If you’re looking for a diet plan to shock your system back into health-mode for the New Year, you might want to hit your local bookstore before renewing your gym membership.
On December 24th, Rodale Books released The Supercharged Hormone Diet for purchase in the U.S. A follow-up to Natasha Turner’s original Canadian bestseller, The Hormone Diet, this highly anticipated weight loss plan promotes a longer, healthier, more youthful life. What will this diet plan do for you? Here are five key takeaways from The Supercharged Hormone approach.
You will learn to see your hormones as a force you can control, instead of a force that controls you.
Despite their popular emotional association, hormones actually have a large influence on the aging process, cancer susceptibility, osteoporosis, and heart disease. According to Clear Medicine Wellness Solutions, The Supercharged Hormone Diet teaches readers to manage their hormones by monitoring when and how they ingest them, be it through prepared food or supplements.
It helps you target and burn fat unwanted fat around your waist.
According to an article that Turner wrote for The. Dr. Oz Show, key indicators of hormonal imbalance are those pesky love handles: “Extra belly fat can indicate one or more of the following hormonal imbalances: high estrogen, low testosterone, low DHEA (a hormone of the adrenal glands, high insulin and high cotrisol.” By taking control of your hormones, you will be keeping your metabolism in check, and in turn, gain control over your body’s natural fat burning ability.
The meal plan is gym-rat friendly
In the same article, Turner writes that “higher protein intake keeps your blood sugar balanced and your insulin levels low- a metabolic must for appetite control and fat loss.” If you’re someone who exercises regularly, you’re probably already aware of how necessary protein is for any fitness plan. “The hormones in protein-rich foods stimulate the activity of many of our fat burning and appetite controlling hormones when we consume the right amounts,” she writes. “Your best protein options are those that are lowest in fat like chicken, turkey, [and] low-fat cheese… which are 100% protein.”
You will decrease your stress levels
Since Turner’s main goal is finding hormonal balance, a huge part of her book is dedicated to monitoring your cortisol level, otherwise known as the stress hormone. “…If you have a digestive issue such as irritable bowel syndrome, you can bet your body is cranking up your cortisol. Not only does it increase your appetite and cravings, it causes a loss of muscle mass, libido and bone density, and also contributes to depression and memory loss. In other words, chronic stress makes us soft, flabby and much older than we truly are!,” Turner writes.
You’ll catch up on some much-needed Z’s
“Sleep deprivation makes us wake up with higher amounts of the stress hormone cortisol, which fuels appetite and increases our cravings, particularly for sugary and carb-laden treats, even when we have eaten enough,” Turner writes. One of the benefits of her dietary approach is a regulated sleep cycle- obtained by balancing blood sugar levels from eating high protein breakfasts and forgoing a 3-4 hour gap between meals or snacks.
The Supercharged Hormone Diet is the perfect way to avoid falling for one of the many crash-diet gimmicks that begin popping up anywhere and everywhere at the start of the New Year. A happier and healthier lifestyle doesn’t begin by starving yourself or popping a diet pill, it begins when you truly begin to listen to your body’s wants and needs, and learn to differentiate the two. Read more about Natasha Turner’s upcoming book here, and begin your journey to a hormonally balanced life!