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The Hormone Reset Diet: Heal Your Metabolism to Lose Up to 15 Pounds in 21 Days
The Harvard-educated physician and New York Times bestselling author of The Hormone Cure shows you how to grow new receptors for your seven metabolic hormones, making you lose weight and feel great fast!
When it comes to weight loss, most people don't think about hormones. But when you develop resistance to your seven major metabolic hormones--cortisol, thyroid, testosterone, growth hormone, leptin, insulin, and estrogen--your body adjusts by increasingly raising your hormone levels and ultimately slowing down your metabolism. And a slower metabolism leads to weight gain and difficulty losing weight. The solution, Dr. Sara Gottfried contends, is to reset the efficiency of your hormones by repairing and growing new hormone receptors.
Based on leading scientific research, The Hormone Reset Diet is her proven weight loss and energy program to reverse hormone resistance in just three weeks. It will help you: Boost your metabolism and calorie burning by growing new and fresh thyroid receptors; Increase your weight loss by re-balancing estrogen and progesterone receptors; Reverse your aging by resetting glucocorticoid receptors (for better processing cortisol).
For the last twenty years, this Harvard-MIT educated physician has helped thousands of women address the root hormonal causes of what bothers them most: excess weight, lack of energy, aging, and illness. Going beyond her bestselling The Hormone Cure, this program is the next generation of her deep understanding of hormonal optimization for rapid weight loss.
When it comes to weight loss, most people don't think about hormones. But when you develop resistance to your seven major metabolic hormones--cortisol, thyroid, testosterone, growth hormone, leptin, insulin, and estrogen--your body adjusts by increasingly raising your hormone levels and ultimately slowing down your metabolism. And a slower metabolism leads to weight gain and difficulty losing weight. The solution, Dr. Sara Gottfried contends, is to reset the efficiency of your hormones by repairing and growing new hormone receptors.
Based on leading scientific research, The Hormone Reset Diet is her proven weight loss and energy program to reverse hormone resistance in just three weeks. It will help you: Boost your metabolism and calorie burning by growing new and fresh thyroid receptors; Increase your weight loss by re-balancing estrogen and progesterone receptors; Reverse your aging by resetting glucocorticoid receptors (for better processing cortisol).
For the last twenty years, this Harvard-MIT educated physician has helped thousands of women address the root hormonal causes of what bothers them most: excess weight, lack of energy, aging, and illness. Going beyond her bestselling The Hormone Cure, this program is the next generation of her deep understanding of hormonal optimization for rapid weight loss.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published March 17, 2015
1489 people are currently reading
2138 people want to read
About the author
Sara Gottfried
42 books351 followersSara Gottfried, MD is the New York Times bestselling author of The Hormone Cure (Simon & Schuster, 2013) and The Hormone Reset Diet (HarperOne, 2015). After graduating from Harvard Medical School and MIT, Dr. Gottfried completed her residency at the University of California at San Francisco. She is a board-certified gynecologist who teaches natural hormone balancing in her novel online programs so that women can lose weight, detoxify, and slow down aging. Dr. Gottfried lives in Berkeley, CA with her husband and two daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
July 11, 2016
This is a 21 day elimination diet which I completed with a few "tweaks".
My goals were/are to lose 10 (difficult to get rid of) pounds, reduce or eliminate my diet coke "addiction" and reduce my snacking.
My "tweaks" to the diet:
1. I combined the three sugar free days with the 3 caffeine free days. My only source of caffeine was Diet Coke and therefore when diet drinks were eliminated in the sugar free days, it automatically eliminated my caffeine source. I did however find it interesting that the book assumes most people get their caffeine from coffee. The author discusses how you can reduce your caffeine addiction during the early parts of the diet so that it isn't hard when the caffeine free days arrive and never really recognizes the population that is dependent on caffeine via soda pop. We lose caffeine on Day 4 and not Day 10.
2. I'm not a big protein shake person and part of my problem with this book was the constant recommendation for these. There is also a lot of supplement recommendations and I'm also against supplements in general. I feel that the US population is over medicated and over supplemented. I was very disappointed in the constant recommendation for supplements. I recognize there are individuals that certain supplements are a real requirement; but for most people I feel the recommendation is to get your nutrients from good food sources.
3. I didn't use any of the recipes provided by the book as none of them appealed to me. And this in turn didn't have me impressed with her menu recommendations. They didn't fit my "likes" and "dislikes".
4. I was not able to eat the required pound of vegetables every single day.
The more I attempted to fit myself to this diet, the less I liked it and the more it just didn't feel like a good fit.
On day 3 of this diet I did catch a bad flu bug (or something). I haven't been sick in years and there I am at the front end of trying this and debating whether to continue since I was sick. I did decide to continue but was barely able to eat anything for almost 4 days. However, being sick successfully got me through days 4 through 6 which were for the sugar and caffeine free days. I also lost 1.8 pounds while sick and under eating.
My success is I am now caffeine free - but that probably was due to being sick and not this diet. It was a personal goal outside this diet that I'm not dependent on caffeine. I now have water or pineapple juice in the morning where I use to pop a can (or two) of diet coke.
I lost 3.6 pounds of which 1.6 popped right back on within days after the diet ended for a loss of 2 pounds. Within 2 weeks of diet end the remaining weight came back on even though I wasn't overeating. Within another month, I gained more weight and weighed more than when I started. I didn't feel that anything had been "reset".
I did not break my desire to graze or snack all day long.
3 Month update: I have since been on a calorie counting program and watching that I balance carbs/protein/fat. I am keeping my calories in a weight reducing level and have lost 4 pounds in sixty days. It has been slow and there was a 3 week time frame when I stayed the same. I have set a 6 month time frame with goals. This was similar to what I did about 9 years ago. It worked then and I kept the weight off for almost 7 years. Then I hit a point where it seemed my metabolic rate changed but I didn't change my eating habits. I'm really thinking that slow and steady wins the race, don't give up and really pay attention to what you eat.
My goals were/are to lose 10 (difficult to get rid of) pounds, reduce or eliminate my diet coke "addiction" and reduce my snacking.
My "tweaks" to the diet:
1. I combined the three sugar free days with the 3 caffeine free days. My only source of caffeine was Diet Coke and therefore when diet drinks were eliminated in the sugar free days, it automatically eliminated my caffeine source. I did however find it interesting that the book assumes most people get their caffeine from coffee. The author discusses how you can reduce your caffeine addiction during the early parts of the diet so that it isn't hard when the caffeine free days arrive and never really recognizes the population that is dependent on caffeine via soda pop. We lose caffeine on Day 4 and not Day 10.
2. I'm not a big protein shake person and part of my problem with this book was the constant recommendation for these. There is also a lot of supplement recommendations and I'm also against supplements in general. I feel that the US population is over medicated and over supplemented. I was very disappointed in the constant recommendation for supplements. I recognize there are individuals that certain supplements are a real requirement; but for most people I feel the recommendation is to get your nutrients from good food sources.
3. I didn't use any of the recipes provided by the book as none of them appealed to me. And this in turn didn't have me impressed with her menu recommendations. They didn't fit my "likes" and "dislikes".
4. I was not able to eat the required pound of vegetables every single day.
The more I attempted to fit myself to this diet, the less I liked it and the more it just didn't feel like a good fit.
On day 3 of this diet I did catch a bad flu bug (or something). I haven't been sick in years and there I am at the front end of trying this and debating whether to continue since I was sick. I did decide to continue but was barely able to eat anything for almost 4 days. However, being sick successfully got me through days 4 through 6 which were for the sugar and caffeine free days. I also lost 1.8 pounds while sick and under eating.
My success is I am now caffeine free - but that probably was due to being sick and not this diet. It was a personal goal outside this diet that I'm not dependent on caffeine. I now have water or pineapple juice in the morning where I use to pop a can (or two) of diet coke.
I lost 3.6 pounds of which 1.6 popped right back on within days after the diet ended for a loss of 2 pounds. Within 2 weeks of diet end the remaining weight came back on even though I wasn't overeating. Within another month, I gained more weight and weighed more than when I started. I didn't feel that anything had been "reset".
I did not break my desire to graze or snack all day long.
3 Month update: I have since been on a calorie counting program and watching that I balance carbs/protein/fat. I am keeping my calories in a weight reducing level and have lost 4 pounds in sixty days. It has been slow and there was a 3 week time frame when I stayed the same. I have set a 6 month time frame with goals. This was similar to what I did about 9 years ago. It worked then and I kept the weight off for almost 7 years. Then I hit a point where it seemed my metabolic rate changed but I didn't change my eating habits. I'm really thinking that slow and steady wins the race, don't give up and really pay attention to what you eat.
March 7, 2016
The basic premise of this diet is low carb, high fiber, high protein, high vegetable consumption (a pound a day!) You cycle through periods of removing certain foods for three days - meat, dairy, fruit, etc. It encourages exercise, meditation, & moderation. Is this diet healthier than the average fast food eating, overweight American's diet? Yes! However, don't kid yourself - this is a diet of deprivation and I wonder at the will power of its followers. If someone can work through its steps for three weeks, will they be able to moderately maintain a healthy diet? I wanted to love this book and adopt it as a way of life but I found to to be a bit ridiculous and annoying at times. This quote from page 108 regarding fruit and fructose is a perfect example: "Fruit is probably fine if your metabolism is healthy, but choose wild fruit that's low in fructose, such as blueberries picked in the summer in Alaska." Now how many readers will be in Alaska in the summer and able to pick blueberries? Or what, pay for them to be transported? Maybe the author meant for the reader to just buy fresh & local but it comes off really pretentious and odd to me. Also the fly notes that the author lives in Berkley, CA. How many Alaskan blueberries does she buy/eat?
February 4, 2016
WAY too much "giving up" involved here...no red meat, no sugar, no caffeine, no fruit, no grain, no dairy. After three weeks of that, I'd be ready to eat everything in the house!
August 11, 2015
This is an elimination diet that proposes to reset hormones to support weight loos and maintenance of a healthy weight. The diet is a modified paleo diet. However, the author makes some claims that weren't backed up. For instance, she says to stop eating red meat because of modern agricultural practices, but it's okay to eat chicken, which is just as bad. Now, if it's okay to eat a free-range chicken, then why isn't okay to eat grass-fed beef or pastured pork? She doesn't even address those issues. The language assumes (until late in the book) that there is no such thing as it isn't mentioned as an option.
I also felt that the advice regarding the reintroduction of foods was mixed. The advice to start with the food that was the most troublesome I thought was good. However, I'm not certain that the method is really structured enough to bring about a clear response if the food is a problem. Since sometimes multiple foods are removed in a step, a person could start eating different foods from a certain category and get mixed, or misleading, results. Since she doesn't mention foods that are relatively common allergens, this is even more confusing. For instance, many people are sensitive or allergic to eggs, but they are a key component of the diet from day one. The same goes for different types of fruit. She wants people to drink lemon water, but citrus may cause a sensitivity. These issues aren't addressed except to recognize that you shouldn't eat anything you know you are allergic to. Given that the purpose of an elimination diet is to figure some of that out, this is not a helpful approach.
Then there is the recommendation to repeat the diet regularly. Since it is essentially an elimination diet, and the follower now has stopped or reduced eating whatever caused a problem, why repeat it? By the end I didn't buy into the hormone reset result, or the fact that it would be needed again so regularly.
I also felt that the advice regarding the reintroduction of foods was mixed. The advice to start with the food that was the most troublesome I thought was good. However, I'm not certain that the method is really structured enough to bring about a clear response if the food is a problem. Since sometimes multiple foods are removed in a step, a person could start eating different foods from a certain category and get mixed, or misleading, results. Since she doesn't mention foods that are relatively common allergens, this is even more confusing. For instance, many people are sensitive or allergic to eggs, but they are a key component of the diet from day one. The same goes for different types of fruit. She wants people to drink lemon water, but citrus may cause a sensitivity. These issues aren't addressed except to recognize that you shouldn't eat anything you know you are allergic to. Given that the purpose of an elimination diet is to figure some of that out, this is not a helpful approach.
Then there is the recommendation to repeat the diet regularly. Since it is essentially an elimination diet, and the follower now has stopped or reduced eating whatever caused a problem, why repeat it? By the end I didn't buy into the hormone reset result, or the fact that it would be needed again so regularly.
February 14, 2016
I'm surprised how many people have rated this book low without actually trying the reset diet! I tried it and did the very easy elimination diet to the T except for drinking a glass of wine in the final days. I lost 4 lbs in three weeks and lost inches in my waist which is my trouble zone and is usually the last place for me to take off weight. Her information is similar to another book I love, "Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life." I was surprised to find that most of my cravings fell away as I did the diet (except for missing by coffee ritual in the morning) and only had a headache the day I gave up sugar. Now that I'm off the diet, I've incorporated sugar again but find I can control my sugar cravings much better than before. For those of you who read the book but didn't try it, I'd say maybe you should give it a try before knocking it.
March 30, 2015
I've done her reset before and the science is sound. The book has parts that are a little too 'new agey' for me, but overall I think it's a great book. So many women's hormones are out of whack and doctors are slow to understand that it's not normal to age this way. Dr. Sara is a Godsend!
April 10, 2015
Dr. Gottfried is a staple of the podcasting sphere so when I saw this at th library I decided to give it a read. Not a big fan of the way it was written and the info is presented elsewhere much more clearly. it really like a big, long blog post.
March 6, 2019
To me, this book seemed like an infomercial for a special diet for each toxin in your life, to buy Dr. Sara's fiber, or her protein powder, OR her bar, (ie health bar).
I didn't learn anything new from this book and the only thing I liked about it was the self-assessment sections for each chapter for each topic/toxin.
meat, sugar, fruit, caffeine, grain, dairy and toxins themselves.
Follow each "special" diet and you'll heal your metabolism But it's ont a diet I'd follow because I'm not going to buy her products. Overall, I was disappointed with the book. Even the stories felt like part of an infomercial. And though the doctor includes dairy as a toxin, she includes yogurt as an acceptable food. She is aware yogurt is dairy, right?
I didn't learn anything new from this book and the only thing I liked about it was the self-assessment sections for each chapter for each topic/toxin.
meat, sugar, fruit, caffeine, grain, dairy and toxins themselves.
Follow each "special" diet and you'll heal your metabolism But it's ont a diet I'd follow because I'm not going to buy her products. Overall, I was disappointed with the book. Even the stories felt like part of an infomercial. And though the doctor includes dairy as a toxin, she includes yogurt as an acceptable food. She is aware yogurt is dairy, right?
December 14, 2020
Brilliant!!! But like most things - read with an eye of what is realistic to actually achieve.
This book gets a lot of mixed reviews - some people love it (it was a lifesaver for me) and some people hate it (possibly unrealistic expectations?)
I don't review things as a rule unless I feel that something has really made an impact on me. I just wanted to give this book a shout out for making me believe I could lose weight again. If you want just the review..see below.
My story goes like this...I turned 40 in July....I piled on the kgs...and yet I hadn't changed my diet all that much...except...and this is a big one...I GAVE UP CHOCOLATE!
I was a massive chocolate addict...a family bar at least a day! and I hated to think about what it was doing to my body. So I started a campaign to give up chocolate for good. In the 6 weeks I had given up these extra calories I had rapidly put on 3.5kg and it was continuing to creep up...something was clearly wrong with my body.
Now I was not sitting on my arse...I was doing pretty full-on Bootcamp HIIT type training at least 3 times a week but it was getting harder and harder to do...not easier.
I had been to the doctor...I have no issues with thyroid, I wasn't pre-diabetic, in fact, everything looked normal.
I had my contraceptive implant removed in September and the doctor at the time asked me "Did I think I had gained weight?" - I said yes...but only in the last few months when was coming to an end. He said that things may settle down with the hormones and I might begin to lose weight...well I didn't....but because of this I started to look into the impact of imbalanced hormones and what it might mean for me.
I discovered a podcast on hormones and women's well-being and how easily our hormones can malfunction to protect our reproductive systems. And that led me to this book.
So here is the actual review...
If you are at your last resort...and this book it calling your name, I guarantee that you have nothing to lose from reading this book...except weight.
If you are looking for a quick fix diet to shed some pounds and expect it to be an easy process...in my opinion...this book will not be for you.
I didn't follow it to the letter...for the main reason that its an American book and I will in Australia...but I did follow the ethos of each step in an honest attempt at resetting what was broken in my system...and it has worked.
21 days later I am 5.3kg (11.7lbs) lighter and most importantly I feel that I know what my body hates...and what it thrives on.
Did I buy the blood sugar equipment? No. Did I even buy some scales? No. I didn't measure at the end of each 3 days, I didn't write the diary/plan part of it, I didn't test my ph, I didn't buy the recommended supplements and shakes...I just followed the book when it told me what each food group could be doing to my body...short term and long term.
Sugar-free and fructose-free were by far my hardest days...but once I was through that I was winning all the way.
I now look forward to mealtime again because I am confident that I am eating the right things for my body.
A final note that I (like most people) have been on every diet known to man...and most didn't work for my body, and what did work before certainly wasn't working now...This is a reset diest...designed to reset your system to give it a break and to get it back on track.
lol... it's true to say that my body had completely derailed and I had absolutely no idea how to get it back on track until this book came along.
You don't have to follow it to the letter...but have a read and see what you can do to improve your health.
I will leave you with this - what impacted me the most from a section of the book - eatings the wongs things for your body (in my case sugar -copious amounts of it) is akin to smoking 40 a day.
I will never allow myself to abuse my body like that again. I will continue to enjoy food and have my treats (on occasion) but I will now view food as the power that I give my body to be healthy and fit.
Helen
This book gets a lot of mixed reviews - some people love it (it was a lifesaver for me) and some people hate it (possibly unrealistic expectations?)
I don't review things as a rule unless I feel that something has really made an impact on me. I just wanted to give this book a shout out for making me believe I could lose weight again. If you want just the review..see below.
My story goes like this...I turned 40 in July....I piled on the kgs...and yet I hadn't changed my diet all that much...except...and this is a big one...I GAVE UP CHOCOLATE!
I was a massive chocolate addict...a family bar at least a day! and I hated to think about what it was doing to my body. So I started a campaign to give up chocolate for good. In the 6 weeks I had given up these extra calories I had rapidly put on 3.5kg and it was continuing to creep up...something was clearly wrong with my body.
Now I was not sitting on my arse...I was doing pretty full-on Bootcamp HIIT type training at least 3 times a week but it was getting harder and harder to do...not easier.
I had been to the doctor...I have no issues with thyroid, I wasn't pre-diabetic, in fact, everything looked normal.
I had my contraceptive implant removed in September and the doctor at the time asked me "Did I think I had gained weight?" - I said yes...but only in the last few months when was coming to an end. He said that things may settle down with the hormones and I might begin to lose weight...well I didn't....but because of this I started to look into the impact of imbalanced hormones and what it might mean for me.
I discovered a podcast on hormones and women's well-being and how easily our hormones can malfunction to protect our reproductive systems. And that led me to this book.
So here is the actual review...
If you are at your last resort...and this book it calling your name, I guarantee that you have nothing to lose from reading this book...except weight.
If you are looking for a quick fix diet to shed some pounds and expect it to be an easy process...in my opinion...this book will not be for you.
I didn't follow it to the letter...for the main reason that its an American book and I will in Australia...but I did follow the ethos of each step in an honest attempt at resetting what was broken in my system...and it has worked.
21 days later I am 5.3kg (11.7lbs) lighter and most importantly I feel that I know what my body hates...and what it thrives on.
Did I buy the blood sugar equipment? No. Did I even buy some scales? No. I didn't measure at the end of each 3 days, I didn't write the diary/plan part of it, I didn't test my ph, I didn't buy the recommended supplements and shakes...I just followed the book when it told me what each food group could be doing to my body...short term and long term.
Sugar-free and fructose-free were by far my hardest days...but once I was through that I was winning all the way.
I now look forward to mealtime again because I am confident that I am eating the right things for my body.
A final note that I (like most people) have been on every diet known to man...and most didn't work for my body, and what did work before certainly wasn't working now...This is a reset diest...designed to reset your system to give it a break and to get it back on track.
lol... it's true to say that my body had completely derailed and I had absolutely no idea how to get it back on track until this book came along.
You don't have to follow it to the letter...but have a read and see what you can do to improve your health.
I will leave you with this - what impacted me the most from a section of the book - eatings the wongs things for your body (in my case sugar -copious amounts of it) is akin to smoking 40 a day.
I will never allow myself to abuse my body like that again. I will continue to enjoy food and have my treats (on occasion) but I will now view food as the power that I give my body to be healthy and fit.
Helen
September 23, 2015
I was interested in this book because there isn't a lot out there about hormones and their relationship to weight gain/loss. I didn't find any earth shattering information in there as the author basically walks people through a series of dietary and lifestyle changes that are well known for increasing health. If someone is completely new to eating whole foods or a healthy lifestyle then following the routine in this book will probably help them.
What I didn't like:
She is quick to remind you that she is specially trained and a Harvard graduate but then promotes the acid/alkaline diet (which is has been completely debunked) and claims that drinking coffee is bathing your cells in battery acid. She also promotes using essential oils in water (yikes!).
What I didn't like:
She is quick to remind you that she is specially trained and a Harvard graduate but then promotes the acid/alkaline diet (which is has been completely debunked) and claims that drinking coffee is bathing your cells in battery acid. She also promotes using essential oils in water (yikes!).
February 3, 2017
Old diet tricks wrapped up in a new package. Nothing revolutionary or enlightening.
Anyone and I mean ANYONE will lose weight by eliminating sugar, alcohol and meat from their diet for 21 days. That's not all, Sara Gottfried also encourages readers to move more, walk more and find other social activities besides emotional eating. Then wraps it all up stating this is a hormonal issue rather than lifestyle issues.
Many of the recipes have been "borrowed" from vegan bloggers. In addition, at least one meal a day is substituted with a protein shake. One less meal is also a guarantee for weight loss. So as many have said, just another elimination diet, which I'm fairly certain contributes to yoyo dieting which is scientifically proven to be detrimental to our health.
I believe she preys on the habitual nonsense women often engage in when they don't want to follow common sense. What do I mean? I mean that women like the idea of following overly complicated regimes thinking they are somehow miracle cures for what ails them. And I'm a woman so I know how easy it is to fall in to this trap! The Hormone reset diet book is no different.
The author could have just as easily posted a 1 page entry stating: move more, eat less, abstain from sugar and alchohol and you'll lose weight without the need to elaborate further. Hard to believe this over simplified plan is the best a medical doctor can offer. Even harder to believe it's a best seller.
A much better read is: The Diet Myth: The Science Behind What We Eat by Tim Spector
Anyone and I mean ANYONE will lose weight by eliminating sugar, alcohol and meat from their diet for 21 days. That's not all, Sara Gottfried also encourages readers to move more, walk more and find other social activities besides emotional eating. Then wraps it all up stating this is a hormonal issue rather than lifestyle issues.
Many of the recipes have been "borrowed" from vegan bloggers. In addition, at least one meal a day is substituted with a protein shake. One less meal is also a guarantee for weight loss. So as many have said, just another elimination diet, which I'm fairly certain contributes to yoyo dieting which is scientifically proven to be detrimental to our health.
I believe she preys on the habitual nonsense women often engage in when they don't want to follow common sense. What do I mean? I mean that women like the idea of following overly complicated regimes thinking they are somehow miracle cures for what ails them. And I'm a woman so I know how easy it is to fall in to this trap! The Hormone reset diet book is no different.
The author could have just as easily posted a 1 page entry stating: move more, eat less, abstain from sugar and alchohol and you'll lose weight without the need to elaborate further. Hard to believe this over simplified plan is the best a medical doctor can offer. Even harder to believe it's a best seller.
A much better read is: The Diet Myth: The Science Behind What We Eat by Tim Spector
August 21, 2015
I saw this book on a Christian Network that my husband and I love! I was watching the host, (he's a health advocate) make some funny faces as she explained the diet. I wish I had paid attention to his expressions. If you are a perfectly healthy young woman on no meds at all then maybe you can try this. After I bought it on my Kindle, I found that as a post menopausal woman on replacement hormones I do not qualify for this diet. I also found that her explanation of how easy it was to follow a joke. It requires a lot of daily journal work, daily weigh in and measurements, a source like your internet to help you with calculus, purchasing of expensive foods and supplements. And I just about spewed my coffee (which is forbidden) when the author stated she was 5'6 and 150lbs and this drove her to her(boast often) science background to find an answer. Also I have seen average and great reviews, but none talk about actual weight lost. Should have done my homework first. I had a difficult pregnancy 23 years ago. 82 days in the hospital, preterm, shots of steroids, 209lbs after birth. Average weight 128. I saw a book "Fit for Life in a thrift store for a buck... Best, easiest, and fastest way to weight lose and energy ever. And super simple. No deprivation... Time to bust that out again!
August 7, 2015
I LOVED THIS BOOK. It clearly explains what each hormone barrier is, why it has gotten out of whack, what must be done to rehabilitate it, and why. Each step is laid out in full for examination and IT ALL MAKES SO MUCH SENSE! I totally devoured this book in the space of two days, and can hardy wait to get started on the program, for both myself and my husband. I borrowed the book from the library, but before I was finished reading it, I had bought a copy for myself. While listening to it, to the descriptions of symptoms for each hormone imbalance, I recognized problems that I suffer, that my husband suffers, that my friends and family members suffer, and I knew that a) I need to do this program, myself, b) I need to get my hubby through the 21 day cycle, too, and c) I really need to share this with my friends who are really struggling with weight loss. I have already booked an appointment with my doctor to arrange the recommended medical tests so I can see the discernible improvements medically. I intend to come back to this review and update it with my results after I have completed my first reset.
March 16, 2019
After learning so much from her book THE HORMONE CURE, I did not hesitate to put THE HORMONE RESET DIET into practice. I had a thyroidectomy 16 years ago and have suffered from hyperthyroidism. After completing the 21-day reset, I lost 9 pounds but more than that my thyroid levels are within NORMAL range for the first time in over 20 years! Win-win! I highly recommended these books for personal study and to put into practice daily! I also recommend sharing these with your girlfriends too! ~jeni b~
March 26, 2015
Body and soul
Dr. Gottfried incorporates the whole person in her book and weight loss solution. It describes more than losing weight but encourages one to take care of the whole self. I look forward to beginning my journey to self love and health.
Dr. Gottfried incorporates the whole person in her book and weight loss solution. It describes more than losing weight but encourages one to take care of the whole self. I look forward to beginning my journey to self love and health.
November 3, 2017
This book had a lot of good interesting information. Some parts got a little weird with meditation, etc. However I believe this would reset your body and would help an individual find their specific food struggle and which hormone might be out of balance.
August 31, 2016
If you’re a moderator and can’t stand cold turkey approaches, you might really like this book. The author’s premise is that hormones are involved in our ability (or inability) to lose weight, and so she suggests that you target seven of these critical hormones with what winds up as a cumulative elimination diet.
As an abstainer who is also a questioner, I had a hard time with this. If I need to eliminate dairy, why would I wait until Day 16 to eliminate it? If I need to eat more alkaline foods, shouldn’t I start adding lemon to my water and eating more greens on Day 1? Unable to answer these questions satisfactorily, I went ahead and cut everything she suggests in the whole book from Day 1.
Overall, I would say that The Hormone Reset Diet had good points (eat a ton of vegetables, get protein in every meal, cut sugar and carbs and eat more greens, etc), but was vague at times and probably would only work if you like the idea of a phased approach and don’t require a whole lot of explanation before making changes to your diet.
{Read more of my reviews at A Spirited Mind.}
As an abstainer who is also a questioner, I had a hard time with this. If I need to eliminate dairy, why would I wait until Day 16 to eliminate it? If I need to eat more alkaline foods, shouldn’t I start adding lemon to my water and eating more greens on Day 1? Unable to answer these questions satisfactorily, I went ahead and cut everything she suggests in the whole book from Day 1.
Overall, I would say that The Hormone Reset Diet had good points (eat a ton of vegetables, get protein in every meal, cut sugar and carbs and eat more greens, etc), but was vague at times and probably would only work if you like the idea of a phased approach and don’t require a whole lot of explanation before making changes to your diet.
{Read more of my reviews at A Spirited Mind.}
August 11, 2017
Dr. Sara seems well intentioned. It actually took me a few chapters to realize that what she was recommending was basically to cut out everything except vegetables. Just cut out meat, dairy, sugar, grains, fruit and caffeine and you will lose weight. Wait? What does that leave? Vegetables. Then, you have to be careful seasoning those vegetables because there could be chemicals in the seasonings. Also, the vegetables should be organic. To be fair, I did try her advice and I know she recommends trying each section for just 3 days. I thought I would give eating nothing but vegetables a try for 3 days.
Luckily, no one was hurt in the process. The misery was greater than what would be experienced by all the bad chemicals in modern food. Eating so many veggies, I wasn't actually hungry which was surprising. Also, I do like the idea of aiming for a pound of vegetables a day. However, eating only vegetables is miserable. To my shock and surprise, the scale showed no difference.
Luckily, no one was hurt in the process. The misery was greater than what would be experienced by all the bad chemicals in modern food. Eating so many veggies, I wasn't actually hungry which was surprising. Also, I do like the idea of aiming for a pound of vegetables a day. However, eating only vegetables is miserable. To my shock and surprise, the scale showed no difference.
April 10, 2015
It's a good read but it is essentially an elimination diet plus some mind body exercises. I liked how Sara linked each food groups/ chemicals to the different hormones. However I found the guide what to do exactly is not detailed enough. For someone who reads a lot health, wellness and nutrition books it is just a repeat of other books.
April 28, 2015
I am in the middle of the 21 DAY reset. I don't know about weight loss but my blood sugars have been in range! The book offers a lot of good information about the 7 hormones that affect women's bodies.
August 19, 2022
While this book does, at times, present useful information, these discussions are often overshadowed by the concurring presence of pseudoscience claims. One such glaring assertion concerns a link between gluten and Autism which is speculation at best and lacks scientific evidence.
The book also contains negative body image references such as “muffin top” and the usage of the word “fat” in a derogatory way. Sadly, many of the facts presented were not backed by proven data and instead were merely opinion.
The book also contains negative body image references such as “muffin top” and the usage of the word “fat” in a derogatory way. Sadly, many of the facts presented were not backed by proven data and instead were merely opinion.
February 6, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It's full of great information and I felt a difference for several of the resets with my body. I had already been very particular with my eating habits which made this process very easy to follow. There is no pill to change your life. If you follow this program and then go back to unhealthy eating, you'll just cause your issues to return. Your health is based on what you do/don't do as well as what you do/don't eat. Your health is up to you and no one else.
For anyone struggling with hormonal challenges, I strongly recommend trying this rather than seeking drugs.
For anyone struggling with hormonal challenges, I strongly recommend trying this rather than seeking drugs.
February 25, 2020
My takeaway, protein and vegetables are good for you. Everything else carbs, sugar, dairy, fruit, caffeine, etc. is not. I’m a big believer in balance, so we’ll see.
September 28, 2022
I have learned a lot from this book. I can’t wait to go over my notes and start the journey.
January 20, 2023
100% awesome. Didn't know some of these foods were so harsh on my body until I tried these little 3 day experiments. Love this book so much. It's so reinforcing for what I already feel about my body.
March 28, 2023
This book was not for me, it felt very reminiscent of diet books and magazine articles from the 90s. I want to feel better, I don’t care as much about being “trim” and all the other obnoxious ways she wants us all to be skinny. Let’s make health the new focus of our attention, not more body shaming.
January 10, 2018
Meh. Good ideas with little research backing it up. I’m completely up for something like this, just disappointed by the reentry section basically pushing folks back to meat, fairy, grains, etc. Not a philosophical page in this books body.
January 8, 2016
Screwed up biochemistry is the reason we can't lose weight, are stressed, and don't sleep well. The solution is to "reset" 7 different hormones by eliminating basically everything from your diet.
Dr. Gottfried repeatedly states that she is a scientist and approaches this diet with scientific research and while there are many references, she makes MANY claims without siting any scientific studies. For example, what evidence is there that dry brushing stimulates the lymphatic system? There are many more instances of these shaky claims. The skeptic in me sees that she has a line of shakes and supplements she is selling and I sigh.
That's not to say that there is some value here. According to my Goodreads shelves, I have read more that 24 books on health/nutrition and the theories in this book overlap with many of them (Green Smoothie Diet, The Beauty Solution, Disease Proof Your Child, etc.) Just as many seem to directly contradict this book (Paleo, Abs Diet, You on a Diet, etc.) But here is what they all have in common: don't eat processed/junk/fast food, eat more vegetables, eat much less (or no) refined sugar. It's hard enough to do those things consistently so I'm probably (definitely) not going to start eating "pastured rabbit meat" or raw oysters or medium-chain triglyceride oil.
Dr. Gottfried repeatedly states that she is a scientist and approaches this diet with scientific research and while there are many references, she makes MANY claims without siting any scientific studies. For example, what evidence is there that dry brushing stimulates the lymphatic system? There are many more instances of these shaky claims. The skeptic in me sees that she has a line of shakes and supplements she is selling and I sigh.
That's not to say that there is some value here. According to my Goodreads shelves, I have read more that 24 books on health/nutrition and the theories in this book overlap with many of them (Green Smoothie Diet, The Beauty Solution, Disease Proof Your Child, etc.) Just as many seem to directly contradict this book (Paleo, Abs Diet, You on a Diet, etc.) But here is what they all have in common: don't eat processed/junk/fast food, eat more vegetables, eat much less (or no) refined sugar. It's hard enough to do those things consistently so I'm probably (definitely) not going to start eating "pastured rabbit meat" or raw oysters or medium-chain triglyceride oil.
August 22, 2015
This read more like an elimination diet than like a book that would help you better understand your hormones and their effects on you. Of course elimination diet (grain free, sugar free, fruit free etc) that then promotes slow re-introduction of foods can help you feel better and learn more things about your body. But I picked up this books in the hopes of understanding how hormones are affected by food choices and what some of my symptoms can mean about my hormones. I found this book a bit frustrating to read. I wanted more scientific explanations and cause-effect examples, and this book was not it. Also didn't really appreciate the promotion of her supplements/fiber powders/shakes as meal replacements.
May 23, 2015
The Hormone Reset Diet
by Dr Sara Gottfried
Great book! This book provides a dietary approach and is a natural continuation of her first book, "The Hormone Cure." Since I have also been trained as a Hormone Cure Coach, I am biased to her writings and research. Since I have a medical background I appreciate her scientific based approach having been trained in Western medicine. Her transition to holistic, functional medicine is based upon her research and experience which make her a reliable source.
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