The Rest Prescription #StubbornFatFix #CBHealthNY

You’re probably thinking, what does rest have to do with weight loss? We’re so glad you asked, because rest has everything to do with weight loss. Chronic unrest-lack of sleep coupled with a high stress lifestyle-can nullify the best diet and supplement plan. We’ve seen this happen so often in practice. We counsel a patient who seems to be doing everything right. According to her food records, she’s eating exactly as prescribed, yet the weight isn’t budging. Then we dig a little deeper and learn she’s up repeatedly at night to soothe her kids back to sleep, on the go constantly during the day, and draining herself further with intense exercise at the gym.

This type of unrest keeps the fight-or-flight response in a permanent “on” position. Our bodies are designed to handle periodic influxes of stress hormones. Triggering your flight or flight response just once a day probably won’t interfere with weight loss, because your body easily clears these hormones. Triggering it every 5 minutes? That’s a recipe for weight gain.

The Pancreas and Insulin #StubbornFatFix #CBHealthNY

As your stomach and intestines break down the food you eat into fuel that can be absorbed into the bloodstream, the pancreas pumps out insulin, a hormone that helps your body either store extra calories (as fat) or burn them for energy. Think of it as a master key that opens many doors (cell membranes) throughout your body. Some of these doors are on muscle cells. When insulin fits into the locks on these cells, blood sugar enters and is either incinerated to make energy or stored (in the form of glycogen) for later use. Insulin can also open doors on your fat cells. When it fits into a fat cell’s lock, blood sugar is converted into fat and store in the cell. Some insulin is good- it helps the food you eat go where it belongs. Too much insulin-which generally comes from eating too much of the wrong types of food- is not.

Do You Have a Thyroid Disadvantage? #StubbornFatFix #CBHealthNY

1. Do you suffer from cold hands and feet, even when you are in a heated room?
2. Do you feel depressed, lethargic?
3. Do you suffer from constipation?
4. Do your nails break easily?
5. Do you have a low sex drive/libido?
6. Do you have difficulty sleeping (it takes you longer than 30 minutes to fall asleep and you wake more than once during the night)?
7. Do you feel tired during the day?
8. Have you recently gained weight, even though you were not overeating?
9. Have the hairs along the outer one-third of your eyebrows thinned or fallen out?
10. Do you suffer from muscle aches or joint pain?
11. Is your temperature below 98.5°F when you first wake up?
12. Is your total cholesterol above 200 or your LDL cholesterol above 130?
13. Do you have irregular periods?
14. Is your hair thinning?

If you answered yes to two or more questions, consider making an appointment with your physician for a thyroid test.

Animal Fat is Not the The Culprit Behind Heart Disease #StubbornFatFix

Before the 1920s, heart disease was rare in the United States. By the mid 1950s, however, heart disease was the leading cause of death, as it still is today, for both men and women…Internationally renowned nutritionist and biochemist Mary G. Enig, PhD, has studied the eating patterns of Americans dating as far back as the late 1800s. In her highly regarded book Know Your Fats, she convincingly uses US Dept of Agriculture data to show that fat consumption and heart disease have no connection whatsoever.  #CBHealthNY