Numbers That Matter When You Are Trying To Lose Weight
Summary: If you struggle with weight gain or difficulty losing weight, it’s important to make sure you are finding the root cause before starting a plan. This is why I suggest all clients get a cortisol test, GI test and specific nutrient test before trying any weight loss method.
This post was inspired by a great Instagram message. The person who messaged me expressed how frustrating it is to hear everyone say ‘numbers don’t matter’ and ‘don’t pay attention to the scale’, but yet intuitive eating isn’t enough to reach any goals.
When you think about it that way, it can be SO frustrating to be told not to pay attention to the numbers. Instead of being empowered to not care about the number on the scale, you feel more confused. It seems like you are just guessing on how to lose weight and that is not exactly motivating. It would be really hard to create new habits and heal the root cause when you have no idea what that is.
For example, if you are experiencing chronic fatigue and struggling to lose weight, calorie consumption may have very little to do with your weight gain. It could be chronic stress levels and under eating—something many women experience, but don’t realize the impact.
That is why it is so important to address stress levels. My favorite way to do this is by ordering a DUTCH test. This measures cortisol levels throughout the day through saliva & urine and one sample at night if you experience insomnia. This test can be so helpful to start finding and treating the root cause of your symptoms, and I love that there are graphs to show how your body is handling cortisol.
Sometimes you need to see a more visual example of your stress levels versus just how you feel most days to really believe there is chronic fatigue.
Plus, numbers are used daily to measure our progress in so many areas in life, and it doesn’t have to be any different when it comes to health and wellness. BUT as you can expect me to say, it is not the number on the scale I am worried about. It is your lab values.
Lab values that you don’t typically get from a conventional approach. No, not your BMI and lipid profile. More like your cortisol levels, your current T3 level (that is part of your thyroid health), iron, vitamin D, magnesium, and the amount of bacteria in your gut (good and bad!) to name a few. These numbers need to be in optimal range before we can rely on macros, calories, or anything that relates to how much food you are eating.
This is because if the root cause to weight gain or difficulty losing weight is not found, no amount of macro counting will make a difference long-term (in my experience).
Taking a holistic view and approach is what functional nutrition is all about. It is getting real, long-term results by finding the root cause. I’m sure I sound like a broken record for how many times I say ‘root cause’, but my goal is to make that more mainstream versus just treating the symptoms.
Check out a few of my other blog posts to learn more or apply to work with me 1-on-1. My application is here and more information about the program is here :)
Kelsey, Passionate Dietitian
