Obesity and being overweight pose serious health risks. Carrying excess weight puts strain on the body and increases the likelihood of developing chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, and even some types of cancer. Fortunately, with proper treatment and lifestyle changes, many overweight and obese patients can successfully lose weight and improve their health.
Hormone Optimal Care offers customized weight loss plans to help patients in the Sulphur Springs area lose weight safely and effectively. As a hormone clinic, we understand the important role hormones play in metabolism, hunger signals, and more. Our experienced physicians develop treatment plans that address hormone imbalances along with other factors influencing weight gain.
There are many complex reasons why people struggle with excess weight. Understanding the underlying causes is the first step toward successful and sustainable weight loss.
Imbalances in key hormones like leptin, ghrelin, cortisol and insulin can negatively impact weight management capabilities. These hormones regulate appetite, fat storage, metabolism and more.
For example, elevated cortisol levels triggered by high stress levels prompt fat storage around the abdomen. Patients with chronic hormone imbalances often feel persistently hungry or have difficulty losing weight even when dieting and exercising regularly.
Correcting hormone deficiencies through replacements like testosterone therapy or reducing excess through medications like metformin for insulin resistance may get weight loss efforts back on track.
Genetics account for 40-70% of factors influencing obesity risk. People with a genetic predisposition to gain weight require intensive lifestyle interventions to avoid obesity even when eating a healthy diet. Certain ethnic backgrounds, such as Latin American or African American heritage, increase susceptibility to weight gain.
For instance, the risk of abdominal weight gain is higher in individuals of Hispanic descent even with moderate calorie intake and regular exercise.
Diet, activity levels, sleep patterns and more influence weight management. Consuming excess calories from sugary, salty and heavily processed convenience foods coupled with a sedentary lifestyle commonly results in obesity. High stress levels also promote weight gain by raising cortisol, disturbing sleep and driving emotional eating behaviors.
For example, getting less than 7 hours of sleep per night slows metabolism the next day by up to 20%, reducing calorie burning potential. Even moderate sleep deprivation also spikes hunger hormones.
Several medical problems promote weight gain such as underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), Cushing's disease, chronic inflammation from autoimmune disorders, insulin resistance, PCOS and depression.
For instance, the thyroid hormone thyroxine regulates body temperature and metabolic rate. Patients with hypothyroidism tend to experience fatigue, constipation and unintentional weight gain.
In some cases, resolving the underlying condition reverses excess weight. However, patients usually require additional interventions to lose weight gained from years of disease.
Various prescription drugs used to treat mood disorders, seizures, diabetes and high blood pressure also list weight gain as a common side effect.
For example, insulin and sulfonylureas for lowering blood sugar can increase appetite beyond levels required to prevent unhealthy weight loss.
Patients may need medication adjustments or additions after developing significant weight gain to improve body composition and metabolic health.
With many diets, medications, procedures and programs touted for weight loss, it can prove challenging to determine the optimal approach for an individual. However, carefully considering a few key factors facilitates selection of the treatment method with the highest efficacy.
Understanding the underlying reasons for excess body fat allows health providers to create targeted treatment plans with the greatest probability of success. For instance, patients who gained weight due to hormonal shifts associated with menopause or andropause may benefit substantially from customized hormone replacement protocols to regulate appetite and metabolism.
Those struggling with emotional eating and binge behaviors due to anxiety or depression likely require therapy and possibly anti-depressants along with lifestyle changes for satisfactory weight loss.
Any sustainable weight loss intervention must also be safe for both short and long-term health. Quick fixes like starvation or extremely low-calorie diets often posed increased risks, such as severe nutritional deficiencies or gallstone attacks.
Far safer strategies involve gradually reducing calories through improving nutrition quality, managing portions based on hunger cues, moderately elevating activity levels and optimizing sleep hygiene and routines.
For example, reducing daily caloric intake by just 300 calories typically stimulates safe weight loss of about half a pound weekly for those significantly overweight.
The most successful medical weight loss programs thoroughly address the root biological, psychological and social causes of excess adiposity through modalities like therapy, prescription medications, nutrition planning, activity monitoring and care coordination.
Combined treatment plans tended to yield substantially better weight outcomes with lower rates of weight re-gain following initial loss than reliance on just one intervention like orlistat or meal replacements alone.
According to clinical trials, patients taking semaglutide along with following an eight-week personalized nutrition and fitness program demonstrated nearly 15% body weight reduction compared to only 5-8% loss in those just taking medication.
At Hormone Optimal Care, every patient follows an individualized medical weight management plan tailored to safely enhance loss while preventing weight cycling based on their health status, objectives, test results and preferences. Our solutions may include the following based on each person’s unique needs:
We comprehensively screen patients exhibiting treatment-resistant weight gain or loss for common hormonal imbalances including low testosterone, elevated cortisol, insulin resistance and thyroid disorders that drive dysfunctional appetite and fat burning regulation.
Custom treatment programs consisting of hormone replacements and medications help rebalance appetite signals and metabolic pathways regulating weight set points.
For instance, men with low testosterone contributing to abdominal fat accumulation and muscle loss may receive testosterone injections or clomiphene citrate to improve body composition, energy levels and wellbeing.
Under medical guidance, we may incorporate dedicated weight management pharmaceuticals like phentermine, Wegovy or Qsymia according to need to enhance weight loss efforts. These prescription medications promote loss by suppressing appetite, improving satiety signals, heightening fat breakdown or impeding nutrient absorption.
However, medications only augment improved nutrition, activity and sleep habits instead of replacing adopting healthy behaviors altogether.
Our licensed dietitians provide personalized nutritional recommendations tailored to facilitate gradual weight loss for each patient’s health considerations, treatment regimen, food preferences and schedule. Optimal plans focus on controlling portions, reducing empty calorie intake, managing hunger and minimizing intake of foods that trigger loss resistance.
For instance, detailed meal planning and tracking assistance helps patients struggling with binge eating or emotional eating disrupt these patterns.
We supply wearable trackers to monitor step counts, exercise minutes, calories expended and sleep efficiency. Reviewing outputs and patterns with health coaches empowers patients to steadily increase daily movement aligned with fitness levels and realistic schedules.
Most patients receive recommendations to walk at least one hour daily, attend twice-weekly strength training sessions and reduce sitting time below six hours per day.
Our on-site psychologists help patients struggling with longstanding obesity identify and successfully change habits, environments and emotional coping patterns promoting weight gain. Developing skills like problem-solving, distress tolerance and refusal self-efficacy often proves critical for satisfactory long-term weight maintenance.
For example, patients prone to late night snacking due to loneliness may schedule regular evening activities with friends and practice relaxation techniques instead.
Successfully losing weight and sustaining reductions relies heavily on early intervention for optimal health outcomes. The longer a patient lives with severe obesity, the more recalcitrant losing weight becomes due to numerous physiological and emotional factors:
Over years of maintaining excessive weight from chronic overeating, the body progressively adapts hormonally and metabolically via alterations such as:
These adaptive mechanisms evolved to prevent starvation yet become severely counterproductive for weight loss, typically inducing rapid regain following temporary successful dieting. However, the sooner appropriate obesity treatment begins after unhealthy weight gain develops, the easier avoiding roller-coaster weight cycling becomes.
Obesity risks like osteoarthritis, heart arrhythmias, fatty liver and stroke increase the longer a patient sustains excess weight, often inflicting irreversible bodily damage over time. In contrast, relatively brief exposure to obesity may fully resolve with early substantial intervention through natural weight loss processes once appropriate treatment rebalances biological mechanisms.
For example, losing just 10% body weight in patients with obesity-related high triglycerides or fatty liver frequently resolves dyslipidemia and hepatic steatosis.
Individuals living with severe obesity for prolonged periods face considerably heightened susceptibility to conditions like clinical anxiety, depression and eating disorders compared to the general population. Struggling with obesity commonly negatively impacts body image, self-esteem and social functioning.
However, research indicated those who successfully lost weight with supportive medical and mental health treatment experienced marked improvements in quality of life and emotional health across several domains. In contrast, delayed assistance led to increasing mental health struggles that further inhibited weight management capabilities.
At Hormone Optimal Care Weight Management Clinic, our compassionate integrated specialty care teams devote to helping patients struggling with overweight and obesity improve their health through safe, sustainable gradual weight loss. We offer fully personalized solutions tailored to thoroughly address diverse biological, behavioral and social drivers of weight gain.
