Health Conditions That Prevent Weight Loss

By Dr. Richard Haliburton

Weight loss is a sensitive subject for many.  Some are rightfully angry about the body expectations in our society.  Others are struggling to keep weight on.  But for those who want to lose weight, there is so much confusing information online that it feels like swimming through peanut butter.  Sorry for the imagery. The majority of Americans have tried losing weight at some point in their lives.  Some people are successful, some yo-yo, and some just never manage to lose anything.  But it’s not just about determination.  If you’re someone who has followed many diet plans to a tee, felt like you were starving yourself, and yet still didn’t shed much weight, there could be an underlying health problem.  We can’t cover all the possible health conditions that could contribute, but here are some of the most common that you should get checked out for.  

1. Gut Microbiome Imbalance:

The bacteria in our gut has an uncountable number of effects on our body.  One major effect is appetite and metabolism.  Some bacteria in our gut actually release chemicals that have a direct effect on our brain, changing our mood, appetite, and even what foods we crave!  In studies where they took the gut bacteria from obese mice and put it in the gut of thin mice, the thin mice quickly became obese too.  Getting healthy gut bacteria is often more complicated than taking one probiotic, and in complicated cases tests can be done to take a closer look at what bacteria are currently residing in your gut.  

2.Mitochondria Dysfunction:

Mitochondria are the parts of our cells that produce energy, so anything wrong with the mitochondria means fatigue, lower metabolism, and overall worse health. You may have heard about how B vitamins help with energy, and it’s mostly because of how important the B vitamins are for mitochondria.  There are so many other nutrients that are important though, and so truly determining if your mitochondria are holding you back from energy and weight loss means testing for a whole bunch of nutrient deficiencies.  

3. PCOS:

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a disease of the ovaries that most often starts around puberty and can last until menopause. The most common symptoms are missed periods, signs of testosterone such as facial hair growth, and worsened PMS. It is both common and frequently misdiagnosed.  It is caused by high blood sugar, and also causes high blood sugar, leading to a snowballing effect that makes it very difficult to lose weight. 

4. High Cortisol:

Cortisol is our stress hormone, released when we are anxious, fearful, or even just pumped up and excited.  It’s naturally high in the morning, and caffeine increases it further, but it’s supposed to come way down by mid afternoon.   If your cortisol stays up, or is excessively high in general, your body holds on to fat.  In particular it stores fat in your belly.  Now, cortisol also often kills appetite, and so many people with high cortisol don’t gain weight since they don’t eat much.  But if your appetite is unaffected and therefore you gain weight, then fat will build on the belly, and you’ll need treatments and stress reduction to get your body to let go of the fat.  

5. Thyroid Problems:

Our thyroid is one of the main metabolism regulators in your body.  More thyroid hormone released means faster metabolism, while less thyroid hormone means slower metabolism.  If your thyroid is not functioning well enough your metabolism will slow, you’ll gain weight even if you’re going hungry, and to add insult to injury your hair may start to fall out and your digestion will be worse.  Thyroid problems are almost always from autoimmune disease, meaning your immune system is attacking your thyroid.  Most doctors don’t check the thyroid closely enough to catch problems, so even if you’ve had a doctor say it’s not your thyroid, you might need a second opinion.  

6.Hormone Disrupting Chemicals:

You may have realized that many of the factors that influence our metabolism and weight loss are hormones, and so you have to be careful with anything that really messes with your hormones.  If hormone testing is abnormal, some places to look for the culprit are substances in your food, your water, your skin and hair care products, your workplace, or your home.  Everything from mold exposure, to pesticides, to chemicals in shampoo can cause hormone problems, and so it’s best to have a professional help assess where in your life you need to be cleaner.   But good places to start are getting tested for mold exposure, eating organic, filtering your water, and using natural skin and hair care products.  

There are even more health problems that can make it hard to lose weight.  And even if everything is going well, it takes the right diet plan for the right individual to get results.  Getting a professional on board is always worth it in such a difficult health goal.  Walnut Creek Naturopathic offers all manner of testing to help make sure you're starting your goals with complete information about your body and how it works.