Five Ways Your Body is Sabotaging Your Fat Loss

Have you ever tried to lose weight and were not successful?

Just because you eat well and exercise, doesn’t mean you will lose weight.  There are many factors that go into successful fat loss.

Your own body may be sabotaging your ability to lose body fat.

Here are five reasons why your body will prevent you from losing fat:

1. Hormones – too much estrogen.  Excess estrogen causes us to gain weight and hold water, or become bloated.  There are many chemicals in our environment that act like estrogen when inside our body.  These are called xenoestrogens and they are present in almost everything we come in contact with like plastic water bottles, sunscreens, insecticides, some food preservatives, certain dyes, and even carpet fumes.  Also, excess body fat causes an increase in estrogen levels.  There is little we can do to prevent these xenoestrogens but you can block them with bio-identical progesterone and help your body remove them with a supplement called DIM.

2. Thyroid – decreased thyroid function.  Too much estrogen causes a decrease in thyroid function.  Also, our diets are lacking in iodine and selenium.  These two substances make up the majority of our thyroid hormones.  If we are not eating properly, our body cannot make enough.  A health professional can test your thyroid function and advice you how to correct the problem.

3. Adrenal Glands – increased cortisol.  These are two small glands the sit on top of the kidneys and can be thought of as our stress glands.  They help us respond to stress.  Under stress, cortisol is released to help our body survive.  In today’s lifestyle, we are under constant, low-level stress.  This continued release of cortisol tells our body to accumulate fat in the mid-section to be used later for energy.  Cortisol also blocks thyroid function (see #2).  It also causes inflammation and water-weight gain.  Lifestyle changes such as a better eating plan, exercise, destressing techniques, and at least seven hours of sleep a day will help correct the adrenal glands.

4. Inflammation – many foods cause bodily inflammation.  A poor diet high in unhealthy fats and simple carbohydrates causes inflammation throughout our entire body.  This is a stressor and this stress causes the body to release cortisol (see #3).  A balanced diet of 1/3 lean protein, 1/3 quality carbohydrates, and 1/3 healthy fats will keep inflammation at bay.

5. Leaky Gut – rarely diagnosed problem.  Leaky gut occurs when there is excess inflammation in the digestive tract (see #4).  The space between the cells widens and allows substances to “leak” out between the spaces.  This causes an immune response that cascades into more general inflammation, increased cortisol (see #3), and the immune response will attack the thyroid gland (see #2).  Treating leaky gut involves a well balanced diet, taking probiotics, essential fatty acids, and supplementing with glutamine and glutathione.

As you can see, everything in our body is related to another system.  To be healthy, you must address the body as a whole, not a group of separate systems.

By controlling these five factors, you will be well on your way to a healthy and fit body.