Weight Loss
Are you someone who is frustrated with lack of results with your attempts to lose weight? If you feel that you’re eating correctly and exercising and the scale isn’t budging… we call that weight loss resistance and there is a good chance that there is something off with your biochemistry.
Dietary recommendations have certainly changed over the years with respect to maintaining healthy weight. Previous misguided dietary advice told us that it’s all about calories and that fat was bad. Decreasing fat intake led to an increase in carbohydrates, i.e. sugars, and this has actually driven the the epidemic of diabetes and obesity we have today. The latest research is showing the best diets for weight loss, as well as other health benefits, are lower carbohydrate diets, combined with some sort of fasting. However, many people are unsuccessful at losing weight even though they follow the the best lifestyle interventions.
If you are someone who has tried many things to lose weight without success, we call that weight loss resistance, and there is generally an underlying medical reason for this. When the chemistry of the body is off, no weight loss program will provide lasting results.
Hormonal imbalances, inflammation, chronic gut infections, toxins and food intolerances are some of the common things that can be blocking weight loss. Gut health and the microbiome play a huge role in weight. In fact, there are certain bacteria in our gut that will actually cause more calories to be retained from the same amount of food as compared to other bacteria. Genetics as well play a role, and testing for genetic variations can shed light on what dietary approaches may work best. As well, other environmental factors beyond diet, influence weight and obesity – things like sleep problems, toxin exposure and stress are common examples.
It’s also important to keep in mind, that we need to look at all the factors in the treatment of obesity, not only for the sake of hitting a target on the scale but for avoiding obesity related chronic diseases. Obesity, and the blood sugar imbalances that go along with it, put you at risk for almost every bad health outcome there is – cancer, heart disease, dementia, and stroke.
As you can see by now, my approach towards weight and obesity is to look at all the factors contributing to the situation – diet, exercise, reward pathways, toxic exposures, hidden gut infections, hormones and nutritional deficiencies. Let’s uncover what’s holding you back in your chemistry and get you to your ideal healthy weight.