If you want to lose weight, the most common solution provided is diet and exercise. While those two factors are a solid foundation to make a change, there are a few things that could be hindering your efforts, no matter how many calories you cut. After all, do you ever wonder why your friend drops 10 pounds, and you drop two even though you’re following the same regimen? The most important thing you can do before deciding on any nutritional change is to understand your weight biology. How? Here are three ways.
Check Hormone Levels
Hormones control so much of our bodily functions, and if they’re out of whack, people (especially women) can experience a host of issues, including weight gain. For example, if you have too much estrogen, it can get stored in fat cells. Our bodies then react by converting more calories into fat, so the estrogen has something to feed on. Conversely, lower estrogen levels will reduce muscle mass, which will result in more body fat.
Other hormonal issues that lead to weight gain include an underactive thyroid (which regulates your metabolism), polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and menopause. Checking for these and other hormonal imbalances with an OBGYN could help shed light on why you’re not losing weight. If confirmed, you can discuss medications or specific lifestyle changes to fix the root of the problem.
Diagnose a Metabolic Condition
To understand your weight biology, you can see an obesity medicine specialist. But, understandably, many don’t have access to specialists. Plus, even going to a nutritionist, you may need to jump through hoops to get lab work. But, with the pandemic came a wave of at-home access to doctors through telemedicine and testing through at-home kits. Obesity Medicine specialist Dr. Alexandra Sowa created the SoWell Health Weight Biology kit to make this process easier and accessible to anyone.
The kit tests for eight key biomarkers, including insulin resistance, making it difficult for people to manage their weight. It’s a step in finding a long-term weight loss solution without ever stepping foot into a doctor’s office. By understanding what’s going on in your body, you’ll have a personalized path to success. Whether you do research on your own or take your results to a nutritionist, the insight can help determine precisely what will work for you. For example, you actually may need to be eating MORE of a particular food rather than focusing on calories. A test like SoWell’s can help start your journey on the right path.
Determine Sleep Problems
Did you know that not enough zzz’s could lead to some extra lbs? When you’re sleep-deprived, you have more ghrelin hormone that tells your body when to eat. Unfortunately, it also means you have less leptin, which tells your body to stop eating. Combine those two, and you’ve got weight gain. That’s on top of the fact that if you’re not getting enough quality sleep, your metabolism cannot function properly and runs slower, leading to stubborn weight gain. So, you might need to focus on getting your eight hours each night and determine if you have any conditions like sleep apnea before making any nutritional changes. A few more hours of shuteye could lead to a few more pounds of weight loss.
