Women, Food, and Hormones: A 4-Week Plan to Achieve Hormonal Balance, Lose Weight, and Feel Like Yourself Again

by Sara Gottfried

Overview

New York Times bestseller

Bestselling author Dr. Sara Gottfried shares a new, female-friendly keto diet that addresses women’s unique hormonal needs, so readers can shed pounds and maintain the loss more easily.

It’s no surprise that most diet plans don’t work for women—most health studies are based on men instead of women, so women have no choice but to follow plans that were created by and for men. The trouble is: women’s bodies don’t work the same way. Popular programs can actually make it harder for women to lose weight, because they can wreak havoc on a woman’s complex and delicate hormonal system. 

New York Times bestselling author Dr. Sara Gottfried has spent her career demystifying hormones and helping patients improve their health with personalized medicine. In Women, Food, and Hormones, she presents the Gottfried Protocol, a science-based, road-tested plan designed to reset and balance your hormones and accelerate fat loss. Featuring a female-friendly fasting protocol and ketogenic diet that’s tailor-made for women, the Gottfried Protocol is designed to:

• Work with, not against, women’s hormones—unlike other keto plans.
• Improve detoxification and blood sugar levels while decreasing stress, hunger, and cravings. 
• Target belly fat and reduce inflammation.
• Increase levels of key anti-aging hormones.

Complete with essential troubleshooting tips and more than 50 delicious and filling recipes, Women, Food, and Hormones is your all-in-one-guide to hormonal balance and a healthy new you. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063269262
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	12/13/2022
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	61,504
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 5.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

SARA GOTTFRIED, MD, is a hormone expert, a Harvard-educated physician-scientist, and a clinical assistant professor in the department of integrative medicine and nutritional sciences at Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University. She is the New York Times best-selling author of three previous books, including The Hormone Cure. She lives in Moraga, California.

Table of Contents

Part I Understanding Women, Food, and Hormones

Introduction: The Language of Hormones 3

1 The Truth About Women, Hormones, and Weight 23

2 How Growth Hormone Keeps You Lean 43

3 Testosterone: It's Not Just for Men 59

4 The Keto Paradox 75

Part II The Four-Week Gottfried Protocol

5 How to Start and What to Eat 95

6 Detoxing, Circadian Fasting, and Troubleshooting 137

7 Transition 163

8 Integration 183

9 Recipes and Meal Plans 193

Afterword: The Future of Cardiometabolic Disease in Women 261

Resources 266

Acknowledgments 274

Notes 276

Index 313

About the Author 330

Editorial Reviews

An empowering dietary plan for regaining vibrant health.”  — David Perlmutter, MD, FACN, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Grain Brain and Brain Wash 

“Readers looking for a holistic approach to rectifying hormonal imbalances will find this a well-marked road map.”  — Publishers Weekly

“Dr. Sara Gottfried knows that the majority of research and dietary recommendations are based on studies performed on men, and she understands how to make essential adjustments to those recommendations to protect a woman’s hormonal balance and vitality.”  — Kelly LeVeque, author of Body Love and Body Love Every Day

“In a world where women’s hormones are often misunderstood or ignored, Sara gets down to the basics and provides step-by-step instructions while teaching each reader how to personalize their own health journey.”  — Dr. Will Cole, New York Times bestselling author of Intuitive Fasting 

“A must-have for women who want a science-backed plan to get their health back on track.”  — Nicole Avena, PhD, FACN, assistant professor of neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, author of What to Eat When You Want to Get Pregnant 

From the Publisher

A must-have for women who want a science-backed plan to get their health back on track.” 

Nicole Avena

In a world where women’s hormones are often misunderstood or ignored, Sara gets down to the basics and provides step-by-step instructions while teaching each reader how to personalize their own health journey.” 

Dr. Will Cole

An empowering dietary plan for regaining vibrant health.” 

David Perlmutter

Dr. Sara Gottfried knows that the majority of research and dietary recommendations are based on studies performed on men, and she understands how to make essential adjustments to those recommendations to protect a woman’s hormonal balance and vitality.” 

Kelly LeVeque

06/07/2021

Gynecologist Gottfried (Brain, Body, Diet) offers solutions to common midlife complaints in her comprehensive guide to speaking “the language of hormones.” She begins with an overview of key hormones (progesterone, estrogen, testosterone) and discusses how hormonal shifts can affect health; gut issues, she notes, often arise as hormone levels shift. When it comes to hormone imbalances, Gottfried eschews the “conventional” treatment—medication—and instead offers the “Gottfried Protocol,” a food-focused program involving detoxification, which “eliminates any... tired hormones that are clogging up your metabolism”; nutritional ketosis geared to “restoring insulin levels in women”; and intermittent fasting, which she argues helps balance hormones. Gottfried uses patient case files to illustrate success stories, while lists of do’s and don’ts and a meal plan with pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan variations make her plan easy to implement. Gottfried’s “woman-to-woman” approach is consistently encouraging: “The goal is not to get skinny but rather to regain the healthiest possible version of you.” Readers looking for a holistic approach to rectifying hormonal imbalances will find this a well-marked road map. Agent: Celeste Fine, Park & Fine. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly