You’ve now had a chance to see how good you feel after the three-day eliminations of conventional meat, sugar, fruit, caffeine, and grain. Now it’s time to heal further from going dairy free. In only three days you can reduce inflammation, reset your growth hormone and insulin balanced, and determine if dairy is making it impossible to lose weight.
Remember that you want to keep your eyes on the prize—getting lean for the long term. You now have the finish line in sight! Only six more days to go before you begin to add back one challenge food at a time, to track your biological response to it.
In the Dairy Free reset, you’ll be able to swap out your favorites with creamy but nondairy choices. My hunch is that with some creativity, you won’t even miss your milky companions.
DAIRY FREE RULES: DO THESE EACH DAY
When you eliminate dairy, you’ll make more room for alkaline-forming foods filled with fiber, minerals, and iron. Remember to continue the rules you’ve already implemented from the previous resets.
1. Avoid milk, cheese, butter, kefir, and yogurt.
2. Make sure you are getting enough protein in the form of crustaceans, cold-water fish, grass-fed beef, pastured eggs, seeds, and maybe beans (if they don’t cause weight gain).
3. Eat lots of fiber and fresh vegetables to fill you up. Continue to aim for one pound of vegetables per day, or even more.
4. Drink “milk”—just not from an animal (see Milk Alternatives on page 187).
5. Substitute conventional butter with pastured ghee, which has the milk solids removed and is casein free.
6. Make creamy nondairy soups that will last three days.
7. Look for foods that are labeled “vegan” at your supermarket or your local health food store; this means they contain no dairy. Examples include
“vegannaise” and nondairy cheeses. Just be sure to check the labels to ensure they don’t have casein. For instance, on page 279, you’ll find a recipe for crusted chicken stuffed with almond cheese and roasted red pepper. Yum!
SAMPLE MENU
A suggested dairy-free menu for resetting your insulin and growth hormone is on the following page. For nutritional data, check out the Notes section.13
MILK ALTERNATIVES
If you can’t have your tall glass of cow’s milk, you still have a plethora of other options.
• Almond milk. Great in smoothies or with your favorite (gluten-free) cookie.
Make sure to buy unsweetened so you bypass the extra sugar.
• Coconut milk. Made from healthful coconuts, this milk has a distinct taste
that can be great whether you drink it alone or use it for cooking.
Scrumptious in shakes!
• Hemp milk. This is another milk in your arsenal when you are eliminating dairy from your diet. Hemp protein is one of the most digestible if you have gut issues.
• Coconut kefir. This product is gluten-and dairy-free—and it’s a great source of fermented food. Go to www.cocokefir.com, or make your own version.14
Supplements
Digestive enzymes can help lessen inflammation, and I encourage you to take
them. We all make fewer enzymes as we age, so popping a few digestive enzymes before a meal can really help after age forty. Lactase can be taken as a chewable pill that helps you digest lactose if you’re intolerant,15 but my preference always is to get to the root cause, which may be imbalanced gut bacteria. You can also take digestive enzymes that help you break down casein.
Cell to Soul Practice
We all have to eat. But according to yoga’s sister science, ayurveda, it’s more important to pay attention to how you eat than what you eat. Personally, I believe both are important, but I respect this message from the sages of ayurveda, and you should too. Here’s the idea: mindful eating promotes good digestion. In modern life, it’s easy to scarf down a meal at your desk or in your car. I notice that sometimes I start to clear the plates from the dinner table at home before we are even finished! For this reset, focus on eating as a spiritual practice. Not only does this improve your digestion, it also gives you the opportunity to stay present to your experience.
Here are a few basic ayurvedic rules to follow:
• Don’t drink water during a meal; this dissipates the “digestive fire” you need.
• Eat your biggest meals in the middle of the day, when your digestion is strongest.
• Eat according to your state. For instance, if you are feeling tired, eat foods with spices for a little boost. If you are feeling spacey, eat grounding foods like warm vegetable soup.
• Don’t eat while reading or watching television, which distracts from the meditative nature of your meal.
• Rest after eating to allow your gut to assimilate nutrients.
Exercise
The right kind of exercise can reset your metabolic hormones to healthy levels, and we know this is important for getting lean. Most people think that exercising for forty-five minutes, continuously and at a moderate pace, will help them shed pounds. The research shows otherwise. Women don’t lose weight after sticking to this exercise regimen for three months!16
When your metabolism is broken by leaky gut and inflammation, one of the fastest ways to fix it is with interval training—which to me is a prescription to exercise like a cavewoman. Sprinting intermittently, followed by moderate exercise, works superbly to reset growth hormone, insulin, and cortisol. Most people refer to this form of movement as high-intensity interval training (HIIT), which is proven to work for overweight women.17 A recent meta-analysis of ten studies, which included 273 patients with heart conditions and a broken metabolism, showed that HIIT has double the benefit in terms of fitness compared with moderate-intensity continuous training.18
HIIT is a system of interval training that’s superefficient, with multiple rounds of high-intensity burst training interspersed with less intense exercises.19 The idea is to do it for a minimum of twenty-five to thirty minutes four days per week.
Here are a few pointers for how to do HIIT:
• Warm up for five minutes with your favorite type of exercise.
• Run for one minute, then briskly walk or jog for two minutes. If you can’t jog or run, walk as fast as you can for one minute, then walk at a less intense but still brisk pace for two minutes. Repeat this sequence for twenty-five to thirty minutes. Or you can try biking: do a five-minute warm-up, then cycle hard, with your highest possible effort, interspersed with a more moderate effort every other minute. After fifteen minutes, pedal backward for three minutes and then repeat the sequence.
• Finish your workout with at least five minutes of active stretching.
According to the founders, HIIT naturally releases HGH (human growth hormone), which helps you burn fat and gain lean muscle.20 From my personal experience, it works, but science is also in total agreement: HIIT is way better than running or stepping for an hour!
Test Yourself
When it comes to looking at your reaction to dairy, there are several tests to consider.
• Take the hydrogen breath test (described earlier in the chapter, page 182), which will most accurately assess lactose intolerance.
• Measure your IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1), which is an approximation of your growth hormone level.
There are limitations to these tests, and they are best interpreted in the context of the rest of your health with a knowledgeable practitioner.
Notes from Hormone Resetters
“I think the most surprising thing for me was how much I’ve enjoyed the experience. I just didn’t have cravings. Having that ‘craving stress’
removed made eating healthy things more of a pleasure and also made implementing other things like exercise, sleep, and daily habits easier. Even though I considered myself a healthy eater before, I have a different relationship with food now.” —Kirsten
“I entered the program because I was fatigued, depressed, and obese. I kept remembering Dr. Gottfried’s quote, paraphrasing someone else, that imperfect action trumps perfect inaction. So I began the journey. While I experience more peace, more energy, have lost 14 pounds with no difficulty and with no cravings, the greatest gift has been that of an increased feeling of well-being. I’d say to anyone who learns about this program that the time spent in preparation and the time spent detoxing will change your life significantly. And I believe that the gains made with this journey are ones that are sustainable. The materials are so incredible. Just reading them and absorbing them are like taking a postgraduate course in how to care for soul, mind, and body.” —Anna
“I was stunned with my weight loss, and that really wasn’t why I was interested in the journey. I lost 12 pounds and 3 inches off my waist and 3 inches off my hips. My sleep improved, which was my overall goal. And I have felt so much calmer and at peace with myself. I feel like I have found my premenopausal self again.” —Deborah
Final Word
Dairy can feel healing. Think of a glass of milk before bed, perhaps with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Some people are fine when they consume dairy from high-quality sources, but the important takeaway of this reset is that dairy cravings and addiction are real, allergies and intolerances are on the rise, and both aspects may be contributing to your weight gain.
Dairy contains biochemical and emotional triggers of craving and addiction.
Milk features L-tryptophan, which converts in the body to serotonin, the feel- good brain chemical, and melatonin, the sleep hormone. Milk also has choline, which has a soothing effect. Nature designed milk to contain casomorphins to help young mammals engage in nursing and adapt, yet modern milk production has increased your exposure to the opiate-like qualities far in excess of what was intended for the human species. Cow milk contains about seven times as much casein as human breast milk. Cheese requires approximately ten pounds of milk to produce one pound of cheese. That’s a lot of casein and casomorphin exposure. No wonder dairy can feel addictive.
If that’s not enough to encourage you to dump dairy for three days and the rest of the Hormone Reset Diet, consider this: because cows tend to be milked most of the year, they are often pregnant. In the final stage of gestation, cow milk (even organic) contains 33 times as much estrogen as milk from nonpregnant cows. You know from the first reset that estrogen pollution is on the rise; now it’s time to remove dairy in order to continue the aggregate hormone reset.
However, to get to the point of using dairy wisely, many of us need to take a step back before we take a step forward. This means a reset. Just like you reboot your computer every once in a while to make it work more efficiently, you can benefit from doing the same for your body. So, if you love your afternoon tea with a dash of milk or your morning Greek yogurt, this is not good-bye forever.
It’s more like “See you later.” Commit to going dairy free, and then congratulate yourself. When you put your energy into this reset, you are giving yourself a chance for a new chapter in your book of dairy.
CHAPTER 9 Toxin Free
TESTOSTERONE RESET: Days 19 to 21
I
magine a world in which you follow every rule for good health. You’ve cut out meat and alcohol, sugar, high-fructose fruit, caffeine, grain, and dairy. You diligently exercise for thirty minutes four days per week. You manage your stress through yoga and meditation, have a close network of friends, and express your feelings. No need for a detox, right?Wrong. Even with our best efforts, we become toxic simply because of the world in which we live. Our blood is full of toxins; scientists call it “body burden.”
The unsettling truth is that environmental exposure is on the rise. Most food you eat is probably genetically modified (GM) and sprayed with pesticides and fertilizers. Even if you’re careful to avoid genetically modified food at home, when you go out to a restaurant, you might order steak from a cow raised on GM feed and injected with synthetic hormones. Not only is your food toxic, there are harmful chemicals in cosmetics as well. The average woman applies 515 synthetic chemicals in a single day.1 Even the water you drink and your household cleaning products could be toxic. Our toxic surroundings not only usher in the risk of certain diseases, but also make you resistant to losing weight.
If you’re overweight, you’re toxic by definition because endocrine disruptors are stored in your fat cells. In short, this is again biochemistry gone wrong.
But all hope is not lost. I believe that when we create the optimal conditions, the body will naturally heal. That’s why detoxification is so powerful: it can flip the switch toward healing, repair, and fat loss. Along the way, you can uncover the innate intelligence of your body and soul. Detoxification is no longer a luxury. It’s essential to living in the body you deserve.
Self-Assessment
Do you have or have you experienced in the past six months … Fatigue, even when you get the coveted eight hours of sleep?
Fatigue after exercising?
Withdrawal symptoms when you stop eating foods like refined carbs, sugar, or caffeine, such as feeling jittery, shaky, irritable, and just not right? Or a heartbroken feeling like you are pining after a long-lost love?
Achy joints?
Frequent colds, particularly bronchitis and chest congestion in the winter?
Ears that itch or tinnitus (ringing in the ears)?
Hives, rashes, or dry skin?
Dark circles or bags under your eyes? Itchy eyes or increased mucus in your eyes when you wake up in the morning?
Brain fog and/or poor memory?
Weight loss, but then you hit a plateau or regain it?
A puffy-looking face, like you’re retaining fluid?
Difficulty recovering from a major stress, such as a surgery?
Mood swings, including depression, anxiety, and/or irritability?
Tummy troubles, such as gas, bloating, nausea, burping, or heartburn?
Breath so bad you are constantly rummaging around in your purse for a mint?
Interpret Your Results
• If you have five or more of these symptoms, you need at least a three-day Toxin Free reset.
• If you have fewer than five of these symptoms or are unsure, you could have a lower burden than others. But you aren’t off the hook! I recommend a detox anyway. Done correctly, it has no negative repercussions and can only make you feel even better.
From Dr. Sara’s Case Files: Ginny, Age Fifty-Five
• Lost 21 pounds on the Hormone Reset Diet.
• Learned that environmental toxins are a common cause of blood sugar problems and weight gain.
• “I have more energy and am better able to handle my extremely stressful job.
My energy and sleeping [have] vastly improved. My blood sugar is much better controlled. Before, my fasting blood sugar was 96 to 107 and my postprandials were usually around 130 mg/dL [or higher]. I thought that going off sugar would make me a crazy-eating machine. Now, my fasting blood sugar is 82 to 90, and my postprandials are 86 to 100. I have PCOS, and this is a fabulous outcome. I wasn’t perfect all the time, but I didn’t beat myself up about that. My edema in my legs [and] feet is gone. My facial hair growth has slowed dramatically.”
• Lost 8 inches overall (arms, bust, waist, hips, thighs).
• “The realization finally hit me that unlike other ‘diet’ plans where everything is prescribed by limits and/or exacting quantities, the concept about really HONORING what my body is telling is the key. In the old days, if I could eat four slices a day as my top limit, by golly, I was going to make sure I got it.
Now, I listen!”