’s too daunting). Sit with the request for 1-2 days before making a decision, and assess your bodily alignment regarding saying no. This can be useful during the holiday season when there are so many demands on our time. OVER-CONSUMING ALCOHOL You know my opinion on this, and it’s not popular. Alcohol reduces fat burning, shrinks the brain, and pokes holes in the gut lining. Women get drunk faster than men because we have more fat and less water. Binge-eating is associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Don’t fall for the lie that Big Alcohol is telling you (and that perhaps your friends have internalized). 👉My tip: Take 1T of MCT oil in the afternoon to avoid craving that first glass of wine. Based on anecdotal reports, MCT raises healthy short-chain fatty acids in the body, which may make you feel more satisfied when you prepare for dinner. UNDER-EXERCISING One of the consequences of overfunctioning leads many people that I know to let their exercise schedule slide during the holidays. They struggle to find the time for the extra demands of the holiday preparations that they inevitably take on. Don’t let the holidays throw you off track. Remember every little action helps—one less glass of wine, one less sugary cookie, one more quick sprint as you take a walk—keeps your mind, stress, and blood sugar levels one step closer to balance. And don’t forget to sign up for my FREE Women, Food, and Hormones Master Class 🔗in bio
Are you in perimenopause? Have you gained weight, Are you in perimenopause? Have you gained weight, seemingly overnight? 1️⃣One of the main reasons for weight gain in the perimenopausal years is the slowing of metabolism. You can attribute the decrease in metabolism to thyropause, changes in estrogen levels, and increased cortisol. Thyroid hormones, which control how we burn calories and our metabolism often get out of balance as we get older. Some call it ‘thyropause.’ Weight gain is a result of an underactive thyroid, as well as weakness and fatigue. 2️⃣Fluctuations in estrogen also plays a role in weight gain. Studies have shown that the loss of estrogen in post-menopausal women is linked with increased abdominal fat. However, estrogen dominance also leads to weight gain around the middle. In perimenopause, estrogen is in decline but still dominant in relation to its partner hormone, progesterone. The period of estrogen dominance that occurs in perimenopause and that may continue into menopause is seen clinically as a culprit in expanding abdominal fat mass. 3️⃣Cortisol rises with age, beginning at 50. Cortisol is our stress hormone. High cortisol can trigger blood sugar problems and storage of belly fat. 4️⃣Insulin resistance, also known as insulin block, leads to further weight gain, in particular around the midriff section. Insulin resistance also puts us at risk of prediabetes, Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, including stroke. Apart from insulin, cortisol, thyroid, and estrogen, there are other hormones that influence your metabolism. The key regulators of metabolism and energy homeostasis include leptin, ghrelin as well as testosterone and growth hormone. The latter two are the ones I discuss in WOMEN, FOOD, AND HORMONES. They are not a common focus in discussions that center on women and weight loss yet they play a very important role in fixing weight loss resistance. Did you sign up yet for my FREE Master Class with @onecommune ? In that class, I will share ways to address metabolic dysfunction and unwanted or unexplained weight gain. The Master Class goes live next week. Sign up at the link in my bio to be notified as soon as it becomes available. . . . #womenfoodhormones
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