From Belly Fat to Belly Flat: How Your Hormones Are Adding Inches to Your Waist and Subtracting Years from Your Life — the Medically Proven Way to Reset Your Metabolism and Reshape Your Body
Discover the hidden culprit behind the ‘middle-age spread’–and the simple plan that’s helped hundreds of women over 30 break the fat cycle!
It’s an all-too-common problem once you hit thirty: Despite your best efforts, you just can’t seem to lose the extra weight around your middle, and you look in the mirror wondering what month and year you lost your waistline. Medical research proves you’re not alone–that the average American gains one to two pounds a year after age thirty–usually around the stomach. Not only does this excess belly fat make you look and feel bad, it’s the most damaging kind of fat; a precursor to heart attacks and certain types of cancer.
To the contrary of other diet books, C.W. Randolph, M.D., a champion for women’s health, explains that the real reason behind this problem has less to do with calories, carbs, or crunches and everything to do with a little-known but very real medical problem called ‘estrogen dominance.’ By treating thousands of women safely and effectively for over two decades, Dr. Randolph has discovered why we are in the midst of an estrogen epidemic and how you can save your waistline . . . and your health . . . using his 3-step plan comprised of an anti-estrogenic diet, natural progesterone supplementation, and exercise. You’ll learn:
-How to self-diagnose estrogen dominance
-The top ten belly-blasting foods that jump-start weight loss and maintain hormone balance
-How your sleep patterns, exercise habits, and stress levels impact your hormone levels
-Which vitamins and supplements support, not sabotage, your overall hormone balance
The result? Well within four weeks you’ll lose pounds and inches… and reveal the flat belly–and the health and vitality that go along with it.
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars Catchy title . . . but genetics and food are the main culprits
You can certainly benefit from the food and recipes recommended in this book. I have learned from my own loss of belly fat that what foods I choose has a huge influence on my stomach size. If you follow a basic Mediterranean diet, you will see your weight drop and your stomach size shrink accordingly. However, each of us tends to gain weight in different ways. My sister gains most around her middle and upper torso (the classic apple, and also diabetic, by the way); while I gain weight in the hips and thighs. Some people are genetically predispositioned to gain weight through the abdominal area, regardless of their hormone levels. So read this book, try the recipes, and talk to your doctor about your hormone levels. In my opinion, creams and lotions don’t really work. About 5 years ago, I tried endermologie and lotions for cellulite reduction. It was quite expensive, and I really did not notice a difference in the amount of cellulite . . . until I changed my diet. A diet of mostly whole grains, and fresh fruits and vegetables not only helped me lose weight, but also reduced my cellulite. After all, cellulite is simply a type of fat. So the more fat you have on your body, the more cellulite you’re going to have. I am now a flexitarian (I eat very little meat), and my cellulite is nearly gone. This book is worth purchasing simply for the recipes.
Lynette Fleming, coauthor of Lunch Buddies: Buddy Up for a Better Diet
5 Stars The Weight it is a droppin’
Unpleasant things start to happen with one’s body when one hits a certain age. In this woman’s case, it was an unexpected and unwelcome weight gain of almost 15 pounds that happened in the course of about 2 months. No amount of cutting back on food, eating healthier food, or exercise stopped the gaining. Even worse were the other symptoms very similar to those of menopause. Which led to a lot of reading and research. In the course of that research I came across this little gem of a book.
In a little over 100 pages, Dr. Randolph explains what happens as we women (and men) experience fluctuating levels of hormones, specifically estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. All affect our health in many ways. He focus of his book is estrogen dominance, which occurs when the levels of estrogen versus progesterone are too high.
Please note that this may not be everyone’s problem. Other issues may also be causing weight gain, such as a thyroid problem or diabetes. He strongly suggests that one see a doctor to have hormone levels checked. One tidbit I gained from this book which I didn’t know is that estrogen and thyroid hormones oppose each other, too much estrogen blocks the effects of thyroid hormone leading to weight gain. (I also heartily recommend Mary Shomon’s excellent books regarding thyroid problems titled “Living Well with Hypothyroidism” and “The Thyroid Diet.”)
Dr. Randolph presents three steps to decreasing excess estrogen in the body:
Step 1: eat certain foods and decrease certain foods, presented in easy to read charts with recommended servings and a whole month of daily menus (over 60 recipes are included in a later section of the book) as well as the effects chemicals in the environment and personal products have on estrogen levels (Appendix B lists the steps to take in two pages. For more in depth reading about this topic there are several excellent books including “The Green Beauty Guide” by Julie Gabriel which specifically addresses toxins in beauty products)
Step 2: use progesterone cream to supplement declining levels, with recommendations of what to look for in a cream and how to use it, and the effects which it has in the body in a very short summary.
Step 3: take specific supplements (I personally am not taking all recommended in the book based on my research and I recommend you also research supplements before taking them)
The remainder of the book talks about the effects of stress on the body and specifically the adrenal glands. I also recommend the book “Adrenal Fatigue” by Dr. James L. Wilson regarding this topic.
Appendix C is very helpful with information on how to locate a doctor willing to address this issue with a patient, hormone testing labs one can contact directly, recommended supplement manufacturers, links to safer housecleaning products and foods, further recommended reading, and newsletters.
So, after putting into effects most of the doctor’s recommendations, I am happy to report that I have lost the 15 pounds I gained, and am continuing to lose more! Thank you Dr. Randolph.
Another excellent book on the topic of estrogen dominance is Dr. John R. Lee’s “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause” which covers this topic in much more detail.
5 Stars Excellent source of information for women and men!
This is very informative book on why we have such a problem with belly fat and how we can adjust our diet to finally get rid of it.
5 Stars Review on Belly Fat to Belly Flat
Great book. Contains a wealth of information on hormones. Now I understand the whole imbalanced hormone issue and why it is so hard to loose weight. I am now armed with enough information to make intelligent food and supplement choices.
3 Stars Just an ordinary diet book
I buy a lot of diet books and have never found “the one” I think I can give 5 stars to. Let’s face it - dieting is difficult. The sassy water recommended made me sick. Any diet will work if you stick with it, but you have to find the one that is right for you. This one wasn’t right for me. I have a friend who loved this diet though.
Filed under: Weight Loss Book Reviews
