Ashley Malik (00:08.482)
All right, you have heard the term anti -inflammatory diet, but what does it actually mean and can it really help you lose weight and have more energy? Yes, it can. So in today's episode, we're going to dig into anti -inflammatory nutrition, what it is and what it's not. And we'll talk about solutions for getting started easily because if it's not easy, you're not gonna stick with it.
Now, this is a bit more of a nerdy episode. You're probably gonna wanna take some notes because anti -inflammatory nutrition is the cornerstone of everything I do. So I really wanna be sure that you understand what it is. All right, I believe that every woman over the age of 40 should be eating an anti -inflammatory diet. And really, that's why all of my programs and private coaching
prioritize this way of eating. When you're a mom and you're balancing the stress of managing your career while also trying to raise your family, maybe you're shuttling kids to games and practices and maybe you're even like me, you're taking care of aging parents too. When you have all of this going on, life can feel super overwhelming. But simply changing up the foods you eat can really help.
to support your busy schedule. Plus, if you struggle with other health issues, maybe like hypothyroidism or maybe you're navigating your way through perimenopause and maybe you're even struggling to lose any weight at all, anti -inflammatory nutrition is the fastest and easiest way to improve your health from head to toe.
So let's take a closer look at what anti -inflammatory nutrition actually is.
Ashley Malik (02:09.558)
The good news first, when anti -inflammatory nutrition is done correctly, you'll have meals that taste amazing, that fill you up. And if you do it right, you should never ever feel deprived. So I want you to keep that in mind as we keep looking at anti -inflammatory nutrition. It really is just more than healthy eating. I used to think that I was a healthy eater and maybe you do too.
You know, I eat salads every day. I would eat whole grain bread. I'd have oatmeal for breakfast. I'd eat eggs. But the reality is that my body was saying something different because I was really struggling. You know, many years ago, 10 years ago, I was struggling with thyroid issues. I had the worst brain fog and I could not lose weight no matter what I tried.
So an anti -inflammatory diet is designed to do two different things. First, it's designed to lower inflammation. And you do that by eating foods that are going to support good gut health. Now we'll talk about gut health in just a minute, so stick with me. The other goal with an anti -inflammatory diet is to not contribute to additional inflammation. And the way you do this is by taking out
really highly inflammatory foods. So basically you're gonna eat more of the good stuff and you're gonna eat less of the bad stuff, right? Great, but what does that look like in your kitchen, in your real life? So you wanna be eating a diet that's full of nutrient dense foods like salmon, chicken, leafy greens, fresh berries, olives, avocados, nuts, and really my favorite, which is dark chocolate.
Three cheers for that, right? And then as for foods that you shouldn't eat, the things that we're going to take out or that we don't want to contribute to the inflammation, this is sometimes the harder part of the diet because it really, asks you to take out foods that cause inflammation like gluten and dairy, refined sugar, corn, soy, and so many processed and packaged foods.
Ashley Malik (04:34.278)
And if you really want to see improved health and weight loss, you should say goodbye to alcohol, at least for a little bit. Okay. But before you say, forget it, Ashley, I want you to just remember that this way of eating is not about deprivation. I tell people all the time, I eat chocolate every single day, every day, but I found a chocolate that works with my anti -inflammatory approach.
It's really about being more intentional with the food that you eat so that you can have energy and feel amazing every day. I promise you are worth it. To help you out, I've added a link in the show notes to a list of foods that you should eat and a list of foods that you should steer clear of. These resources will definitely help you get started. So check it out in the show notes.
Ashley Malik (05:41.506)
All right, now I've talked about the neutral.
Ashley Malik (05:47.542)
I've talked about the nutrition part, but I keep saying the word inflammation. So you might be wondering what the heck is that anyway? In this context, we're talking about systemic inflammation. So for what we talk about in this podcast, the majority of inflammation comes from poor gut health. So your gut microbiome is made up of this delicate balance of good and bad bacteria.
and it comes from your mouth all the way through your intestines. Really, your gut microbiome is like this rain forest that everything just needs to be in perfect balance and harmony. Unfortunately, our gut health is compromised just by getting older, especially when we enter perimenopause. When we're juggling stress with career and family, it can be compromised if you're overweight.
and if your body is fighting other health conditions. Like for me, it was hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's. So how do even know if your body is struggling with inflammation? And that's a great question. Believe it or not, your body sends up these smoke signals to say that it's struggling if you know what to look for. So this can look like difficulty losing weight.
having brain fog, the brain fog is like forgetting names or important dates like birthdays. You might have low energy, maybe you're losing your hair or you have joint pain. There can be so many other signals. I want you to keep an eye out for a later episode where I'm gonna share with you 10 kind of unusual symptoms that signal that your body is struggling with inflammation. So more to come on that. So if you struggle with some of these symptoms,
cleaning up your gut health is going to be your first line of defense. Because with better gut health, you're going to start reducing the inflammation in your body, which is automatically going to improve your health overall. Plus, if you have inflammation, you might not be absorbing all of the nutrients in the food that you're eating. So if you can clean up your gut health, you're actually going to absorb more nutrients, which will automatically give you more energy.
Ashley Malik (08:08.098)
and a healthy gut and less inflammation can help you feel calm and peaceful by soothing your nervous system. So when your body is nourished, energetic and calm, you are going to feel better from head to toe.
Ashley Malik (08:29.314)
Sounds great, Ashley, but this sounds like a lot, right? I mean, maybe you're thinking, it sounds so hard and I don't even know how I'd get started anyway. So let's talk about that. The number one tip that I can give you is to start slow. In working with clients and in more than 10 years of my own personal experience, which has helped me to lose over 60 pounds, I know that it's best to start slow.
because a slow start builds strong roots. Okay, let me repeat that. A slow start builds strong roots. I know we want things to happen quickly and we want results, but I promise you starting slow is really going to be in your benefit. If you take the time in implementing this new way of eating, you are going to establish habits that work with your anti -inflammatory diet.
and it'll make it easy to keep those habits for life. So when I work with clients, I like to look at it as sort of like levels of anti -inflammatory nutrition. And this might help you when you are trying to start slow and work your way up. So level one is when you decide to go gluten -free. And most people do this because they're aware, they're just being more aware about what they're eating and they're frustrated with, you know,
You might have signals that your body is giving you and you feel really frustrated, but you're still trying to put together the nutrition piece. When you get to level two, you've gone gluten free, but now you're also trying to go dairy free and you're starting to eat fewer processed foods. You're definitely reading more labels at this point and you're more aware of what is in your food and you have this better understanding of ingredients and how they impact
your body. The thing about an anti -inflammatory diet is that one person can eat tomatoes and another person might not be able to. So it's really important to get to this level two, where you understand how certain foods impact you specifically. By the time we get to level three, you are eating almost entirely a whole foods diet. So foods that are like really super nutrient dense.
Ashley Malik (10:52.012)
You don't have foods with added gums or thickeners or preservatives, and you're really watching your added sugars. And maybe you've even stopped drinking alcohol. But you do have to start with level one and then just slowly work your way into making anti -inflammatory nutrition a lifestyle. We don't want it to be a diet. We want this to be the way that you eat for life. Now, along with starting slow,
it's important that you only choose approaches that are sustainable. mean, really, truly sustainable for you, your family, and exactly what your life looks like. So raise your hand if you've tried a short -term diet like Whole30, and maybe you even felt really good, but you kind of stopped eating that way after it was over. And when you look back, you think, God, it was too hard to keep up with the meal plan.
because you also had to feed your family and other people in your household too. And maybe when it came to eating out and going to birthday parties and barbecues, it was just too hard because by the time you got there, you really didn't know what to eat. So you kind of fell back into the way that you were eating before. And even though you didn't feel good that way, you just weren't sure what else to do. So I really, this...
sort of illustrates that if the approach doesn't fit into your real life, your everyday schedule and all of the obligations you have, you're not going to be able to stick with it. So it's essential that you start slow and find the right plan that works for you. So now that you know what an anti -inflammatory diet is and how it can help you, I want to talk about one more thing. A lot of women ask me if they can lose weight with an anti -inflammatory diet.
So while an anti -inflammatory diet isn't like...
Ashley Malik (12:53.804)
While an anti -inflammatory diet isn't designed specifically for weight loss, it is usually a nice side effect. So when you remove processed and unhealthy or inflammatory foods and you start eating more fruits and veggies, you are naturally going to lose some weight. Plus by supporting your body with foods that fight inflammation like berries and leafy greens and remember that dark chocolate.
you will have less overall inflammation, less bloating and water retention. So you're going to lose that weight that way too. And then after eating an anti -inflammatory diet for a while, you are going to find that your body craves whole nutrient dense foods. You're going to have fewer cravings for sugar and other processed foods, and you'll have more energy because your body is getting the nutrients it needs. So yes.
you actually can lose weight and get healthy from the inside out when you eat an anti -inflammatory diet. Okay, so you might be wondering, great Ashley, but what's the best way to put all of this together? And that's a good question. And I have you covered. So I want you to check the show notes. I've put a link there for a free seven day meal plan. That's also called the family fork that includes anti -inflammatory recipes for you.
plus a family -friendly version of the same recipes. And this works because you're making one meal every night and just making small modifications for yourself or your family. And I want you to think, bacon burgers, Italian meatballs, even quesadillas. Sounds pretty good, right? It really is the perfect plan to keep you full and satisfied while still feeding your family meals that they love.
which if you can find a plan like that, it's ultimately going to help keep you on track. So be sure to grab the Family Fork Meal Plan in the show notes. Learning how to eat an anti -inflammatory diet, it can take some time, but it is so worth it. You are worth it. Thankfully, restaurants and grocery stores have gotten so much better about offering a wider variety of foods. Restaurants are great about listing ingredients.
Ashley Malik (15:17.59)
And they've even added gluten and dairy free options. Plus they can also make substitutions for you very easily. And remember, you probably found this podcast because you were searching for ways to get healthier and to feel better. I mean, you're exhausted all the time. You have terrible brain fog and you can't lose weight no matter what you try. So while an anti -inflammatory diet, yep, it's an adjustment.
But do it because you want to feel better. Do it because you deserve to feel better. And with a little bit of effort, soon enough, you will feel better.
