Complicating Issues as Barriers

Complicating Issues as Barriers

We tend to look at weight loss and weight maintenance as a very simple formula. Simply eat less and exercise more. As most of you know, this formula is wrong, and weight loss has nothing to do with calories in and more to do with understanding the hormones that cause us to gain weight.

Having said that, we also forget all of the other aspects of our life that impact negatively on our ability to lose.

Sleep; this is a major barrier. When we have interrupted sleep there is an alteration of two hormones, leptin and ghrelin, which increase hunger and decrease metabolism. Thus, even if you seem to be eating well, possibly poor quality of sleep is affecting how you lose.

Stress: it is a rare day when I don't find most people carrying a lot of stress. this can be work stress, home stress, financial stress...any kind of stress; as cortisol rises so does our inability to lose weight. Most people under internal or external stress are very tired by the end of the day and simply want to 'crash' and nibble and watch T.V. Or play around on the computer.

Health issues. Many people have issues with arthritis, pain of muscles or fibromyalgia, gastro intestinal problems, asthma, migraines, and on and on it goes. Again, if pain is there, it affects how we lose weight...usually making it very much harder.

Medications. Many meds, especially the anti depressants, heart meds, insulin etc can very much affect hunger or slower metabolism or increased fat deposition (insulin).

Mood. If we are anxious or depressed or frustrated, all of these moods really affect our choices of foods and even how we eat during the day. With any issues with our moods we may simply graze throughout the day, or tend to eat out or order out, as our energy seems to low to make food at home.

Activity. Take any of the above issues, and you will find yourself with low energy and seemingly 'no motivation' to go almost any kind of activity. Chronic stress, and chronic pain especially lower energy and motivation.

I could go on and on with the many things that are going on in people's lives....selling houses, parents who are sick, children who need to be taken everywhere for their sports, people who travel a lot for their work. It's endless.....the point of this brief piece is to point out to all of us, that our lives our complicated and change quickly. We are on a health improvement program for a lifetime, trying to learn to eat properly, get our exercise, despite the many things that seem to want to impede our progress.

Don't get discouraged. Look at everything in your life that is affecting you. Is there any way you can get more sleep? Can you develop techniques to lower stress? If your energy is low, could you still push yourself outside to do a short walk? Do we need to review your meds to see if they can be altered in any way if we think they are affecting hunger or metabolism?

We are complicated. Don't listen to anyone who says "weight loss is simply a matter of eating less". It's not. Our metabolisms are different, our life events are different. Nevertheless, don't get discouraged. Keep sticking to everything the best you can. Ultimately you will succeed if you never ever give up trying

Dr. Doug