We have patients come into our medical weight loss center and frequently say things like, “I want to lose weight because I’m getting married,” or, “There is this outfit I want to wear.” While those are wonderful goals, losing weight isn’t the hard part. The hard part is keeping the weight off long term. Unlike traditional diet plans, our medical weight loss programs focus on sustainable, long-term results. There are a number of best-selling books and diet programs out there that will result in rapid weight loss. But the real question remains: can you keep it off?
If you want to lose weight and keep it off for good, you have to start with understanding why your body seems to thwart your best efforts. The body seeks a specific weight range and finds what is called a “setpoint.” This setpoint weight reflects the overall state of your body’s systems. Sustained weight loss requires an approach that addresses all the conditions involved in creating your setpoint. It’s not a two- or three-week, quick-fix solution. Long-term weight loss demands an investigation into finding the imbalances and blockages in your whole-body system.
While a complete investigation might sound daunting, the joy of success is sublime. When you get to the root cause of your weight issues, reduce inflammation, and regain hormone balance, your body will arrive at a new setpoint—one that your body will naturally want to maintain. It’s helpful to understand that your weight is not a problem but a symptom. Weight is simply evidence of your body’s internal status and how comfortable it feels in its environment. This is why quick-loss diet trends ultimately fail.
Unfortunately, because of how hormones work in the body, the quick-loss approach usually leads to “yo-yo” dieting, causing the body to defensively establish a higher setpoint. To address your weight loss dreams successfully, you need to dig deep to uncover the underlying root causes of your body’s tendency to maintain a higher-than-optimal weight. The journey to your ideal weight can feel lengthy and frustrating. That’s why finding ways to sustain yourself throughout this process is vital.
One approach is to see your weight loss journey from your body’s perspective. Your body sees extra weight as beneficial—excess fat serves as a safety net, storing fuel for future needs. In case of crisis or famine, our bodies convert excess calories into fat, stored across our hips, thighs, and bellies. Though we rarely face famine today, we do encounter crises through illness, excessive stress, or injury. This biological reality requires patience with the weight loss process, recognizing that our bodies are trying to protect us.
Another mindset shift that supports sustainable weight loss is acknowledging that genuine results take time. Sustained weight loss emerges from addressing several factors, including hormonal imbalances that have contributed to weight gain. Nothing undermines progress more than losing hope because weight loss isn’t happening quickly enough. Setting realistic time expectations forms an essential first step toward wellness. Body size expectations also need careful consideration. Being overly focused on the scale can sabotage your efforts.
You might maintain the same weight while losing inches around your waist or hips, or your body fat percentage might decrease while the scale shows no change. If you’ve been exercising, muscle gain might even increase your weight. A practical strategy to avoid scale-fixation is to select a “goal outfit”—something that currently doesn’t fit quite right, feels too tight, or doesn’t button properly. This approach encourages you to put away the scale. Try on that outfit weekly to gauge your progress. This feedback tool shifts your attention away from numbers and allows you to appreciate the smaller, incremental changes that develop over time.
Assessing diet—which foods we eat, why we eat, and portion sizes—and using food diaries or trackers can support weight loss. However, these habits generally don’t address the root causes of weight issues. Often, underlying medical imbalances need attention. Common symptoms of hormone imbalance include unexplained weight gain, fatigue, and difficulty losing weight despite diet and exercise. Hormones function as messenger molecules produced by various glands throughout the body. They communicate your internal status from cell to cell, helping keep bodily systems coordinated and responsive.
Understanding how hormones influence fat storage becomes critical when optimizing wellness. If you genuinely want to lose weight and keep it off permanently, hormone dynamics must be addressed. These key hormones fall into four different categories: Thyroid function testing ensures you’re not suffering from hypothyroidism, which can slow weight loss to a crawl. Cortisol levels assessment addresses whether stress activation is suppressing your metabolism, making weight loss an uphill battle. Insulin production testing for potential insulin resistance, which can halt weight loss and develop into more serious health issues. Estrogen, as a powerful sex hormone that influences thyroid production and increases body fat, requires testing to measure whether estrogen dominance affects weight gain.
Once hormonal imbalances are corrected, dietary habits can be refined to maximize weight loss. These refinements often lead to discovering effective tools—or tricks of the trade—that build momentum. Some of our favorite recommendations include intermittent fasting and green tea consumption. Substantial scientific evidence supports the powerful effects both fasting and green tea have had for people who’ve struggled with weight management for years. Perhaps this wellness journey resonates with you. If it does, and you want this to be your final climb up the mountain, we can help you get there.
Even if you’ve struggled for years, you can still change your weight setpoint, develop a sustainable weight loss mindset, identify the root causes of your weight issues, and discover new dietary approaches that make your journey easier and healthier. You can transform your weight management experience from struggle to sublime joy while achieving your health and wellness goals. At our medical weight loss center, we understand that sustainable weight loss requires a comprehensive approach. Our medical weight loss programs address both the physical and hormonal aspects of weight management, ensuring you achieve lasting results.
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