Weight Loss

When you eat starchy or sugary foods they are broken down in the body into glucose which is carried around in the bloodstream to be utilised in the cells for energy. 

The level of glucose in the blood is carefully controlled by a hormone called insulin. When blood glucose rises after a carbohydrate-rich meal, insulin is released to bring blood glucose levels back down to ‘normal’ levels. However, if your blood glucose rises too rapidly, the body can end up releasing too much insulin. This causes the blood glucose to swing to low again, making us feel tired, grumpy and once again, hungry. We call this blood sugar imbalance, as the effects of high and low sugar rollercoasters throughout the day.

If your blood sugar is constantly imbalanced, the body starts to ignore the insulin message, a condition called insulin resistance. This leads to permanently high blood sugar levels which can cause weight gain and can eventually lead to Type 2 Diabetes.

If you are unable to lose weight it could be because of male or female hormone imbalances or the effects of chronic stress. Below are some examples of key hormones that impact our ability to lose weight:

Poor sleep increases your appetite making you more likely to eat larger amounts.  It also raises your cortisol levels and makes it more difficult to manage calories as effectively, especially the levels of sugar in your blood. 

Why does our appetite increase? Our appetite is regulated by our satiety hormone, leptin and our hunger hormone, ghrelin. Inadequate sleep decreases levels of leptin and increases levels of ghrelin, leaving you feeling less satisfied by the food you are eating. It also affects what you choose to eat and often results in a craving for sweets, carbohydrate-rich snacks and salty snacks. Less appealing are the healthier proteins and essential fats.

When you are sleep-deprived and unable to manage your calories as effectively, you may have less energy to move and therefore become more sedentary. And so, it becomes a vicious circle of reduced energy expenditure and increased energy intake through the diet.

We work with you to assess these kinds of imbalances and find ways to optimise these body systems to find a path back to optimal health and appropriate weight. This will include personalised diet plans and weight loss coaching, to support you in achieving sustainable weight loss goals.

Our gut is home to our microbiome, which is a complex ecosystem that supports the optimal function of our metabolism. Our microbiota (the trillions of microbes found in the gut) can influence the energy that is extracted from food. 

Those with more diverse microbiota and a greater abundance of commensals (beneficial bacteria) produce by-products which help us metabolise food efficiently. A reduced diversity of microbiota and commensals in our gut (gut dysbiosis) is associated with adiposity. It is hypothesised that having gut dysbiosis induces low-grade inflammation, which can lead to the development of obesity.

The microbiome can be influenced by our diet. We can work with you to address any existing imbalances in the gut through personalised diet plans that optimise your microbiome and target weight loss. 

Our team of weight loss nutritional therapists work with a wide range of functional tests. The cluster of symptoms you present with and your health goals will determine which tests may be offered to you.

The tests consist of comprehensive panels, which give detailed insight into any underlying imbalances holding you back from achieving your weight loss goals. Testing allows our weight loss specialists to make recommendations based on your results and deliver personalised nutrition and lifestyle interventions. When necessary, we work with a specialised medical team to provide targeted medical support alongside our nutrition and lifestyle interventions. 

What Can You Test For?

Functional Testing can give a detailed insight into how well your hormones and other key metabolic markers are functioning. Some examples of useful tests include: