The Secret Diet of Slim Women
They seem to eat everything they want and still lose weight. Here’s how they do it – and you can too.

by Lauren Condell
Certified Personal Trainer

 

The reason you can’t ditch those extra pounds? Your body may be working against you. According to new research, inflammation, a condition in which your immune system is kicked into overdrive, may lead to weight gain and make losing more difficult. Doctors think inflammation interferes with leptin, a hormone that helps control appetite and metabolism. “In a normal-weight person, when body fat increases, leptin levels rise, which signals the brain that it needs to speed up metabolism and decrease appetite,” explains Leo Galland, M.D., director of the Foundation for Integrated Medicine in New York and author of The Fat Resistance Diet. “But in heavy people, that message gets lost, and the body can’t regulate its fat stores.”

Inflammation is caused by a number of factors, including stress, lack of exercise and exposure to toxins, and it contributes to medical problems such as heart disease and arthritis. But the foods you eat, especially a diet high in saturated and trans fats, sugar and red meat, can also trigger it.

The simple solutions, says Dr. Galland, is the Fat Resistance Diet: Eat super foods, such as apples, almonds, bell peppers, salmon and egg whites, that act as natural forms of ibuprofen, helping to stop inflammation. Some pretty convincing evidence that his plan works: On this diet, people have achieved their optimal weight, losing as much as 100 pounds. A number of Dr. Galland’s patients have kept the weight off for up to 20 years. “It’s all about consuming the right foods and enjoying what you’re eating,” says Dr. Galland.