Functional Medicine Weight Loss: 5 Secrets to Shed Those Pesky Last 5 Pounds
The oh-so-physically-boring lifestyle has got us all. While the world around most of us has become fast-paced and stressful, technological advancements have led us all confined to constricting cubicles...and couches.
While your weight gain could be from this physical inactivity, there are additional factors that play a role in why your body is holding tight to those last couple of pounds of love. Luckily, functional medicine weight loss is the new hope for losing those last, stubborn 5 pounds that has you slightly uncomfortable in your tight jeans- if you wear jeans anymore in the land of leggings.
Functional medicine weight loss is gaining popularity and the reason is simple. Functional medicine weight loss practices are evidence-based approaches, targeting the root causes of weight gain, which is unique for everyone.
For you, it might be your hectic office job and for your partner, it might be a binge-eating disorder. Deciphering the key needs of your body will not only help you lose the last pounds of fat but also achieve long-lasting fitness. So let’s break down weight loss with a functional medicine lens.
Why Am I Not Losing Weight?
A lot of my clients have one question at the top of their list. ‘Why am I not losing weight with calorie restriction’? The answer is not complicated but needs addressing of various factors. Simply put, the conventional ‘cut the calories and look like a Greek God’ doesn’t apply to everyone. It does help lose weight but frequently leaves many people at a break-even. Stubborn pounds of fat. If you want lasting results, Functional medicine weight loss is the way to go. Here are often reasons I see clients struggle to lose weight.
1. Malnutrition
In the race of losing weight, most people turn to avoid food altogether. Believe me, starving yourself will do you more harm than good. Your body, being deprived of the essential nutrients, starts slowing processes including fat removal. Instead, your body will attempt to store even more fat than before!
Find happiness in making healthy meals instead of punishing yourself with starvation. Instead of focusing on what you can’t have, focus on eating an abundance of colorful whole foods.
2. Being too hard on yourself
Acceptance is the first step in any successful health journey. Having some extra pounds of fat doesn’t make you less of a person and you shouldn’t be thinking such. So, be easy on yourself. Setting up unrealistic fat loss goals, working out more than you can recover, and avoiding all the enjoyable things in life will tire you up and burn you out. Instead, develop small, realistic, and enjoyable milestones. Share these goals with your friends and family. Go slow but steady, you’ll ace it!
3. Stop finding faster ways to fat loss
Stop chasing ‘how to get skinny quick’ tags! There are no practical faster ways to fat loss. These internet quick fixes are merely a waste of time. You may end up losing a lot of fat (for the time being) but acquiring a new problem. For instance, you’ll feel fatigued, experience muscle loss, and might encounter diseases like gallstones.
Setting realistic intentions and expectations and following an evidence-based attitude like a functional medicine weight loss program will surely get you the results. When you focus on overall health and wellbeing, your weight will naturally flow to its ideal weight.
4. Not Knowing Yourself
Not knowing yourself can lead you to hold onto weight loss practices that just don’t work for your body. Figure out what you like for food, exercise, or free time. More importantly, know the physiology of your body. If you are sensitive to a certain type of protein, avoiding might be the best for you and not for someone else. Functional medicine helps you discover yourself and implement what is best for you.
5. Underlying Imbalances or Dysfunctions
If you tried to eat healthy, and implement more movement into your routine but are struggling to see results, something else could be interfering with your metabolism. These could be hormone imbalanced like estrogen dominance, low levels of thyroid hormones, toxicities that interfere with fat metabolism, adrenal fatigue, or even gut dysfunctions.
How does Functional Medicine Weight Loss Work?
Coming to the point, how is functional medicine so effective in achieving health. Functional medicine revolves all around you, not just your weight. This is the key. I help you create a functional medicine weight loss strategy that will burn those extra pounds of fat in a safe and sustainable way by getting to the root problem(s) that are causing weight resistance.
Treating the Root Causes of Weight Gain
Reduce Gut Inflammation
The extremely crappy diet that most of us are exposed to nowadays surely tastes good but is a disaster. Burgers, fried food, and convenient processed foods are all termed inflammatory food. A study in 2021 concluded that ultra-processed food intake increases the risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Having prolonged inflammation in any part of the body predisposes you to gain weight and put on some unnecessary fat around your waist.
By reducing gut inflammation through food, targeted supplements or a combination of both and addressing gut imbalances and dysfunctions, the food you eat will be absorbed adequately, the nutrients will reach your tissues properly, and you will feel a new wave of energy. The negative hormones or signals produced in your body due to an inflamed gut will be thrown outside leaving you steady on the weight loss journey. Read my article on ‘How To Reduce Inflammation in the Body with Functional Medicine’ HERE.
Designing the Right Diet for You
Functional medicine kicks out the wasteful nutritional quackery in the market. ‘Get skinny quick’, ‘get shredded in two weeks using this or that supplement’. We focus on prioritizing organic whole foods to fuel your body, keep you satisfied, and encourage optimal functioning within your body.
Healing Emotions
Healing emotions could be the one thing holding you back in your weight loss journey. The complete package provided by functional medicine also targets mental health. For instance, if you are experiencing depression or anxiety any simple weight loss program is going to feel difficult. Cooking meals, getting adequate sleep and having the energy to work out get disrupted.
When you take the time to let go of traumas, or stress and healthily process emotions, it can help your body get out of fight or flight mode, allowing your body to focus on digestion, metabolism, and fat loss.
Eliminate Toxins In Your Body
More research is emerging on how toxins can be a huge factor in weight loss resistance and weight gain. Toxins can also lead to hormone imbalances which can then lead to weight gain as well. Once you detox your body, you may find those last pounds of fat come off a lot easier. This is one benefit my clients see after going through my Detox Your Life- 90 days to a non-toxic life.
Lose Weight and Feel Confident with Functional Medicine Weight Loss Approaches
When you work with an Integrative Health Coach, you will gain the education, tools/resources, support, and motivation you need to feel better than you have in years and to truly understand how to reach an ideal weight for good. No longer will you feel like your weight is a constant struggle.
Sign up for a discovery call to learn more about our Detox Your Life - a 6-week small group coaching program or one-to-one coaching.