I’ve been seeing some fantastic results with weight loss lately that I want to share with you. In many of the clients I see, this may not have been our primary goal, yet a result of getting the system in balance.
Honestly, I do not like to focus on weight loss as our primary goal, because that invariably leads to a sense of failure if it’s not attained or not maintained. Our aim is to create a
healthy relationship to your body that you love, which gives you energy and pleasure in the best life has to bring. For many this involves freeing weight from the physical body so that there is less pain, easier movement and more optimal health parameters. I have years of personal experience with binge eating and deploring my own body, which ultimately was healed through social support (friends & family), staying off of my major food allergens- gluten & dairy, counseling, bodywork, healthier sleep and stress reduction. It can take a village to heal. Getting the support you need and a proper assessment of your whole body will get you there.
Let me share with you 3 stories that resulted in smaller pants:
The first is a female in her mid-50s who came to me with a chief complaint of life-long constipation. We peeled away the layers that had created bloating, gas, food reactions, and inflammation over a period of 8 weeks and the result was 15 pounds of weight loss. Our plan for her used part of my general cleansing recommendations- which include liver support, colon hydrotherapy sessions and an anti-inflammatory diet. Also specific to her was restoration to her cellular health with support such as fish oil, 3 liters of filtered water per day, lymphatic therapy, and herbs to clear out unhealthy bacteria and probiotics to replenish it. 4 months after initially seeing her, she had lost another 10 pounds and was fitting into jeans she had at age 20! The constipation has completely resolved and the best result is that she no longer experiences pain when picking up her granddaughter.
The next case is a female client in her early 30s. She had about 50 pounds she wanted to lose and was doing everything possible to lose it- Paleo diet with limiting calories, cross-fit 6 days per week and even walking or doing other exercise on the 7th day. She even has decent sleep- 7 hrs, although I typically recommend 8 or more for optimal restoration. When I played detective to determine why this client was not losing weight, it became clear that stress levels are far too high for her. She has 3 kids, works 50 + hrs per week at her own business and is caring for her ailing parents. I actually see similar versions of this client very often and what we need to tackle first is the stress.
Without addressing this, the weight will not budge. For this woman, in particular, we did 4 major things- 1. Scheduled her for regular bodywork and craniosacral therapy to discharge stress. 2. Decrease the exercise- 6 days per week of cross-fit can place high levels of stress on the body. For those doing HIIT (high intensity interval training), I recommend capping it at 3 days per week and preferably no more than 30 min at a time. 3. Increasing the caloric intake. I rarely recommend anyone count calories and in this case I really encouraged my client to eat more at her morning meal, which was previously a cup of coffee. 4. Ask for support from her family. The most challenging part for this client was getting these steps into action, but once she established more support for her parents and laid back on the exercise, she lost 15 pounds over 2 months. She was feeling much more relaxed, loving her body more and reports that she’ll feel happy with getting another 10 lbs. loss, versus the initial 50 lbs. she was pushing for.
The third case is a client who I’ve worked with over the years with a constant symptom of bloating. We had done colon hydrotherapy, eliminated gluten & dairy, and supported his system with enzymes and probiotics, however the bloating persisted. I had recommended testing to get the most accurate diagnosis. However, this had not worked into his budget, so I suggested we treat as I would for yeast overgrowth, given that all of the symptoms were present. We got him on a plan of a yeast-eliminating diet, Berbercap product to kill off unhealthy yeasts and BioDetox packets to cleanse the liver and limit inflammation. He lost over 30 pounds in just over a month and felt like he had gained back energy and drive for athletics, which he loves. Our goal was never weight loss, it just happened. Also, he has kept the weight off, further indicating the original imbalance has been addressed.
The top things I assess for supporting healthy weight loss are:
- Food– eat to fuel your body. Fill your body with foods that pack as many nutrients per bite as possible. Eat real foods. Think about a rainbow array of organic vegetables and fruits; organic animal products in smaller amounts; healthy nuts, seeds, and oils; organic sprouted lentils & beans; whole grains that do not contain gluten.
- Sleep– without restorative sleep, the chances of getting to your ideal weight will be unlikely. The causes are many and we’ll assess this together.
- Stress Reduction– elevated stress hormones lead the body to hold on to weight. It also leads to stress eating and poor sleep. Spend time with good friends and your stress hormones go down. Take time for you.
- Movement– Walking is your best exercise- it gets the lymph flowing, promotes relaxation, is safe and restorative and allows for more outdoor time.
- Inflammation– allergies, old injury, years of poor hydration, eating nutrient depleted foods, high stress, toxin exposure (we all have this) all lead to inflammation. Limiting this is the surest path to a healthier happier system
- Cleansing– if your pathways of detoxification are clogged- the liver, the lymph, the colon- then the body cannot do its regular needed house cleaning.
- Hormones– hormonal imbalances such as low thyroid, stressed adrenals and imbalanced sex hormones can significantly alter the metabolism.
Let us support you!