I’m a Dietitian and Here’s the Food Combo That Helped Me Lose 100 Pounds

Everyone knows that swapping out unhealthy foods for healthier ones will help you lose weight. However, one nutrition expert says that using certain combinations of seasoning and spices can also lead to weight loss. Ilana Muhlstein, RD, is a mother-of-two, nutritionist, and weight loss warrior (@nutritionbabe) who dropped 100 pounds naturally. (She also just wrote a terrific new cookbook, Love The Food That Loves You Back.) In one viral video, she reveals a surprising hack that helped her control her cravings, eat less, and lose weight. We also asked The Diet Diva, Tara Collingwood, MS, RDN, CSSD, LD/N, ACSM-CPT, a Board Certified Sports Dietitian, to weigh in on her tactic.

She Says the Combo or Sugar, Salt, and Fat Is Addictive

According to Ilana, there is a reason why some food is addictive while other foods are easy to put down. “The secret why you can't put down that bag of Oreos or Doritos, the combination of sugar, salt, and fat,” she says in the TikTok video.

An Oreo Cookie Is an Example

Ilana Muhlstein Nutrition/Facebook

She uses an Oreo cookie as an example. “When I was on my health journey, I discovered the food science industry and the source of addictive eating is this trifecta. You can even lick an Oreo cookie and taste that it's salty, which balances really well with the sugary fatty center,” she continues.

Related: I Lost 40 Pounds By Eating These 8 Foods

She Seasons Her Lean Proteins and Veggies with the Sweet and Salty Balance

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She points out that food companies do this to make money. “More addictive food equals higher sales for the food company,” she says. “I decided if they could do it to their food, I could do it to mine. Now I season all my lean proteins and veggies with this balance"—in the case of some chicken tenders, it looks like a mix of olive oil, dry cheese flakes and brown sugar—"and it really does keep me craving all the foods that make me feel good,” she says.

Try Fresh Herbs and Spices, Too

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“I totally agree with seasoning your foods to make them tasty,” says Collingwood. “But that doesn’t mean it needs to be with sugar and salt or fat.” Like Ilana, she says enhance your food with fresh and dried herbs, which “can go a long way for seasoning,” she says. Another option? Lemon or lime juice “to provide tartness,” she says.

Related: Tone Your Body in Less Than 20 Minutes With This Beginner Routine

Or Hot Sauce

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Another option? “Hot sauce has few calories and you only need a very small amount to have a big impact on flavor,” she says.

💪🔥Body Booster: Seasoning your food – whether it is with sugar, salt, and fat, fresh herbs, lemons, or hot sauce – will likely offer more satiation and less cravings to overeat than unseasoned foods.

As a registered dietitian who lost a hundred pounds and kept it off, I know the struggle of weight loss all too well. It started at a young age, with summers spent at weight loss camps and school years marked by yo-yo dieting. This cycle continued for years, leading me to a point where I was 215 pounds at just five feet two inches tall.

The constant battle with weight took a toll not only on my body but also on my self-esteem. But it was this very struggle that ignited my passion for nutrition and set me on a path to discover a sustainable way to lose weight. Now, as a Registered Dietitian with a Master's degree in Nutrition and Dietetics, my ideas have worked for literally thousands of people, through my work as a nutritionist and best-selling author of You Can Drop It!, the book based on my successful 2B Mindset program.

Now, I’ve encapsulated those principles into my new cookbook, Love The Food That Loves You Back, featuring 100 recipes that serve up big portions and super nutritious food. Here's a sneak peek about how the foods can work for you—and a mouth-watering dessert-for-breakfast recipe at the end.

1. You Don’t Have to Give Up Great Taste to Lose Weight

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Love The Food That Loves You Back is filled with recipes that are not just healthy but delicious and satisfying. They reflect my journey and philosophy: you don't have to give up great taste to lose weight. In fact, I believe in eating high-volume, low-calorie foods that allow you to enjoy hearty portions without the guilt. These are the recipes that helped me transition from a lifestyle of takeout and fast food to one where I could still enjoy eating and see progress on the scale. In the cookbook, you'll find an array of recipes that cater to all meals of the day, for all members of your family. These recipes are the embodiment of my weight loss journey and my professional knowledge as a dietitian. They are designed to help you lose weight without feeling like you're on a diet.

Related: 12 Best Foods For Women to Build Muscle

2. How to Eat Food and Lose Weight

Photo: Gabriel Mendoza Weiss / Design: Elina Diaz

Losing 100 pounds was just the start of my journey. The real success has been in maintaining that weight loss and helping others do the same. Through my cookbook and the 2B Mindset program, I want to share the joy of eating well and living healthily. I believe that everyone deserves to love the food they eat and to love the way they feel. Here are the cornerstones of Love The Food That Loves You Back in a nutshell:

1. Embrace Healthy Foods and Transform Your Relationship with Food: You can shift from using food as a coping mechanism for emotional distress to celebrating it through healthy, delicious recipes.

2. Eat Smart, Not Less: I advocate for choosing nutrient-rich foods over merely reducing food quantity.

3. Prioritize Vegetables and Proteins: I emphasize the importance of incorporating more vegetables and proteins, often overlooked in the typical American diet.

4. Break Food Myths: Let's debunk the myth that tasty food is unhealthy and show how nutritious food can also be delicious.

5. Recognize the Holistic Impact of Food: Let's acknowledge the profound influence of food on overall health, including gene expression, microbiome, and brain chemistry.

6. Encourage Creative and Mindful Cooking: I hope to inspire creativity in the kitchen and promote mindful consumption with tools and methods for balanced serving sizes. I believe in offering a range of serving size suggestions to cater to different body types and needs.

7. Encourage a Responsive Eating Approach: Unlike other restrictive "diet" cookbooks, I recommend eating more if still hungry, focusing on vegetables and proteins, and introduce the “More? Sure!” Model for smart filling up.

As you can see, the goal of Love The Food That Loves You Back is to help you enjoy your favorite foods and flavors while improving your eating habits and mindset. It’s about learning to crave nutritious foods, not just tolerate them. I want to inspire you to get creative in the kitchen with recipes that taste like comfort food and make you feel amazing. Remember, this is not a weight loss book, but a journey to love the foods that genuinely love your body back.

3. These Meals Were the Cornerstone of My Weight Loss Journey

Ilana Muhlstein

I'm thrilled to share with you the very meals that have been a cornerstone of my weight loss journey. The cookbook kicks off with breakfast – it's not just the first meal of the day; it's a celebration of a fresh start. I've packed in recipes like Chocolate Cream Rolls, Protein Oats, and a game-changing Tempeh BLT. Or try Seasonal Breakfast Boats, featuring the exotic tastes of papaya and sweet potato. Make them a morning ritual that'll have you feeling full, reducing those 11 am cravings.

But wait, there's more! You'll discover a world where veggies become your new best friends. I'm talking about dishes like Thai Peanut Hearts of Palm Spaghetti and Eggplant Sesame Noodles – meals that'll make you rethink everything you thought you knew about plant-based eating. And for my fellow crunch enthusiasts, the Roasted Wonders section is a treasure trove. You’ll make Eggplant Parm Fries and Air Fried Mini Bell Peppers. This isn't just about eating well; it's about loving every bite along your journey to health and happiness.

Related: 14 Ways to Get Back in Shape

4. Here’s One of My Favorite Recipes From the Book

Corinne Quesnel / Love The Food That Loves You Back

CHOCOLATE CREAM ROLLS

Who wouldn't want "cake" for breakfast???

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 bananas

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1½ cups plain Greek yogurt (nonfat or 2 percent) or dairy-free “Greek style” yogurt

1 tbsp. cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp. honey, maple syrup, or monk fruit (or use stevia drops to taste)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Cover a rimmed baking sheet or rectangle cooking dish with parchment paper and spray with oil.
2. Blend bananas, eggs, and vanilla extract in a blender. Pour batter on to the baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.
3. In the meantime, whip the yogurt with the cocoa powder, salt, and sweetener of choice in a bowl and set aside.
4. Allow the sheet pan banana “cake” to cool. When cooled, spread the yogurt topping evenly over the sheet pan. Slice lengthwise down the center and roll. Serve along with berries and enjoy.

Note: Stores well covered in the refrigerator, so you can prep the recipe in advance and enjoy the second serving on the next day.

Love The Food That Loves You Backis available now on Amazon or wherever books are sold. Ilana Muhlstein, creator of the 2B Mindset and author of You Can Drop It!, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition and Dietetics, a Registered Dietitian License, and a Master's degree in Nutrition and Dietetics. Her expertise lies in nutrition and weight management, particularly in pediatric obesity, metabolic syndrome, healthy eating, and lifestyle choices. She also specializes in nutrition education and counseling.

Ilana Muhlstein, MS, RD (@nutritionbabe), aka the creator of the 2B Mindset, is a registered dietitian and weight loss warrior who lost a whopping 100 pounds and transformed her life. She has amassed over 2 million TikTok followers for sharing the delicious recipes that helped her achieve her weight loss goals. She encapsulated those principles into her new cookbook, Love The Food That Loves You Back, featuring 100 recipes that serve up big portions and super nutritious food. Here are a few of the most delectable foods that she ate to lose so much weight without having to sacrifice enjoying her meals.

Spicy Tuna on Tofu

“When I was a hundred pounds heavier, my sushi orders were out of control. I always ordered the same fried foods, but I realized if nothing changes, nothing changes. Spicy tuna and crispy rice were my favorites, but I realized it was really that crispy bottom and creamy, spicy topping that I craved the most,” she says in the video. “I started ordering spicy tuna, wrapped in cucumber naruto rolls, which I still love to eat, but I've since upped my game by lightly pan frying some well seasoned tofu coated in a little starch to get that satisfying crunch. Not only is it delicious, but the added protein coming from the tofu makes me feel so satisfied afterward. Not to say I don't love me some good crispy rice, but I'm a volume eater, so this meal works better for me so that I can feel good.”

Related: #1 Trick to Feel Full, Energized, and Satisfied While Eating Food You Love, According to Nutritionist

High Protein Greek Salad

“This is for the girl who has five minutes to make lunch,” she says about her high-protein Greek salad. “We always start with veggies, so I'm chopping up some cucumber. Cut it small, so you have a piece of everything in each bite In the bowl. Tomatoes in the bowl, and a quarter onion, parsley, and mint. Give it a rough chop, a juice of lemon. You can avoid the seeds. I need a tablespoon of olive oil and hot cheese for protein because I don't know about you, but I am not grilling chicken in the middle of the day. Cottage cheese is salty enough for me, so I only use fresh cracked pepper. Mix it all together. A cottage cheese helps make it creamy. I laid it up with some multi-grain crackers, and I love to eat it like this,” she says, scooping it up on the cracker.

Tofu Cabbage Stir Fry

Another go-to meal of hers is tofu and cabbage stir fry. “My husband and I got married 12 years ago. We were so broke. We were straight out of school and still trying to figure stuff out, and with a tiny budget, I had to get creative. We both need protein to feel full, so a cup of noodles for dinner was not going to cut it. Salmon and meat were off the table, and chicken was only for special occasions, so we ended up eating tofu for dinner at least three times a week. I used to buy two blocks of tofu for $5, which was the best-value protein I could find. I tried to make it in a lot of different ways so we wouldn't get sick of it. One of our go-to's was a tofu cabbage stir fry. It doesn't get any more healthy on a budget than this, and I'm still making it 12 years later,” she says, showing off the delicious-looking meal made with carrot and red cabbage.

Turnip or Celery Root Fries

In another video, she reveals that instead of French fries made with potatoes, she makes turnip and celery root fries. “I'm going to turn you on to your new favorite veggies. I get it; green salads might not be your thing, but let's make a bowl of fries. I still love some potatoes, but they're predictable. Why be basic, and you can be sensational?” she asks. Season and bake according to the screen, and thank me later.”

Related: 5 Cardio Workouts That Are Better Than Running

Chocolate Protein Snack

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As for a “chocolatey high protein snack” that can be made in 5 minutes, she starts by grabbing one big bowl. “Add three tablespoons of chocolate chips and three tablespoons of peanut butter. I like it crunchy. Stir it up and microwave. 30 seconds. Mix to coat it all nicely and cover. Then, add one scoop of your favorite chocolate protein. I'm using Shakeology because I love that it has pre and probiotics,” she says. If you enjoyed this article, don't miss I Lost 100 Pounds Eating the Foods in My New Cookbook.

💪🔥Body Booster: Just because you are trying to lose weight doesn’t mean you can’t satisfy your cravings. Look for healthier and lower-calorie alternatives to your favorite foods. Make little swaps that will make a big difference.