Why to eat them:

They help stabilize blood sugar, which is important for weight reduction. You’ll see this reflected in reduced hunger and cravings

Serving size:

Protein should provide about ⅓ of your daily calories (as a comparison point, the average American only gets ⅕ of their calories from protein)! Focus on adding protein to all three daily meals—as well as any snacks.

Therapeutic foods:

• Herring
• Mackerel
• Salmon
• Sardines
• Natto
• Tempeh
• Tofu
• Soy

Special tips:

• When shopping for animal protein (including fish): Look for choices that are lean, free-range, grass-fed, and organically grown. For fish specifically: choose oily ones high in anti-inflammatory fats and low in methylmercury, such as anchovies, herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines, and trout.
• When shopping for eggs: Look for pastured and organic
• When shopping for plant protein (like natto, tofu, and tempeh): Look for choices labeled non-GMO and organic.

Why to eat them:

They help keep you feeling full! They’re a complex carbohydrate—which means they help keep blood sugar stable and promote that “I’ve eaten enough” feeling. They’re a good source of fiber, too.

Serving size:

Try for at least one serving a day.

Therapeutic foods:

• Black soybeans
• Edamame

Special tips:

• When shopping: Look for organic and non-GMO.
• When incorporating them into your diet:Try them in the form of soup, cooked beans, dips, or hummus.

Why to eat them:

Dairy itself is not included in your food plan for a key reason: it tends to provoke allergies or sensitivities in the body that lead to inflammation.

Fortunately, there are quite a few dairy substitutes to pick from! (Take unsweetened coconut kefir into special consideration. It has probiotic and prebiotic properties that may help improve your gut health and aid in toxin removal, too.)

Serving size:

Limit yourself to 1-2 servings a day.

Therapeutic foods:

• Soy milk
• Coconut/Soy Yogurt
• Coconut Kefir

Special tips:

• When shopping: Look for choices labeled unsweetened and organic.

Why to eat them:

Did you know: Studies strongly suggest that eating a handful of nuts daily reduces the risk of chronic disease? Nuts and seeds have anti-inflammatory oils, good quality plant-based proteins, and phytonutrient compounds to support both hormone balance and the detoxification process in the body: two key things that aid in weight loss.

Serving size:

Aim for at least 2-4 servings a day.

Therapeutic foods:

• Chia seeds
• Fenugreek seeds
• Hemp seeds
• Flaxseed
• Sesame seeds
• Soy nuts

Special tips:

• When shopping: Look for unsweetened, unsalted, and organic.
• When incorporating them into your diet: Try them on top of cereals, salads, or vegetables—and be sure to incorporate a variety.

Why to eat them:

Good-quality fats help keep inflammatory processes in balance (which is great news, since fats and oils are so key in cooking techniques—from stovetop to salad prep).

Serving size:

Aim for 7-8 servings a day

Therapeutic foods:

• Avocado
• Flaxseed oil
• Hemp seed oil
• Flaxseed
• Olives (black or green)
• Olive oil (extra-virgin, cold-pressed)

Special tips:

• When shopping: Look for minimally refined, cold-pressed, and non-GMO.
• When incorporating them into your diet: Try them on top of cereals, salads, or vegetables—and be sure to incorporate a variety.

Why to eat them:

Non-starchy vegetables are your treasure trove of phytonutrients and fiber! That means they support both detoxification and satiety (the body’s feeling of fullness)—promoting hormone balance and, along with it, weight loss.

(On the other hand, there’s a category of vegetables you should move away from: the starchy ones, like potatoes, corn, peas, and lentils. These vegetables are moderate to high on the glycemic index and tend to impact blood sugar.)

Serving size:

This is your biggest area of focus! Aim for 8-12 servings per day. (Keep in mind: a serving is ½ cup of most cooked vegetables or 1 cup of raw leafy greens.)

For the starchy vegetables you’re trying to avoid: aim for no more than 1 serving per day.

Therapeutic foods:

• Artichoke
• Celery
• Chard/Swiss chard
• Chervil
• Chinese cabbage
• Endive
• Fennel
• Greens (beet, collard, kale, etc)
• Onions (garlic, scallion, leeks, shallot)
• Parsley
• Spinach
• Tomato
• Watercress

Special tips:

• Focus on cruciferous options like spinach, broccoli, and leafy greens. They provide healthy compounds that stabilize hormones in a balanced way to support weight loss.
• Buy fresh, and seek out organic produce. When purchasing an organic option is not possible, take special care in washing and peeling the vegetable prior to eating.

Why to eat them:

While you should focus the majority of your vegetable intake on the wide rainbow of non-starchy options, your food plan also contains a few starchy options. These are squash (acorn and butternut), plantain, potatoes, parsnips, and rutabaga.

Serving size:

Aim for no more than 1-2 servings per week- (note that’s weekly, not daily!)

Special tips:

• Eat starchy vegetables as part of a meal rich in protein and/or fat. This helps prevent the blood sugar spikes that could occur from eating a starchy vegetable alone.

Why to eat them:

The fruits in your food plan are bursting with phytonutrients. Plus, they’re an excellent source of antioxidants that reduce inflammation in the body. As a final bonus, they also provide an important way for you to satisfy any sweets cravings!

Serving size:

Eat 1-2 servings of low-glycemic fruits per day.

Therapeutic foods:

• Apple
• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Blackberries

Special tips:

• Eat the rainbow! While you should go after your therapeutic foods, you should also strive for high variety and color on any given day.
• Avoid fruit juices—they’re dense with sugar.
• Try to couple your fruit with a source of protein (like nuts or nut butter), to offset any blood sugar spikes.
• Buy organic when possible.

Why to eat them:

Gluten-free whole grains can provide fiber and other phytonutrients that assist with blood sugar stability. However, they’re still packed with carbs, so you should eat them sparingly! Your body can get the wealth of phytonutrients and fiber it needs from your generous fruit and non-starchy vegetable allowance.

(Note: In addition, it’s important to avoid any grains with gluten. Proteins in gluten called gliadins can break down the microvilli in the small intestine, leading to leaky gut. In turn, leaky gut which may cause food allergies, sensitivities, or intolerances, as well as other digestive disturbances or autoimmune conditions.)

Serving size:

Try to eat no more than 1-2 servings weekly (that’s weekly, not daily)

Therapeutic foods:

• Oats (rolled, steel-cut)

Special tips:

• Learn to identify where gluten lurks, like sauces, dressings, or seasonings.
• Make efforts to replace your grain (carb) cravings with fruit and vegetable substitutes.
• Some gluten-free grains include millet, rice, quinoa, sorghum, amaranth, and buckwheat.
• Your therapeutic foods (oats) contain beta glucan, which helps stabilize blood sugar levels

Why to eat them:

Healthy beverages (like clean, filtered water, broths, and herbal teas) support all the good food you’re eating—and make you feel even better. Quite simply, by staying hydrated, you rid the body of toxins, build resilience to stress, enhance your metabolism, and—quite importantly—promote satiety (your body’s feeling of fullness).

Serving size:

Water: To calculate this, divide your body weight (in pounds) in half. The resulting number is how many ounces of water you should consume each day. (So, for example, if you weigh 160 lbs, you should drink at least 80 oz of water daily.)

Green tea: Try to add 2 cups of this daily, to benefit from this therapeutic food’s high polyphenol (EGCG) content, which can help raise metabolism, aiding in weight loss.

Special tips:

• Your main source of hydration should be clean, filtered water—but you can also enjoy vegetable and bone broths and cold-pressed vegetable juices
• Seek out herbal teas, and read the label carefully. You can especially benefit from those made from adaptogenic herbs like cordyceps, schizandra, ginseng, astragalus, and licorice.
• Coffee’s allowed! You can enjoy this, as well as Yerba mate, gingko biloba, and black and white teas. They’re all beneficial for brain health and may help reduce severity and negative side effects of stress.