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Jay Shetty Podcast

The Fastest Way To Lose Belly Fat (THIS Is The Best Kept Weight Loss Secret) | Dr. Mindy Pelz

Dr. Mindy Pelz reveals shocking truths about weight loss that the food industry doesn't want you to know!

Dr. Mindy PelzguestJay Shettyhost

Oct 21, 20241h 29mWatch on YouTube

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CHAPTERS

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Chapter summaries

The Biggest Fasting Mistake: Doing the Same Fast Every Day
Jay Shetty asks what the worst mistake is while fasting. Dr. Mindy Pelz says it is repeating the same fast daily, because the body adapts and slows metabolism. She explains feast-famine cycling and varying your eating window to fit your lifestyle and cycle.
- •The body adapts to a repeated hormetic stress and can slow its metabolism
- •Fasts should vary in length rather than being identical every day
- •Feast-famine cycling reflects how humans were designed, as with hunter-gatherers
- •Each day has a fasting window and an eating window, and the eating window can shift with lifestyle
- •Women should also base their fasting on their cycle
Customizing Meals and Fasts to Your Intention
Jay describes his three-meals-a-day routine and goal of building muscle. Mindy says it depends on your intention and recommends fueling before and after a morning workout. She stresses eating in the light and customizing so the habit becomes effortless.
- •Mindy asks about intention first, and Jay's is gaining strength and muscle
- •Eat before and after a workout when building muscle
- •Eat in the light, since melatonin at night increases insulin resistance
- •Stopping at about 6 PM gives a roughly 14-hour fast
- •Customizing to your goals makes the habit effortless instead of discipline-driven
Why the Body Stores Belly Fat and the Role of Cortisol
Asked about the fastest way to lose belly fat, Mindy reframes the question as what causes weight gain. She says the body stores excess glucose, hormones and toxins around the belly to protect vital organs. She starts with lowering cortisol through movement, nature and positive people.
- •Ask what causes weight gain, not just how to get it off
- •Excess glucose, hormones and toxins get stored away from vital organs, starting at the belly
- •Thank the body instead of shaming yourself
- •Move when stressed, because cortisol is meant to make you move
- •Walking, time in nature and positive people help bring cortisol down
Toxins, Obesogens and Stem Cells Turning Into Fat Cells
Mindy says we live in a highly toxic time and describes obesogens in food and plastics. She says these chemicals reprogram stem cells to make fat cells. She recommends eating food without labels and knowing your ingredients.
- •Women put over 200 toxic chemicals on their skin daily, according to Mindy
- •Obesogens include BPA plastics, pesticides, artificial colorings and flavorings, BHT and BHA
- •Chemicals reprogram stem cells to make fat cells; she cites the UK, where children are shorter and bigger
- •Eat food without a label, from farmers' markets and known butchers
- •Detox and reduce toxic load
How Processed Food Hijacks Your Taste Buds
Mindy explains that food chemicals serve shelf life and hijack taste buds. She uses a potato chip example of engineering dopamine hits without triggering fullness. Jay says it feels like this conditioning is who we are, and Mindy says women blame themselves without knowing it.
- •Chemicals are added for shelf life and to make food addictive
- •The potato chip example involves hitting dopamine receptors without triggering fullness
- •Habits can feel like identity but are deep conditioning
- •Women often blame themselves when diet foods contain chemicals that promote fat storage
- •Unhooking from the food system is needed for results
Calories vs. Blood Sugar and Glucose Spikes
Asked whether calories matter, Mindy says they matter in research but not in human behavior, so blood sugar matters more. She describes a CGM patient whose spikes dropped after changing how meals were built. She sets a 90-minute recovery standard and mentions the 16:8 research.
- •Mindy's statement: blood sugar matters, calories don't
- •A CGM shows real-time spikes and helps people make better choices
- •A plant-based patient dropped from about 10 spikes to 4 by adding fat and fiber
- •Mindy prefers glucose returning to baseline within 90 minutes; most doctors say two hours
- •Satchin Panda's 16:8 study showed a protective effect from an eight-hour eating window
Eating for Your Microbes and Breaking Sugar Cravings
Jay asks about eating for microbes rather than taste buds. Mindy says gut microbes and fungus can drive cravings and that you can starve them out with chemical-free food, diverse foods and fasting. She cites the every-other-day study, and Jay shares how he reduced his sugar intake.
- •Gut microbes send signals to the brain about what to feed them
- •Eat chemical-free and diversify foods to change the microbiome
- •In the every-other-day study, participants' food cravings changed
- •Fasting windows starve out microbes, and the longer the fast, the more die off
- •Jay says his sugar habit improved with workouts, sleep and nutrition, and Mindy says you train your body to crave
Protein as the Hero Macronutrient: How Much Is Enough?
Mindy says protein targets are hard to sustain and suggests prioritizing protein at every meal. She shares her own experiment with one gram per pound, which added fat for her, and stresses N of 1. She mentions the zone diet and building balanced meals.
- •Common targets are one gram per pound, up to two grams, or 30 grams per meal
- •For busy people, Mindy suggests choosing the protein source first at each meal
- •Jay finds large amounts of protein hard on his gut and appetite
- •Mindy gained fat on one gram per pound and returned to protein with every meal
- •How a meal is built with fat, fiber and natural carbs matters more than the protein amount
Toxic Fats, Olive Oil and Using Fat to Steady Blood Sugar
Mindy says toxic fats like canola, soybean and other processed oils make you fat, while olive, avocado and other whole oils help. She describes using fat as a blood sugar break for performance and cravings. She notes olive oil's polyphenols feed good microbes.
- •Processed seed and vegetable oils are toxins the body stores in fat
- •Olive, avocado, MCT and nut oils are used by the body and help kill hunger
- •Fat can steady glucose before high-performance moments, as Mindy did before the podcast
- •Olive oil polyphenols feed good microbes and curb cravings
- •She cares more about metabolic health, performance and microbes than calories
Eating to Make Hormones and Syncing With Your Cycle
Mindy explains the idea from Eat Like a Girl that women need enough nutrients to make hormones, using her "key 24". She links this to weight loss drugs and lays out low-carb and high-carb phases in the cycle, with changes in perimenopause. Insulin resistance rises as estrogen declines.
- •The key 24 nutrients, including amino acids and omega-3s, are needed to make hormones
- •Weight loss drugs can leave nutrient gaps if food variety is lacking
- •Front half of the cycle suits lower carb, back half higher carb
- •Falling estradiol in perimenopause increases insulin resistance
- •Ketobiotic and hormone feasting are low-carb and high-carb approaches
The Complexity of the Female Body and Lifestyle Before Medication
Mindy calls the female body highly complex and rhythmic, comparing it to a violin versus a ukulele. She argues for lifestyle first before antidepressants, hormone replacement or weight loss drugs. She describes the shift from a cultural hush around menopause to cultural chaos, and her five changes in The Menopause Reset.
- •Female hormones create highs and lows that men's 24-hour cycle does not
- •Insulin resistance in women can lead to infertility, PCOS and severe menopause symptoms
- •Mindy urges lifestyle as first-line treatment before medicating
- •She is not opposed to hormone replacement but says lifestyle must change alongside it
- •Her five changes: fasting, varying foods, feeding microbes, detoxing, and reducing rushing
Fasting as the Door In, Who Shouldn't Fast, and Meat Bowls
Mindy calls fasting the best door in and tells of clinic patients visibly changing within two weeks. She lists who should avoid or take care with fasting, including that diabetics can do well with supervision. She then discusses meat bowls and carnivore fasting as a short-term therapeutic tool.
- •Fasting is the quickest way to build momentum, in Mindy's view
- •Pregnant or nursing women should not fast, and those with eating disorders need support
- •Type 1 and type 2 diabetics can do well with fasting under doctor supervision
- •Meat bowls should use clean protein and still include fiber
- •Carnivore fasting for two to three weeks was used for autoimmune patients, then fiber returned
Empowerment Through Education and Accessible Health Tools
Mindy argues doctors should teach rather than just prescribe so people are empowered. Asked about affordable measures, she lists post-meal signs that you got your meal right and shares a story of teachers on limited budgets. She says fasting is affordable for everyone.
- •A doctor means to teach, and understanding why makes people empowered
- •Signs of a good meal include energy, clarity, controlled cravings and not being hungry every two to three hours
- •Wearables and CGMs are expensive, so symptoms are a free alternative
- •Teachers described budget and exhaustion barriers to healthy eating
- •Fasting is a tool everyone can afford, and fast food can be eaten in a compressed window
How to Train Yourself to Fast and Breakfast Timing
Mindy explains how to start by pushing breakfast back an hour at a time, reaching 13 to 15 hours within about two weeks. She discusses coffee choices and the differing views of Satchin Panda and Stacy Sims on eating after waking. She concludes everyone is their own N of 1.
- •Push breakfast back an hour, stay with it, then extend gradually
- •Take coffee black or with cow's or goat's dairy rather than sugary creamers or plant milks
- •Within two weeks people often fast 13 to 15 hours effortlessly
- •Panda prefers waiting an hour after waking, Sims wants nutrients within a half hour
- •Listen to your own body
Body Image, Fat and Disconnection From Our Bodies
Mindy says women are disconnected from their bodies and the rhythms of their cycles. She argues estrogen makes the female body more padded and that being extremely thin can disrupt hormones. She advises eating enough calories, separating hunger from emotion, and letting go of control.
- •Women are manipulating their bodies to match social media images
- •Estrogen gives women more padding, which may be normal
- •Many young women lack menstrual cycles due to low calorie diets
- •She says 1,200 calories a day consistently is needed for the thyroid
- •Ask whether you're hungry or bored, sad or in need of energy, and control blood sugar and sleep instead of weight
Fasting and Working Out
Mindy says it depends on your intention and recounts the Body for Life idea of training in a fasted state to burn fat. She notes the risk of breaking down muscle. She suggests fasted cardio or yoga for weight loss and protein before and after strength training for muscle.
- •Fasted workouts push the body to burn stored fat
- •Fasted training can break down muscle
- •Fasted cardio and yoga suit weight loss goals
- •Have some protein before and after strength days to build muscle
- •Different days and workouts serve different goals
Fast Five: Best and Worst Advice, Purpose, and the FDA
In the closing rapid-fire questions, Mindy names eating in the light as her best advice and low-fat, low-calorie foods as the worst. She criticizes the FDA's GRAS category and its handling of partially hydrogenated oils, and says health is each person's responsibility. She states her purpose, why healing women heals the world, and her law to eat real food.
- •Best advice: don't eat in the dark
- •Worst advice: low-fat, low-calorie foods help you lose weight; aspartame is called an obesogen
- •The GRAS category assumes new ingredients are safe until proven harmful
- •Her purpose is to reconnect women to their bodies
- •Her one law would be to eat real food without chemicals

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