Weight Loss

Weight loss seems to be the most common reason people see a registered dietitian or nutritionist. Our entire society has come to equate losing weight with an improvement in health. Funny, I look at it the other way around!

Why do 95% of people who lose weight gain it back and then some? Why do some people develop mysterious health ailments when they lose weight? (Along with *temporary* improvements in labs for things like heart disease and diabetes.)

There are many negative metabolic consequences of dieting. It causes a decrease in metabolic rate (basic metabolic energy production of the body), which traps you at a lowered caloric intake.

Dieting “locks you into a vicious cycle of more and more calorie and carb deprivation, and a slower and slower metabolism that puts on weight more and more easily. Eventually, it forces you to stay in this constant state of semi-starvation just to maintain your weight, let alone lose any more.”

And then there are all those pesky side effects of lowered body function and metabolic rate: lowered immune system, decreased sex drive and function, anxiety and depression, fatigue, increased estrogen dominance, slow digestion/food sensitivities, among others.

I write all this as a primer for saying I don’t work with clients specifically to lose weight. Instead I work on increasing metabolic rate and getting bodies to function optimally. Achieving a healthy weight is often a side effect of the body being healthy and in homeostasis.

My clients often complain about how MUCH they have to eat. Confused? This article does a nice job of explaining the connection between weight loss and metabolic rate.

“Obesity develops when energy intake exceeds energy expenditure. While most current obesity therapies are focused on reducing caloric intake, recent data suggest that increasing cellular energy expenditure (bioenergetics) may be an attractive alternative approach.” 

This is not a quick fix. The best results I’ve seen with this style of weight loss (permanent, non-diet approach) are with clients who are in it for the long haul.

If you’re ready for this type of commitment, I’d love to work with you. Schedule a call HERE.

“The more weight you’d like to permanently lose, the more of your lifestyle you’ll need to permanently change.”