Or, Why Don’t I Lose Weight Even Though I Diet and Exercise
We all know at least a few things that are supposed to make us lose weight. Sayings like “eating less, exercising more” come to mind (turns out that this isn’t that effective). Some of you may have heard that decreased sleep or eating at night will lead to weight gain, while others remember that a healthy thyroid is the most important weight-controlling factor. How about “eat less fat” or “eat less carbs.” Well, it turns out that even though all of these things are important, it’s actually your brain that holds the secret to stable, long term weight loss.
Your brain communicates with all of your endocrine glands through feedback loops that control the actions of each organ. The weight loss success I’ve seen in my office is due to our ability to address errors in communication between the brain and body. This brain-body feedback — homeostasis, is what controls our fat forming or fat burning status.
The brain utilizes several feedback loops to control weight, or more specifically regulate fat. The most important are those that control and modulate the:
- Thyroid gland
- Adrenal gland
- Sugar metabolism / pancreas
- Liver / Gastrointestinal imbalances
- Inflammation
- Sex hormone imbalances
All of these must be functioning well if weight control is to be effective for the long run. To do this, one more feedback loop absolutely has to be managed, and that is the Leptin Loop.
Leptin, a hormone produced by the white adipose (fat) tissue was first discovered in 1994. At first the immense importance of this hormone was not fully apparent. Some scientists now feel that Leptin is the most important hormone in the body. Leptin acts on the central nervous system by suppressing food intake and stimulating energy usage. Essentially, it tells the brain when we are full. But research began to show that overweight individuals have far more serum leptin than normal weight people.
The question became “Why would Leptin, a hormone that normally maintains leanness be so high in those that are the most obese? The answer was found in diabetics.
Type II diabetics can produce plenty of insulin but it is not used because of constant high levels of sugar. The elevated sugar and insulin cause the cell receptors to “burn out” or to become resistant to insulin.
This same process occurs with Leptin, and if the levels are high, Leptin Resistance will result, confusing the brain and causing more weight gain rather than less. At that point it is almost impossible to get skinnier.
Like insulin resistance, Leptin resistance is inflammatory and leads to progressive weight gain and difficult plateaus of weight loss. But the beneath the “spare tire” lies a physiological dysfunction that dramatically increases your risk for chronic inflammatory and autoimmune conditions ranging from diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, to stroke and dementia.
Leptin only operates correctly when the thyroid, liver, adrenals, and blood sugar are normal. Because of this, attempts at developing a weight loss drug made with Leptin have been ineffective. And it’s also the reason we can turn your metabolism around. An anti-inflammatory, healing diet is the answer. This diet will reset the hormone system; normalize blood sugar; and support the thyroid, liver, gut, adrenals and lead to healthy functioning Leptin and insulin loop. The diet consists of eliminating inflammatory grains, moderating protein, increasing healthy fats, and incorporating sugar-stabilizing veggies.
Targeted supplements are usually required to increase the function of the other feedback loops we talked about earlier. Each individual has a different need and requires a different approach.
Short term effectiveness and long term stability of weight loss is hinged to the seven feedback loops. Remember it’s not only about the exercise or the calories. It’s about the evaluation where we find out by blood and hormone testing, what approach/feedback loop would be the most effective for you now and in the future.
Dr. Don Davis, D.C., DACNB is a BOARD CERTIFIED CHIROPRACTIC NEUROLOGIST in Walnut Creek. He has been serving individuals with chronic pain for 30 years. For information about how you can get a free consultation with Dr. Davis, call (925) 279-4324 (HEAL). Visit us at WalnutCreekThyroidInstitute.com
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