Weight Loss
Every year, millions of people start all sorts of diets and fads to lose weight. By applying those methods, many do lose weight but eventually, gain it all back and more. When someone goes on a diet, they are just masking the symptoms of a multi-faceted problem. Even though they may be eating less or eating in a particular fashion for a couple of weeks with some positive results, they are not truly addressing the underlying causes of weight gain. So what are the underlying causes of weight gain?
After working with hundreds of clients and researching the issue, I have determined that these are the core issues that need to be addressed to maintain long-term healthy weight.
- Food/Sugar addiction
- Sleep pattern
- Stress
- Exercise
- Metabolic rate
- Thyroid Function
- Hormonal imbalance
- Certain medications and insulin
- Leptin resistance
- Insulin resistance
- Genetics
- Internal biological weight setpoint
For permanent weight loss and healthy weight maintenance, a person needs to address all of the 12 issues mentioned above. Hypnosis is a pivotal tool for addressing the challenge of gaining control over most of these issues.
1. Sugar and Food Addiction
Most individuals seem to be addicted to carbs and/or sugary foods or junk foods. A recently published research paper shows that the top 5 foods that are most addictive in nature are:
- a. Pizza
- b. Chocolate
- c. Cookies
- d. Potato chips/Pretzels
- e. Ice Cream
When a person has craving for a particular food, most of the time, they will eat it to feel satisfied. Since the origin of most of these desires are in the subconscious mind, cravings can be incredibly difficult to resist. However, this can be changed through subconscious mind programming with hypnosis. Through hypnosis, it can become much easier for a person to reject such cravings.
2. Sleep Pattern
If a person consistently does not have a good night’s sleep, such as if their sleep pattern is disrupted due to shift work, it can lead to a cascade of issues that promote a weight-gaining state in the body.
Stress also plays an important role in weight gain. Even if a person is eating healthily, unmanaged stress can cause weight gain by increasing cortisol levels in the blood. This can lead to the additional problem of adrenal exhaustion. Hypnosis is an effective way to manage stress and control cortisol production.
A sedentary lifestyle is a significant issue when someone is trying to lose weight. A lack of strength training leads to lean muscle loss in the body. The metabolic rate decreases and the body becomes very inefficient in burning calories. With a decreased metabolic rate, a person might eat less and less food but still not lose weight. In fact, they may even gain weight.
Some people may be able to eat anything and still not gain weight. One reason they’re able to do that is because they likely have a very high metabolic rate. In other words, they burn a lot of calories even when they are at rest. However, many people do not have a high metabolic rate. These individuals seem to gain weight even when they are not eating excessively. This promotes a vicious cycle. Someone who is trying to lose weight may decide to eat less and limit their caloric intake. The body enters starvation mode to cope with the deficit in calories. This, in turn, causes the metabolism to slow down even more, which prevents weight loss. Many people experience this phenomenon when they hit a plateau in weight loss and this can lead to eventual weight gain. There are ways, however, to increase metabolic rate. Weighted exercises to increase muscle mass, a good night’s sleep, eating spicy foods, drinking more green tea as well as cold water can all lead to a more active metabolism.
If the thyroid is not performing well and there are low levels of thyroid hormones, this can slow down the metabolism and trigger weight gain. This can be corrected by proper diagnosis and thyroid hormone replacement.
Hormonal imbalance can play a huge role in the weight gain process. This hormonal influence is more evident when someone reaches the menopause stage. For men when they reach the andropause stage when testosterone level is not optimal. Many women have some type of hormonal imbalance, primarily a sex hormone imbalance that causes Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which can cause insulin resistance and weight gain. The best defense when someone has PCOS is to minimize refined carbs and sugar intake as much as possible and to maximize healthy fats and protein intake, along with daily exercise. Consulting physicians and nutritionists who specialize in PCOS syndrome can help in addressing this issue.
There are many medications that can promote weight gain, such as the ones listed below:.
- A. Insulin and certain diabetic medications like Glipizide, Glyburide, Glimepiride
- B. Antipsychotic medications like Clozapine, Haloperidol, Lithium, Olanzapine and Risperidone, etc.
- C. Antidepressant medicines like Amitriptyline, Escitalopram, Fluoxetine, Imipramine, Paroxetine and Sertraline, etc.
- D. Anticonvulsant/Anti-seizure medications like, Carbamazepine, Gabapentin, Pregabalin and Vigabatrin, etc.
- E. Steroid hormones such as Birth control pills and Prednisone.
- F. Some blood pressure-reducing medications like beta-blockers such as Atenolol, Metoprolol, Propranolol, etc.
Anytime a person starts to gain weight after starting a new medication, they should consult with their pharmacist and physician.
Leptin, also known as the satiety hormone, tells our brain when to stop eating as well as when it is okay to burn calories normally. Leptin is produced in the fat cells of the body and then goes to the brain. Leptin resistance is when there might be enough leptin present in the body, but the brain does not feel its effects. This leads to a decrease in satiety and increased eating, resulting in weight gain.
A simple blood test can measure leptin. Fasting leptin levels in the blood should be about 4-6 ng/dl. Leptin resistance may demonstrate higher than normal leptin levels. Chronic inflammation, high stress, and lack of sleep can cause leptin resistance. A good starting point would be to increase consumption of more non-inflammatory food, reduce triglyceride levels and supplement with Omega-3.
10. Insulin Resistance
Insulin is a hormone that is made in the pancreas and allows cells to absorb and use glucose. According to CDC, about 1 in 3 people or one third of the US population has some type of insulin resistance. If someone has insulin resistance and continues to eat lots of carbs and refined sugar, this can eventually trigger weight gain as well as diabetes. Eating a low-carb diet, exercise, eating enough protein, and managing stress are ways to address insulin resistance. Hypnosis is a wonderful way to gain control in all these areas by reprogramming the subconscious mind.
Genetics does have some influence in weight gain and obesity. But now we know with epigenetics we can influence our gene expression.
Another issue is the internal biological weight setpoint. If a person is maintaining a particular weight for about one year, their internal biological weight “thermostat” accepts that as the normal weight for that person. So, if they start to lose weight rapidly, that thermostat kicks in and tells the body to burn fewer calories so that the same weight set point can be maintained. The internal biological weight setpoint can be successfully reset with hypnosis.
