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Weight Loss is an achievable goal once functional medicine principles are used.  Again, Functional Medicine focuses on optimal health including how well you sleep, hormone balance, gut health/food sensitivities and much more.

A few key points to improved weight loss are listed below:

• Dieting does not work- actually causes long term weight gain due to up regulation of hormones in the gut
• Rapid mindless eating sabotages weight loss- chew 30 times/bite- spend at least 20 minutes to eat a meal
• Skipping breakfast makes you fat
• Poor sleep hygiene makes you fat
• Drink 1/2 your body weight (lbs) /day in ounces of fluids daily
• Eat a diet high in fiber
• Eat a “rainbow of colors” or phyto-chemical rich foods-eat those veggies!
• Intestinal barrier support is important, fix “leaky gut"
• Poor immune function caused by "leaky gut" causes insulin resistance and weight gain
• You must exercise around 20-30 minutes everyday
• Optimize hormones- especially cortisol, insulin, and thyroid
• Do food sensitivity blood tests--eating sensitizing foods increases weight
• Bring balance to life and manage your stress by incorporating meditation, yoga, qi gong

Lower LEPTIN - the hormone in fat that signals satiety, regulates the immune system, and is an important determinant of how much inflammation is in the body. Leptin is the "master conductor" of all hormones.

For more information on improving Leptin, please view the BELLY FAT EFFECT VIDEO, found on the RESOURCES page.

Minimize Obesogens (nutritional, industrial, pharmaceutical chemicals that mimic estrogen, and promote obesity)  Avoid High fructose corn syrup, drinking from plastics (contains bisphenol A), phthalates-rich foods (beans, rice) and GMO foods.

Optimize GI function, by optimizing stomach acids, bile flow, gut hormones (GLP-1), take probiotics, prebiotics, fish/krill oil, pea protein. Avoid PPI meds. Make an office appt for details.

Eat like a king@ breakfast ( ie high protein), a prince @ lunch, and a little or no dinner! Finish dinner @ least 3  hours prior to bed. These things optimize LEPTIN  levels.

Eating a diet high in grains and carbohydrates increases risks for:

•  Obesity
•  Cardiovascular disease
•  Diabetes
•  Dementia
•  Autoimmune diseases
•  Arthritis
•  Mood disorders

Practical Paleo

The Paleo Approach

Grain Brain

At Natural Hormone Balance, we strongly encourage our patients to embrace the principles of the Paleo Diet.  The Paleo Diet closely parallels what our ancient hunter/gatherer ancestors ate.  

The Paleo Diet focuses on meals that consist of lean, free range meats and eggs, organically grown fruits and non-starchy vegetables and nuts.  The diet eliminates grains, dairy products and starchy vegetables like white potatoes.
The profound benefits of the Paleo Diet include:

•  Weight loss
•  Improved cognition (thinking more clearly)
•  Improved energy
•  Improved chance of partial /full reversal of autoimmune diseases (eg. Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, Hashimotos thyroid dissease)
•  Improved chance of partial/ full reversal of diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease