If you have struggled to lose weight in the past, there may be a ‘hidden’ underlying reason(s) preventing it from happening, despite your best diet & exercise programs.
The conditions I am going to talk about are very common but most mainstream doctor’s might not be well versed in these areas or brush them off as insignificant even when you feel awful.
Modern medicine is great in certain areas like emergency medicine, surgery and dealing drugs like a bad neighborhood in Bridgeport but it tends to be lousy in other areas like identifying the CAUSATIVE factors that lead to poor health & disease. I also want to clarify something that’s often misunderstood – PREVENTATIVE medicine encourages getting more tests at younger ages, however, true PREVENTION means not doing the things that lead to disease and DYSFUNCTION in the first place.
These issues, when ignored or not resolved, will lead to more serious dysfunctions & disease so don’t ignore your body when you don’t feel great. There’s only so long you can mask symptoms by using a drug. Don’t get me wrong sometimes people NEED drugs, other times we might need to take a closer look at lifestyle factors such as diet, rest, sleep, stress, supplementations. etc. Remember, we are designed to look & feel like a SUPERSTAR – all of us. So, here we go…
1 – Digestive Stress– Most people we know have digestive problems which include bloated, gassy, indigestion, acid reflux or stomach aches…these conditions are NOT normal – its a sign of a problem. If you have that low ab bloat, experience gas often or have acid reflux, you likely have a digestive disorder. It could be as simple eliminating crappy processed food that doesn’t digest well OR you have a digestive disorder that needs to be fixed.There are a few types of disorders like inflammation, infections (bacteria, fungus, parasite, yeast), allergies & deficiency of healthy bacteria.- (Remember, taking tons of medications kills good healthy intestinal bacteria which can lead to some serious problems) that can create a myriad of health issues.
IBS, in my experience, is not a real problem, its more of a ‘catch all’ phrase used by doctors who are not exactly sure what’s going on. From what I have seen, IBS is a combination of several of these factors listed below and everyone I have met who was diagnosed with IBS had multiple issues going on at once. If you have “IBS” I would recommend using the MRT test which will help you identify reactive foods. Check out www.theplanoprogram.com for more info on the MRT test. Several things can cause digestive disorders: unmanaged stress, lousy diet, gluten grains, pasteurized dairy, processed foods, eating in a hurry, traveling to lesser developed countries and some medications. You can also get infections from kissing your pets on the mouth-which I would be guilty of. Pay attention to what happens to you AFTER you eat, keep a journal and try to spot abnormal patterns then simply elliminate the culprit. Common culprits are gluten, dairy (except butter), alcohol, soy and protein powders. The longer you eat allergenic or inflammatory foods, the more serious the digestive disorder becomes-its a viscous cycle, the inflammation this causes effects how every system in our body works taking us further away from optimal health. You will eventually end up with a serious problem.
2 – Thyroid Problems The thyroid is the Master Regulator of the body and controls many critical functions. Much like gluten intolerance, thyroid problems affect a large number of people, yet it goes undiagnosed in many.Some thyroid problems I have worked with are caused by an adrenal overload. The adrenal glands are intimately connected to the thyroid, so in some cases, the thyroid slows down as a result of the adrenal glands being exhausted. I recently just tested 2 people with stage 3 adrenal fatigue, ironically they both have a sluggish thyroid and are having a terrible time losing weight. However, according to one of the world’s leading thyroid experts, Dr Bryan Walsh, 80% of low thyroid cases are an autoimmune issue, known as Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.
You can also have a hyper-thyroid where it speeds up, although it is much less common.When the thyroid is sluggish, you will experience symptoms like fatigue, cold hands & feet, you can gain weight easily, thinning hair, depression, lack of motivation & constipation to name a few.
Thyroid testing done by general practitioner docs can be insufficient. In my opinion you need a specialized expert to run a more comprehensive panel of tests, so don’t rely on standard thyroid tests. If you don’t feel well and your tests come back normal – find a better doctor!
3 – Adrenal Fatigue The adrenal glands produce stress hormone (cortisol) and adrenaline. So the more stress, or the longer you experience stress, the more work for these little guys to do.Its common for many people today to have adrenal glands that are overworked and cranking out too much cortisol. Eventually, this leads to adrenal fatigue and then they start to slow down and produce much less cortisol. Either way, you have a problem.Whenever you have these problems, weight loss is simply NOT A PRIORITY for the human body. Survival is more important.I actually am working through some adrenal fatigue right now. I have been rehabbing my adrenals for the past few months and do feel a ton better. The adrenals are highly correlated with just about every physiological process in our body, especially weight loss. Poor adrenal function also compromiset memory and learning, sleep, neuron conductivity, hormone regulation, insulin management, thyroid function, etc. If you would like to test the state of your adrenals stop in my office, It’s a simple saliva test.
4 – Brain Chemistry Imbalance Mood swings, depression, anxiety, lack of motivation, inability to tolerate stress – from my experience most of these are signs and symptoms of an imbalanced brain chemistry.There is an idea propagated in our culture that says if your depressed you were born with a deficiency, but it showed up as a teenager. I hear this often and that idea is great for keeping people on medications for life. Medications don’t make you healthy, identifying & CORRECTING the problem and buidling health MAKES YOU HEALTHY.These issues can also be mental, not chemical – the result of imbalanced thoughts, so remember to balance out any thought that creates a strong emotion so you stayed centered and balanced…to help you do this you might want to check out THE SECRET. This is a mandated viewing for most people who work with me.
If you truly have a chemical imbalance medication is most likely needed and you should consult with your Doctor. Digestive disorders, processed foods, dieting, skipping meals, caffeine, sugar, recreational and pharmaceutical drugs and certain so called ‘health’ foods like zone bars and other chemical bars can cause chemical imbalances. Dieting starves the brain of important nutrients especially amino acids; sugar, caffeine & drugs deplete the hormones and neurotransmitters that keep us focused, motivated, feeling balanced and help us tolerate stress.FYI – I didn’t tell anyone here to stop taking meds. If you or your child are experiencing these issues, I strongly suggest you look at your diet first before considering medications.
Again, you simply can’t lose weight – which is a hormonal process – when your hormones and neurotransmitters are depleted.If you suffer from depression or seem to be in a funk, I recommend checking out the Diet Cure by Dr. Julia Ross. Dr. Ross uses specific amino acid supplementation that helps balance neurotransmitters and brain chemistry naturally. This is an amazing book that I have learned so much from.
5 – Food Sensitivities Food intolerance/allergies cause inflammation in the gut and that causes a cascade of problems that interfere with normal hormonal process involved with weight loss and brain chemistry. Food sensitivities are very difficult to detect, you might present with symptoms such as gas, bloat, chronic fatigue, joint pain, etc 48-72 hours after eating the most common foods. I had a client the other day that was sensitive to strawberries, turkey and caffeine. For more info visit the www.theplanoprogram.com for more info regarding this matter.
6 – Hormonal Imbalance There are different types of imbalances and different causes, but skipping meals and dieting causes serious hormonal imbalances in young women. There are estrogen-like chemicals in the pesticides sprayed on our food; we eat out of plastics which leak xenoestrogens into our foods & water; there’s growth hormones in the meat & dairy products we were raised on; women use TONS of chemical crap cleverly disguised as ‘Beauty Products’ – all create hormonal problems, especially with estrogen, which is a serious problem.This is a serious and complicated issue and some symptoms can include irregular menstrual cycles in women, low sex drive in men, cravings for sweets, water retention, anxiety, uterine fibroids, mood swings and PMS, just to name a few. Fat loss is a hormonal process. In order to lose weight, you need a healthy hormonal system.
To summarize… All of these are serious issues are common and many mainstream doctors are not trained to look for them, especially thyroid and adrenal issues. Many doctors, not all, but a LARGE percentage of mainstream docs don’t understand basic fundamental nutrition principles OR understand how important nutrition is as a means of prevention. All of these will PREVENT WEIGHT LOSS despite your best diet & fitness efforts. Its simply NOT A PRIORITY for the body to lose weight when your health & survival are being threatened.
If you think you might have one or more of these issues and you want to do some functional diagnostic testing, shoot me an email at marcplano@aol.com and either I can work with you or I can hook you up with someone in your area that can set you up, get you tested and get you back in the health and fitness game! Also, you do not need to be local to work with me. I can easily send test kits all over the US and consult via phone/email. Human beings are designed to be vital, healthy and strong! Sometimes, we need to correct some imbalances from dieting or poor eating & lifestyle choices, but with a little work, you can heal your body, get healthy and lose weight. Please share this idea with some people you know… You cannot lose weight to improve your health, you must improve your health in order to lose weight. It’s all about building health from the inside out!
