Ask the Doctor About Difficulty Losing Weight


Question: I find myself gaining weight, in spite
of following the principles of nourishing traditional diets. Do you
have any suggestions?
Answer: In my book The Fourfold Path to Healing,
I explain that one of the keys to effective weight control is controlling
the levels of the hormone insulin in your tissues and blood. Insulin
is secreted when the sugar level in the blood and tissues is higher
than needed for immediate energy use. The usual reason this occurs is
that you are eating more carbohydrates in your diet than you need for
your activity level. Or, as I sometimes tell patients, you may be eating
like a marathon runner but exerting the activity of a couch potato.

Lowering your carbohydrate intake to 75 or fewer grams per day will
result in a gradual weight loss for about 70-80 percent of the patients
I see, until they achieve something like an ideal weight (which, by
the way, is not a weight that leaves you model-thin). But experience
has shown me that by no means is this strategy succesful with everyone.
So, what are the options if this amount of carbohydrate reduction
is unsuccessful? The first option is to decrease the carbohydrate level
to about 40 grams per day for two weeks every 2-3 months. This will
usually work, although it is a Spartan diet that many people find unpleasant
or even impossible.
A second option is to get on a rigorous exercise program and keep
the carbohydrate level the same. However, many report that this also
doesn't work or at least not very quickly.
Another option is to supplement with the fat-burning enzyme known
as lipase. Taking a high potency enzyme supplement between meals three
times per day as far away from food as possible will often help mobilize
the fat stores. If you experience a slight feeling of nausea when using
these enzymes, taking some bitters two to three times per day will often
help clear out the fat breakdown products produced by the enzyme digestion.
There are many brands of these enzymes commercially available.
If these simple procedures don't seem to work, a cleansing program
might help clear out the liver and jump start the weight loss. Standard
Process makes a very good purification program which can be used every
six months to initiate the weight loss. It can be obtained through many
health care providers.
About the Author

Thomas
Cowan, MD, is a physician in private practice in San Francisco, California,
a board member of the Weston A. Price Foundation, and a regular contributor
to our "Ask the Doctor" column. His book The Fourfold Path to
Healing is now available from NewTrends Publishing, http://www.newtrendspublishing.com/.
Visit Dr. Cowan's website at http://www.fourfoldhealing.com.








This article appeared in Wise Traditions
in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts,

the quarterly magazine of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Winter
2006.



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This page was posted on 04 MAR 2007.