Doctor’s Dose

 

Hormone Misfire Infographic

 
In anticipation of my forthcoming book The Hormone Reset Diet (available for pre-order now here: www.HormoneReset.com), I wanted to share some helpful information with you about what is causing your major hormonal misfires and ultimately your metabolism to break. If you feel any of the symptoms listed below, The Hormone Reset Diet will address the root causes and help you lose weight and feel better.

 

 

Day-Life Savings Time

 
Twice a year, you reset your clock by moving forward an hour (Spring), or back an hour (Fall). It’s second nature to do this—if you didn’t, you’d be waking up when it’s dark or going to sleep when it’s light, and you would feel out of sorts as a result.

The same is true for your hormones. As you age and get into habits like eating too much sugar, drinking too much wine or coffee, and downing quarter-pound burgers at the drive-through, your metabolism takes a hit and stops functioning optimally. Unlike the hands on your watch dial however, you never think to reset your hormones once or twice a year.

The result: excess weight, low energy, anxiety, moodiness, and an overall malaise. As in: Meh.

All of these forces combine to make you think, “Who am I and where is the old me?”

If you’re intrigued by the idea of “day-life savings time” but have no idea how to get started, I’ve got you covered.

In my new book, The Hormone Reset Diet, on sale March 17th (you can pre-order a copy here), I explain the link between the foods you eat and the key weight-impacting hormones in your body. Here are a few examples:

Remember: you only have to remove each of these foods/drinks FOR THREE DAYS to see a difference—and you can lose up to 15 pounds in 21 days!

Are you ready to turn back the clock on the way you look and feel? Start by grabbing a pen and paper and write down how often this week you’ve indulged in the foods/drinks listed above, and in what form. Now try to envision some simple swaps you could make such as choosing kale chips over potato chips, broiling fish in place of steak for dinner, roasting sweet potatoes instead of crackers and cheese, or dipping crunchy cucumber slices into hummus rather than your hand in the cookie jar when snack time rolls around.

Your task: Write down three to five potential swaps.

My book has loads more ideas like this, and will help you purge your pantry and set up your home for success. Let’s work together to get you ready for reset mode.

Believe me, it will be worth the effort you put in—and then some!
 

 

Secret To Resetting Your Hormones

 
I’m convinced that the purpose of resolutions is to make me and everyone else who sets lofty health and weight-loss goals in the new year feel like an epic failure by the time February rolls around. It’s not even the end of the month and I’ve already faltered on a few of my resolutions, while others have gone by the wayside altogether. (Get up even earlier to squeeze in an extra half hour of exercise five mornings a week? What was I thinking?!)

Apparently, I’m not alone. Recent resolution-related research published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology found that while 45 percent of Americans usually make New Year’s resolutions, only 8 percent are successful in following through on them. In fact, the odds of seeing a resolution through to completion actually decrease with as you get older. Nearly 40 percent of people in their 20s end up achieving the goals they set on January 1st, while just 14 percent of those over 50 do.

As a gynecologist who has worked with female patients for years, I have my own theory as to why that’s the case: When women hit 40+, they often gain weight (particularly around the midsection), become more sluggish, and begin thinking they can’t possibly look and feel the way they did in their twenties or thirties. Instead, they start disrespecting their bodies and, in turn, make poor decisions (i.e., choosing cookies over kale; pouring one too many glasses of red wine at dinner, etc.) These poor decisions snowball into misfiring hormones and a broken metabolism.

Sound familiar? Well, what if I told you, by working together, that you’d never again have to make another overly ambitious, unattainable resolution to lose weight and live healthier? In just three weeks—yes, 21 days—you have the ability to reset your metabolism, rebuild your confidence, and end your emotional roller coaster ride. Best of all, you can start a new and fresh conversation with yourself, and get your hormones to fire correctly again.

It may sound too good to be true, but this time it isn’t. What I determined after years of my own attempts at weight loss and a deep dive into the latest research is that there’s a direct link between the foods you eat and the seven key hormones known to throw you out of whack. In response, I created a three-week plan that allows you to reset and rebalance your metabolism by cutting out certain foods or beverages for three days (c’mon, we can ALL do that!). By committing to the full program, you’ll better understand which hormonal imbalances are behind your belly bulge and low energy.

The plan can be found in just one place—my new book, The Hormone Reset Diet, which hits bookstore shelves in mid-March. However, I need your help with getting the message out. I have a favor to ask: Please pre-order my new book right here, and to say thank you, I will send you seven fabulous bonuses that will get you started so that you kick off 2015 looking and feeling like the lean and serene version of yourself.

Now that’s what I call a revolutionary resolution!

 

 

Your Mantra for 2015

 
It’s the new year and my running buddy Jo and I have a tradition. We pick a word that becomes our mantra for the next twelve months—an organizing principle. This year, our word is “content.” I’m using it as a verb: “I am content.”

After a busy 2014, I feel the need to appreciate what I have, instead of always striving for that shiny new object or for the things I don’t have. Personally, I think we’re biologically wired to feel discontent most of the time. It takes a big effort (and a regular spiritual practice) to train our minds and hearts to feel contentment.

What’s your word for the new year?

As I create more contentment in 2015, I’m excited to focus on healing my gut—and helping you to heal yours. Yes, even I have gut issues that require my attention (most people do, but don’t even know it!) If you haven’t heard, I had a fabulous, free webinar with my friends Steven Wright and Jordan Reasoner on the steps you can take to heal your leaky gut. It was truly an amazing event, and you can catch the replay for a few more days. Click here to start healing your gut today.

To your best gut health in 2015!
 

 

I Rook Ayurveda for a Walk

 
I went on a glorious walk this morning. The quality of light was extraordinary, and the landscape of the Bay Area visible to the West filled me with gratitude. It was such a simple pleasure, and it reminded me of the Ayurvedic concept of travel. That is, walking is the right-sized pace for the body, and imprints a lasting sense of place and time in your body, mind, and soul. The tempo allows you to digest what you’re seeing. On the other hand, riding in a car is often too fast and makes you feel rushed and panicked. Bicycling is another option—a slower pace that allows you to catch up with what you’re seeing.

Sometimes I think of walking as yet another errand—on the list along with grocery shopping, mailing packages, and taking donations to Goodwill. But when I’m walking as a meditative pleasure—not a must-do so that I can get 10,000 steps in for the day—something miraculous happens. I digest better. I take in my emotions, my empathies, my fears, my conflicts, my struggles… and feel less overwhelmed. That’s a glorious feeling.

On your next walk, don’t be in a rush. Treat your time for walking as a precious luxury, and act as if His Holiness the Dalai Lama was walking with you (or swap another evolved being or religious leader that you admire). Ditch the smartphone and be off digital media for the entire duration of the walk. Allow your walk to be a spiritual practice that jolts you out of your crazy day. Let the time during your walk expand. Scan the horizon, which relaxes the powerful muscles of your eyes. Notice your adrenaline dropping as your peripheral vision grows. See the leaves starting to change on your neighborhood trees. And when your walk is complete, don’t be in a hurry to get back to your inbox.

It’s no surprise that the tenets of Ayurveda have been fresh for thousands of years!

Wishing you inspiration on your next walk!

 

 

The Rise of Stay-at-Home Moms

 
I sometimes joke with my darling husband that I want to be a trophy wife, or better yet, a stay-at-home mom. He rolls his eyes, and says something like: “Really? Like you could actually stop doing your outside work, which you love, and devote yourself 100% to the kids and me? Do you want to homeschool too?”

Then I come back to reality. Every woman makes tough choices when it comes to balancing career and motherhood. Some are stay-at-home mothers (SAHMs) because it’s the best job they ever had, while others have to stay home because paying for childcare is just too expensive.

What’s interesting to me is that the number of SAHMs is growing. Check it out:

• In 1967, when I was born, half of mothers were SAHMs
• In 1990, when I was in medical school, it was 28%
• In 2000, when I went back to work as an OB/GYN after my first daughter was born, it was 23%
• In 2012, the percentage of SAHMs was 29%

I’m not sure what’s behind the rise of SAHMs, but I suspect that many women find that the bounty of feminism—the idea that we can have it all is not quite the dream our foremothers of the women’s movement had in mind. For instance, going back to work as a full-time OB/GYN was challenging for me. I worked too hard, missed my baby, had postpartum depression, and frankly, I was a wreck. Sure, I was one of the lucky few who could afford a full-time babysitter, but that didn’t seem to matter. I wanted to be with my daughter, not seeing 30 patients per day.

That’s when I made a change. I left my job as an OB/GYN when my daughter was a year old and began to transition to more flexible work that suited motherhood. That led me to choose writing, which I just love. (I adore this quote from Gloria Steinem: “Writing is the only thing that when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.” BOOM!).

Here’s an idea. When we give birth, the bonding hormone oxytocin starts flowing. Maybe that makes women more discerning about the type of work we’re willing to perform, given the competition for our time when kids come into the picture. I’m super curious to know what you think! Post your thoughts on Facebook and fill me in.