Weight Loss Difficulties: In General

Sometimes the reason for weight loss difficulties is not obvious. Although lifestyle, i.e. lack of exercise and tons of junk food, is the primary cause, there can be other reasons.

Some of these other reasons may be a) fecal buildup in the colon (John Wayne had about 25 pounds of this matter in his colon) b) toxic buildup or c) high insulin levels.

If you have done all the obvious things to lose weight such as eliminating sodas and other sweets, increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables, and getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep, I recommend a colon cleanse too.

As noted above with the John Wayne example, fecal buildup in the colon can add excess weight to your body. No amount of dieting will remove this weight. There are many symptoms which point to excess buildup in your colon as the probable cause:

frequent fatigue and low energy

flatulence, gas and bloating

excess weight

food allegies

impaired digestion

irritability, mood swings

bad breath and foul smelling stools

parasites in stool

frequent colds

recurring headaches

chronic constipation

IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), protruding belly

strong food cravings

skin problems, rashes

hemorrhoids

candida infection

metallic taste in mouth

If you have one or more of these symptoms, you may need a colon cleanse. There are many good products on the market.

Weight Loss Difficulties: Omega-6 Fatty Acids

After removing sweets and refined foods from your diet, you may also have to eliminate all grains, depending on your body. And by eating 7 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables, you will stabilize your insulin levels.

Americans are eating too much omega-6 fatty acids. These acids are found in grains such as corn, soybean, and safflower oils. They are also found in meats (these animals are fed grain products instead of being allowed to graze in the field.) Farm-raised fish are also fed grain products. Excess omega-6 fatty acids are stored in the body as fat.

Are you on medications? Certain medications can cause you to gain weight. These drugs may also cause weight loss difficulties. Many types of drugs, including neuroleptics, anticonvulsants, antihypertensives, protease inhibitors, and diabetes medications, have been shown to cause weight gain.

Weight Loss Difficulties: Underactive Thyroid

Industrial chemicals such as pesticides, dyes, resins, and solvents have caused laboratory rats to gain weight. Having an underactive thyroid will also prevent weight loss. This condition is known as hypothyroidism.

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland which is located in the lower front part of the neck. It produces hormones that assist your body in regulating its metabolism, and keeping your heart, brain, muscles and organs working normally.

The risk for Hypothyroidism increases with age, with females at a higher risk than men. According to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, women are 5 to 8 times more likely to develop this condition than men.

Symptoms of hypothyroidism specific to women may include heavy and/or frequent menstrual periods. Hot flashes and mood swings, symptoms commonly associated with menopause, may be caused by it too.

Hypothyroidism can be caused by estrogen dominence (See also...), fluoride in drinking water, selenium deficiency, lack of iodine in diet, among the more prevalent.

The recommended way to re-balance the thyroid naturally is through a liquid iodine product known as Iosol. Take 4 drops of Iosol in water for 2 weeks. Thereafter, reduce dosage to 2 drops per day. You should be able to purchase Iosol at your local health food store.

According to studies published in Biofactors and European Journal of Endocrinology, vitamin E and selenium can regenerate an under-active thyroid. You will find vitamin E in wheat germ, whole-grain cereals, nuts, avocados, fish, and green leafy vegetables. Selenium can be found in seafood, liver, poultry, red meat, and grains.

Recent research has linked hypothyroidism to stress. Exercise is a great stress reliever.

Weight Loss Difficulties: Bacteria

Recent studies show conclusively that in addition to the above factors, bacteria can explain some types of obesity. A family of bacteria called firmicutes are 20% greater in the obese. This type of bacteria is more efficient at absorbing calories from complex sugars and storing them as fat.

The bacteroidetes family of bacteria is more abundant in people who are of normal weight. Obese people have 90% fewer of this bacteria. When the obese lose weight, their bacteroidetes increase while their firmicutes decrease at the same time.

Unfortunately, the downside to constantly taking antibiotics is that they actually kill your good bacteria. This will lead to weight loss difficulties. A diet high in fruits and vegetables and other non-processed food, along with a good probiotic, will correct the bacterial imbalance.

According to some Boston researchers, people whose pancreas secrete high levels of insulin have a very difficult time losing weight. Why? Their insulin receptors have lost their sensitivity.

Insulin interferes with the fat burning hormone hormone sensitive lipase. The job of this hormone is to put fat into the bloodstream in order for it to be burned as fuel. When the body is unable to burn fat, it will steal amino acids from muscle tissue and carbohydrates. This makes a person VERY HUNGRY!

The key towards correcting this situation is exercise. Exercise is very effective for increasing the sensitivity of insulin receptors. It will also go a long way toward solving weight loss difficulties.

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Weight Loss Difficulties: Too Much Sitting

Team leader, Marc Hamilton, associate professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and associates have made an astounding discovery. Excessive sitting causes the body to stop burning fat!

"It was hard to believe at first," said research team leader Marc Hamilton, associate professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia. When the team began investigating what happens to fat when we sit for extended periods, they really didn�t expect to find much, and certainly didn�t expect to find anything that turned out to be "huge."

Initially using laboratory animals who were injected with radioactive tracers, the researchers found that when the animals sat for a few hours, the fat-splitting enzyme lipase was suppressed. The fat was taken to adipose tissue and stored. Tests with human subjects showed the same results.

In addition to a cessation of fat burning, the HDL cholesterol (good) of human subjects was lowered and their metabolism had slowed down. Hamilton suggests that people should stand up and move around. This will go far to turn around the damage caused by sitting for hours.

This important study suggests that although exercise is important, so is avoiding sitting for hours at a time.

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Weight Loss Difficulties: Miscellaneous

As if there weren't enough not so well-known causes of weight gain, Japanese scientists have discovered another one. Taisen Iguchi and Yoshinao Katsu of the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan found that the chemical tributyltin has an effect on cellular components retinoid X receptors (RXRs.)

Retinoid X receptors are able to switch on genes that promote the growth of fat storage cells and influence your body's metabolism. The scientists theorize that the pollutant tributyltin could be responsible for weight gain and a slowed metabolism. They also state that the rise in worldwide obesity over the past four decades coincides with the increased use industrial pollutants.

Tributyltin is frequently used as a preservative in paints for boats, wood and textiles and it is also used as a pesticide on high-value food crops. This makes it very hard to stay away from.

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