I had a reader ask me a question recently about losing weight caused by hormonal imbalance. She was looking for help to find websites which deal with natural remedies which would make the process of losing weight easier.
In these situations I always try and find the true cause of excess weight and I answered her with a few questions to try and get to the heart of the matter. I add my response here in case it helps anyone else. As usual I try and tell it like it is - I won't tell you there's an easy solution when there isn't.
"Mmmmh... Why do you think you have a hormonal
imbalance? Has a doctor diagnosed that? If so, your doctor is the best person to
give you the answers! Or visit a natural therapist locally who can can look at
your case on an individual basis - they treat the whole person not just the
symptoms - so there's no single solution to an imbalance but there are many
answers to suit different individuals.
In this case I would never follow anything you read
on line as there is more misinformation than information - always use a properly
qualified medical practitioner.
If a hormonal imbalance has not been medically
diagnosed then it's back to my question ("Why do you think you have a hormonal
imbalance?") because so many people use hormonal imbalance as a reason for being
overweight but I have to say in my experience it is rarely the main cause
(unless again there is a proper medical diagnosis).
Just something to think about...
By the way even if you do have a hormonal
imbalance, there's no magic herb you can take to whisk weight away. Unfortunate
but true. You can generally correct the hormonal imbalance through medical
treatment (natural or otherwise) but the weight still has to be lost.
I'm sorry this may not be the answer you want to
hear but I hope it helps you get clear about the task ahead."
Now as it happened, my reader responded and she did have a problem with polycystic ovary syndrome which had caused her to gain weight fast and was making it difficult to lose weight. So in this case there was indeed a medical problem.
I am not a doctor and have no training in this particular medical condition but if you have PCOS the following part of my response may help you too
"Instead of looking on the internet where there is a
lot of misleading information I know I have seen a good book on this problem
which dealt with weight gain caused by polycystic ovaries - the PCOS diet book -
but there are a whole range of other books too which might help you as I just
found on Amazon.
I have a cousin who has thyroid problems and it is
just the same for her - very, very difficult to lose weight. But the things you
are already doing will keep your weight in check even if you do not lose it and
will help you remain as fit and healthy as possible until you get your medical
problems sorted out. Please don't give up!"
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