If you’re having trouble losing weight you have to consider metabolic syndrome or syndrome X. Weight gain can often be the result of many different factors but more often than not it’s got everything to do with blood sugar balance, in fact behind that problem you’ll always find insulin resistance which is the likely the main reason why you can’t lose weight if you are in fact eating well and exercising.
When we hear the term “insulin resistance” we often automatically assume that you must have diabetes to have insulin resistance, but this is not the case at all. Insulin resistance varies in degrees of severity ranging from being slightly insulin resistant, being pre-diabetic and having diabetes.
The good news in terms of losing weight is that the less insulin resistant you are the easier it is for you to lose weight.
Metabolic Syndrome & Weight Gain
Your metabolism is the key to using up your reserves of sugar and fat, metabolic syndrome which is also known as syndrome X is the process which describes a faulty metabolism through the interference of the function of the hormone insulin, that means that the real reason you can’t lose weight is hormone related and the higher the insulin hormone is the harder it is to lose weight and the easier it is to gain weight, it means double trouble if you want to lose weight.
Signs You Have Syndrome X
So, how do you know if you have syndrome X? Syndrome X is basically a collection of signs & symptoms. The easiest way to be sure you have syndrome X is by taking an insulin resistance test which can establish if you have high blood levels of hormone insulin. Syndrome X can also be established by looking at the obvious signs such as:
- Excess weight especially in the abdominal area
- Do you have fatty liver
- Excessively hungry for no reason
- Cravings for carbohydrates
- You experience unusual blood sugar highs and lows
- You have fatigue
- You have high blood pressure
The Main Causes of Weight Gain
As we mentioned earlier, weight gain can often be the result of many different factors, some are individual problems for each person or some people have multiple problems occurring at the same time. The main causes of weight gain include
- Eating too many calories for the energy that you need
- Have insulin resistance or syndrome X
- Metabolic disorders
- Thyroid gland hormone imbalances
- Sex hormone imbalance (See hormone imbalances for women & men)
- Fatty liver and or dysfunctional liver
- Food intolerance’s and or food allergies
- Nutritional imbalances & Toxic Heavy Metals
- Environmental pollutants
- Gut bacteria dysbiosis
- Mental disorders especially low dopamine
- Altered genetics or gene mutations
Metabolic Disorders & Weight Loss
One of biggest problems behind weight gain as we mentioned is insulin resistance but why has the body become resistant to using its own insulin, the answer is in metabolic disorders. Metabolism is the process of using your bodies resources to achieve many different results that are designed to keep you healthy. Metabolic disorders are what happens when your metabolism gets interfered with, when this happens nothing functions as well as it used to. When you have a metabolic disorder you body has all sorts of problems ranging from weight gain to serious diseases.
Common metabolic disorders occur as a result of toxicity from environmental pollutants & or heavy metals, nutritional imbalances and genetic disorders. Metabolic disorders have become a very big contributing factor when it comes to weight gain. Taking an organic acids & environmental pollutants test is a great way to uncover hidden metabolic disorders and environmental pollutants that can be causing metabolic disorders and insulin resistance. If you have a family history of excess weight gain, diabetes and or cardiovascular disease you may also want to consider a genetic test such as the cardio genetic test.
The benefits of the tests mentioned above can completely resolve weight problems, this is because once you know how you metabolism is working you can support the factors that are under performing, restore communication between insulin and your ability to burn sugars and fats which lowers your insulin resistance.
Nutritional Imbalances & Weight Gain
People often underestimate the power of nutrition when it comes to weight loss, this is usually because they have tried all sorts of diets, taken vitamin a mineral supplements and nothing has worked, or at best it worked a little bit and or it didn’t last. The reason that nutritional supplements don’t work as well as you’d hope is because of the process of synergy. Often people have no idea what nutrients are behind their weight problem so they try everything hoping to get results, this is a mistake.
Everyone is different and so is their needs for different nutrients especially when it comes to weight loss, people are nutritionally different in many ways. For example metabolism depends on the right balance of certain nutrients in order to achieve the right outcome, this cannot be achieved by randomly taking supplements. The best way to create synergy with nutrients is by knowing what you need and what you don’t need, this creates a supportive environment for the body while at the same time prevents the body from being burdened by excessive unwanted supplements. The best way to achieve this is with hair mineral analysis, this process provides a clear picture of what you need to do to balance out your nutrition.
Minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc & chromium have all been linked with weight gain and insulin resistance.
Vitamins involved in homocysteine synthesis are linked to obesity, weight gain, diabetes and heart problems. High insulin, such as insulin resistance stops the body from lowering and maintaining safe homocysteine levels which put you in serious danger.
Amino acids are involved in metabolism, they help detoxify the body, rebuild the body, use insulin & use energy so it is also vital in weight loss. Knowing which amino acids are needed can completely change your metabolism.
Don’t let syndrome X decide your weight!
Weight gain can be resolved and is often much easier when you understand what’s really going on inside your body. By taking a scientific approach your chances of weight loss increases dramatically. Most cases of syndrome X and metabolic disorders have underlying causes that can be fixed, if you’re unsure what you should do to find out what’s been holding you back from losing weight, simply ask one of our professional natural health practitioners here.