Somagenesis San Diego Personal trainer explains why diets don't work.

There isn’t a month that goes by that Somagenesis Health & Fitness doesn’t receive the panicked phone call, from a potential customer, claiming they just can’t lose weight regardless of what they eat! Typically it is usually woman, and rarely a man. Losing weight is never an easy task to undertake. Making abrupt changes to bad lifestyle habits after so many years is a daunting challenge and shock to your body and mind. Losing weight, also requires major changes in food selection and lifestyle habits. Every now and I will meet someone who will eat a perfectly healthy diet and still can’t lose weight. This is when my medical background comes into play

The biggest misconception regarding weight reduction ,is that diet and exercise expenditure is all it takes. Although, diet and exercise are important elements to a healthy lifestyle, often stubborn weight loss. is a sign that there are underlying medical issues, contributing to the weight retention. In my professional opinion, there are medical conditions that make this happen.

Insufficient caloric intake:

The metabolism, is your bodies natural furnace for caloric burning during a 24 hour sleep wake cycle. If you lack essential amino acids, chromium, zinc and magnesium , your bloods sugars will be adversely affected. The end result is fat retention as a protective mechanism and a lower metabolism. Low blood sugars from insufficient calories shut down in order to protect the body from death.

Excessive dietary carbohydrates:

Both simple and complex carbohydrates can have an impact on blood sugar stability. Once the blood sugar rises to a certain level, insulin is excreted prom the pancreas, to drive it back down to normal levels. Interestingly enough, insulin’s secondary function is to promote body fat storage in fat cells. manipulation of endogenous blood sugars, through excessive carbohydrate consumption is a sure fire way to keep your body soft and pudgy.

My famous analogy is: If you put 16 gallons of gas in a 15 gallon gas tank it will spill over onto the floor, right? If you put excess sugar into the body, insulin will shuttle the excess into the fat cell, which stores glycerin or sugar and fatty acids. When too much glycerin or sugar is stored ,the fat cell will expand in size, and the human body simply gets fatter and bigger.

Chronic Stress:

Chronic stress places the body in the fight or flight mode. When this occurs , the body’s homeostasis falls out of kilter. Metabolism, blood sugar, thyroid regulation hormones and sex hormones react abnormally. Once the body’s systems fall out of balance ,weight gain will ensue. It is not uncommon to see women with estrogen domination, secondary to stress. The end result is gynoid obesity. Another reaction from stress is increased craving for food and binge eating.

Thyroid burnout:

The thyroid gland is part of the endocrine system which regulates your metabolism. Since the primary job of the thyroid hormone is to operate the body’s metabolism, it is no wonder that people with this condition will experience symptoms of a slower metabolism. If thyroid metabolites are too low, a condition known as hypothyroid will occur ,and you will gain weight, feel fatigued ,and maybe depressed. Left untreated, the symptoms of hypothyroidism will progress. In some rare instances, complications including severe depression, heart failure ,and coma can occur.

Unknown food allergies:

Unknown food allergies is one of the most common reason why individuals have difficulty with weight loss. Internally the body is fighting an inflammatory response, or a immune response as a result of consuming a incompatible food. The most common food allergies are eggs, milk, peanuts, shellfish, soy, tree nuts and wheat. The only proven treatment for a food allergy is to avoid the food. If you suspect you have a food allergy, consult an allergy specialist.

In summary, these are five main medical conditions which interfere with weight loss. It is essential to make lifestyle changes when trying to lose weight. Somagenesis Health & Fitness always suggests to their clients to get a complete physical exam including a SMA-12 to rule out any unknown health issues. As a rule of thumb we also like to compare follow up SMA-12 values at 6 months to make sure our clients body systems are working well. Besides repeated chemistry panels are a wonderful way to show that clients that there health is improving from the inside out.