4 Hidden Causes of Weight Loss Resistance

Weight loss resistance is the inability to lose weight despite eating healthy and exercising regularly.  Are you someone who lives at the gym and counts your calories only to feel defeated on the scale and deprived in the kitchen? You are not alone and its not your fault. Weight loss is much more than just calories in vs. calories out - there are a number of variables that can affect weight loss. 

Try to think of your metabolism not as a calculator, but rather like a balancing scale or see-saw - everything has to be in balance in order for the see-saw to work properly, right?!   This is why a caloric deficit is not enough, your body ALSO has to be in a metabolic balance or proper hormonal balance in order to drop those extra pounds as well.  And if its not in proper balance, there is no amount of gym time that will make that scale budge. Plus the bad news is that hormones get out of balance very easily, especially under chronic stress of any type,  since they are affected by and respond to every other system in body. 

When there is a stressor or small change in the digestive or nervous system for example, this sends a message to our endocrine system and our metabolism makes an adjustment in hormone secretion in order to communicate to the other body systems to compensate for this change or stressor.  All of these communications effect the way we feel especially in the area of energy, cravings, and the ability to burn fat instead of store it. 

As a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® Practitioner, I'm always looking for the root cause of my clients health complaints.  So when someone comes to me who is struggling to lose weight despite doing all the right things, my goal is to help them identify the hidden, underlying causes that are keeping them from meeting their goals.   

What I see in my practice is that when we work to identify and resolve these hidden imbalances, the pounds start to come off with ease.  This is information everyone should understand, so in today's What's That?! Wednesday post I'm sharing the top 4 most common hidden causes of weight loss resistance I see and what to do about them. 

4 Hidden Causes of Weight Loss Resistance:

1. Food Sensitivities - Inflammatory reactions from the foods we eat are very different from food allergies. Food sensitivities are low grade food reactions that produce an inflammatory or immune response in our body.  The affects of foods sensitivities can shift, change, and be delayed making them very difficult to identify. However left unchecked, these inflammatory reactions damage our gut lining leading to gut hyper-permeability or leaky gut.  When the gut lining is comprised in this way,  food particles are now able to cross into the bloodstream where they do not belong and are subject to systemic immune or inflammatory reactions.  
   
   Systemic, chronic inflammation leads to hormonal dysregulation and metabolic imbalances including insulin resistance.  And since insulin is a fat storeage hormone, you store fat like a champ and losing weight becomes very difficult. The good news is that you can turn this around by simply identifying your specific food sensitivities and removing them from your diet.  You can do this through an elimination diet where you remove the most common food sensitivities like gluten, wheat, corn, dairy, soy, and citrus but I find this is often not enough since it doesn't test enough foods and can be difficult to manage for some people. 
   
   What I typically recommend is that you do a blood test called the MRT or Mediator Release Test.  I use this  test in my practice because it is a very effective tool and I consistently see significant clinical improvement in my clients by implementing a diet based on their personal MRT results.  You can learn more on my blog about : Hidden Food Sensitivities & Testing. If you are someone who cannot lose weight despite your best efforts and/or if you suffer from an autoimmune disease and you have never had a food sensitivity test run,  I highly recommend you consider it. I've seen many of my clients autoimmune symptoms decrease or clear completely and their extra weight drop off with ease within weeks of removing their food sensitivities during our Personalized Elimination Diet Program that pairs food sensitivity testing with personalized meal planning.  
   
   
2. Dysbiois & Gut Pathogens - Dysbiosis  is an imbalance in the gut flora or gut bacteria that line the small intestine  - or some pathogenic overgrowth of good or bad bacteria.  This imbalance can occur due to chronic inflammation from food sensitivities, antibiotic use, other medications, and much more.  Gut infections and overgrowth like candida/yeast, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), h. pylori, and parasites all contribute to chronic inflammation in the body and contribute to leaky gut.  When the gut lining gets damaged, you not only experience immune reactions that increase inflammation but digestion and absorption get severely compromised. And when you can't properly digest and absorb your nutrients, you cannot fuel your body and end up feeling hungry, fatigued and craving sugar.  This leads to over-eating, insulin resistance, fat storeage, and weight gain that can be difficult to overcome until proper balance is restored.
   
   If you have symptoms like: bloating, constipation, abdominal pain, gas, diarrhea, heartburn, sugar cravings, chronic yeast or sinus infections, thrush, skin rashes, or athletes foot, you may want to consider working with a qualified practitioner to test for gut pathogens and leaky gut.  Then implement a protocol to eradicate the bugs and restore balance.  Check out my  Complete Gut Cleanse & Revive Program. 
   
   
3. Chronic Stress -  Remember that your metabolism reacts and responds to stress of any kind which can create a hormonal imbalance that tells your body to store fat rather than burn it, making it difficult to lose weight.  When you think of stress, think of it in terms of the stress you feel emotionally and physically as well as hidden, internal stressors that you may not know exist.  I've discussed three very common hidden, internal stressors above: food sensitivities, leaky gut, and gut pathogens.  
   
   The external stressors are things that are in your control like your work and home life, the quality of your sleep, and how well you are taking care of yourself.  If you are surrounded by negative people, work in a stressful environment, work excessive hours, exercise too much, or don't get enough sleep (8-10 hours/night) it can really impact your ability to drop the extra pounds. When your body is in a "stress response" constantly, the switches for both cortisol and insulin get turned to "ON" and your body is signaled to store fat and not burn it making it very difficult to lose weight despite your devotion to your diet and the gym.   If you could use more balance and less stress in your life, check out my blog: 10 Self Care Practices to Promote Healing & Relaxation to learn some ways you can take care of yourself, reduce stress, and help you lose weight.
   
   
4. Metabolic/Hormonal Imbalances  - As I've said a few times, chronic stressors lead to metabolic compensation and hormonal imbalances that impact your ability to drop extra weight and maintain it.  Some of the common hormonal imbalances that increase weight loss resistance are: insulin resistance, adrenal fatigue, hypothyroid, Hashimottos, and estrogen dominance. These metabolic imbalances will keep you from being able maintain a healthy weight, but when properly identified and corrected, the pounds will start to drop off with ease. 
   
   I recently worked with one client who could not lose the extra 25-30 pounds she had on since having her kids 5 years prior.  She had tried everything, worked out religiously 5 days/week and  watched what she ate closely, counting every calorie.  Once we ran her initial tests, we were able to identify a chronic candida and parasitic infection along with food sensitivities, adrenal fatigue, and estrogen dominance.   I worked with her to implemented a 90 day protocol to remove food sensitivities, evict the gut bugs, and re-set her steroid hormone pathways. Just three weeks into the protocol, her chronic headaches disappeared, she was sleeping better, and had already dropped 10 pounds even-though I asked her to exercise less.  I'm elated to say that she was able to get down to her goal weight and  has maintained it for almost a year now. 
   
   You can learn more about my Metabolic Recovery Program as well as our approach or request a
   free 20-minute consultation. I'll do a health history over the phone and give you personalized recommendations on how to combat your weight loss resistance.
   
   As someone who spent most of my life being overweight and suffering from food sensitivities and gut pathogens, I understand what you are going through and would be honored to speak with you!
   
   ~Billie

DISCLAIMER: MEAL PLANS FOR HEALTH DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Meal Plans for Health is designed and intended for educational and informational use only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other health care provider with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health.