Let me start by saying that weight gain or loss is a natural phenomenon – it is done as a self-regulating mechanism by your body, via signals the body gets. The body has neural and hormonal feedback mechanisms and this is how it gages if it is holding too much weight or too little and takes appropriate action. BUT WHAT IF THIS MECHANISM IS NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY? I.e. your body is told it is not holding enough fat stores when it actually is, and therefore it holds more weight. You have to be certain that your body’s regulatory systems are accurate, otherwise you will not be able to control weight gain. What I am saying is, that you must ensure that you do not have Leptin resistance. Leptin is a hormone that instructs your metabolism to up regulate or slow down.
Let’s quickly list some major issues that lead to weight gain and their mechanisms of action, then we will look to some natural and homeopathic solutions!
STRESS- this is by far the most important and detrimental factor to weight gain in todays society. It is everywhere in our environment, from emotional stress and worry, to overwork, to improper nutrition.
A) CHRONIC STRESS sets off our hormone imbalances
Our inability to sleep, which causes spikes in cortisol (stress hormone, which increases insulin, which then prevents our body burning sugar, and causes fat storage.)
- Our ability to process food is limited, and we often have a desire to eat more then we can process when stressed.
- Our non-desire to exercise when we have high cortisol is prevalent. We feel sluggish, with low growth hormone and possibly high insulin.
- Our poor emotional state stimulates anxiety and stressful worry and we go into a stagnant/ paralysed state, often which we are not aware of.
B) HORMONAL DYSREGULATION, which leads to liver dysfunction, improper balance in adrenal gland production of cortisone, estrogen, thyroid function and leptin. This then actually confuses the body to believe that it is actually not holding enough fat reserves and so the body stores fat. Thyroid hypo function ensures and your metabolism closes down hence the weight gain. The estrogen dominance, causes fat storage, water retention and a PMS grumpy state.
C) LIVER DYSFUNCTION – IMPROPER LIVER DETOXIFICATION AND TOXICITY. Improper detox due to toxins the body stores (antibiotics, synthetic hormones, xenoestrogens, heavy metals) in fat cells. The body stores these poisons in fat to keep it away from important body parts and from affecting the body in a diseased way. Can you see why the body would not want to burn this fat then? Burning this fat would mean the toxins would be released into the body again. So as a protection your body holds the poisons in fat.
D) EMOTIONAL TRAUMA – This is a way the body will use fat to protect itself from being hurt. A typical case is after emotional and sexual abuse where the victim puts on weight, making themselves seem unattractive, so as not to attract trauma again.
E) EXCESS FOOD INTAKE AND CALORIES – This is such a small component of weight gain, (believe it or not) but is always focused on, because this is where the marketers make a lot of money off of the public, by getting them to buy weight loss products. So many of the products are mere gimmicks. Have you noticed how you feel guilty or ‘bad’ if you don’t lose weight? However, cravings and excess food intake can very well be managed by homeopathic neurotransmitters.
F) PHYSICAL INACTIVITY – Sedentary life limits us from keeping our hormonal carburettor at optimum. It also reduces our ability to age gracefully and allow optimum blood flow to the body. Regular physical activity is paramount for creating energy and vitality, but let me suggest this. Why not do physical activity you enjoy, instead of grinding it or feeling guilty if you don’t do it?
G) POOR SLEEP AND EXCESS EXPOSURE TO BLUE LIGHT AND CELLULAR EMF’s – this hampers our body’s ability to produce energy, regenerate cells and restore vitality, with reduced production of brain chemicals. It can aggravate energy production, hormonal equilibrium and stimulate weight gain. This is a big factor today, as it has a direct effect on increasing inflammation and hormonal stagnation and sleep deprivation.
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT TO ENSURING YOU START THE PROCESS OF WEIGHT GAIN AND IMPROVED HUMAN HEALTH AND VITALITY?
Any way I can get or encourage you to set up a long-term program without getting hysterical that you have not lost a kg after 1 week and still believe that the programme is working?
GET YOUR LIFESTYLE BACK INTO EQUILIBRIUM AND YOUR BODY WILL FOLLOW ‘I PROMISE’ – IT MAY TAKE 6 MONTHS TO START BUT ONCE IT DOES YOU ARE SORTED!
After you have ensured a good foundation for success then you can concentrate on what your specific issue may be.
FOUNDATIONAL ISSUES: VITAMIN D, EXPOSURE TO BLUE LIGHT AND EMF’S
Most overweight people in the developed world have a severe vitamin D deficiency due to poor exposure to the sun. This affects thyroid function and metabolism, so take a vit D supplement and get into the sun to offset the effects of blue light from electronic devices, which increase your cortisol levels and insulin and categorically stop weight loss.
DO YOU REALIZE IF YOU ARE IN A STRESSED STATE WITH EXCESS CORTISOL PRODUCTION IT IS PHYSIOLOGICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO LOSE WEIGHT!! It does not matter what diet you are on or what supplement you are taking!
Next you need to ensure optimum sleep, as this is when the thyroid comes alive to speed up the metabolism to burn fat and upregulate hormonal balance. The thyroid hormone is down regulated in the presence of the cortisol stress hormone. Homeopathy offers remedies to cope with stress and sleep and can include coffea, nux vom, cortisol, melatonin and adrenalin, besides your similimum. ONCE YOU HAVE PERFECTED THIS ASPECT OF TREATMENT THEN MOVE ONTO HORMONAL REGULATION.
Most ladies have used contraception at some point and this has led to an estrogen dominance where they are hormonally set with excess water, excess fat, PMS and depression. Here, it is imperative that your liver function is upregulated to detoxify the estrogen.
As also discussed, if you have been on contraceptives you will struggle to lose weight and would need to upregulate the liver to get out of your estrogen dominant cycle. You will need an estrogen detox and I would look to support your methylation cycle, which leads to improved emotional control and harmony.
It is true that a good diet is important and that should be tailor made according to your circadian rhythms. More carbs in summer, less carbs in winter as carbs are processed more easily with exposure to sun light. If your digestion is weak, don’t take a lot of cold raw foods or cold drinks which your body will struggle to process. No late-night eating either as it is not processed properly by digestion. If you are craving foods at night, then please check your cortisol and stress levels as they will be high and will hamper sleep.
Obviously eating clean food without pesticides and GMO’s is better but not always possible, and this is why I suggest everybody must ensure that liver function is supported. I don’t personally advocate vegetarian or vegan diets, simply due to the fact that our environment is exposed to too much blue light and emf’s and you need animal fat to process this, as well as omega 3 fatty acids to protect you from EMF exposure.
Below are some myths that we have been brainwashed with to be able to lose weight! How many do you identify with?
- Don’t eat fat it will make you fat- Fat does not store as fat and is first broken down into energy .
- I have to exercise every day to exhaustion to feel better and lose weight. Although daily exercise is beneficial, you do not have to feel exhausted to feel like you have achieved something.
- I have to starve myself to lose weight– first of all the scale is not an accurate marker of weight gain and health. Increased muscle mass stimulates metabolism, and if you put on weight and it is muscle mass you will be assured that you will begin to lose fat. You want to stimulate growth hormone to increase testosterone (even if you are a female)
Homeopathy and natural therapies are very helpful in restoring metabolism, rejuvenating hormone imbalance as well as detoxifying the body. It even helps you to get over your body self-confidence issues and allows endorphins to be release, making you feel happier.
