| Common Causes of Weight Gain and a Slow Metabolism Do you struggle to lose weight and can't figure out why? If so, you are not alone. Difficult weight gain can be nearly impossible to lose unless you can properly identify the underlying factor(s) that is causing your metabolism to slow down. This isn't always easy because there are so many potential causes. For some, the cause of weight gain in the belly, butt, hips, thighs or waist could simply be lack of exercise or excess calories in the diet. But those are the easy cases to solve. A simple diet and exercise log is all I need to correct a poor diet and/or improper exercise. But for you, the cause of your struggles could be something hidden deep in your metabolism- something that is preventing you from losing weight no matter how hard you try. And often, the harder you try, the less it helps. The reason may be because you are not addressing the cause. This can be so frustrating that you may want to give up. You may feel like you want to quit exercising and eat junk food because you figure you are going to gain weight anyway. I once worked with a patient who swore to me she only ate 500 calories a day and exercised every single day. And her daily food log backed this up- she was eating well under a thousand calories per day, yet she weighed in excess of 350 lbs. This simply should not happen! Even at that ridiculously low calorie intake she was unable to lose any weight no matter how much she exercised until we uncovered the underlying cause of her slow metabolism. This particular individual had a severe case of anemia that was preventing her from converting fat into energy. There was no way she was going to lose weight until the anemia was corrected. But once she corrected the underlying cause of her weight gain (anemia in her case), she began losing body fat at a very rapid pace. There is Hope Once you identify the cause of your slow metabolism, it is often very easy to correct it naturally. Weight loss will then be much easier and will tend to be long lasting. Here are some of the many causes of weight gain I look for in all of my patients: 1- Thyroid Function and the Metabolism Thyroid hormone regulates the rate of the metabolism in your body. So if the thyroid is off, you will have a slow metabolism and will likely become fat and have low energy. Other symptoms of low thyroid include weakness, cold hands or feet, constipation, low immunity and brittle hair. The tricky thing about the thyroid is that there are more than 10 things that can go wrong with the thyroid leading to hypo-thyroid (low thyroid). Yet most doctors only check 1 or 2 pieces of the thyroid which means they miss most opportunities to help their patients get better. Once you identify which piece or pieces of the thyroid is failing, it can often be restored to normal without medication being needed. A normal thyroid means a normal metabolic rate with fat loss and better energy soon to follow. How can you correct your thyroid? First, identify if you have a thyroid issue by working with a qualified health care professional. Your doctor should check your thyroid and check it thoroughly! Once you identify the issue, it is often easy to correct and many times it is not even related to the thyroid but rather a different issue such as adrenal fatigue that might appear to be a thyroid issue. I will discuss many of those issues below. 2- Adrenal Fatigue and Difficult Weight Loss Stress makes you fat and here's why. Stress will make you release high amounts of cortisol and adrenaline which will lead to fat gain around the belly and eventually to adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue leads to excessively low cortisol levels which will cause bloating, fatigue, sleep disturbances, salt cravings and even more difficulty with weight gain. That's right, high cortisol and low cortisol will both cause weight gain and adrenaline further complicates the issue! In order to lose weight, cortisol and adrenaline have to be "just right." If you have some form of adrenal fatigue, it will be impossible to lose weight unless the adrenals are corrected. How do you correct Adrenal fatigue? Thankfully, adrenal fatigue is easy to identify and correct. Identification requires two tests: 1) A cortisol test which can be measured from either blood or saliva. 2) My Metabolic Profile which can give us insight into adrenaline production and help me determine the exact type of adrenal fatigue. Without this information you are just guessing at the best way to correct the issue. You can test your metabolism here. Learn more about how adrenal fatigue causes a slow metabolism 3- Toxicity and Fat Gain Toxins cause your body to malfunction and can destroy your cells all together. This causes inflammation that can lead to changes in appetite and the inability to burn fat. In other words, toxicity can cause a slow metabolism and weight gain. I must give caution to anyone who is trying to drop body fat. If your fat cells are toxic, rapid weight loss can release those toxins into your blood stream at high levels. This is one reason why people might not feel very well or might get sick once they begin to loose weight. I will implement strategies to help you avoid getting poisoned by your own stored toxins during fat loss. How do I know if I am toxic??? Have you ever had silver dental fillings? Do you have carpeting in your home or work place? Has your home or work place ever been sprayed for bugs? Do you have scented candles in your home? Do you breath air? Do you drink water? Do you eat food? I think you get the point. We are all toxic to some degree. But are you so toxic that it is preventing you from losing weight? Only testing can determine that. My Metabolic Profile has a panel within it that analyzes both kidney and liver toxicity. If you are toxic, this test will not only reveal this information but will guide you on the type of detoxification program that will best help you eliminate poisons from your body. 4- Food Allergies/Sensitivities and Weight Gain Some people are born with food allergies and some people develop them later in life. Some reactions occur within minutes and are very severe. Other reactions can take days and may only appear to be mild. During these delayed allergic reactions a large amount of inflammation can occur throughout the body which can cause weight gain and a slow metabolism. Learn more about Food Allergies and Weight Loss. Read our Food Allergy Symptom Survey Test your Food Allergies so you can start losing weight 5- Hydration and the Metabolism Your body is a complex chemistry set and without enough water, none of the chemicals can mix properly. If you are not well hydrated, your hormones and other important chemicals will not work right and the result will be a slow metabolism and poor energy levels. And remember, if you aren't burning energy (calories), then you are storing it as body fat. It is very clear that dehydration is one of the most common causes of weight gain today. More causes of Weight Gain (6-10) Complete Health and Weight Loss 5000 Legacy Dr. #480 Plano, TX 75024 972-735-0707 |
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