There are a number of reasons why people can’t lose weight. Typically, we are told it is because we eat more calories than we use. That “diet” model has its place, but in many ways is outdated. Let’s look at another common cause of inability to lose weight fast.
This month we are focusing on a common culprit for stubborn weight loss: Metabolic Syndrome. Metabolic Syndrome, also know as pre-diabetes, affects up to 30% of of the U.S. population and the symptoms range from inability to lose belly fat to increased likelihood of heart attack and/or stroke. Metabolic syndrome is basically an “unhealthy metabolism.” This is the term we will use in the rest of this post.
An unhealthy metabolism consists of a variety of symptoms that, when combined, amplify one another.
These include:
- high blood sugar
- increased blood pressure
- excess body fat around the waist
- and/or abnormal cholesterol levels
The excess body fat around your waist is what you’re trying to lose, right? When it’s isolated as a symptom to fix without considering the big picture, the lack of progress becomes overwhelmingly frustrating. Essentially, your metabolism is confused so your body thinks it needs to hold onto the fat even though you are exercising and eating well.
An unhealthy metabolism disrupts your body’s ability to regulate blood sugar. Normally, your pancreas releases insulin which allows sugar to get into your cells. When your metabolism is damaged, your cells become “insensitive” to insulin and therefore sugar in your blood can’t get into your cells. That sugar floating around in your blood is converted into fat to be stored. You feel tired all the time and you end up with ever increasing fat stores around your mid-section. Sound familiar?
Besides the frustration of being unable to lose weight, an unhealthy metabolism makes it up to 4x more likely you’ll develop heart disease (which leads to heart attack and stroke) and up to 30x more likely you’ll develop diabetes.
Some of the symptoms of an unhealthy metabolism are elevated blood sugar, increased blood pressure (hypertension), excessive body fat around the waist, and/or abnormal cholesterol levels. Some of these issues you can identify on your own, but others need to be evaluated by a doctor.
If you have a family history of diabetes, stroke and/or heart attack, it is especially important that you regularly check for the warning signs of metabolic syndrome (an unhealthy metabolism). At ProActive Chiropractic we are running a free “Healthy Metabolism” screening in April. We can help you determine how healthy your metabolism is. And depending on the results we can help you with a solution to regain control of your health.
ProActive Chiropractic, in the Financial District, strives to empower people in our community to lives of vitality and ease. Life does NOT need to include pain, limitations, and daily Rx medications. There are natural and easy solutions to most people’s health problems. Let us share the answers with you.