Sustainable Weight Loss: A Comprehensive Approach to Better Health
Weight loss is a common concern I see frequently in my office. Many individuals want to lose weight for various reasons, ranging from improving their health to enhancing their appearance. While weight plays an important role in your health, it is not the end-all-be-all to good health. When we focus only on weight, there is a risk of crash-dieting that leads to short term success, but long term failure, negatively affecting physical, mental and emotional health. Taking a holistic approach to weight and physical health, with a goal of slow, sustainable weight loss is where I always see the best benefits for my patients.
The Health Benefits of Weight Loss
Weight loss can have profound effects on health, particularly when it comes to specific medical conditions:
Digestive Health: Conditions like GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) can be alleviated with weight loss. Excess weight can increase abdominal pressure, leading to reflux. By reducing weight, the pressure decreases, which can result in fewer symptoms.
Hormonal Health: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder common among women of reproductive age. Excess weight and insulin resistance are common challenges for women with PCOS, and working on sustainable weight loss can help to improve insulin sensitivity while also supporting regularity of menstrual cycles.
Cardiometabolic Health: Weight loss is crucial for improving cardiometabolic health when it is connected to excess weight, especially abdominal fat. It can lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, and reduce the risk of heart disease. By managing weight, you can improve blood sugar levels, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure, contributing to overall heart health.
Factors That Make Weight Loss More Difficult
Despite its benefits, weight loss can be challenging due to various personal and environmental factors. Some common limiting factors include:
Health Conditions: Medical conditions such as hypothyroidism, polycystic ovary syndrome, and sleep apnea can make weight loss more challenging. They may impact metabolism, insulin sensitivity, recovery, energy and more.
Medications: Certain medications can lead to weight gain or make weight loss more difficult. Antidepressants, antipsychotics, and corticosteroids are some examples.
Physical Environment: Limited access to safe spaces for exercise, lack of access to affordable healthy foods, and living in environments that promote sedentary lifestyles can hinder weight loss efforts.
Social Environment: Social support plays a crucial role in weight loss. Lack of support from family and friends, cultural factors, and social stressors can negatively impact weight loss journeys.
If you are struggling to lose weight, having a thorough assessment of your physical, mental and social health can often be the most valuable strategy. Addressing limiting factors is crucial for weight loss success; without it, long-term success becomes much harder to achieve. By tackling these obstacles, the journey becomes smoother and more manageable, leading to better results and improved overall health.
Strategies for Sustainable Weight Loss
Achieving sustainable weight loss requires a multifaceted approach. Some helpful strategies include:
Education: This is a confusing area with a lot of misinformation. Understanding the basics of nutrition, portion sizes, and healthy eating patterns can empower individuals to make informed choices. Personalized, guided education on what you really need can often make the biggest difference, helping you weed out
Sleep Support: Poor quality and quantity sleep leads to a variety of negative impacts on our health. There is dysregulation of hunger hormones, leading to lower satiety and higher cravings, especially for energy dense foods. You also may have less energy for physical activity, have more difficulty dealing with stress, and there can be worsening of numerous health conditions that can also impact your weight loss goals.
Hormonal Support: Imbalances in hormonal health, including thyroid, cortisol, and sex hormones, can impact weight by affecting sleep, energy, metabolism and more. Addressing these imbalances through appropriate treatment can support weight loss efforts.
Stress Support: Connecting to changes in cortisol levels, stress, burnout, and overwhelm can affect our ability to stick to a plan, leading to giving up and feeling lost. Consider strategies to help better manage stress, and of course getting individual support if you need.
Dietary Support: Our weight and body composition rely heavily on what we consume. Focusing on a balanced diet that helps meet your nutrient needs, including macronutrients like carbohydrates and protein, as well as micronutrients like vitamins and minerals helps with maintaining good energy and supporting important physical functioning. Beyond this, it can help to consider a variety of strategies such as meal timing, specific therapeutic diets, as well as the factors beyond the “what” of your diet, including who, when, where, why and how. These discussions can make a big difference, especially with support from a nutritional professional such as a dietitian or naturopathic doctor.
Beyond the Scale: Holistic Monitoring
A key strategy to supporting sustainable weight loss is looking beyond weight as the only monitoring metric. Weight fluctuates a lot, with potential fluctuations of 2-10 pounds in a single day based on hydration, carb intake, hormones, and more. Watching the scale change daily may seem important, but what we really care about is the pattern of weight over time. Focusing solely on the number on the scale can often be demotivating and miss the big picture.
Using other monitoring strategies such as adherence to specific beneficial habits, performance in important activities (such as weight lifted or time on a run), and other measurements beyond weight like body fat percentage, waist and hip measurements, as well as important bloodwork like cholesterol, blood sugar, and liver health can help look at the big picture. This comprehensive approach allows for a more accurate assessment of overall health and progress.
Hope For Long Term Success
While many people struggle with weight loss goals, a comprehensive, holistic approach can lead to more success. By addressing the various factors that influence weight, such as sleep, stress, hormonal balance, and nutrition, individuals can achieve sustainable weight loss. More importantly, beyond weight loss, they often feel better, with more energy, confidence, and better overall health. This holistic approach not only helps in achieving weight loss goals but also in maintaining long-term health and well-being.