The BEST Meal Plan to Lose Fat (eat this NOT that)

Some vegetables you think are healthy could be actually fueling your stubborn belly fat, inflammation and joint pain. So in this video, I'm going to expose these specific veggies that could be sabotaging your health. I'm also going to give you some suggestions on what you can eat instead to reduce inflammation, to support fat loss, and to help you feel your best. So let's dive in. The first one is to swap out spinach. I used to eat a ton of spinach before I understood that actually contains a lot of oxalates. Now, oxalates are naturally occurring compounds, and they can bind to calcium and magnesium and potentially reduce their absorption. For a lot of people, especially those with sensitive guts or with kidney stone history, it can lead to bloating, fatigue, joint pain, and increased risk of developing more kidney stones. Now, if you've noticed brain fog or gut discomfort after consuming spinach, then you could rotate in instead. Water crests, arugula, or if your gut seems to tolerate steamed broccoli, that could be a good substitute. These guys are still rich in nutrients, but a lot more gentler on the gut. I recently went to an eye doctor because I was dealing with migraines and it was super interesting. He asked me what I ate and I gave him the rundown and he said, wow, you know, you eat a really nice diet. What type of veggies do you eat? And I listed them off and he's like, well, I'm glad to hear that you're not eating a lot of spinach and kale, because spinach and kale trigger migraines in folks and they're not a super healthy green because of the high oxalate level. So I was really pleasantly surprised that this doctor was giving good nutrition advice. So if this is you might be something to consider. Swap out the spinach number two, cut back on the Swiss chard. Swiss chard is also another leafy green that's pretty darn high in oxalates, particularly the leaves, not as much the stems. But usually when we eat Swiss chard, we're going to be eating the leaves. And again, these compounds can interfere with magnesium, calcium absorption, other mineral absorption, and it can contribute to some sensitive folks, not everybody, but for some folks, fatigue or mineral loss if you eat them frequently and if you eat them in large amounts. So instead, my favorite is romaine lettuce. I love it. It's hydrating, it's crunchy, it's low in oxalates. Plus it plays nicely with your gut and your metabolism. I really love some romaine. Lettuce, I'll make tacos and use romaine lettuce as the taco base instead of corn tortilla or hard shell. I also really love making beef lettuce wraps, which is kind of like this Asian flare of stir fry and sticking them in there. Maybe if you guys are interested in the recipe, just drop your comments below and if I get some comments asking for the recipe, I'll make sure to provide the link that I love. All right, Number three are beets. Beets have a lot of antioxidants in them. They are beautiful and lovely and smooth, so bright in color. So I'm not saying that you need to avoid them always, but they also have oxalates and they can have a lot of sugar in them. So if you're eating a lot of them, if you have insulin resistance or if you have blood sugar sensitivity, they could cause some glucose spikes, some energy crashes. It just depends how you're consuming them. I'd make sure if you are consuming them, I wouldn't do a lot of it and I would make sure I'm pairing it with a good protein source instead. If you do consume a lot of beets and you want to try an experiment with reducing them instead, you could have fennel, you could have celery or radishes which are low sugar, anti inflammatory and great for your gut support. Number four is to rethink kale, specifically raw kale. Raw kale contains goitrogens. These are a compound that can mess with thyroid function, especially if you are low in iodine. It also ranks high on the pesticide residue list and contains moderate oxalate. So it just has a lot of stuff going for it that might not necessarily be as good as you expected. I used to just love a great kale salad, but once I started really listening to my gut and my body, I realized that my gut didn't love it. So if you're already dealing with sluggish energy, if you've got metabolic issues, swapping kale for maybe a fermented veggie like sauerkraut or kimchi could be a win for your health. And well, the fermented veggies boost gut health. They provide probiotics and they support thyroid balance and they're a bit easier to digest. So something to consider if you're consuming a lot of kale, especially raw kale, you might experiment with switching it out for something else. Number five is to be cautious with potatoes, specifically white potatoes. White potatoes and sweet potatoes are both high in starch and starch can raise blood sugar and insulin essentially, especially if you are dealing with excess fat, weight, metabolic resistance of metabolic dysfunction, insulin resistance. If you're dealing with this, then you might consider letting potatoes go, even if just for a period of time. They also contain lectins, particularly in the skin, which can aggravate gut health for sensitive folks. White potatoes specifically are nightshade veggie and this can cause inflammation. Again, in sensitive folks, especially if you have any kind of autoimmune condition. I would consider avoiding avoiding white potatoes. Now, something interesting if you are looking to avoid the potential blood sugar spike is that if you cook a potato and then you cool it for, let's say overnight, and then you consume it, even if you reheat it in the morning, it will cause the starch to turn to a more resistant starch. And resistant starch results in lower blood sugar spike than if you consume the potato freshly cooked. I know something unique about it. So if you just will not let go of your potatoes, that's something to consider. And it only pertains to the white potato, not the sweet potato. If your goal is fat loss, then it might be when to let the potato go again, just for a period of time. And instead you could use cauliflower mash. You could do a Japanese sweet potato, which tends to have a lower glycemic response. You could do turnips as an alternative to support blood sugar control. Number six is to watch eggplant. The reason why is because eggplant is a nightshade veggie. This means that it contains more lectins and a compound called solanine, which can irritate your gut lining and can trigger inflammation, joint pain and brain fog in people with autoimmune issues or with a sensitive gut. I know if I eat a lot of nightshade veggies, I don't feel great. And it results in kind of this gerd heartburny feeling. If I eat more of them for a few days, like if I eat some white potatoes, tomato, eggplant, I would definitely have more. I usually don't have any heartburn, so I would have heartburn the next day. Better swaps if you feel like this is you would be zucchini, peeled asparagus or mushrooms. They're nourishing, they're anti inflammatory and they're easier to digest. Now if you feel like all of this is overwhelming and you do not know what veggies to eat or what foods to eat to help you get your inflammation as low as possible and Help you drop fat weight, then you should check out PhD weight loss. We will create a customized plan that works specifically for your body to help you reach goals. So if this is you, just head into the description and there will be a link for PhD weight loss that you can click to learn more. Alright. And the last veggie, which actually isn't a veggie that you should consider or might consider letting go of or at least reducing in your diet, is corn. Corn is actually a grain, it's not a vegetable and it's a high starch one. They feed corn to pigs to fatten them up. We don't eat corn in our family. The main reason why is because often, most often it's genetically mod, sprayed with glyphosate which can negatively affect your gut, your microbiome, your metabolic health. So in my family we just don't eat it. Sometimes my kids will eat tortilla chips and if they do, I get a specific brand. I like Siete and it's cooked in avocado oil and it goes through unique type of processing where they soak the corn kernels in lime which reduces the negative impact and amount of inflammation that the corn can cause. So if you're going to do it, I would advise that brand. You know something unique about tortilla chips. Now we're all different but my mom, who tends to be more on the pre diabetic side of things, wore a continuous glucose monitor. Now this is just a study of n equals 1 anecdotal, but I've seen this a lot with my weight loss clients at PhD weight loss that tortilla chips will spike their blood sugar like nothing else. So the same thing happened with my mom. She wore a cgm, she had some tortilla chips and she was blown away by the blood glucose spike that it caused where beans also did that for her. I believe she had some ice cream and it didn't have the same impact. So even though it's savory and we think of it not necessarily as a treat, it can. Corn really can significantly impact your blood sugar. So if you're sensitive, I just wanted to share that with you just in case so you can be aware. Now not everyone reacts to the same food in the same way. So you don't have to consider any of this if you don't want to. But if you're feeling bloated, if you're foggy, if you're struggling with fat, specifically around the belly, if you are stuck in your fat loss journey, then some of these veggies could be the hidden culprit and I think it's important that I share it with you. So if you have any comments, any thoughts, please drop them in the comment section below. And please make sure you subscribe to this channel so you don't miss another video. Now. If you want to take your anti inflammatory and fat burning strategy even even farther, then check out my next video. It's called what I Do. If I wanted to drop £20 in the next 60 days and I provide a full meal plan, I reveal exactly what to eat each day. If you want to drop weight quickly so just click here to watch it now.