The Doctor’s Detox Diet emerged from my three decades research and clinical experience with weight loss, but also from my personal experience with fighting crippling weight gain.
I grew up in a household that advocated homemade meals, fresh food (never packaged) and regular active lifestyle. Health and wellness was my way of life. I carried this simple, natural approach with me through college where I studied nutrition at Penn State University, and then earned a Master of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. After this, I went on to receive a Doctor of Medicine from the Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia where one of my main areas of interest was medical weight loss research.
For eight years, I was a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association) where I shared my expertise across various media outlets. I spoke about all aspects of weight loss management and healthy eating, such as how to overcome common weight gain challenges, how to shop smarter and healthier, how to design diets for specific illnesses like diabetes, the truth about food trends, shopping tips, and cooking demonstrations.
However, one day I too experienced sudden weight gain. When I became pregnant at age 46, I developed HELLP syndrome, a type of toxemia or autoimmune disease that can lead to miscarriage and even death.
I suffered from excessive fluid accumulation, nausea, fatigue, and chronic pain. The condition caused my blood cells and liver enzymes to break down, which made my liver to swell like it does with hepatitis. My blood pressure skyrocketed to dangerous levels—almost twice my normal number. The headaches were constant—morning, noon, and night—and they felt like an ice pick was being tapped into my temple.
After my son, Alex, was born three months early I spent five days in the intensive care unit. I made it through, but realized my entire body had taken a serious blow.
My immune system was severely weakened, and my major organs would not function properly. My metabolism was near flat line.
I gained 65 pounds, which on my usual 5’ 4”, 125-pound frame felt like two gigantic burlap bags of rice hung from my shoulders.
I’d spent my entire 25-plus years of medical life helping others lose weight, and now I had to help myself.
But this time I took a different approach from the weight loss diets I knew from my dietetics training. My weight gain was not the direct result of poor eating habits, inactivity, or using high-fat/high-calorie comfort food to soothe emotional issues, which are often the root causes of many weight problems. I suspected that my weight gain was somehow caused by the breakdown of my major organs and bodily systems.
I discovered that my five organ systems — Skin, Kidney, Intestine, Lymphatic, and Liver, or what I called SKILL© — were the key to solving my sudden weight gain.
They all work both together and independently to help the body absorb required nutrients and valuable vitamins and minerals—but also capture and flush out toxins and pollutants and waste. They are your body’s main filtering and detoxification system.
So I set out to create a new kind of diet plan; one that was specifically designed to strengthen and support these particular systems and organs to help them do their job more efficiently.
But what kind of foods and how much?
I used my knowledge as a registered dietitian and nutritionist and explored the research to identify specific ingredients, vitamins, and minerals that have shown to support these organs and systems as well as the optimal food sources, such as fresh produce, lean protein, whole grains, and liberal amounts of spices and herbs.
I stuck to this basic, yet supportive, meal plan for two months. At that point, I noticed my energy levels returned to normal and my metabolism sped up. I slept better, my endurance surged, and perhaps most importantly, my clothes felt looser and less binding.
I also discovered something else. Not only did healing and supporting my body’s natural detoxification systems help burn off those extra pounds, it also stabilized my body weight. I didn’t regain the weight I’d already lost, and I kept moving in a positive direction.
I then recommended my detox meal plan to many of my weight-loss clients. They all found lasting success with my medically and scientifically based approach to weight management. Their experiences helped me solidify the fact that I discovered something special. It didn’t matter how you became overweight, fixing an inefficient detox system can help solve the problem.
The Doctor’s Detox Diet© helped me and I know it can help you.
