Many of us experience challenges and anxieties related to our weight. We tend to think very narrowly about the challenge in terms of diet and exercise alone.
These are no doubt critical components of steps in a weight loss journey.
But it can be illuminating to take an expansive view of your weight loss journey – to see it not simply as a chore but as a holistic journey that keeps in mind a wide range of contributing factors and drivers that can lead to carrying around extra weight. In short, the journey emphasizes everything that can contribute – including mental, emotional, and spiritual elements.
An important part of going on this journey is finding your personal why – the reason you want to lose weight. It doesn’t have to be about conforming to an unrealistic body standard; it can be as simple as wanting to preserve an active lifestyle in which you can take part in your favorite activities with loved ones.
The fact is that all of the exercise and food changes in the world can still fall short of driving change due to some common drivers of an inability to lose weight. Sometimes diet and exercise can’t overcome every challenge, mainly when they include factors like:
- Chronic inflammation
- Hypothyroidism and thyroid function in general
- Stress (yes, stress is not just emotional but physiological as well!)
- Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
- Mold and mycotoxin illness
- Stealth pathogens
- Gut dysbiosis
- Hormone imbalance
- HPA axis dysfunction
Recognizing that you are on a holistic journey requires that you consider some of the key lifestyle factors that can contribute to weight loss, ranging from chronic fatigue to ongoing professional stress. For example, your journey might begin with small and manageable steps from drinking more water to getting an earlier bedtime – steps that encourage a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
The Balanced Healing of Jacksonville team adopts a unique perspective on weight loss. We believe the body must be addressed with a systems approach rather than tackling issues like weight gain in isolation. While challenges in losing weight may be partly related to food and movement, there can also be underlying factors such as hormone imbalance or chronic systemic inflammation.
Whether the right approach for your journey should include comprehensive lifestyle modification, acupuncture, functional labs, or other supplementary support, our team can help identify what factors may be driving your weight challenges and how we can address them together.
The safe path is to work with a team of practitioners like the professionals at Balanced Healing of Jacksonville, who bring extensive knowledge of safe and natural ways to address concerns related to weight gain.
