Keeping Up With The Kalish's - Why You Can't Lose Weight On A Diet (From The New York Times)

This fascinating article from the New York Times shows the struggles so many people go through in trying to keep off body fat that they have lost from extreme diets or exercise. As we know in functional medicine it's the issue of a damaged metabolism that haunts us even after, or especially after, the initial fat has burned off. A big part of this relates to hormone issues such as cortisol, DHEA and thyroid related problems, many of which go undetected if they are sub clinical. There is no way to keep the fat off with a down regulated hormone system, you'll just burn less calories and gain weight even with severe calorie restriction. Also we commonly see liver related issues, in particular Phase 1 and Phase 2 liver detox pathway problems contributing to weight loss resistance. The more toxins the liver is attempting to process or can't successfully process the harder it is to burn fat effectively. With Organic Acids testing we can see these pathways and problems on the lab. Also I often see carnitine problems on Organic Acids tests again demonstrating an inability to transport fat to burn it as a fuel source leading to weight loss resistance. Lately I've been working with mitochondrial energy issues more and more and of course, again in this area, damage to mitochondria will lead to low energy, inactivity and problems with burning fuel and producing ATP leading to exhausted and overweight patients. With the neurotransmitter metabolites on the Organic Acids test you can see evidence of serotonin or dopamine problems both of which can lead to excessive and unstoppable food cravings and an appetite that just won't be satiated regardless of how much food is consumed. Interestingly, I find normalizing appetite issues related to abnormal brain chemicals to happen almost immediately upon start up of amino acid treatments based on Organic Acids testing. All in all I do feel we can repair energy production, metabolism via hormone balance and clear up liver issues and get the body systems responsible for regulating appetite and fat burning back on track. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/opinion/sunday/why-you-cant-lose-weight-on-a-diet.html