Are Your Weight Loss Efforts Disappointing? Here’s How to Keep Weight Off – For Good!
Does your weight loss journey feel like an endless struggle? Maybe you’ve tried everything – weight loss pills, weight loss surgery, hypnosis, shakes, eating less, exercising more – and the list goes on. We know how frustrating it can be to make an effort and see temporary results. Or worse – you do all the right things and continue to gain weight!
But what if there was a way to approach weight loss that goes beyond quick fixes and embraces a more holistic view? Our approach focuses on the whole person – nurturing your physical health, emotional well-being, and mental resilience – which can help you achieve sustainable weight loss. Ultimately, the goal isn’t just to lose weight; it’s to create a healthier, happier you that lasts.
5 Areas of Focus For Weight Loss That Lasts
Many people think they need to eat healthier and exercise to lose weight naturally. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to weight loss. Our proven 5-Point Model System used in our weight loss program addresses all the realms that influence weight management. These include (1) natural hormones, (2) nutrition, (3) toxins, (4) mind/heart, and (5) body. By addressing these five aspects, your body becomes balanced naturally to keep excess weight off.
Balanced Hormones, Healthy Weight
All of your hormones play a role in weight gain and loss. Thyroid controls your body’s metabolic rate. Hypothyroidism (low thyroid) leading to weight gain is very common. Insulin regulates blood sugar levels. If insulin is too high, it signals adipose (fat) tissue to store more fat. Cortisol is your body’s stress hormone and leads to weight gain around your belly. Low progesterone in women and low testosterone in men triggers weight gain.
As you age, your hormone levels change and can work against your weight loss efforts. You might start noticing fat accumulation around your belly, thighs, and under your chin and arms. This stubborn weight gain is not majorly impacted by exercise and diet. So what gives?! What can you do to optimize hormones so that you don’t have to struggle to keep unhealthy weight off?
Practical Steps to Optimize Hormones for Weight Loss
- We find that when people’s hormone levels are optimized to 75%, they feel their best and lose weight. Many doctors will tell you your hormone levels are “normal”, but we aim for “optimal”. Find a healthcare practitioner who will help you optimize hormones.
- We see excellent weight loss results when hormones are optimized with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.
- Consider a high-quality multivitamin/multimineral supplement that supplies the nutrients needed for hormone production and activation.
Best Weight Loss Diet
We’re going to encourage you to drop the word “diet” from your vocabulary. At least in the sense of thinking you have to temporarily “go on a diet to lose weight”. Instead, think of the word diet as the nutritious, healthy food you eat every day for life. Building lifelong healthy habits are far more stabilizing for your metabolism and hormonal balance than temporary quick fixes and “yo-yo” dieting.
Your body needs the right nutrients to function – sounds like a no-brainer, right?! Sadly, most people don’t consume enough nutrient-dense foods to meet the body’s needs. For example, your thyroid gland needs zinc, selenium, iron, and iodine to make thyroid hormone which controls metabolism and fat burning.[1] Insulin needs chromium, magnesium, and vanadium to balance blood sugar and not convert sugar to fat.[2]
Practical Nutrition Tips for Weight Loss
- A balanced plate with 50% vegetables, 25% lean protein, and 25% complex carbohydrates at each meal supercharges fat burning and muscle building. Include good fats like nuts, salmon, avocado, and olive oil to decrease inflammation in your body.
- Eat enough! Restricting calories can sometimes have the opposite effect – the body holds onto every calorie as a survival mechanism! If you give your body the calories it needs for baseline function, it can actually boost metabolism.[3]
- Consider comprehensive nutritional testing. We use the Spectracell blood test and optimize to the 75th percentile.
Clear Out Toxins That Cause Weight Gain
Have you heard the term, “obesogens”? These are chemicals in your food, medications, personal care products, cosmetics, cleaners, furniture, and environment that make you fat! Obesogens increase fat cell accumulation, change your basal metabolic rate, and shift energy balance to favor calorie storage instead of burning.[4]
So what can you do about this? You’ll want to 1) focus on limiting the amount of toxic obesogens entering your body and 2) optimize your body’s inherent detox pathways to get rid of those toxic chemicals. Your gut, liver, gallbladder, skin, kidneys, lungs, and lymphatic system help you detoxify harmful substances that contribute to weight gain. Many toxins are fat-soluble and accumulate in your fat. So as you’re shedding those pounds, you’re also releasing stored toxins.
Practical Tips to Detox for Weight Loss
- Consume an organic, unprocessed, whole-foods diet free from pesticides, herbicides, and food additives. The fewer the ingredients on the food label, the better. Avoid inflammatory fast food and convenience foods.
- The Skin Deep database can help you choose safer cosmetics.
- Choose natural cleaning solutions, furniture that doesn’t off-gas, and stainless steel and glass over plastic and nonstick cookware in the kitchen.
- Make sure you change your home air filters and consider an air purifier.
- Consider filtering your tap water with a reverse osmosis filter.
- Drink up to 100 ounces of filtered water daily with pink salt and lemon.
- Fermented foods and probiotic supplements can support your gut microbiome’s ability to metabolize toxins.[5]
- Sweating in a sauna is a great way to sweat out toxins.[6]
Mental Health and Weight Gain
Under the Chronic Stress Response, the body holds onto weight. The body’s stress hormone cortisol increases appetite and can lead to cravings and “stress eating”.[7] Cortisol directs fat to be deposited in your midsection – the dreaded belly fat.[8] Stress management is key for any weight loss program to be successful.
Practical Tips for Stress Management To Lose Weight
- To optimize the mind, we encourage finding restoration in nature, meditation, joy, sleep, deep breathing, acupuncture, and a therapy called Heart-Math.
- Cortisol is triggered by mental stress, and also by physical stressors. These include blood sugar imbalances, pain, sleep problems, and over-exercise. Minimizing these stressors is also important for weight loss.
Body Balancing for Weight Loss
The way you move your body and breathe can either be a stressor or balancing. Exercise and breathwork impacts your body’s pH.[9] For example, rigorous exercise causes the body to be more acidic which reduces fat metabolism, and can inhibit weight loss.[10] Think about all those hours spent pushing yourself harder and longer – it’s not necessary for weight loss!
Gentler exercises and conscious breathing exercises help the body maintain a more alkaline state which is ideal for fat mobilization. It also improves oxygenation and nutrient delivery to all your body’s cells and lowers stress – sounds like a winning combination!
Practical Tips for Body Movement
- Focus on letting the length of the inhale match the exhale. Or belly breathe by feeling your belly expand with each breath, not your chest. Do these exercises for 5-15 minutes.
- Take a walk outdoors, swing your arms, while belly breathing.
Final Takeaways for Weight Loss Success
If you follow the 5-Point Model System, you’ll experience weight loss. We see it every day. Consider working with a health coach to increase your weight loss success. Our Weight Loss & Coaching Program incorporates the 5-Point Model System and integrative therapies such as peptides (like Semaglutide), bioidentical hormones, or IV nutrient therapy for optimal results. Everyone’s weight loss journey is different, and we tailor therapies and protocols to each person.
We’re here for you in your journey to Vibrant Health! To learn more, call us at 407-478-9797 or fill out our contact form and we’ll respond promptly by the next business day.
Located in Longwood, Florida, we serve Seminole County, Orange County and nearby counties and cities such as Longwood, Lake Mary, Winter Park, Orlando, Oviedo, Heathrow, Altamonte Springs, Maitland, Winter Springs, Casselberry, Sanford, Windermere and more. We also offer telemedicine for all Florida residents.
References
[1] Shulhai AM, Rotondo R, Petraroli M, et al. The Role of Nutrition on Thyroid Function. Nutrients. 2024;16(15).
[2] McBenedict B, Orfao AL, Goh KS, et al. The Role of Alternative Medicine in Managing Type 2 Diabetes: A Comprehensive Review. Cureus. 2024;16(6):e61965.
[3] Benton D, Young HA. Reducing Calorie Intake May Not Help You Lose Body Weight. Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. 2017;12(5):703-714.
[4] Kladnicka I, Bludovska M, Plavinova I, Muller L, Mullerova D. Obesogens in Foods. Biomolecules. 2022;12(5).
[5] Rezaei F, Nejati R, Sayadi M, Nematollahi A. Diazinon reduction in apple juice using probiotic bacteria during fermentation and storage under refrigeration. Environmental science and pollution research international. 2021;28(43):61213-61224.
[6] Genuis SJ, Birkholz D, Rodushkin I, Beesoon S. Blood, urine, and sweat (BUS) study: monitoring and elimination of bioaccumulated toxic elements. Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology. 2011;61(2):344-357.
[7] Chao AM, Jastreboff AM, White MA, Grilo CM, Sinha R. Stress, cortisol, and other appetite-related hormones: Prospective prediction of 6-month changes in food cravings and weight. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md). 2017;25(4):713-720.
[8] Epel ES, McEwen B, Seeman T, et al. Stress and body shape: stress-induced cortisol secretion is consistently greater among women with central fat. Psychosomatic medicine. 2000;62(5):623-632.
[9] Pratscher SD, Sibille KT, Fillingim RB. Conscious connected breathing with breath retention intervention in adults with chronic low back pain: protocol for a randomized controlled pilot study. Pilot and feasibility studies. 2023;9(1):15.
[10] Hottenrott K, Werner T, Hottenrott L, Meyer TP, Vormann J. Exercise Training, Intermittent Fasting and Alkaline Supplementation as an Effective Strategy for Body Weight Loss: A 12-Week Placebo-Controlled Double-Blind Intervention with Overweight Subjects. Life (Basel, Switzerland). 2020;10(5).
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