I Told You I Was Sick

There’s nothing more frustrating than trying everything to lose weight and still not being able to. It’s not that you’re lazy. You’ve tried all the meal plans, the shakes, the pills, the exercise programs and for what? You still don’t like the way you look and feel and you’re wasting time and money. Let’s look at some of the causes of a mysterious inability to lose weight.

Hormonal Imbalance

If you’re still struggling to lose weight despite diet, exercise and even drastic measures, you might have a hormonal imbalance. The most common hormonal imbalances that might keep you from losing weight are:

• Growth Hormone Deficiency

• Cushing’s Syndrome

• Hypothyroidism

Growth hormone deficiency affects the pituitary gland and can strike at any age. If you are deficient in growth hormone, you may often feel very tired, have a low tolerance for exercise and feel depressed or unmotivated.

Some natural treatments for growth hormone deficiency are an increase in omega-3 fatty acids such as krill oil, magnesium, vitamin D and phytonutrients. You can also ask your doctor about bioidentical natural hormone as an alternative to synthetics.

Cushing’s syndrome is a relatively rare hormonal disorder that is caused by prolonged exposure to the body’s stress hormone, cortisol. Those with type II diabetes and high blood pressure are at increased risk for developing the disorder.

Click this link for some natural treatments for Cushing’s syndrome.

Hypothyroidism is when the body produces too little of the thyroid hormone. This can be caused by chronic inflammation of the thyroid or an autoimmune condition called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, which causes the body’s immune system to attack the thyroid.

For those who want to avoid synthetic hormones, there are natural remedies for hypothyroidism to consider.

Food Sensitivities

Another common cause of a mysterious inability to lose weight is food sensitivities. One of the ironic symptoms of food sensitivity is a craving for that food. Foods such as gluten and dairy produce an opiate affect in your body if you are sensitive to it. The reason you crave it is because your body is trying to prevent you from going through withdrawal.

The most common foods that cause sensitivity or intolerance are:

• Wheat/Gluten

• Dairy Products

• Soy

• Corn

• Nuts

• Citrus

• Shellfish

If you also have symptoms such as abdominal cramping, diarrhea, brain fog, muscle aches and headaches, there’s a good chance one or more of the above foods is the culprit. Eliminate these foods from your diet for one month then slowly reintroduce a good amount of each of them one day at a time to see if symptoms return.

Lack of Sleep

It may seem strange to talk about sleep in a post about weight loss but the two are strongly linked. Studies show those who sleep less than 5 hours per night have a tendency to have more trouble losing weight than those who get 7-8 hours of shuteye per night.

Two hormones are responsible for this: Leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is responsible for telling your brain you’re full while ghrelin signals to your brain that you’re hungry. When sleep is chronically poor, leptin levels drop while ghrelin levels increase, causing a chronic feeling of hunger.

For some natural solutions for insomnia, read my article here.

What You’re Eating

Take a look at the labels on your favorite diet foods. Do they contain high fructose corn syrup? If so, you might have found at least part of the cause of your mysterious inability to lose weight.

High fructose corn syrup has been shown to have a direct link between the rising incidents of obesity. A recent study done by Princeton University showed that rats fed high fructose corn syrup became obese while those fed ordinary table sugar maintained their weight.

Become a label-reader. Even if you’ve been eating so-called “diet food”, the additives and preservatives in this food do little to nourish your body and make weight loss difficult.

It’s important to eat a nutritious, whole-foods diet in favor of processed fare for weight loss to be healthy and successful.

Now that you know some of the causes of your mysterious inability to lose weight, you might be able to make some progress on your own. If, after you’ve made the changes that apply to you you’re still having difficult losing weight, make an appointment with a trusted healthcare provider and get some more options.

However, if you’re told you need gastric bypass surgery, read my interview with a woman who regrets having gastric bypass surgery before you go forward.

Losing weight doesn’t have to be impossible. Like most “mystery symptoms”, getting to the root of the problem is much more effective than masking symptoms.

Lose weight naturally without trying. Get started today!