Weight Loss

WEIGHT LOSS

Gaining weight happens for many reasons; due to injury; post-pregnancy; menopause; ageing; when the body becomes imbalanced.

It is not always about having to exercise excessively and reduce how much we eat; it can be more complicated than that. Here are some of the areas that functional medicine will dig into to understand more about your metabolism;

Thyroid issues – if the thyroid is not working properly, then neither is your metabolism meaning it is
much more difficult to loose weight. Ask your GP to run TSH, T4 and T3 and antibodies to establish the
full thyroid picture.
Stress levels – stress can make us comfort eat as well as producing too much of our stress hormone, cortisol which also contributes to difficulty losing weight. This kind of weight gain is usually seen around the abdomen.
Too much or not enough oestrogen – this can cause weight gain on the thighs, hips and buttocks.
Type 2 diabetes – resistance to insulin can cause weight gain around the middle. Sugar is stored as fat around the middle as cells cannot hear the call that insulin is making, to take up the sugar from the blood into the cells.
High sugar / high carbohydrate diet – increase sugar in the blood and contribute to insulin resistance.
Nutrient deficiencies – can affect metabolic rate and hormone production.
Gut health – an imbalance of bacteria in the gut has now been linked with an inability to lose weight.

Things you can do:

Cut out sugar and avoid food with a high glycaemic load. Sugar spikes blood glucose levels which can contribute to insulin resistance. Foods that have a high glycaemic load get converted into sugar more quickly that low glycaemic foods. Choose foods like non-starchy vegetables, berries, nuts, sees, avocado, organic meat and wild fish and eggs.
Avoid alcohol. Alcohol can increase blood sugar levels and cause toxicity to the liver. Beer and wine especially should be avoided.
Exercise regularly. Increases cell receptor sensitivity to hearing insulin to help the blood glucose be taken up by the cells.

What can Functional Medicine do to support?

Use functional testing to determine hormonal imbalances that play a part in difficulty in losing weight.
Personalised dietary plan to help you choose foods that are whole, unprocessed and organic and are lower in carbohydrate and sugars.
Functional testing to identify nutritional deficiencies and use supplements and herbs to address them.
Functional testing to look at your gut bacteria and then bring it back into better balance.
Lifestyle suggestions including stress management and exercise, both vital to control blood sugar levels and help with weight loss.