Doctor’s Simple Grocery List Shows Exactly What to Eat to Shrink Love Handles Quickly
Dr. DiNic’s grocery list shows you exactly what to eat to shed stubborn love handles fast
Want to know what to eat to make love handles disappear with very little thought or effort? Then write this down: 2 cartons eggs, 2 big tubs Greek yogurt, 2–4 grass-fed steaks, 2–3 lbs. ground beef, 1 whole chicken, 2 bagged salads, 4 avocados, unlimited extra fruit and vegetables (including potatoes!). “That’s your grocery list for the week,” says The Obesity Fix author James DiNicolantonio, PharmD, affectionately known as Dr. DiNic. “Once you read the list, you instantly know what to eat for quick and lasting results.” The nutrition expert says there’s a lot of science behind his picks, but the best evidence comes from real women using his approach in the real world. Take Penny Boyle. “I got to fill my kitchen with delicious whole foods and eat until I was satisfied,” marvels the Arizona grandmother, 58. “And I lost 57 pounds and reversed my prediabetes without tracking or measuring anything at all!” Keep reading for Penny’s story and find out what Dr. DiNic’s list can do for you.
‘Doc, just tell me what to eat to shrink love handles’
Like many of us, Penny spent years yo-yo dieting. She remembers feeling overwhelmed by food logs and diet math—yet she also hated overpaying for tiny portions of packaged meals. “I didn’t want to count points or add water to packets of powdered food anymore,” she says, echoing sentiments Dr. DiNic hears often. Folks tell him they’re tired, busy and fed up with elaborate systems that usually fail. “People say, ‘Just tell me what to eat.’ That inspired the list,” he says. There are no rules to remember. “You get these basic ingredients and you take it from there. You can play with them and have fun.
In general, the list of ingredients tends to be low-carb and nutrient-dense, factors proven to help shrink appetite and boost fat burn by up to 650%. But consider this: You still get unlimited starch and natural sugar (from potatoes and fruit). Can you overeat them? Sure. You can overeat literally anything. But the list makes overeating far less likely to happen.
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Healthy foods with big perks
Mixing and matching foods like yogurt, avocado, greens and beef floods your system with hundreds of beneficial compounds that all work to get you lean and healthy. You can expect:
All-natural hunger control
Eat from the list, and “most people are going to get 30 to 60 grams of protein per meal,” the doc notes. That alone is enough to lower your appetite by 441 calories per day, according to a University of Washington study. Meanwhile, good fats, fiber and antioxidants from sources like avocado and greens make the effect up to 40% stronger. “Try eating two eggs, an avocado and some steak at one sitting,” the doc suggests. “It will be extremely difficult to overeat.” Instead, you’ll crave just-right portions. (Click through to learn more about how increased protein intake is key to weight loss success)
A nice burn-boost
Digesting fiber and protein is hard work, forcing the body to burn up to six times more calories than when it breaks down processed food. Called the thermic effect, “it can burn off as much as 30% of the calories in a whole-food meal,” says Dr. DiNic.
There’s more. Because the fat-loss grocery list contains fewer starches than we usually eat, we’ll naturally eat more veggies and fruit to replace them. That’s good for many reasons. One we often overlook: Fiber in plants feeds health-promoting bacteria in our guts that actually consume some of the calories we eat—so they don’t count.
Probiotics in yogurt help increase good bacteria even more. And studies show bolstering beneficial gut bacteria “can have a huge impact on weight loss and metabolic health,” says the doc. It’s another way his list makes fat loss automatic.
Hormonal magic
The list almost instantly “gets you off the blood-sugar roller coaster,” Dr. DiNic says. “That’s key.” Why? Most of us eat so many refined sweets and carbs that we cause continuous surges of blood sugar. That leads to continuous spikes in insulin, a hormone that stores excess sugar as belly fat; insulin also blocks stored fat from burning.
Making matters worse, constant spikes in blood sugar and insulin cause damage inside us that can lead to prediabetes, type 2 diabetes and other health issues. “Once people get off the processed foods, blood sugar and the ability to lose weight typically improve dramatically,” he notes.
Also crucial: You’re getting some healthy carbs from foods like fruit and potatoes. “This helps raise levels of leptin and thyroid hormones-—a very good thing,” he notes. Leptin helps regulate hunger and fat burn; thyroid hormones rev metabolism. So the list optimizes your hormones, prompting excess pounds to just fall away!
Fat-loss grocery list success story: Penny Boyle, 58
Penny started gaining weight as a busy mom relying on processed and fast food. “Menopause exacerbated the problem,” she recalls. Then for Christmas in 2021, she got…a prediabetes diagnosis. “I didn’t want to go on meds, so my doctor gave me until March to get my weight, A1C, cholesterol and blood pressure down. The first thing I did was cry. Next, I prayed. Then I started blindly searching the internet for diets that offered real food without a bunch of counting.”
She found Dr. DiNic on Instagram. “His posts are filled with ‘bite-size’ nuggets of advice like his grocery list. It’s all easy to understand and apply. You eat actual food, and it’s not restrictive.” Tucking into simple meals like yogurt with fruit and steak with veggies, her hunger was so well controlled, she often just ate brunch and dinner.
In addition to disappearing hunger, Penny noticed something else. ”I used to be tired no matter how much I slept, but suddenly my energy was coming back,” she recalls. How did eating foods from the doc’s list perk her up? It loaded her with nutrients and gave her system a break from processed carbs, allowing her body to heal the damage that was causing her prediabetes. Once that happens, “your body is better able to turn both sugar and stored fat into fuel,” says Dr. DiNic. Burning more fuel means more weight loss. “And more fuel also means more energy.” Penny puts her extra get-up-and-go to good use. “I do strength training, walk daily with my dog and even hike for fun. I feel incredible!”
By June, she was down 57 pounds—and her blood work was perfect. Penny has been maintaining for three years. “I still eat the same basic things most days. I love it. Taking an easier approach worked far better for me than strict plans ever did. Anyone can do this!”
You bought your fat-loss groceries—now what?
Once you have your ingredients, just dig in. “Keep it simple or get creative. Whatever works for you,” says Dr. DiNic. Freely use herbs, spices and healthy condiments like mustard and vinegar. You can also add any nutritious food you’re not apt to overeat, like cottage cheese, cocoa powder or wild-caught fish. But for best results, eat from the list most of the time. For more great advice and inspiration, pick up The Obesity Fix and follow @DrJamesDiNic on Instagram and Dr. James DiNicolantonio on Facebook.
Sample breakfast: Hungry woman special
Few meals hold you over longer than eggs, avocado, tomato and (if you have room!) a little steak.
Sample lunch: Shortcut taco salad
Top salad with taco veggies and chicken. For the dressing, mix yogurt and taco seasoning.
Sample dinner: Old-fashioned meat & potatoes
Mash boiled potatoes with yogurt and dash of olive oil. Enjoy with steak and veggies
Bonus recipe: Fruity banana bark
Here’s how to turn items from your fat-loss grocery list into a really easy and really tasty snack or dessert.
Serves 2
- 8 oz. Greek yogurt
- 1 very ripe banana, mashed
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- Assorted chopped fruit
Mix yogurt, banana and vanilla. Spread on a lined baking sheet. Top with fruit. Freeze. Break into bite-size pieces.
Additional reporting by Kate Arcell
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