Strategies for Success and Sustainable Weight Loss

Weight gain is seemingly a perpetual problem.  It does not happen overnight, and the struggle is real.  We live in a world of constant stress and turmoil, affecting our sleep, eating times and exercise habits.  Most of our food supply is processed and lacks nutritional value.  Honestly, at this point we truly know where the evil resides with our food, but we still create these bad lifestyle habits and ignore how it is affecting our health until we reach the point where it becomes so uncomfortable that we feel compelled to make a change.  However, even though we know the weight gain occurred gradually over months to years, it suddenly becomes an emergency to get the weight off as quickly as possible.  We find ourselves frantically searching for weight loss plans that give immediate gratification and results, only to be disappointed later. 

Why do these plans inevitably not last?  Most weight loss plans do not address the actual reason for the weight gain, so there is a temporary fix but no long lasting results.  Here's some truth to the matter - any diet that involves severe calorie restriction or cuts out entire food groups is simply not going to work.  Our bodies do not understand weight loss - but it does understand survival!  At some point the starvation mode slows down your metabolism in an effort to burn less calories - an interesting twist when you’re trying to burn more!!  Think about that.  Is your goal to lose weight now and then gain it back later? 

Sustainable weight loss requires the right mindset.  It takes a lot of willpower, courage, and patience, but you’re here.  You’re ready.  You got this, and you know that things have to change.  You should be prepared to fully examine your eating habits, timing of meals, and the quantity as well as quality of food you are eating.  For example, traveling does not give you the green light to eat whatever you want.  Being away from home should not be a factor.  Rather, you can be disciplined and conscious of your dietary choices and still pick interesting and healthy choices.  Again, realizing that most of our food is overprocessed and packed with poison, you will most likely need to supplement with vitamins to achieve optimal nutritional wellness.  If you are having any digestion issues, abdominal pain or bloating after eating, it is actually not normal.  Your body is reacting.  You may have food sensitivities or intolerances and it is worth taking the time to figure that out.  Perhaps a peptide to heal the gut may be helpful.

Recognize patterns of depression and anxiety.  Take a look at how you sleep.  Lack of sleep reduces fat loss, while deeper sleep repairs brain cells and regulates inflammation.  Are you exercising at all?  Not to point out the obvious, but totally pointing out the obvious!  In addition to cleaning up your diet, it is important to stagger cardiovascular exercise with strength training to achieve better results, burn more calories, shed the fat, and build muscle.

Let's check if you have any hormone imbalances or nutritional deficiencies - these are often roadblocks to success!  It could be the drop in testosterone or estrogen causing you to gain the weight.  Zinc, calcium, or chromium deficiencies can cause sugar cravings, while an increase in cortisol can cause salt cravings as well as lead to mid waist weight gain, insulin resistance, obstructive sleep apnea, metabolic syndrome, or even Diabetes type 2 - all of which cause massive weight gain!  Drops in Vitamin D, Ferritin levels or thyroid hormones can also make losing weight more difficult.  Leptin resistance decreases the ability of leptin to suppress appetite or use energy, leaving you feeling constantly hungry despite having excessive amounts of body fat. 

Water retention secondary to kidney disease or congestive heart failure could be a factor in causing the weight gain.  Occasionally, water retention is caused by medication.  Medications such as birth control pills, antipsychotics, antidepressants, beta-blockers, or medications for epilepsy have been known to cause weight gain, but are often overlooked and rarely addressed.  Some medications suppress your appetite, but also may change the way your body absorbs nutrients.  Long term steroid use for asthma or COPD can make you extra hungry, leading to weight gain from overeating.  Understanding the side effects of medications is key, and the goal would be to stop feeding your body synthetic material that it does not recognize.  There are times where medications can help boost your metabolism and help you lose weight, but it should be temporary and definitely not be part of your long term plan.  It is always best to go as natural as possible and let your body do what it is designed to do, which is maintain homeostasis. Keep in mind that your body does not want to do that when you have foreign material interrupting the communication in the normal processing of methylation cycles.  Consider weaning off any medications that are causing more harm than good. 

It's not a quick fix, it's a journey, and we are here to help!  If you are interested in personalized long term, sustainable weight loss, please reach out to Kristen Laurella, APRN at BodyLogics and Aesthetics in Rockledge, 321-338-7373 or visit the website at www.bodylogics.net.