Holistic Wellness and Weight Loss
Holistic Wellness and Weight Loss
One of the most popular web search terms in recent years has been “weight loss”. When checking Google trends, it is obvious that this search term explodes every January with well-intentioned folks desiring to apply healthy New Year’s resolutions. When looking at related topics and queries, it’s easy to see that many people are interested in medicines to help them with weight loss.
Stimulant medications with high levels of adverse side-effects like Fen-Phen in the 90’s era have been used consistently at weight-loss clinics around the country. The Phen part of this, an amphetamine drug called phentermine is still used widely, and from my personal experience is used incorrectly and dangerously for profit at a high percentage of weight loss clinics.
The newer pharmaceutical trend is the increasingly common off-label use of diabetes drugs for weight loss, especially the GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic/Wegovy (semaglutide), and Mounjaro (tirzepatide). As of 2014, a study published in the American Journal of Public health revealed that national data from web trends suggest that 64% of Americans are trying to lose weight and 48% are following a weight loss strategy. The conclusion of this study was, “The weight loss information that people are likely to access online is often of substandard quality because most comprehensive and quality web sites rank too low in search results.”
It is also clear from more modern studies that as time progresses more and more Americans are struggling with their weight, which in my opinion is the purposeful obfuscation of nutritional guidelines, the deception of promoting pharmaceuticals to treat symptoms for profit, and a lack of clarity on what the actual underlying cause of weight gain is.
There is currently no consensus on the underlying cause of weight gain. It is a very dynamic process, and every individual is unique in the variables that are most influential, however there are 2 main schools of thought on the root cause. The conventional, standard-of-care doctors seem to mostly be on the side of CICO which is an acronym that stands for “calories in, calories out” and is a concept that has been around since the 1920’s and states that creating a calorie deficit leads to weight loss.
We’ve all heard the tag line, “eat less and exercise more” that is a staple of the CICO model leading to weight loss and is employed by major weight loss companies like Weight Watchers. Although this model can work for some people, this approach ignores the importance of diet quality, macronutrients, and other factors that influence health and weight. It generally also utilizes a “low-fat” approach, as fats are more calorie dense macronutrients.
This is easily exemplified by the highly processed, low calorie/low-fat/low nutrition foods that companies like Weight Watchers sell to their clients. The other camp, made up of a cohort of more holistic practitioners not associated with conventional, standard-of-care medicine, seem to be promoting true nutrition by restricting processed foods (especially carbohydrates and sugar) and increasing the amount of healthy fat people consume via a Ketogenic, Paleogenic, or Mediterranean style diet. In practice, it is easy to see that weight is not a function of caloric intake alone. We have all known people who fit into the following dichotomy:
- Obese and consume very low amounts of calories.
- Thin and consume high levels of calories.
If the CICO model is true, these circumstances would not exist. There has to be an alternative explanation. The truth is that weight is tied to metabolism, and metabolism can be affected by a variety of different factors. Let’s dive in to see some of the details that can encourage increased metabolic flexibility and weight loss. Holistic Wellness
As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, recent studies show that over 60% of the average American diet (67% among youths) consists of “ultra-processed foods”, leading to dramatic increases in obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, mental health issues, cancer, and all-cause mortality. The reasons for these data is multi-variable and extremely complex including but not limited to:
- They are processed for shelf stability
- They are calorie dense and have low nutritional quality
- They are almost without exception low-fat
- They are made with genetically engineered foods (GMO’s) that are not compatible with health
- They are filled with toxins from commercial agricultural processes as well as the processing facility processes (pesticides/herbicides/preservatives/coloring agents/flavors/bulking agents/thickening agents/etc).
While it is true that some people do lose weight on plans derived from the CICO model such as Weight Watchers, it is also associated with adverse health due to the highly processed nature of the recommended foods. It is common for people engaged in this style of weight loss to be undernourished and have multiple vitamin deficiencies due to the highly processed nature of the food they are eating. Weight Watchers contends that all the vitamins and minerals you need can be obtained through eating enough fruits and vegetables, but the average American only eats 3 servings daily, and 9 would be required to obtain adequate nutrition based on a 2000 calorie diet.
To make things worse, the point-based system does not require you to eat any fruits or vegetables. In clinical practice, I also have made the correlation of gall bladder disease and subsequent gall bladder removal surgery in people who have been on weight watchers, and other low-fat diets at rates significantly above people who have not.
This is due to the function of the gall bladder which is to add bile to the digestive system for the purpose of processing and utilizing fats and fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K. Studies show that in the past few decades, Americans have become more and more deficient in these vitamins leading to increased rates of cancer, type 2 diabetes, immune system disorders, and many other morbidities.
Holistic Wellness
Medical schools across the country are still teaching students that the gall bladder is a “vestigial” organ, meaning that we have “evolved” away from it being a necessary part of the human body and don’t need it anymore.
This is false. Human beings do not have any parts that do not have a specific function in the body, however there are many things about the body that modern science does not know, a fact that many doctors and scientists are reluctant to admit in their hubris. At the end of the day, there are many other problems with this style of diet, but they are all related to poor food quality which has already been covered, so let’s talk about what you can do!
It’s not rocket science to eat a healthy diet and lose weight. Hypothetically, if overnight the processed food industry vanished and people had to revert to eating real food, the obesity crisis would be over, and my blog wouldn’t be necessary. However, that isn’t likely to happen as this industry spends billions of dollars lobbying congress. To keep it simple, my first recommendation to clients of mine is typically this: “stay hydrated and eat God food, not man food.” Staying hydrated shouldn’t be too hard. Shoot for 80 ounces of healthy fluids daily and add more if you need more due to being outside in the summer, saunas, exercise regimens, or other factors.
God foods have 1 ingredient, man foods have an ingredient list. God foods are grown organically using natural principles to optimize production, man foods use corrupted science-based chemical strategies. Animals that are God food eat what nature intended them to eat. Cows that are fed GMO grains are not God food.
Cows that eat 100% grass are because that is what their digestive systems are designed to process. Animals that are kept in pins or corrals and not allowed to roam free to forage for food are not God food. Free-range animals are. Animals that are given antibiotics, vaccines, hormones, and steroids are not God food. God food animals that are raised in the right environment do not need these interventions with few exceptions. God food dairy is raw.
Dairy that has been radiated, pasteurized, and homogenized is man food. A good grocery store strategy to keep with God food is shop around the periphery of the store. The man foods that come in boxes, bags, and packaging are commonly found in the center of the stores, and you will find meats, produce, dairy, and other God foods around the outside. Another thing to consider is to avoid eating out as much as possible. When you eat out, you are eating man food. Eating God foods are an essential part of improving nutrition which leads to weight loss due to improved function of the human body.
I’ve already written way too much for this blog but want to also advocate for being outside enough and exercising regularly. We are designed to be outside. Multiple studies show that being outside regularly improves our sense of wellbeing and lowers anxiety, depression, and cortisol levels leading to better metabolic control.
We should be outside at least 30 minutes daily, preferably in a place that looks like nature, not concrete and high-rises. Additionally, the CDC put out pretty good recommendations for physical activity in it’s 2018 guidelines which state that 150 minutes per week of moderate cardiovascular activity, and some form of resistance training to maintain or build muscle mass twice weekly were associated with weight reduction and additionally a 40% reduction in all-cause mortality.
Finally, it’s very difficult to lose weight when you are stressed out due to the cortisol effect which tends to push the human body to have increased glucose and cortisol levels leading to excess weight that is difficult to lose. Some of my most difficult patients/clients have struggled with this issue and it takes a lot of work to open their minds to this possibility (Romans 12:2).
If you are eating right, getting enough outside time, and are exercising and not losing weight, you should strongly consider the amount of stress in your life and its effect. I encourage you to develop regular time for yourself to engage in a hobby or activity that brings you peace and joy and resist the temptation to be overcommitted or a workaholic. Start practicing that dreaded word, no.
Too much stress, even if it doesn’t necessarily feel too stressful for you (something I hear all the time), is a killer. Most people don’t have the introspective ability to know how stressed they are for a variety of emotional/psychological reasons that are too nuanced to be discussed in this context. If you think this isn’t you, ask a spouse or a close friend for their perspective. It might give you valuable insight and prompt a much-needed change for the better.
In conclusion, what all these factors have in common is they encourage homeostasis (maintenance of optimal body function) through improvements in complex intracellular and extracellular communication via endocrine and exocrine hormones, cytokines, neurotransmitters, receptors, and a whole assortment of other mechanisms. This upgraded ability to optimize communication in the body optimizes its metabolic output, the result of which is maintenance of health and a healthy weight. I think one of the most influential quotes I’ve ever seen in relation to this comes from the father of medicine, Hippocrates, who said, “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.” I encourage you to follow this ancient advice in the modern times we live. and be well.
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