I want to lose weight.  I am doing everything I can and just can’t lose anything.  I have 5 pounds, 10 pounds, 20…..  to lose and it won’t budge.  I think my hormones are off and that’s why.  I think my cortisol is off and that’s why.  I don’t eat that bad.

I hear these comments numerous times a day.  For those of you in this bandwagon, at least you know you are not alone ESPECIALLY if you are in perimenopause or menopause.

I literally had a great patient who very candidly told me she is tired of doing the right thing:  eating well, exercising, taking the right supplements.  Taking care of herself was a never ending story.  The short answer is: YES.  If you take care of yourself, I mean GOOD care of yourself it should be seamless but it is an ongoing commitment to yourself and an ongoing story.  The alternative really is not a good option.

Let’s talk about when you are doing the “right thing” and those pounds don’t come off.  Don’t worry, men, this also targets you not just women.  Let’s dive into that stubborn weight issue….

 

  1. Diet:  I have to start here because there is so much wrapped into I don’t eat “that bad”.
    1. Log your foods for one week. You cannot talk to me about weight loss until you know how much you are eating and the macronutrient count (carbs/fats/protein).
      1. You get extra bonus points at looking at these counts within 4 hour increments. The app gives you a total for the day but our bodies work in 3-4 hours increments real time.  If you eat 60 grams of carbs at one meal, the body has no choice but spit that out in a bad way like a triglyceride or store it for a rainy day vs eating 30 grams of carbs at one meal with good protein and fat that allow for optimal utilization.  When you count your carbs it will still show up the same way at the end so be sure and segment your meals.
      2. Are you eating enough? This is for the people that really do eat well but they have that five pounds that will not budge.  When we have restricted diets for long periods of time, the metabolism actually SLOWS down.  When you increase your calories, instead of speeding up the metabolism you could actually still have slow metabolism and gain weight.  So frustrating.  If you are truly eating the right ratios of food with carbs/fats/protein but not enough of it then you start by slowly increasing your protein and fats throughout the day and add in more carbs early in the morning making sure it is not over 30 grams in that meal.  I do think some GLP1 support may help this – not necessarily the injections but there are some interesting supplements that may help kick this into gear like calocurb or the new one from Arbonne.  They won’t do it for you but pairing it with all the right things may help.  When you are in this scenario, your initial goal should not to be to lose weight but to be able to increase your calories while not gaining fat.  Jump on a scale that looks at your fat/muscle mass so you can monitor this.  When bodybuilders bulk they eat enormous amounts of calories and if this do this correctly, they might gain a little fat initially but they are gaining more muscle and then when they return to a regular diet they will lose the fat.  Also, be sure and not over exercise…see below.
    2. Exercise: Cardio is good for the heart but not as good as strength training for fat loss.  When you increase your muscle mass, you increase your metabolism so you get fat burning all day long!  HIIT training is also superior than full on cardio.  The intervals of getting your heart rate up and allowing it to come down also boost the metabolism more.  If you are over exercising – defined as daily intense exercise then you have got to eat the right amount of calories to sustain that or eventually your body will feel like it is starving and start storing weight in your storage tank (the abdomen).
    3. Mindset: If you are being truly honest with yourself, how long did it take for you to get discouraged with your progress? If you are “trying” then I can already tell you it will never happen because the word try means you aren’t committed. You want to but you aren’t ready to really do what it takes.   I often hear if someone hasn’t noticed any progress in one week they will revert back to old ways.    The only thing I would expect to see in one week is if you removed any foods that are inflammatory for you, you will start to notice your fingers aren’t as swollen in the morning, a little more brain clarity and feel better overall.  You may or may not lose some weight and if you did it was all inflammatory driven weight.  Set a realistic goal of doing all the right things for at least 3 months.  If you get on a scale, ignore the actual weight and focus on the fat and muscle mass.  Focus on how you feel which is often so much better.  When you wake up less achy, your brain fog has improved, you feel more energized then this is a huge win!
    4. Defeat: many people defeat their goals before they ever start because they already have the mindset that they won’t achieve it.  I get it, you have tried every diet on the planet with no results so it is hard to move forward with something else.  To get you out of this negative self-fulfilling prophecy there are three things you need to do.
      1. Expand your thoughts. Take a moment and think of someone you know or have heard of that succeeded in doing what you are wanting to do.  Not those taking the shortcuts but the people actually committing to a healthy lifestyle.  Just knowing it can happen opens the mental pathway for you …it can be done.  Don’t assume someone who is thin didn’t work hard to get there.  After I had my second daughter, I had close to an extra 20 pounds that I just didn’t think would budge.  However, when I really started eating healthy, working on my diet and exercise, discovered my food sensitivities the scale tipped in the right direction.
      2. Identify your negative belief. This goes a lot deeper than I am going to write about but if we are stuck in any type of pattern whether it is weight or a bad relationship or continued financial difficulties or…. Fill in the blank.  There is often a limiting belief literally blocking your progress.  Sometimes you will hear these called shadow beliefs, blocks, or negative patterns.  These beliefs often form from birth until age 7, maybe up to 14.  An example would be, if you were always told as a child you couldn’t leave the table until you ate everything on your plate you may have trouble pushing the plate away as an adult and have a tendency to overeat. Your core belief may be you are a “bad person” if you don’t eat all your food.   If the only time the household was together and happy as a child was around large family meals, you may have the belief you are unlovable unless food is associated.  This goes on and on and if you really stop and think about your core issues and this resonates then I encourage you to work on identifying these factors.
  • Your social circle: the more people in your social circle living the same lifestyle the better.  If everyone around you eats terrible, then you are going to have a harder time staying the course.  So many of my patients will try to fix two meals to keep their families happy.  Hello…wake up…they need to eat healthy too.  You are not a short order cook.  Cook a very healthy meal and to help ease the transition, perhaps cook a SIDE of pasta for them to eat in addition to your healthy portion.  When I became allergic to gluten, I slowly started just cooking more and more meat and veggies steering clear of the big pasta dishes etc.  I would occasionally cook some of their favorites or a side of pasta to be served with the regular meal.  I recognized that all that gluten wasn’t good for anyone so I focused on helping my entire family being healthier.  It wasn’t punishment and I didn’t withhold gluten items, just cut them back for the sake of my cooking sanity.
  1. Stress: Yes, cortisol and high stress is not a weight loss friend. More stress in your life causes more weight in the middle so if that is where your weight is then you have to work on the stress.  All the ashwaghanda in the world isn’t going to help you reset your neurological system if you are a stress monkey racing from place to place, helping everyone but yourself, not sleeping, etc.  A hidden stressor we don’t always recognize is over-exercising.  While it is important to be active, the more you exercise you end up producing even more cortisol. Haylie Pomroy did such a good job in her book the Fast metabolism Diet pointing out the connection with the type of exercise and the type of foods needed for your metabolism.  Her diet is literally 3 diets in one week with specific exercise recommendations.  You might check out her book!!
  2. Insulin resistance: You can have “normal” labs and still have insulin resistance especially if the right labs are not drawn.  A fasting insulin is an easy test that most physicians will agree to order but a cardio IQ Insulin resistance profile is what I would consider the best test for this.  Wearing a continuous glucose monitor helps bring the focus back to your sugars.  Looking at how you pair your food is such an easy thing to do that makes a big difference.  Adding supplements like berberine and alpha lipoic acid helps jump start this system.  Do what it takes to turn this around!
  3. Sleep apnea: bottom line, you aren’t going to want to hear this, but if you have sleep apnea you will NOT lose weight.  At least like you want to.  If the body is in crisis mode every night because you aren’t breathing then cortisol levels are higher and the signal to store is elevated.  Fix the sleep apnea and not only will you feel better, all of the things you are doing to lose weight will slowly start to work!
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I could honestly go on and on with different reasons why you may be stuck.  Don’t get discouraged.  Keep working on doing the right things for the right reasons.  Let go of past failures and BELIEVE there is a healthier path for you.  You’ve got this!

To your health,

 

Laura