Maintaining Weight Loss

Last week I was having lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, COSI, visiting with a friend who suffers from thyroid issues as do several of her children. We began talking hormone balance, and a women next to us overheard and asked if I was a nutritionist. I told her I was not, but had read a book by Dr. John Lee that had changed my life, and was a catalyst to my losing over 80 lbs.
It turns out she had done Weight Watchers and was successful in losing 45 lbs., but had gained it back. Several diets in past years all ended in the same result, loss and regain. This did not surprise me, and is a typical scenario for many women and men. I don’t believe in counting points and eating low-fat foods. I explained to her that low-fat foods are often filled with chemicals that trigger your brain to want to eat more, not to mention loaded with sugar, which messes up hormone balance, necessary for weight loss to be successful.
On my family’s trip to the Black Hills this past week, I began reading a book by Dr. Michael Platt called “The Miracle of Bio-Identical Hormones”. My weight loss has been successful, without exercise, and I have maintained my loss for over 5 months now. Dr. Platt’s book explains so well why I am my own success story – to put it simply, I have changed my body’s production of INSULIN output.
“We have a nationwide epidemic of obesity and type II diabetes. Both of these conditions are strictly hormonal problems.” – Dr. Michael Platt

How many people realize that insulin is indeed a hormone? I did not know this until I started reading Dr. Lee’s books. As Dr. Platt explained how he treats his patients, who come to him for obesity, depression, cancer and more… I realize that the plan I put myself on is very much in line with how he has transformed lives for many, and weaned them off a myriad of Rx drugs that actually increase insulin production.
If a person loses weight, but does not change the underlying problem, weight gain is inevitable.
Not only did I change my way of life to incorporate whole foods, but I also balanced my hormones. Originally I started using progesterone cream to combat my underlying fear of possible growing cancer cells, but I also knew that progesterone could help convert fat cells to energy – and therefore, be an aid in my goal to lose weight. I also had read that it helps prevent hair loss on top of my head – well, what woman does not want that? Those were my three big reasons for incorporating Prolief bio-identical progesterone cream into my routine. At the time I did not realize how important progesterone was in helping me not only lose weight, but maintain my new, smaller self.
Per Dr. Platt 90% of all people produce too much insulin. Sugar produces insulin, and as Dr. Lee had explained to me, white processed flour products are treated just like table sugar in your body – which is why I cut the white carbs, aka pasta, white bread, bagels, muffins, cakes, cookies – not 100%, but the more I cut back the less I craved, and now I even find the taste of some of these products distasteful. (However, I do indulge now and then - but my newly programmed body can deal with it.)
If you are on track for type 2 diabetes, fear cancer, or want to feel better - which is where I was a year ago,  you have to be willing to change your life. A statement by Dr. Platt sums it up well:
“For most people, insulin is the enemy. Insulin creates fat by taking any sugar the muscles have no need for and placing it into fat cells, where sugar is immediately converted to fat. Then insulin sits there preventing release of fat from the fat cells – it is a fat-storing hormone.”
As I gather from Platt’s book, and as I surmised by studying Dr. Lee’s works – hormones are critical as well. If your body is already programmed to generate insulin (remember, this is a hormone) from poor diet, simply changing the diet will not rebalance the hormones. Natural progesterone cream helps restore balance – and is key to maintaining a successful weight loss program. When your body has excess of various hormones (estrogen, insulin, cortisol, etc.) it is often accompanied by deficiency in progesterone.
Dr. Platt has over 30 years of clinical practice in California, helping people enjoy quality of life again. He has had patients who had weighed over 400 lbs. become fit – and exercise is not brought into his program until after the weight loss.
It is good to move, for sure, but I want you to know that you CAN lose weight by eating hormonally balanced foods and incorporating natural hormone supplementation in to your life – it may be progesterone, it could by thyroid (low thyroid function and weight gain go hand in hand)…every person is an individual. In seeking counsel of a professional, it is important to find one that truly understands hormone balance, and in all likelihood, it will not be found at your traditional family clinic. I would elaborate, but instead, encourage you to read “The Miracle of Bio-Identical Hormones” by Michael E. Platt, MD.
If you can relate to any of these words: obesity, thyroid, cancer (breast, prostrate, colon and more), fatigue, depression, diabetes, stress, ADD, ADHD, migraines, Alzheimers, auto-immune disorders, and a whole lot more – please do your own diligence for your well-being and get this book. Dr. Platt explains the traditional medical profession and how his formal training failed his patients. It is not the fault of medical doctors by any means, but the education system that trains our trusted doctors. Platt’s book would, indeed, be a great gift for any doctor who truly wants to heal patients, starting with the underlying cause, versus giving a drug that masks symptoms for temporary relief. As my husband says, and I thought this was a brilliant statement, “Time to get off the band-aid and on to the cure.”
I have so many notes on this book… I look forward to sharing more with friends and family at my “Essentials Health abd Well-Being” classes – and more here as time allows.

To Your Health,
Rita S.