Wait, what about my weight?

You've been told over and over that with the right diet and consistent exercise, you will be able to drop the pounds, but why does it feel like this universal rule just doesn't apply to you? You've done every diet under the sun, you feel like you are restricting your food choices more and more yet still gaining or maintaining weight. Drop the calories and drop the weight, right? WRONG! Unfortunately, our human bodies are not that simple. With multiple organ systems talking to each other and multiple hormonal byproducts at play, your cellular response and metabolism are receiving signals from every which way. The take home point is that a multitude of factors control weight, not just calories. If you have attempted to lose weight and find that dietary modifications and/or exercise are not sufficient, I challenge you to look at hormonal influences. Hormones are the body's chemical messengers. The human body secretes and circulates some 50 different hormones. A wide variety of these chemical substances are produced by endocrine cells, most of which are in glands. The hormones then enter the bloodstream to circulate throughout the body to carry out specific tasks. Hormonal imbalance or fluctuations in hormones can result in storage of the extra pounds as well as extra water. Menstruating women, need I say more? You may be wondering what is causing your body to react in such a way that it is unable to keep the hormones balanced. If you are suffering from Hypothyroidism, you will struggle with losing weight because without enough Thyroid hormone, every system in the body slows down. Chronic stress, albeit physical, mental, emotional or environmental stress reak havoc on our ability to lose weight. Stress causes an increased amount of the hormone Cortisol, resulting in a raging appetite, belly fat accumulation and elevated blood sugar. Digestive disorders, allergies, autoimmune disease, arthritis, asthma, eczema, acne, headaches, depression and sinus disorders are associated with chronic inflammation and thus not conducive to weight loss. So does this mean that if you struggle from one of these things listed you can't lose weight? ABSOLUTELY NOT! All this means is there is a reason why you are unable to meet your goal weight and there is more to be addressed with your health than simply cutting calories.