Navigating Weight Loss Resistance Naturally
“I think of weight loss resistance as when you’re doing all the sensible things yet you’re not having the kind of impact that you want to have. You’re not losing the fat cells at your mid-section. You’re not seeing the numbers on the scale,” said Dr. Sara Gottfried a specialist in hormone imbalances and holistic healing.
As we age we encounter a slower metabolism while at the same time food contains less nutrition begging us to reach for more food. The goal to nourish our bodies with nutrient dense foods should be optimally mixed with consistent exercise.
An unbalanced microbiome, leads to the inability to properly absorb nutrients from food. Click here to read more.

Food intolerances are key players in resistant weight loss. Foods that often cause intolerances are grains and pasteurized dairy. Remove these items for a month or two and add in probiotics and home brewed food probiotics. Then try reintroducing the eliminated foods one by one to see the effect. Grains are often not beneficial to our bodies due to the opiate effect in the brain. Click here to read more.
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The second biggest challenge is toxins in the body prevent weight loss. Dr. Gottfried says, “Most of us are relatively toxic and we need to amplify those detox systems. Weight loss resistance definitely comes up when your toxic pathways are overloaded.” Fat cells hold onto toxins in an effort to protect the body from the toxins. The fat won’t evacuate the area if the toxins are there. Click here to read more.
Thyroid disruptors such as goitrogens, soy and sugar can slow down the system from proper function.
Stress reduction plays a vital role in homeostasis within the body. Dr.Gottfried says, “The way you digest your life is the way to health or the way to disease.” She recommends setting boundaries. Over commiting yourself can easily wear on your stress levels. Reevaluate your obligations and see where you can trim back on your personal commitments. Even if the time is feasible every obligation involves stress. Eliminating stressful relationships are elements vital to achieving peace in your heart.
Hormones are a blessing and a curse according to Dr. Goddfried. “There’s an honest truthful side of hormones. When you accept hormonal symptoms in a particular way and you really try to understand the root cause, that’s where the real progress is made, where you change your health by leaps and bounds.”
Dr. Gottfried says, “Girls tend to be more accommodating. We become people pleasers. I think this is an interesting idea. We tend to dismiss people and not really mind the whole of what hormones tell us.”
In her book The Hormone Cure: Reclaim Balance, Sleep, Sex Drive and Vitality Naturally Dr. Gottfried says, “We’re told that it’s normal to feel fatigued, anxiety ridden, unsexy, fat and cranky. It is possible to reset your hormones and to reclaim a satisfying and downright satisfying life.”
She goes on to say, “A hormone imbalance can be caused or worsened by lifestyle and nutritional choices. We consider diet, exercise, contemplative practice, if any, and how she manages stress. This partnership yields something entirely different: repair, healing, harmony and hope.”
She sees great results in her patients by dropping gluten and sugar, simplifying life and adding fish oil, phosphatidylserine (click here for a clean option) and rhodiola (click here, affilate links).
Dr. Gottfried adds, “The human condition is to constantly make the stress molecules, to just bathe in this swamp of stress. Climb out and find balance.” Focusing on gratitude and forgiveness is more beneficial to stress reduction and balances the body. When we remove ourselves from stress chemistry, through yoga, meditation, walking in the woods, hiking to a waterfall, our inner calm helps our body balance normally.
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*Nourishing Plot is written by a mom whose son has been delivered from the effects of autism (asperger’s syndrome), ADHD, bipolar disorder/manic depression, hypoglycemia and dyslexia through food. This is not a news article published by a paper trying to make money. This blog is put out by a mom who sees first hand the effects of nourishing food vs food-ish items. No company pays her for writing these blogs, she considers this a form of missionary work. It is her desire to scream it from the rooftops so that others don’t suffer from the damaging effect of today’s “food”.
Other sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sara-gottfried-md/
Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life: Dr. Sara’s Book Club #16
Eating Psychology Conference 2014