How To Eat To Feel Your Best
An Overview of Dr. Mindy Pelz's 5 Core Principles
🧠 5 Foundational Principles for Eating to Feel Your Best
Inspired by Dr. Mindy Pelz’s latest podcast
This is hands down one of the best podcasts I’ve listened to lately. Dr. Mindy Pelz—an incredible functional doctor focused on women’s health—breaks down five core principles that have changed the way I think about food.
Let’s get into it:
1. Blood Sugar Matters—Calories Don’t
Yes, if you take in more energy than you burn, you’ll gain weight. But counting calories is not sustainable long term nor is it healthy. The goal is to listen to your body and eat what your body is asking for when it’s asking for it.
Every time you lose weight, your body adjusts its metabolic set point, meaning you need fewer calories to maintain that weight. If you keep eating less and working out more, you could be stuck in a cycle that makes weight maintenance nearly impossible.
🔁 Instead, focus on balancing your blood sugar.
Every time you spike your blood sugar—hello, sugar and refined carbs—your body releases insulin to clear that sugar from your bloodstream and stores it as fat. If we don’t manage our blood sugar levels, our bodies stay in fat-storage mode instead of fat-burning mode.
If you avoid those spikes, you reduce insulin production, avoid insulin resistance, and naturally support a healthier metabolism.
👉 Pro tip:
Prioritize fiber, protein, and fat in every meal.
Pair carbs with protein, fat and fiber to minimize glucose spikes.
Avoid sugar, refined carbs and processed foods. These will spike your blood sugar majorly!
📚 Check out The Glucose Goddess for all things blood sugar balance.
2. Eat Nature’s Food, Not Human-Made Food
This one’s simple: eat real, whole foods.
When you're about to eat something, ask yourself:
“Did this come from the Earth?”
If it didn’t grow, swim, walk, or fly naturally, your body probably doesn’t want it.
The Earth doesn’t make food that harms us. Packaged and processed products, on the other hand... different story.
Read our whole foods guide to learn what a real, whole food is, make our favorite whole food recipes and download our whole foods grocery shopping list!
3. Eat for Your Microbes, Not Just Your Taste Buds
Here’s the wild part: your gut bacteria influence your cravings.
The more junk you eat, the more your body craves it.
But the opposite is also true—the better you eat, the more you want to eat well.
Focus on feeding the good bacteria in your gut by choosing foods rich in fiber, polyphenols, and nutrients that support gut diversity.
This will make eating healthier easier. The better you eat, the better you feel, the happier your gut will be and the more you will want to eat healthy and supportive foods.
4. Protein Is the Hero Macronutrient
Protein supports everything from muscle to metabolism to hormone health—and most of us aren’t getting enough.
🛒 Add these to your grocery list:
Grass-fed meat
Wild-caught fish
Organic chicken
Pasture-raised eggs
Organic, grass-fed dairy (cottage cheese & yogurt)
Beans
🎯 Pro tip: Pair protein with fiber and fat at every meal for balanced blood sugar and lasting energy.
And don’t forget to mix it up—every protein source offers different amino acids! We want to make sure we’re getting a complete range of amino acids, vitamins and minerals to support our overall health.
5. Fat Doesn’t Make You Fat—But the Wrong Fats Do
The low-fat movement was the beginning of the obesity epidemic. We need fat—especially if you’re a woman! Eating plenty of healthy fats has been one of the biggest levers in re-regulating my hormones after coming off birth control.
Healthy fats are essential. They help build hormones, balance blood sugar, provide sustained energy, fuel the brain, reduce inflammation, aid in vitamin absorption, and support gut health.
If you want thick, strong hair, glowy skin, healthy hormones, balanced energy and a clear mind - eat fat!!
One of the most powerful fat-rich foods? Olive oil. And it’s also loaded with polyphenols that support hormone detox and gut health.
🥑 Fats to love:
Nuts & seeds
Olive oil
Cold water fish
Avocado
Coconut oil
🚫 Fats to avoid:
Soybean oil
Corn oil
Sunflower oil
Vegetable oil
Trans fats & hydrogenated oils in packaged foods
Final Thoughts
Dr. Mindy Pelz explains these principles so clearly, and they’ve really helped me shift how I approach food and wellness. It’s not about restriction—it’s about support.
Support your blood sugar, your gut, your hormones, and your energy.
Start small. Swap one processed item for a real food alternative. Add a little more protein to your breakfast. Cook with olive oil instead of seed oils.
Little shifts = big changes over time.
If you give the podcast a listen, let me know your favorite takeaway! 💌
What do you want to see next week?
Drop it here!
MEET THE FOUNDER
Hi, I’m Annie!
Work with me for lifestyle implementation coaching, book a discovery call here 🫶🏻
Share this newsletter with a friend!
Let’s Feel Good is a growing community, and it would mean the world to us if you shared it to help support our mission of feeling good today for better health tomorrow.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases within this email.
Really interesting that your gut microbiome determines your cravings. It's an easy litmus test for how well you've been eating. So if you're craving sugary desserts etc., it's probably because that's what you've been feeding it and it's looking for more? How long do you think it takes for your gut to change it's cravings?