Hannah Ebelthite - The G plan diet : the revolutionary diet for gut-healthy weight loss

Lets face it, the gut is a hard sell. You cant see it, youve probably never given it much thought And yet, it is probably the most exciting subject in health right now. Were seeing so many breakthroughs in our understanding of how the gut works, why its important and what it means for the future of medicine. But this book isnt a dry dissection of all the research. Its the practical application. What can you do now to start benefitting from the latest findings? Its all in these pages.

The trillions of microbes in your gut are not only essential for digesting food, they also provide vital enzymes and vitamins, and control the calories you absorb, linking the health of the gut directly to weight issues. Whether you want to lose weight or not, or whether youre one of the one in four people who struggles with a digestive issue, you can benefit. The evidence is there, as youll learn in the following chapters, that good gut health has an impact on your digestion, your day-to-day comfort and energy levels, your immunity, mental wellbeing and your chronic disease risk.

Even more exciting is the fact that you are in charge. What you eat determines your personal pick n mix of gut bacteria that are then able to help keep you happy, healthy and naturally slim.

I wasnt always so enamoured with what lay beneath my navel. I took the well-trodden path of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and poor skin in my teens. The antibiotics that I took to improve the skin worsened the tummy troubles. My calorie-controlled diet a rite of passage at that time was a disaster for my gut and fed my cravings for carbohydrates.

It wasnt until I began to study nutrition that a change of diet solved the triple whammy of woes and changed my life, body and career forever. Fifteen years later I now understand and appreciate that my personal experience helped carve out what I now call my Rest, Re-wild and Rebalance approach to the gut.

The Rest phase is more like a detox. The D-word is often misconstrued but my meaning is lightening the load on the body, eliminating trigger and troublesome foods, and supporting the organs of detoxification and elimination. I have run detox retreats for more than a decade using a fasting-style approach and the results after a few days alone are often astonishing. The version in this plan is less extreme theres plenty of food but your digestion will still benefit from a well-earned rest.

Then comes Re-wild. It might sound a bit hunter gatherer but it requires no survival skills other than some online shopping for diverse and helpful ingredients, none of which are overly obscure or expensive.

Last but certainly not least, Rebalance is about getting to the place where you can easily maintain your well-deserved results, enjoy more freedom around food and, most important of all, feel happy.

So, please ditch the idea that being healthy from the inside out means living with endless restrictions or boring and bland food choices. Once your gut is healthy, a varied and inclusive diet is firmly back on the menu. For me that includes some delicious dark chocolate, a morning coffee or two, an occasional glass of wine with dinner or a gin and tonic with the girls. How very refreshing!

This is a book for anyone who wants a new approach to eating, to finally shift the excess and find their happy weight. Its for you if youre sick of trying diets that feel hard to follow and instinctively unhealthy. If your energy levels and mood are low but you feel powerless to raise them. If you feel your waist measurement is increasing, your shape is changing and youre not sure why. And if youd like to be less reliant on processed foods and sugars but youre not sure how.

Its been a selfish endeavour, because its really a book for me. On my 40th birthday, I resigned myself to never losing that extra half stone. My expanding waist felt like an inevitable consequence of creeping middle age. I love exercise but it no longer changed my shape.

I was a classic example of the busy person who thinks they dont have time to be healthier. I made sure my kids ate well, but would have their toast-crust leftovers for breakfast. Id skip lunch or buy a sandwich, far too busy and important to stop work and make something nutritious. Then Id wonder why I could barely keep my eyes open come mid-afternoon. My skin wasnt great, my focus was lacking and my stomach was bloated. My doctor checked if it was a thyroid problem or peri-menopause. When it wasnt, I concluded it must be modern life.

As a health writer Ive seen just about every diet trend come and go. Ive tried many of them, in the interests of journalism, and I know a fad when I see one. Gut health is definitely a trend but its no fad. Its an area of health thats here to stay.

So when Amanda and I started working on this book, I immediately volunteered to be its guinea pig. If I could stick to her plan and make it work, it could work for anyone.

In just a few weeks it genuinely changed the way I eat, for good. Ive lost the taste for sugar, I bypass processed, convenience foods and prepare nearly everything from scratch. Ive not been hungry. How have I fitted it into my oh-so-busy life? Erm, pretty easily. I can only think I was kidding myself that I didnt have the time.

By the end of the 21 days I was feeling lighter in weight as well as in mood. My usual 10 days of deranged premenstrual doom didnt happen. People remarked that I looked well and slimmer. I lost 3.6kg (8lb), at least 2.5cm (1 inch) each from my arms, thighs and hips and 7.5cm (3 inches) from my waist. Delighted is an understatement. As I write this, a couple of months on, Im still enjoying the G Plan way of eating and I havent regained any weight or inches. I really feel great.

And I know that you can, too. If you have any reservations about sticking to an eating plan, put them to one side and just go for it. Its only 21 days thats shorter than any commitment you might make for Lent or Dry January or the like. It works because it goes beyond what you can control and starts changing your body on a biological level. Its 21 days that can transform your eating, your shape and your life.

Gut. Its not a very attractive word, is it? We tend not to talk much about our gut. We probably dont think about it enough, either. Until fairly recently, even scientists were in the dark about the guts importance in the body. Now they cant stop talking about it.

Much of the latest research is pointing to digestive health as not only the key to overall health, but the secret to losing weight and feeling fantastic its pretty exciting stuff. So its time we all got better acquainted with what goes on down there.