Why I am even interested in this book and trying Sara Gottfried’s protocol:
Let me give you a little of my back story. In 2014, my son Jake, who was then 3 years old, began to experience seizures. We immediately got him an appointment to the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Being new to this whole seizure thing, we did what we were told, trusting that the neurologists knew what they were doing and put our son on the first, of what ended up eventually being 3 anti-seizure medications. By the time he was on three medications, he was so doped up, he could barely stand, he didn’t talk, and he had lost all his previous toilet training. Despite all that, he continued to have seizures, and at one point was in the hospital in Pittsburgh for 3 weeks having daily seizures. In God’s Providence, a neurologist suggested we look into the Ketogenic Diet. At that point, I had never heard of that diet. Little did I know how it would change my son’s life. After much lobbying, we finally convinced the Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital to let us give the diet a shot, and we scheduled a time to start in early March of 2015. To begin with, they had Jake fast for a 24-hour period of time to help his body transition into ketosis more quickly. Then, throughout the week, I worked side by side with a nutritionist and neurologist to learn how to measure and create a menu. The meal plans I created had to be within 4 grams of each: fat, protein and carbs that had been set specifically for Jake, as well as within 4 calories of the allotted calorie amount. Everything had to be nutritionist approved. Within one month of starting the ketogenic diet, Jake no longer had any seizures and has not had one since. So, to say that I know a little about the diet would be an understatement.
On the other hand, I’ve tried the ketogenic diet on myself, for weight loss numerous times and have had no success with it. After the last few unsuccessful attempts, I began to be increasingly suspicious that the points Dr. Gottfried brings up in her book were the reason that I had had no success because I’ve personally witnessed a very successful ketogenic diet in action. I even made the menus and the meals! So, this book got my attention and I’m excited to walk through it with you step by step and let you know how it works.
Why would a health coach who coaches clients on how to lose weight care about trying out the Gottfried protocol? Well, I will be 50 years old this year and I’m definitely in perimenopause. Weight loss has become more and more difficult, but putting weight on has not. I’m also experiencing the more frustrating signs of menopause: Hot flashes, drenching sweats, cold, tired and run down. I would love to balance my hormones, but despite eating a rather clean, blood sugar stabilizing diet, I’ve recently felt like I’m spinning my wheels, and I am suspicious that hormones are to blame. So, with that background let’s get started with chapter one.
In Chapter 1, Dr. Gottfried makes a case for how hormones, as she states, “rule our bodies,” (p23) and she sets out to show that the solution begins with our fork. Right off the bat she has me interested. Especially when she says that the hormone insulin is the most important hormone to get right. (thyroid coming in a close second) Since that aligns with what I’ve been telling my clients for the past two years, (Get blood sugar right first) I’m in total agreement with her there.
She then makes a list of symptoms to check to see if your individual problems are hormone related. Out of 18 symptoms listed, I checked off 8, which according to her, put me in the hormone imbalance category. My particular symptoms were: 1. Have you ever gained 3-5 pounds of weight overnight? 2. Are you fatigued at any point during the day, despite adequate rest? 3. Do you notice thinning head hair, loss of outer third of eyebrows, puffy face, dry and coarse skin, constipation, lack of energy, intolerance of cold, infertility, heavy menstruation, carpal tunnel syndrome or any combination of these. (I had 7 of these) 4. Do you feel like something blocks you from losing weight, no matter what you try? 5. Do you struggle to adhere to a diet? As in, you know what to do but you cannot stick to a plan over the long run, and so you lose the same 5 to 10 pounds over and over again? 6. Do you eat very clean but don’t feel like the bathroom scale reflects it? 7. Do you experience food cravings, particularly for sweets? 8. Have you tried strict ketogenic but it didn’t work for you?
What I really loved about this first chapter was that Dr. Gottfried shared her own struggles with hormone imbalance. This spoke to me, because as a health coach, sometimes I feel like I’m expected to have it all figured out for myself. As though, because I’m a health coach I should never have any health-related struggles or if I do encounter a particular problem, that I can conquer it in short order and walk away like, “no sweat, that was easy.”
Sara shares that after having her second daughter that her hormones just went crazy, she gained weight and suddenly had borderline blood sugar issues. As she sought to gain control over her own issues, she discovered 5 principles that she began to share with her own patients:
- Hormones influence weight
- Women have more hormone problems than men do.
- The ketogenic diet influences hormones.
- Because of hormones, women react differently to the ketogenic diet than men do.
- Women can follow a ketogenic diet, but they do better with a hormone balancing version such as the Gottfried protocol.
Over the next two days, I want to dive into these 5 principles, but in the meantime, I’m going to start experimenting a little with her recipes and let you know what I’m eating every day. Remember, I haven’t gotten to the end of the book yet, so I’m probably not doing it “all right” at this point. But, instead of waiting until I get it all read, I’m going to dive in with a spattering of my own recipes as well.
Breakfast: sauteed 1/2 cup chopped cabbage in 2 Tbsp of avocado oil/2 scrambled eggs on side.
(Ran 11 miles)
Lunch: Turmeric Coconut Milk Chicken Soup (2 cups)
Snacks: 2 Protein Bars and 1 unsweetened Greek Yogurt (1/2 cup) (Did I mention I ran 11 miles today?)
Dinner: Leftover Pork Ribs and 1 cup broccoli/Dessert: chopped nuts, dates, unsweetened coconut, unsweetened cocoa, unsweetened peanut butter, 2 Tbsp honey (1/4 cup)
Deep Roots Wellness 