Close Banner

This ad is displayed using third party content and we do not control its accessibility features.

The Relationship Between Inflammation And Weight Loss + A 3-Day Reset

Author:

Lyn-Genet Recitas

Medical reviewer:

Bindiya Gandhi, M.D.

August 27, 2020

Nutritionist and New York Times bestselling author

By Lyn-Genet Recitas

Nutritionist and New York Times bestselling author

Lyn-Genet Recitas is a New York Times bestselling author, sports nutritionist, and holistic health practitioner.

Medical review by

Bindiya Gandhi, M.D.

Physician

Dr. Bindiya Gandhi is an American Board Family Medicine–certified physician who completed her family medicine training at Georgia Regents University/Medical College of Georgia.

August 27, 2020

Have you ever spent a day saying, "That's it! I feel gross. I'm going to get serious and start eating clean!" So you start with your healthiest regimen of smoothies, turkey burgers, and cauliflower. The next day you step on the scale and say, "How have I gained weight after all this clean eating?"

Can healthy food cause inflammation?

There's a reason our healthy intentions and diets are not always yielding the results they should. That reason is called inflammation. Here's what you need to know—we are all chemically unique. And what's healthy for me may not be healthy for you. This is called bio-individuality—we all respond to stimulus differently. Your weight and your health are simply your chemical response 1 to the foods you're eating. My own practice treating thousands of clients has shown that even healthy foods can cause inflammation, which can pose serious problems not only for weight loss, but for short- and long-term health. Chronic low-grade inflammation can cause obesity, premature aging, and even disease.

Inflammation is an essential part of the body's healing system. Your immune system attacks 2 anything in your body that it recognizes as foreign—like bacteria, viruses, pollen, and yes, even compounds in healthy foods. Choose the right foods, and you can reduce your risk of illness and reduce inflammatory-related weight gain. Consistently pick the foods that don't work for your chemistry and you can accelerate the inflammatory disease process, not to mention gain weight. The foods that can be highly inflammatory may surprise you; it can be foods like black beans, asparagus, oatmeal, and Greek yogurt.

How can you gain weight from healthy food?

When you eat foods that don't work for your chemistry, your histamine and cortisol levels start to rise. This means you will have short-term water-weight gain from the heightened histamine response and long-term fat storage from the raised cortisol. Elevated cortisol levels also mean that you're also more likely to be stressed out and this will negatively affect your hormones, like progesterone and estrogen. These constantly fluctuating hormones will attack your master gland of metabolism, your thyroid. It's hard to believe that a healthy food like strawberries can create this domino effect in your body, but if strawberries don't work for your chemistry, some version of this is likely to happen in your body. When you find the foods that work for your body, you lose weight easily and feel better. In fact, I have seen positive changes in as soon as three days following a low-inflammatory diet and up to 10 pounds of weight loss.

How do you know a food isn't working for you?

Well, aside from weight gain there are simple signs that your body is saying "Please don't feed this food to me!"

bloating after a meal
constipation
3:00 p.m. energy dip
body aches and pains
irritability
depression and anxiety
hormonal issues
water retention

Identifying your "friendly foods" is as simple as listening to your body or doing an elimination diet, like I detail in my book, The Metabolism Plan. Remember, there is no reason to have declining health, low energy levels, or weight gain as we age. That is all a by-product of eating foods that don't work for your unique chemistry.

If your health is great and you're at a perfect weight for you, then you are probably eating the foods that work for you. But if you are like the millions who are struggling with weight loss and health issues, it may be as simple as starting to pay attention to how your body responds to the foods you are eating.

One simple sign is to note how you feel after a meal. Are you gassy, bloated, or tired? Do your joints hurt; are you suddenly sad or irritable? That's a sign that something you ate at your meal didn't work for your chemistry!

3-day cleanse to tame your inflammation

Day One

Breakfast:

1 cup Flax granola with ½ cup blueberries or ½ pear
Silk Coconut milk or Rice Dream

Lunch:

Carrot ginger soup—with sunflower seeds
2 cups sautéed or steamed broccoli
Baby Romaine with lemon and extra virgin olive oil

Snack:

1 apple

Dinner:

Sautéed kale, 3 to 4 carrots, onion, zucchini, shiitakes, and broccoli with spicy coco sauce
Grated Carrot and raw grated beet salad with pumpkin seeds

Day Two

Breakfast:

Flax with ½ cup blueberries or ½ apple
Silk Coconut milk or Rice Dream

Lunch:

Carrot ginger soup with sunflower seeds
Baby Romaine with ¼ avocado, lemon, and evo
2 cups sautéed or steamed broccoli

Snack:

1 oz. raw almonds

Dinner:

Leftover sautéed kale and veggies
1 cup basmati rice with pumpkin seeds
Beet/carrot salad with sunflower seeds, lemon and evo

Day Three

Breakfast:

Flax with choice of ½ cup blueberries or ½ pear

Lunch:

Baby romaine with ¼ avocado, carrots and pumpkin seeds—add lemon and evo
Cream of Broccoli soup

Snack:

12 to 15 almonds

Dinner:

Chicken with Italian herbs and orange zest on a bed of baby romaine
Oven-roasted zucchini, broccoli, carrots, onions, garlic, and Italian herb blend—finish with orange oil and fresh black pepper

After eating this way, see how you feel. Are you bloated at the end of the day? Do you have more gas than usual? Find out which foods from this list are causing your symptoms by noticing how you feel after each meal. Alternatively, are you feeling amazing? Your body will tell you everything you need to know.