Dive into Diets for Weight Loss and Hormone Balance

Written by Dr. Suzanne Tang

August 1st, 2023

As promised we are taking a dive into diets to balance hormones, promote metabolism, and help you navigate through and implement healthy eating habits. Hormone imbalances are common culprits to weight gain and sluggish metabolism. Getting to the root of your hormone imbalance is essential to feeling emotionally, physically, and mentally lighter and more vibrant. Check back on last month’s blog, “Hormonal Causes of Weight Gain” https://www.inspirenaturalwellness.net/blog/hormonal-causes-of-weight-gain for a review of hormonal causes of weight gain and wellness tips for optimal hormone balance. 

I have recommended a number of different diets throughout my years of practice and what I’ve seen work most effectively to lose weight sustainably is a combination of a whole foods, anti-inflammatory, and Mediterranean diet that is low glycemic, high in protein, and low in carbohydrates. For patients who struggle with chronic inflammation, allergies, digestive issues, and/or autoimmune disease, starting with a food sensitivity elimination diet, low FODMAP diet, and/or Autoimmune Protocol Diet to reduce inflammation, heal the gut and microbiome, and balance the immune system is very beneficial to overall health and metabolism. 

Food Sensitivity Elimination Diet

A food sensitivity elimination diet involves eliminating inflammatory food sensitivities, which often includes avoiding gluten-containing grains, dairy, sugar, processed oils, artificial sweeteners and chemicals, caffeine, and alcohol for three months. Testing food sensitivities provides a helpful guide to eliminating foods that specifically cause inflammation for individual patients. Patients often experience improved digestion, weight loss, and more energy and focus and report that their allergies, bloating and joint pain have resolved. Most food sensitivities are gradually reintroduced and rotated into the diet. 

Low FODMAP (Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols) Diet

The low FODMAP diet may be indicated for those experiencing chronic gas, bloating, abdominal pain or cramping, constipation or diarrhea, or chronic digestive issues such as small intestinal bowel overgrowth (SIBO), bacterial or fungal overgrowth, inflammatory bowel disease, or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Short-chained carbohydrates and sugar alcohols are eliminated for a period of time and then reintroduced after pathogens have been treated and the gut lining has been repaired. Bacteria ferment these carbohydrates creating gas, bloating, and abdominal pain.

High FODMAP foods can contain:

  • oligosaccharides, including fructans and galactooligosaccharides, which are in wheat, barley, onions, garlic, and legumes

  • disaccharides, including lactose, which are found in dairy products, such as milk, soft cheese, cream, and yogurt

  • monosaccharides, including fructose found in honey, apples, high fructose corn syrup, and agave

  • polyols, including sorbitol, xylitol, and mannitol, which can be found in certain fruits and vegetables and artificial sweeteners 

According to clinical trials, this diet improves symptoms in up to 70% of patients with IBS and SIBO. If you read my blog, https://www.inspirenaturalwellness.net/blog/when-your-gut-bugs-go-awry you may recall that the gut microbiome affects not just digestive function but so many other aspects of our health including metabolism, appetite regulation, hormone production, inflammation, and mood. 

Autoimmune Protocol Diet

The Autoimmune Protocol Diet can significantly dampen the inflammatory response, heal the gut, replenish gut flora, regulate the immune system, and help reduce symptoms associated with autoimmune conditions, such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. In Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, autoimmune antibodies attack the thyroid causing inflammation and disruption of thyroid hormone production. This is one of the more restrictive diets that I recommend to my patients with autoimmune conditions and significant inflammation, however, when implemented even for a short period of time it produces profound health-transformative results while also promoting weight loss. 

Fill your plates with plenty of grass-fed and organic meats and vegetables. Foods that are allowed on the diet include:

  • Vegetables, except for nightshade vegetables - white potatoes, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes

  • Meat, poultry, and seafood

  • Coconut products

  • Non-dairy fermented foods, like kombucha 

  • Honey or maple syrup (in limited quantities)

  • Arrowroot starch

  • Herbs

  • Gelatin from grass-fed beef

  • Bone broth

  • Herbs (fresh and non-seed)

  • Green tea

  • Vinegar

Eliminate the following foods from your diet:

  • Grains

  • Legumes, such as beans, lentils, and peanuts

  • Processed foods

  • Seed oils, such as vegetable and canola oil

  • Dairy products

  • Refined sugar

  • Eggs

  • Nuts and seeds

  • Herbs from seeds, like coriander, cumin and nutmeg

  • Coffee

These are my five dietary pillars to sustainable weight loss and hormone balance:

1) Support detoxification 

Avoid inflammatory and processed foods, such as alcohol, coffee, sodas, artificial sweeteners, refined sugars and flours, gluten-containing grains, excess dairy, and hydrogenated oils that impair detoxification and elimination. My favorite organ, the liver detoxifies everything from excess hormones, inflammatory compounds, toxins, and chemicals. Detoxifying and high-fiber foods including green leafy greens, carrots, artichokes, dandelion leaf, beets, and cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, and cabbage and plenty of filtered water are key for healthy liver detoxification. 

2) Regulate blood sugar 

Maintain healthy and stable blood sugar, leptin, and insulin levels with lean protein from grass-fed, organic meats, poultry, wild fish, legumes, and/or eggs, healthy fats from nuts, seeds, olive oil, avocados, and complex carbohydrates, such as vegetables and whole grains and at each meal. Moderate fruit intake and avoid high glycemic fruits, such as mangoes, ripe bananas, papaya, dates, raisins, and pineapples. Limit grain intake and avoid “white”: white potatoes, refined sugar, white flour, white rice, crackers, chips, cookies, and high-sugar drinks. A high protein, high fat and low carbohydrate diet such as this promotes ketosis or fat metabolism, which aids in weight loss, reduces inflammation, and regulates cortisol, glucose, leptin, and insulin levels. 

3)  Reduce inflammation 

The Mediterranean diet is one of the most studied anti-inflammatory diets shown to be effective for weight loss as well as treating many chronic conditions and reducing the risk of heart attacks, strokes, Type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and osteoporosis.

Originating from the traditional foods of Mediterranean countries, it is a plant-focused diet rich in healthy fats, high-fiber vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, fish, and seafood with moderate amounts of milk, cheese, poultry, and red wine. Refined grains, sugars, red meat, processed meat, beer, liquor, and processed foods are to be avoided. The Mediterranean diet is sustainable and can be easily followed for long-term benefits and overall wellness.

4) Balance your portions 

Of course, balancing our portions makes perfect sense for losing weight but it can be a challenging feat when we are eating mindlessly. Eating while watching TV or a device, at a restaurant, or in social settings with large portions, during work, and when stressed can disrupt conscious, mindful eating. 

Full transparency, I do find myself often inhaling my lunch at work while I am sending a prescription, ordering labs for patients, or responding to a patient’s message. Taking a longer lunch break, balancing my work schedule, and closing my laptop have helped but it’s a work in progress. If this sounds familiar to you try these tips with me and enjoy your meals in a calm environment away from a screen. 

For further portion balancing support, consider packing half of your meal for leftovers if dining out, chew your food slowly and thoroughly (it takes approximately 20 minutes from the time you start eating for your brain to send out signals of fullness), and stop eating when you are 70% full. Eating when you are in a calm, parasympathetic, or “rest and digest” state allows for enhanced blood flow and improved function of the digestive tract. If you need specific guidance on portions and what to eat, schedule an appointment with me to discuss daily macronutrient servings and portions that are best for you. 

5) Low-stress intermittent fasting 

Intermittent fasting allows you to eat within a window of time typically for 8 to 12 hours while you fast the remaining 12 to 16 hours.

It has been shown to improve the balance of many hormones, such as insulin, ghrelin, leptin, and cortisol, and leads to metabolic switching, which reduces insulin and glucose to a level that triggers your body to switch from burning carbohydrates to burning fat. Human growth hormone, which is important for growth, lean body mass, metabolism, weight loss, and hormone production also improves with fasting.

Fasting can help boost autophagy also known as cellular clean up and repair, regulate inflammation, increase brain function, lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides and it may modulate leptin so that you feel more satisfied. Fasting is contraindicated for children or teens, women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, and those who have disordered eating, Type 1 diabetes, or severe adrenal fatigue. If you are just starting out, modify and slowly work up to a fasting window that works for you. Since I experienced heartburn, bloating, and fatigue on a 16-hour fast, I modified my eating window and feel my best on a 14-hour fast. Be patient.  It may take time to see results but healthy weight loss rather than extreme, yo-yo dieting provides long-term results and optimizes overall health and wellness. 


In addition to eating healthy, nutritional and herbal supplementation, bio-identical hormone therapy, daily stress reduction, movement, and adequate sleep are important to regulating cortisol, blood sugar, insulin, and sex hormones. Weight loss and hormone balance require a whole-person, customized approach to meet the needs of each patient. Schedule an appointment with me for further guidance and support and follow me @inspire_natural_wellness for more hormone-balancing and healthy weight loss tips and recipes. 

I hope this deep dive into healthy eating, hormone balance, and metabolism support inspires you into greater self-care AND self-love. Our bodies are listening to our every thought and word and reflecting back on what we say and put into it. Remember to speak to your body with love, compassion, and kindness as you nourish and care for it unconditionally. 

Yours in Wellness, 

Dr. Suzanne Tang, ND, LAc

Previous
Previous

Get your ZZZZs to Balance Hormones and Balance Hormones to Get your ZZZZs

Next
Next

Hormonal Causes of Weight Gain