The 2 most common complaints I hear in my clinical practice are 1) I’m so tired all.the.time. and 2) I can’t lose weight. You would expect to hear these things from a person who was not making wise lifestyle decisions. They don’t exercise, eat fast food all the time, etc. I do see that, and the fix in that case is lifestyle transformation. That is more of an implementation issue than anything. They need to clearly articulate the need for change and then implement those changes. That is where coaching and accountability make a huge difference.
But, What happens when someone is consuming very few calories, perhaps even exercising and still not having any success. Unfortunately, many of these people simply quit and say “This whole healthy lifestyle thing doesn’t work for me”. Perhaps they are taking action on a plan that isn’t right for them. For example, someone without a gallbladder decides to go on a keto diet (a high fat diet) and doesn’t realize that the gallbladder is very important in fat metabolism. There are some things you can do to compensate for the missing gallbladder, but most of the time, people are not told anything about that when they have this organ removed. So, they go on a keto diet, watch their husband lose 50 lbs, feel awful and become discouraged. Who wouldn’t?
When doing the right things fails to produce results, we need to start asking why. When it comes to feeling tired and not being able to lose weight, I automatically think that a full and complete Thyroid evaluation is necessary. I also think that a look at the energy production cycle and metabolism is super important. If a person can not properly create energy, and/or their metabolism is compromised, energy and weight loss become significantly more difficult. Looking at both Thyroid function and metabolism together is very important because the Thyroid uses the metabolism to regulate body temperature, weight, etc. So, it’s important to know where the breakdown is occurring. There is good news, however. If you connect with a Functional Health Professional who understands these types of evaluations, these are things you can pin-point and take action to resolve. I do this with my clients all the time and I see many people able to regain their energy and health and find hope when they felt hopeless before.
I work with many people who are frustrated because they have been to their doctors to express concern over their fatigue (being tired all the time), and inability to lose weight. They are given the advice to “Change their diet, eat less and exercise more”. If their Thyroid and Metabolism are healthy, this may work if they stick to the plan. If the Thyroid or metabolism is compromised, however, this doesn’t always work. Plus, if any labs are run, they are not measuring the Thyroid properly or looking at the ability to produce energy. I have a graphic below showing the “Typical Thyroid labs” that are run and the panel that I have created to evaluate a Thyroid. It’s no wonder things get missed with the Typical analyis!
Once we know what’s going on with the Thyroid, we can take a good like at the energy production cycle. This process of creating energy takes place in the Mitochondria or “Powerhouse” of the cell. You may remember this from biology class 🙂
The fancy name for this energy production cycle is the Citric Acid Cycle (or Kreb’s Cycle). Here is a picture of it below. It’s very detailed, but notice that in order to produce energy, certain nutrients are required. Various B vitamins (B1, B3, B3, etc.), Magnesium (Mg). Iron is also important, and the most deficient nutrient in women of child bearing age. CoQ 10 becomes important in the Electron Transport Chain which is ultimately where ATP, or energy, is created. Being deficient in one or more of those nutrients can mean that this process doesn’t happen properly. When energy production is compromised, what a person feels is tired, sluggish and unable to lose weight.
If we also look at the top of this picture, we notice that Fatty Acids (or the Fats we eat in our diet or take as a supplement) should break down to create energy, in a process called Beta Oxidation. When this happens, we can use fat for energy. When this isn’t working properly, we have trouble using fat for energy. This is a huge problem if we are trying to lose weight. we Simply can not burn stored fat that we need to get rid of. Magnesium, B2 and certain Amino Acids like Carnitine will contribute to this situation where we can’t burn fat for energy. By looking at certain urinary metabolites like adipic and suberic acid, we can tell if this is happening to a person. If so, we look at the person’s nutrient levels so we know how to address this. When I run the above test, called an organic acids test, I will also run a Micronutrient test so that we will know which nutrients are lacking if we see an issue with energy production. The micronutrient portion of the test looks like this:
Hopefully, you can see how important proper analysis is when you are struggling with low energy and/or weight loss. The metabolism is a huge piece of the puzzle and very often overlooked. By looking at the whole picture, we can shine a light on exactly what is going on so that results come quicker and are based on your unique situation. I find that this specificity really helps when someone has “tried everything” and is ready to really get to the heart of the issue.
To your health,
Dr. Jeni
