General Holistic Health, Hormones, Menopause, Stress, Stress Support, Weight Loss
Why It Can Be So Difficult To Lose Weight
The Weight Gain/Inflammatory Hamster Wheel
by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath and Founder of Depke Wellness
Do you have a desire and a need to lose weight?
Do you find it difficult to lose weight?
Have you lost weight in the past, only to gain this back?
Do you wondering how and why your best friend can lose weight easily, yet when you follow her diet, you do not enjoy the same results?
If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, you are running in the hamster wheel of life regarding weight loss.
If you have never seen a hamster wheel, the hamster jumps in the inner circle and begins to run, and regardless of how slow of fast the hamster runs, it does not go anywhere.
And this may be happening to you with the frustration of a lack of successful weight loss.
You get it…
You’ve tried the diets, exercised to exhaustion, taken the supplements that are supposed to help and maybe even starved yourself.
Yet in the end, you still haven’t reached your short-term or long-term weight loss goals.
That’s the hamster wheel that I am talking about.
I first want you to know that this is not your fault. Most people do not know what is triggering their lack of response, and you are going to understand what is holding you back here.
If you are living with the frustration of a lack of weight loss, you are likely living with an inflammatory/weight gain response.
To also share something very important, if this has been an issue for you, it’s most likely that you are dealing with chronic inflammation that is fueling constant weight gain for you.
And the interesting point is that you may or may not even know you are inflamed.
As a holistic health expert that has assisted over 10,272 people since 2001, I can tell you that many people to not even realize that they are chronically inflamed.
If you are, you could be dealing with any of these symptoms below.
- Chronic aches or pains
- Stiffness when waking in the morning or getting up from sitting at your desk for some time
- Fatigue
- Stomach pain
- Stomach bloating
- Insulin resistance
- Diabetes
- Hormone imbalance
- Insomnia
- Headaches
- Feelings of depression, anxiety or other mood disorders
- Swelling
- And of course, weight gain
When you are inflamed, there are certain functional responses that you are likely living with right now.
Understand that chronic inflammation will lead to an increase in fat cell production. Obviously, that in and by itself will play a role in weight gain and hinder weight loss for you. Basically, as fat mass expands, inflammation increases.
That’s not the end of the problem though.
Once you’re inflamed and begin producing more fat cells, your body will respond with challenges of insulin resistance, which will also lead to increase weight gain. This occurs when insulin is elevated, thus leading to your body storing excess fat rather than releasing this through your breath or urine.
This is an important because when your body maintains normal insulin reactivity, excess fat consumption would typically not lead to weight gain, as long as you are not consuming higher glycemic foods.
Now once your body gets stuck in this insulin resistance response, this can lead to unstable glucose levels and the release of both glucagon and insulin, eventually leading to deeper imbalances with glucose, creating insulin surges.
And the last piece of the puzzle is that the insulin surges will then lead to further inflammation.
Thus, the inflammatory/weight gain hamster wheel just keeps spinning out of control.
At least you now understand what is likely leading to your frustration due to the lack of success with weight loss.
Understand this information allows you to make the choices in your life to escape this hamster wheel and enjoy the pleasure of weight loss success.
Escaping the Inflammatory/Weight Gain Cycle
The key to losing weight when you are stuck in the inflammatory/weight gain cycle is to address this from a lifestyle, nutritional and supplemental perspective.
From the nutritional and lifestyle perspective, it is essential to remove your inflammatory triggers. This could include any or all of these factors below.
- The SAD diet, which is the acronym for the standard American diet which is high in sugar, process carbohydrates, caffeine and alcohol.
- Food sensitivity such as gluten, Americanized wheat, gluten associated food sensitivity or common food sensitivity.
- Chronic infections, which typically reside in the gastro-intestinal tract
- SIBO or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth
- Toxicity, whether this is heavy metals, environmental or chemical toxicity
- Chronic mental and emotional stress
- Chronic injury or excessive exercise
- Other inflammatory triggers such as chemotherapy or alcoholism
Anti-Inflammatory Supplementation
Most people find it essential to help support the body’s natural anti-inflammatory response and thankfully, there are many effective supplements to aid this journey for you.
- Promotes a healthy inflammatory response*
- Provides antioxidant protection*
- Helps promote youthful looking skin*
- Supports your overall eye health*
- Supports immune function*
- Supports your skeletal system and joint health*
- Promotes healthy liver function*
- Helps you maintain healthy cells and mitochondria*
- Supports the health of your digestive system*
- Supports your healthy blood and circulatory system*
- Helps you maintain healthy cholesterol levels already within the normal range*
- Assists your neurological system’s healthy response to stress*
- Supports a healthy female reproductive system*
- Helps you maintain already healthy normal blood sugar levels*
- Promotes a healthy inflammatory response*
- Supports healthy cellular development.*
- Promotes comfortable, flexible movement and healthy joints.*
- Helps maintain digestive health.*
- Promotes healthy vision and skin health*
- Helps aid in minimizing oxidative stress.*
- Supports postmenopausal health in women and prostate health in men.*
- Helps promote brain health by supporting memory and concentration.*
- Improve GI symptoms such as occasional bloating, gas, fullness and abdominal discomfort*
- Support digestive health*
- Your endothelial villi regain their normal height and structure for optimal nutrient absorption in your gut*
- With the transit of food through your gut*
- Support a normal inflammatory response in your gut*
- Improve daily regularity*
It is also essential to help support your stress hormone system during this time. This is very important because the hormone response that is tied into your adrenal gland function is responsible for the production of cortisone, which is your body’s natural anti-inflammatory hormone.
The challenge here is that the same triggers that lead to inflammation also weaken adrenal function, thus making it more difficult to create that natural anti-inflammatory response. So supporting your hormonal system, or adrenal function, goes a long way in helping your escape the cycle between weight gain and inflammation.
And the bonus is that your hormones also play further roles in helping with weight loss as they impact these areas below.
- Your regulation of body weight and fat
- The metabolism of fat and protein
- Thyroid and pancreas function
- Anti-inflammatory states
- Cellular energetics
- Quality sleep
- Blood sugar balance
All these areas have the potential to assist you in losing weight!
With this information, you now understand how important natural hormone balance is to your body and the key roll this plays in supporting a natural anti-inflammatory response and weight loss.
As mentioned earlier, it is important to address your triggers for hormone imbalance which are common triggers with inflammation as well, and you can also enhance natural hormone balance with particular herbs and supplements.
Hormone Support Supplements
- Sea Cucumber (hai shen) –
- Korean Ginseng – Natural stamina support adaptogen *
- Siberian Ginseng – Natural stamina support adaptogen *
- Bitter Melon – Helps support insulin/cortisol balance *
- Green Tea (decaf) – Naturally contains L-theanine supporting free cortisol production *
- Licorice Root – Assist in maintaining natural cortisol levels *
- Sha Yaun Zi – Commonly used tonic for overall healing support *
- Rhodiola Rosea – Calming root extract *
- CoQ10 – Assist with mitochondria function *
- Curcumin (95%) – Aids in naturally reducing the effects of stress *
- Fo Shou – Natural aid in supporting cortisol balance *
- Zhen Zhu – Naturally calms the stress response and supports healing *
- Sensoril Ashwagandha – Stress support reducing adaptogen *
- KSM 66 Ashwagandha – Stress support reducing adaptogen *
- Vitamin B5 – Support natural hormone production*
Now is the time to escape the frustration of the inflammatory/weight gain hamster wheel and set yourself free to enjoy enhanced weight loss.
What a perfect way to start the new year!
Contact Me
Also, If you have any comments or questions regarding this article please email me at info@depkewellness.com.
You can also call our office direct at (800) 960-2755.
*The products on this page have not been reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
