Why Do You Still Struggle to Lose Weight AFTER DIETING?

Introduction: Beyond Calories In, Calories Out 0:00

Is there more to weight loss than just calories in and calories out? You know for decades people have been told your weight issue, the inability to lose weight really goes down to the amount of calories you consume, amount energy that you consumed and then how much you expend through physical activity. Now there is some truth to that but there's a lot more the picture and so in this In this video, I'm going to go into some of the newer understandings of metabolism and why some people have trouble losing weight, even though they're being very diligent with the amount of calories they consume and then the physical activity that they get.

So we know that in America, 75% of American adults are obese or overweight. And of course, we also have an epidemic of diabetes across the world globally. There are some connections to all of this. But in this video, again, I want to talk about the issues that some people have with weight loss. And let's go beyond the calories in and calories out model. In conventional mass, there are some known risk factors or some risk factor that they accept.

Conventional Weight-Loss Risk Factors 0:53

Many of these that you know, but let us just go through them quickly. Unhealthy eating that includes consuming too many calories, too much saturated fat, foods that are high in sugar, a lack of physical activity, not enough sleep or lack quality sleep. This affects metabolism. We know conditions such as sleep apnea where where you don't get enough oxygen during the night, that will slow your metabolism down. High stress and high stress hormones like cortisol can lead to weight deposition. Metabolic conditions, again, like pre-diabetes, diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome can do it.

Some people have genetic issues where their metabolism is off. Certain medications can cause weight gain. For example, some antidepressants for some people lead weight gains. Steroid use like prednisone can leave to way gain and other medications as well. or an environment that is just one that makes you susceptible to unhealthy eating or lack of physical activity. So these are conventional risk factors. But remember, the assertion that weight is only related to the amount of calories you consume versus those that you burn really has become obsolete.

And so there's other models of why people gain weight. For example, The Endocrine Society, very conventional, states, growing evidence indicates that obesity pathogenesis, or disease involves processes far more complex than the passive accumulation of excess calories. It is this complexity that lies at the heart why obesity is so difficult to treat.

Why Obesity Is More Complex Than Calorie Balance 2:12

So let's talk about three other reasons why people gain weight that go beyond the amount of calories that you consume. One model that's well accepted is known as the carbohydrate insulin model. And this is a fancy way of referring to insulin resistance. This is essentially when people consume simple carbohydrates that spike your glucose levels, your blood sugar levels and your body responds, you pancreas responds by releasing insulin. And that's good because we need insulin to transport the glucose or the sugar into the cells to burn for fuel.

But when we're consuming a lot of simple carbohydrates, then the body's constantly spiking levels of insulin, and insulin does cause fat deposition.

Insulin Resistance and the Carbohydrate-Insulin Model 2:44

It causes fat-deposition around the waist, it causes that depposition around your internal organs, like your liver, for example. And so insulin resistance is very, very common in our society. In fact, most Americans have insulin-resistance. Why? Because of the diet that they consume, the stress those are under, and the lack of exercise that the have. So if you can do things which bring insulin down, such as eating a diet thats high in fiber, moderately high protein, lower in the simple carbs, more complex carbs and not getting excess of complex carb, and eating quality fats, this can all work to helping with the insulin resistance.

I've talked in other videos how supplements like berberine have been shown to be very effective in reducing glucose and insulin levels as well. Well, I hope you're enjoying the video. If you are looking for quality supplements, go to my website drstengler.com and there you can see the nutritional supplements I have used with my patients for many decades. They involve a lot of scientific research, many of them I created myself. So again, thank you for watching the videos and check out my supplement store at dr.stegler Let me talk to you about another model or a factor that can lead to weight gain.

And this is known as the reduction oxidation model. It is just a fancy way of saying the way that you burn energy due to processed foods and environmental factors.

Mitochondrial Energy and Redox Dysfunction 3:59

So when we have the right nutrients, and we're burning fuel properly in our cells and our mitochondria, burning fat especially for energy, then that helps with our metabolism. And so a lot of people have mitochondrial dysfunction, and so they're not producing energy properly, in their cells. This is another factor which in the long term could lead to a problem with being overweight. The last model is known as the Obesigen model. And this is a theory where environmental chemicals affect hormonal changes and fat deposition.

So chemicals in the environment like pesticides, phthalates, other plastic chemicals, heavy metals, the body it's theorized protects itself by storing using fat and wants to actually accumulate more fat as a storage mechanism so these toxins aren't circulating around and causing damage to the vital organs like the brain and the heart. as example. But in addition, these obesogens, they have hormone imbalancing effects, so they disrupt the endocrine hormones in the body that are related to fat storage.

Obesogens and Environmental Chemical Exposure 4:53

So they cause abnormal signaling that even occurs in a brain so people's appetite could be increased. Other satiety or feeling full gets altered as well. And so we see these from prescription drugs, insecticides, plastics, household chemicals, solvents, food preservatives and emulsifiers and other substances. So what we've learned in this video is that there are other factors beyond the amount of calories you consume and the calories that you burn. And so this is important because I talk to patients and they can be very frustrated when they first come in because they've been very diligent with their diet.

They're measuring their calories. Their measuring the model of activity that they're getting and you're not getting great results. with their weight management. And so we have to look at these other categories, the insulin resistance, higher producing energy, how the hormone balances and how chemicals in the environment like the obesogens are throwing off from metabolism. There are tests that you can do for all these with a functional doctor to see where the imbalances are. Well, I hope you liked this video and I look forward to reviewing other important information on your health in future videos.