Normally, I wouldn’t read anything in the “Idiot’s Guide” or “For Dummies” family, but when The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Hormone Weight Loss fell into my lap, I figured I’d give it a try. That our the science of our bodies and their connection to food and exercise are intricately connected to our weight is fairly intuitive, but the complex interplay of food, modern living and hormones to not only our weight but struggles with weight proved to be particularly compelling.
Basically? Our hormones are out of whack, and we’re paying for it with growing waist lines, diabetes, ill-health and weight struggles that make us want to bang our heads against a wall. The front end of IGtHWL lays out the basics, including:
- A look into how The Food Pyramid is influenced by U.S. industry, is horribly out of whack and has lead to a puffed up, skewed American diet
- An amusing explanation of insulin, insulin resistance and diabetes, featuring a pizza delivery metaphor
- A breakdown of the major hormones that effect our weight, which ones are most commonly and easily thrown out of whack, WHY they are so and how to fix it.
- Information on toxins in the environment — many you wouldn’t even think about — how they make us fat, and how to avoid them.
- A comprehensive section on vitamins & minerals, and the best supplements to take to gain optimal health.
Dr. Alicia Stanton, who started out as an OB/GYN but eventually moved into hormonal treatment, lays out why hormones make us fat and then breakdowns the essential steps one can take to fix it. Each principle of healthy hormone living is accompanied by a story Stanton encountered in her medical practice, of someone who had a problem, applied Stanton’s system and fixed their health issues. That is not to say that Stanton is fat phobic, or anti-fat — she does not advocate being thin, nor do her patients see radical weight loss. But Stanton acknowledges that we, as a culture, have become larger — and more unhealthy — than we should be, due in large part to processed foods and poor eating habits that mess with our fat stores and metabolism. Her hormone weight loss diet advocates making food and lifestyle changes that bring better health, energy and well-being. Essentially, The Idiot’s Guide To Hormone Weight Loss is hocking a diet plan — the latter half of the book has a quiz to determine where one is off-kilter, and then outlines a food plan plus recipes.
It’s pretty compelling stuff, especially for those who long ago figured out that calories in, calories out was not a fool-proof formula to weight loss and a healthy body. What you eat, your environment and your lifestyle are the real deal — and given it’s our hormones that regulate our metabolism and our abilities to burn calories, figuring out how to get them in balance is pretty essential to making that calories in/out formula actually work. If you’re interested in a detox diet based on science, similar to the “caveman diet” you may have heard of (but with some essential differences), then The Idiot’s Guide to Weight Loss is a good buy — Stanton explains things clearly and provides a lot of tools to execute a diet & lifestyle change within the text.
However, if your not a fan of radical changes, you may not be completely sold on Stanton’s philosophy. I found myself at odds with Stanton’s call for zero dairy, zero gluten, zero alcohol, zero caffeine, zero processed foods… there’s an allowance for indulging ocassionally, but I found myself stopping short at no gluten and no caffeine — a girl’s gotta live! If you’re an “average Joe/Jane” like me who isn’t interested in a drastic diet plan? TIGtWL can, nonetheless, be a good read and helpful guide to our bodies and food. Particularly of note are Stanton’s views on stress, sleep and processed foods. It’s nice to hear that all the hoopla about trans fats and high fructose corn syrup is the real deal — both wreck havoc on our hormones, nutrition and metabolism. Also nice? Her recommendation that you get a spa treatment in a sauna room to detox from toxins — yes, please.
That said, The Idiot’s Guide to Hormone Weight Loss certainly lives up to the title — for as much interesting and useful information that the book provides, it does get repetitive and a bit dumbed down in places. Stanton trots out a compelling argument for lean, mean, clean food living — but the average person may find themselves at a loss as to how to realistically execute the diet in their lives. For those who want to try, the book’s back end has a helpful food guide and a host of recipes. If you’re looking for the real deal science of the matter, though, you may want to seek out a book without the “Idiot’s Guide” in the title.
For more information, you can visit Stanton’s website. You can buy The Idiot’s Guide To Hormone Weight Loss on Amazon.com.
Although I haven’t read the book, I’d hazard a guess that the author is trying to address possible food allergies/intolerances with such a limiting diet. Many people who are allergic to gluten, for instance, will find themselves inexplicably gaining weight due to their body’s inability to process it. Obviously it’d be preferable for the author to explain that within the book itself, though. However, if someone is morbidly obese and it’s a life or death situation, I’d see eliminating all possible allergens for a time then trying them again one at a time to determine a possible allergy as a reasonable solution to a serious problem.
She addresses allergies, though not quite as directly as I’d like. Stanton is of the mind that these food allergies are more widespread/common than we think, at least insomuch as dairy and gluten are irritants to people who don’t even realize it. I’m with her on the general idea, but she recommends people live gluten & dairy free, because our pre-historic ancestors ate/drank neither. She’s basically pro-hunter/gatherer and anti-farming. I think doing an elimination diet to pinpoint possible allergens is a great idea, but as the lynchpin of a complete lifestyle change/diet it seems a bit extreme to me, for the average person.
I have always maintained that “me without caffeine” negatively impacts the quality of life of people around me.