Medical Weight Loss
If you are struggling to lose weight even though you are following a healthy diet and exercising regularly, you are not alone. Some people need medical intervention to support weight loss goals. Weight loss medications can help you lose up to 15% of your body weight, but they are only one piece of the puzzle. They are intended to help you develop a framework to change your overall lifestyle by improving your diet, exercising regularly, and building more muscle mass to improve metabolism.
Obesity can develop over time as a result of consuming more calories than your body requires to perform general functions, including physical activity, digestion and breathing. Your body uses key nutrients in the foods you eat, including carbohydrates, proteins, sugars and fats, to store as energy. Some is used immediately for daily functions and some is stored for future use. If you have an energy, or calorie, imbalance, which means your energy in is higher than your energy out, then your body stores more fat than it needs. Both sides of the equation can lead to obesity. The amount and type of food you eat is your energy in. Your level of physical activity is your energy out. Factors that affect your risk for developing obesity include:
Unhealthy eating habits including excess saturated fat and sugars
Overeating
Lack of physical activity
Poor sleep quality affects the hormone that controls hunger signals
High stress levels trigger the release of hormones such as cortisol which controls energy balance and hunger
signalsGenetics can cause a pre-disposition for obesity
Health conditions such as metabolic syndrome may cause weight gain
Medicine may interrupt the chemical signals that communicate hunger to your brain