Weight loss is one of the most common health goals. If you are carrying more weight than is healthy, this can negatively impact your health in many ways. Fatigue, low mood, aches and pains and poor sleep quality can all result from carrying excess weight. Plus there are long term consequences of being overweight; it places your heart and liver at risk and puts a strain on every organ in your body. Losing weight is easier said than done. Stress, fatigue and a busy lifestyle can make sticking to a healthy diet and exercise regime challenging. However, sometimes health problems are what stands in the way of successful weight loss. You may be doing all the right things with your diet and lifestyle, eat far less than those around you yet not be able to shed the pounds. If this is you, the following points may be helpful:

Fatty liver

Your liver is supposed to be the major fat burning organ in your body.  Excess fat in your body travels to your liver.  The fat is incorporated into bile, which is stored in the gallbladder.  Bile is then secreted into your intestines and leaves your body in bowel motions.  Therefore your liver is cleverly designed to rid your body of excess fat. Unfortunately, not everyone has a healthy liver.  Fatty liver is an extremely common condition.  Around one in three Americans has a fatty liver.  You may have one and not be aware of it.  People who carry excess weight on their abdominal region usually have a fatty liver, as do diabetics.  If you have a fatty liver, your liver has turned into a fat storage site.  Your liver is doing the opposite of what it should be doing: storing fat rather than burning it.  See my book Fatty Liver: You Can Reverse It and take the liver tonic Livatone Plus.

Type 2 diabetes

People with type 2 diabetes find it much harder to lose weight.  One reason for this is high blood insulin levels.  People with type 2 diabetes usually have too much insulin in their bloodstream, but the insulin isn’t working properly.  Insulin is supposed to transport glucose from food you ate into your cells where it is used up for energy.  In type 2 diabetics insulin can’t do this job very efficiently, therefore it promotes the conversion of glucose into body fat. Insulin is a fat creating hormone; it stimulates weight gain in the abdominal area and it promotes the development of a fatty liver.  Insulin also stimulates your appetite, particularly for sugar and carbohydrate rich foods.  Insulin promotes fluid retention, leaving you bloated and puffy, and it also inhibits the fat burning hormones in your body.  Thus people with high insulin levels usually do not lose much weight when they exercise.  See my book Diabetes Type 2: You Can Reverse It for a specific meal plan designed to help diabetics lose weight.

Body toxicity

Whether we like it or not, we are continually exposed to an array of ever increasing chemicals.  Your liver is supposed to handle the job of detoxification and keep you healthy, but the human body is simply not accustomed to having to deal with so many chemicals at once. The major detoxification systems of the body comprise the liver, kidneys, bowels, lymphatic system, spleen, lungs and skin.  In an ideal world, these systems work together to rid our bodies of the toxins produced within, as a by-product of metabolism, and the toxins that have entered our body from the outside world. However, pollution, toxins, stress and a less than perfect diet, leading to nutritional deficiencies, place a greater load on our body’s detoxification abilities.  Over time, our body’s ability to rid itself of toxins becomes poorer, and the toxins start to accumulate in our tissues.  This places an enormous stress on our immune system.  Immune disorders are one of the fastest growing group of diseases. It also impairs your body’s ability to burn fat because the inflammation generated by toxicity can cause insulin resistance. The 15 Day Cleanse helps your liver be a more efficient detoxifier and fat burner, cleans up your gut and heals leaky gut and makes your body more alkaline.

Thyroid gland disorders

Thyroid disorders are incredibly common, especially in women.  They typically develop after giving birth (postpartum) or during menopause; times when women often struggle to lose weight.  Your thyroid gland produces hormones that regulate your metabolic rate.  If your thyroid can’t produce enough hormones, your metabolism will slow down and you will likely gain weight and feel fatigued. Thyroid hormones are made of iodine; it is the basic building block of your thyroid hormones.  Many Americans and Australians do not get enough iodine in their diet.  Urine tests we arrange for our patients show us that the average person is very iodine deficient.  Your body requires selenium in order to convert thyroid hormone into its active state.  Selenium deficiency is also incredibly common.  Vitamin D and zinc are also necessary for thyroid gland function.  If your thyroid gland does not have sufficient levels of the nutrients required for hormone production, your metabolism will suffer.  You may benefit from Thyroid Health capsules.

Fatigue

Feeling chronically tired is a major obstacle to weight loss in many people.  If you are tired every day, it is very difficult to motivate yourself to exercise regularly, and you probably aren’t going to exercise at an intensity that gets results. It is also difficult to prepare healthy home cooked meals.  Fatigue takes away the drive and motivation to take good care of yourself. If you are chronically exhausted, it is important to find out why.  You may be deficient in iron, B vitamins, iodine or vitamin D.  You may have a chronic viral infection that is leaving you drained.  Selenium is a mineral with a powerful antiviral effect.  It helps your body to fight infections and strengthens your immune system.  Try Selenomune Designer Energy capsules. The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.