What affects weight gain?

When it comes to the best way to lose weight, one statement rings true: Every person is different. Since there is no one-size-fits-all approach, Ogden Clinic medical weight loss seeks to identify the causes of weight gain and all the barriers that affect your healthy weight. Some patients are burdened with genetic disadvantages. In other cases, stress management, nutrient consumption, and existing health conditions can all contribute to what you see on the scale.

Tools that Look Beyond the Scale

The scale can only tell so much. That’s why we’ve invested in the tools to thoroughly understand your body composition and tailor a program to get you real results. There are several tools available at Ogden Clinic including body impendence analysis, resting metabolic rate indicators, and more. This technology allows us to separate your body mass index, total water weight, lean body mass, and percent of body fat along with your overall weight. With the help of technology, our Ogden Clinic physician can help you determine the best way to lose weight.

Existing Conditions

Along with a body composition analysis, your Ogden Clinic Weight Management Specialist will explore causes of weight gain including existing conditions that can affect your weight. Common conditions that impact weight management include:

Hormone imbalance:

Hormones dictate what your body does with food. Misfiring hormones are a culprit of weight gain, which commonly stem from hyperthyroidism and insulin imbalance. There are more subtle hormone imbalances that can affect weight loss as well. Improper levels leptin, cortisol, and estrogen can cause an imbalance that either keeps a person’s weight stagnant or causes steady weight gain. If hormone imbalance is affecting your metabolism, your Ogden Clinic Weight Management Specialist has tools and supplements designed to manage hormones.

Stress, depression, and anxiety:

These conditions have the-chicken-and-the-egg effect on weight gain. Weight gain itself can trigger stress, depression, or anxiety, although living with them influences weight gain as well! When the body is under chronic stress, it begins to release the hormone cortisol which promotes fat storage, particularly in the abdominal area. Stress can also lead to hypertension, changes in digestion, and lack of energy.

Although many of our patients are burdened by psychological conditions, simple lifestyle changes are shown to improve them. Your Ogden Clinic Weight Management Specialist uses nutrition counseling, fitness programs, and psychological interventions to educate patients about positive habits and help them build a strong, stable foundation for the best way to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight.

Amount and quality of sleep:

How much does sleep contribute to weight management? A lot more than most people think! Recent research shows that sleep deprivation affects ghrelin and leptin—two hormones that regulate hunger and stimulate appetite. Without enough rest, the mitochondria in your cells which digest food also begin to shut down, hindering your body’s ability to properly process insulin, which is one of the causes of weight gain. This means that those extra pounds may be directly related to lack of quality sleep at night.

Sleeping is more than just downtime—it’s crucial for a healthy lifestyle. If you are not sleeping enough or it the quality of your sleep leaves you feeling sluggish in the morning, we can help! Ogden Clinic Weight Management works closely with neurological sleep studies to identify poor sleeping habits and correct them.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD):

NAFLD is believed to be one of the most common forms of liver disease worldwide, and its prevalence is growing with the rise in obesity. The best way to treat and prevent NAFLD is to combine a nutrition-dense diet with regular exercise to achieve a healthy weight. Exercise increases the oxidative capacity of muscle cells and increases the use of fat as energy. With regular activity, less excess fat becomes stored in the liver which is what causes NAFLD.

Insulin resistance:

Insulin resistance is a condition in which insulin, the hormone that digests carbohydrates, is not functioning properly. While insulin resistance is influenced heavily by genetics, is exacerbated by weight gain, inactivity and a poor diet. People with insulin resistance are not burning their food properly which makes weight loss very challenging and can eventually lead to type two diabetes.

Fortunately, insulin resistance can be treated with Ogden Clinic Weight Management. Your Ogden Clinic specialist will introduce steps to manage insulin intake, including a lower carbohydrate diet and increased strength training.

Hyperlipidemia:

A serum lipid test is one way to measure hyperlipidemia, characterized by high levels of LDL (or ‘bad’) cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. Your Ogden Clinic Weight Management Specialist can help patients reverse hyperlipdemia with dietary changes, physical activity, and closely monitored medication for high cholesterol.

Binge Eating Disorder (B.E.D.):

The most common eating disorder isn’t anorexia or bulimia, it’s called binge eating disorder and it affect about five million people each year. Binge eating disorder is characterized by frequent insatiable cravings that lead to overeating to the point of pain. After eating, sufferers experience shame and self-loathing in a vicious repetitive cycle.

Fortunately, the prognosis for this condition is very positive. Careful attention to the structure of emotional eating is essential for long-term success. Dr. Rigby also uses nutrition counseling, behavioral therapy, and other measures to help sufferers of binge eating disorder.

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