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#35 5 Reasons You Can’t Lose Weight

The Dr. Westin Childs Podcast
The Dr. Westin Childs Podcast
Episode • Sep 11, 2018 • 14m
In this video, we will discuss the 5 main reasons that you can't lose weight even if you are eating healthy and exercising regularly.

It may surprise you that this combination does not work for everyone! In fact, there are many people who will need to do more than just eat healthily and exercise in order to lose weight.

The top 5 reasons you can't lose weight:

#1. Your metabolism is damaged
What do I mean? Your metabolism is best understood as the total amount of calories that you burn every day, but what you may not realize is that this value can change.
Certain things that you can do can impact your metabolism:
- How much food you eat
- How much you exercise
- Your muscle mass
- Your hormones
- Dieting damages your metabolism

If your metabolism is damaged then you will burn fewer calories and it won't matter how much you exercise.

#2. Your thyroid
Low thyroid function is linked to weight loss resistance in two important ways.
As thyroid function decreases you may start to gain weight but also once you start gaining weight your thyroid will become sluggish in the process.
In addition, your thyroid helps to control your metabolism. So low thyroid function may cause a sluggish metabolism.
You can test for thyroid dysfunction by looking at your free thyroid hormones.

#3. Your age
Your age is important because as you age you may start to experience a decline in specific hormones.
Men will undergo andropause (which is a reduction in testosterone).
Women will undergo menopause (which is a reduction in both estrogen and progesterone).
In addition, both genders tend to lose muscle mass which will drive down metabolism and lead to weight gain.
Weight loss is always more difficult as you age but it can be made easier with HRT

#4. Insulin resistance
Insulin is a hormone secreted by your pancreas in response to the consumption of carbohydrates and sugars. High insulin blocks a hormone known as hormone-sensitive lipase which makes tapping into your fat storage more difficult.

#5. Stress
Stress will negatively impact cortisol, your sleep, your appetite and your recovery time
Consider stress the bane of your existence when trying to lose weight.
You must manage stress if you want to lose weight.
High stress = cravings for more carbohydrates.
High stress = reduced sleep.
High stress = reduced exercise capacity and so on.
You can combat stress by utilizing meditation and certain adrenal supplements.

I'm Dr. Westin Childs and I focus on thyroid health, hormone balance, and weight loss. I write about thyroid disorders, weight loss, insulin resistance, estrogen/progesterone balance on my blog. I truly believe that hormone balance is the key to managing your weight, your mood and your quality of life which is why I'm so passionate about it.

You can learn more about high-quality supplements that I create (and personally use) here:
https://www.restartmed.com/shop/

You can find more general information on my site here:
https://www.restartmed.com/

If you enjoyed this video please subscribe on youtube or leave a comment on my podcast here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dr-westin-childs-podcast-thyroid-weight-loss-hormones/id1141207688?mt=2

This video is not intended to be used as medical advice. If you have questions about your health please consult your physician or primary care provider. Dr. Westin Childs goes to great lengths to produce high-quality content but this is NOT a substitute for medical care.

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