Weight Related New Year’s Resolutions

The most common New Year’s resolution, making up approximately 38% of all New Year’s resolutions, is to lose weight.  After the last of the sugar cookies, gingerbread houses, and candy canes of the holidays have been swept away, the juice cleanses, gym memberships, and reduced- calorie diets start to emerge.  Individuals are ready to commit to losing weight and regaining their health.  Sadly, however, only about 8% of individuals reach the weight loss goals that they set for themselves.  Why is losing weight so difficult for some individuals and so much easier for others?  Answer: body chemistry and hormone levels.  Unfortunately, most individuals are not aware of the reason for their weight struggles and spend years fighting a losing battle with food when they should be focusing on their blood.

Weight Loss – Not Just About Will Power

Most people attribute their weight loss failure to a lack of commitment to their weight loss plan.  Although commitment is a large part of succeeding at weight loss, it is not the only contributing factor.  For many individuals, the true cause of what makes losing weight so difficult is an imbalance of hormones.  Understandably, when individuals fail to obtain weight loss results they stop adhering to their previous weight loss plan.  As Einstein said, the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”  However, because they stopped their program and gave up on it too quickly, the individuals end up thinking that the diet did not work. .  Blaming their will power blinds many individuals to the fact that they have a hormonal imbalance–and so the pernicious circle continues.  They diet, they don’t lose weight, they blame their commitment, and they start another diet.

Fad Diets

Fad diets can be dangerous and tend to be inconsistent between different individuals.  What works for one person does not always work for another.  This is because there is not one single cause of weight gain – there are many different factors that contribute to body weight.  Fad diets do not take individual differences into consideration, and instead try to overhaul the system by restricting entire food groups.  Although an individual may initially see weight loss success with this type of diet, the results do not usually last very long. One of the reasons that fad diets can be so dangerous is that they often lead to dehydration.  If one is losing weight quickly it is likely because one is releasing a lot of fluid from one’s body.  Ironically, dehydration actually slows down the metabolism and prevents the body from being able to eliminate fat – the diet ends up inhibiting weight loss.  Other side effects of dehydration include mental and physical fatigue.  This exhaustion can prevent individuals from engaging in healthy exercise.  Ultimately, the body operates at its best only when it has a healthy balance of minerals, fluids, and nutrients.

Weight Management Blood Test Panel

If a balanced diet and regular exercise do not result in weight loss, there is probably some sort of hormonal imbalance in the body.  There are many different hormones and organs in the body that contribute to how food is digested, processed, used, and stored.  An individual needs to know where the system is struggling before a treatment can be started and weight loss can begin.  There is a separate weight management blood test panel for men and for women.  Testosterone and estrogen levels play an important role in weight loss management.  These hormones see a lot of variation across an individual’s lifespan.  As individuals grow older many find that they gain weight and that losing weight is more difficult than it once was.  In men lowered testosterone and higher levels of estrogen can cause weight gain.  In women the opposite is true, and too little estrogen can result in weight gain.  Both men and women need to monitor their hormonal changes as they age and be aware of how these changes may affect their weight.

The weight management profile blood test provides information on all of the main hormones related to weight loss.  Test results clearly profile all of the expected levels, as well as the individuals’ personal levels.  These results will guide the type of medication or treatment used.  Anyone who is experiencing trouble losing weight should have hormone levels checked with a weight loss blood test panel.  When the body is in balance a New Year’s resolution can become and end of year achievement.