Weight Loss

According to a 2016 Harvard study, over three-quarters of Americans, or 250 million people, are overweight or obese! Let that settle in for a moment. At any given time, 160 million people are on a weight-loss diet or program, which fuels a $70 billion business. We make up approximately 4% of the world’s population, yet we account for roughly 50% of the weight loss market. We account for approximately $70 billion of a global weight loss business worth approximately $143 billion. Sink your teeth into that for just a minute, pun intended.

While the diet industry has grown over the last 40 years, what else has expanded? Our average weight and waistlines. In 1960, the average American man weighed 166.3 pounds, while the average woman weighed 140.2 pounds. In 2016, the typical American man weighed 197.9 pounds, while the average woman weighed 170.6. We’re heavier than we’ve ever been, and we’ve never spent more money or time on diets, exercise, supplements, or the latest weight loss fads. Does this make any sense to you? It absolutely doesn’t to me. In Einstein’s own words: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” You don’t need to be a genius to figure that out.

I imagine that a portion of the above information is not news to you. We have grown numb to the numbers, believing that there is nothing we can do about it. We may even be thinking it is all our fault. I just want to let you know that is not true. The media, food, medical, and diet industries try to disenfranchise and demoralize you, convincing you that you are powerless. They want you to keep eating their harmful processed foods as they promote their latest miracle diets, weight-loss drug, and surgeries. All for cynical reasons: they raise their profits while we enlarge our waist-lines, potentially jeopardizing our health.

As a functional medicine practitioner, I look the larger picture—the causes and effects of weight gain and stubborn weight loss. I don’t believe in seesaw diets, where you lose 10 pounds and then gain 15 pounds back, nor in the latest hacks, the latest magical herb, or the latest “miracle” semaglutide medicine, which may cause your pancreas to burn out, kidney problems, diarrhea, or constipation, among other concerns.

I work on getting to the root causes. Could it be that your fat cells are hanging onto toxins? Could your thyroid be slowing your metabolism? Could the microbiota in your stomach be the culprit? Could it be a leaky gut? Could it be what you’re eating? Could there be a hormonal imbalance? Could it be stress? Could it be from the lack of sleep? Could it be a drug that you’re taking? Could it be insulin resistance? And, no, it’s not as simple as calorie in versus calorie out, and not all calories are created equal. You can not outrun any of the root causes, no matter how long and how fast you run.

As you can see, it is more difficult and intricate than you may be led to believe. Being overweight or obese is a symptom of a larger issue. I invite you to get in touch. Click the button on the left to set up a free 30-minute discovery call with me. We will discuss your weight-loss concerns and see if this is a good fit for you.