1) Regular exercise and proper diet are the two most well-known considerations for losing weight.
In addition to the above, I also make other suggestions to help my patients lose weight. One such recommendation is to make sure they are doing their best to keep the stress at bay in their life. Too much stress causes the release of too much cortisol from the adrenal glands. Cortisol is the hormone of obesity. Therefore, if you are always running around like a chicken with its head cut off, you might think you are getting plenty of exercise when, all along, you are actually gaining weight with all that running around!
Most people know that healthy eating is critical for losing weight, but do not realize the significance and the critical role of adequate water consumption for maintenance of proper weight. I recommend that my patients drink about half of their bodys weight in ounces of water per day. The water should ideally be filtered water.
Food cravings are a major hindrance to people in their journey on any weight loss program. By far, the single best therapy to curb your food cravings is EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) or tapping. Please do a search on our website to learn all about tapping. I offer this therapy at my office with a very high degree of success. I have only seen this therapy fail to curb my patients appetite 1-2 times in my entire practice! In almost all cases, after receiving a short (10-30 minute) tapping (acupressure) therapy from me, patients go for an average of 2 weeks without any food cravings. A total of 2-3 sessions may be needed to get a person started on a successful weight loss program.
Some people go on a fasting program in order to lose weight. I do like the idea of fasting, but definitely recommend consulting with your naturopathic doctor prior to such a potentially risky undertaking.
Some people actually are fat because they do not eat enough! This is surprising, isnt it? Even though fasting can cause weight loss, undereating can actually do the opposite. Well, you actually need to eat a healthy diet in order to lose weight. If you are not consuming enough calories and are indeed undernourished, that can contribute to weight gain.
I believe in the following principles regarding eating:
-Stop eating when full.
-Don’t drink lots of fluids with your meals. Fluids dilute the digestive juices which negatively impacts your digestion.
-Drink lots of filtered water (about ½ of your bodys weight in ounces), but away from meals.
-Eat plenty of vegetables.
-Eat very little animal products, if any.
-Make sure you eat a sufficient amount of HEALTHY fats (as opposed to fried greasy foods), healthy proteins (ideally vegetarian sources of proteins such as lentils and beans) and healthy carbohydrates (i.e. whole grains) in your diet.
-Avoid or significantly reduce consumption of sugar, alcohol and coffee.
-Try to eat as much organic as possible. Genetically modified foods and processed foods can disturb your digestive system, consequently your overall metabolism. Poor metabolism can lead to weight gain.
-Avoid or significantly reduce your food allergies. Most common food allergies are gluten-containing grains and dairy. (Youre welcome to ask me to order a food allergy test for you.)
-Eat in a relaxed environment, allow plenty of time to eat your meal. Chew every bite very deliberately and fully. Try to not think of anything stressful when you are eating. In fact, try to just enjoy your food without thinking about anything. Be present while eating.
2) Find out if your thyroid gland is involved in your weight gain. Remember, however, many people can have poor thyroid function despite perfect blood thyroid tests. Such patients often fall through the cracks in conventional medicine. (Refer to a previous a blog written on June 5, 2010, titled Difficult Hypothyroid Cases are Easily Treatable using a Natural Approach for more information on this subject.) Also note that most doctors test the TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), but do not test for the other thyroid hormones, T3 and T4. The TSH can be normal, and yet the T3 and T4 may be abnormal. This can potentially be contributing to your weight gain or lack of ability to lose weight. Therefore, a comprehensive thyroid test is in order if you struggle with your weight.
3) Poor metabolism, due to causes other than hypothyroidism, can often be another root cause of obesity. Poor metabolism can mean poor liver, intestinal and/or kidney function. Of course, a healthy diet will most definitely help with your metabolism. Therefore, eating healthy along with cleansing these organs should help with the problem of obesity. Remember that you can have poor organ function despite perfect blood and imaging study test results. In fact, based on my clinical experience, nearly all of my patients have poor liver function, and a good number of them have poor kidney function. If you have constipation, acid reflux, gas, bloating, abdominal aches and pains, conditions such as IBS and IBD, gall bladder stones, and other digestive diseases, you clearly have poor intestinal function (which is always accompanied by poor liver function.) If you have a history of frequent urinary bladder infections or history of kidney stones, or symptoms such as frequent urination and urgency of urination (unless youre a man with enlarged prostate), you must have poor kidney function. When I say poor liver or kidney function, I do not mean liver or kidney disease. I literally mean poor functioning which is often not caught by a blood test.
One of my specialties is detoxification/cleansing of the internal organs. I use various natural therapies (including UNDA numbers) in order to accomplish this goal. We have also recently started to carry a 21-day protocol from the company Standard Process which is called the Purification and Weight Loss Program. (Refer to blog on this subject from Feb 12, 2011.)
4) Obesity and depression are often two different sides of the same coin. I have heard this from spiritual teachers as well as internationally known doctors. I can attest to the validity of this statement based on what I have encountered in my practice.
5) A Last resort idea to help with weight loss is to take a supplement that reduces your appetite. The herb hoodia is an example of an herb that is supposed to reduce appetite. Do not take this herb unless previously approved by your naturopathic physician. We do have a hoodia supplement that I sometimes recommend to patients. It is to be taken 30 minutes before meal time in order to lower a persons appetite. Our supplement actually includes ingredients that are meant to optimize liver and kidney function also, which will help improve your metabolism.
6) Have you heard of the hcg injections? The idea of injecting yourself with a hormone which is elevated during pregnancy does not make sense to me at this point. However, I do hear that hcg injections can cause weight loss very successfully in some cases. I would like to caution you to not jump on this idea without truly studying all the side effects, and discussing all the pros and cons of this therapy with your naturopathic doctor.
7) Of course, rule out other medical reasons for obesity such as diabetes and cushings. If you have such medical conditions, clearly the condition must be treated in order to lose weight.
Best wishes on your journey towards your optimal weight!
Dr. Sharif