Does Metformin Help with Weight Loss? (The Answer is Yes & Here’s Why)
Metformin may be one of the cheapest and most underused weight loss medications out there.
Metformin is traditionally reserved for those with diabetes or insulin resistance, but many studies show that it can be effective in overweight or obese patients without diabetes.
The only problem?
You wouldn't know about it unless you do the research yourself!
Use this post to learn everything you need to know about using metformin (both if you have diabetes or if you are simply just overweight):
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7 Symptoms of Not Eating Enough Calories & 4 Step Treatment Guide
Did you know that not eating enough calories may be limiting your ability to lose weight?
Caloric restriction causes a cascade of hormone imbalances that lead to a condition known as weight loss resistance.
Contrary to conventional wisdom you must eat ENOUGH calories if you want to lose weight.
Luckily, there are several signs and symptoms to help you figure out if you are indeed eating enough calories.
Use this symptoms guide to help you determine if you should be eating more calories and what to do if you aren't:
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How Contrave Helps with Weight Loss + Who should use it
Is Contrave really a miracle weight loss medication?
Well, it is a newer weight loss medication but it's far from perfect.
This particular medication helps people lose weight by influencing certain factors in the body ranging from hormonal control to appetite modulation.
Because of this certain people stand to benefit more from using this medication than others.
Learn how Contrave can help with weight loss and determine if it is right for you:
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5 Ways Saxenda Helps with Weight Loss & How to use it Safely
Saxenda might be one of the best weight loss medications that exists on the market right now.
But just because it might work doesn't mean it's necessarily right for your body.
Saxenda works because it alters many hormone systems in your body that tend to interfere with your appetite, metabolism and even other hormones.
In this post I will walk you through how Saxenda helps with weight loss and who should consider using this new medication.
Let's jump in:
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The Best Whole Body Vibration Machine: Weight Loss + Balance & More
Increased weight loss, improved bone density, increase balance and blood flow...
These are just some of the benefits of using a whole body vibration machine.
But maybe you are wondering:
Are these benefits too good to be true?
How can I get these results?
Will it work for me?
If so, which whole body vibration machine is the best?
These are exactly the questions we are going to answer today.
This article will give you the scientific overview including how and why I use vibration therapy in certain patients for an added boost to weight loss and other treatments.
But I need to be honest with you and say this right away:
The whole body vibration machine is NOT a miracle weight loss or quick weight loss gimmick. By itself it will most likely NOT lead to significant weight loss or improve all of your symptoms.
If you are looking for a quick fix, miracle weight loss cure this is not it.
But if you are looking to augment your weight loss results, if you are ready to make changes to your health and want to understand how the whole body vibration machine can make your work outs far more efficient and effective then this is the information you are looking for...
If you want to skip the science and the talk you can find my recommendation here (but read below to see how I recommend you use it).
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Is the HCG Diet Safe? How it Damages your Thyroid + Metabolism
Are you thinking about doing the HCG diet for weight loss?
If so you are probably wondering...
Is the HCG Diet safe?
Will it harm my metabolism?
Will it cause thyroid damage or make my thyroid function worse?
And you are right to ask these questions before you undergo the treatment!
The truth is that the HCG diet CAN cause damage to both your metabolism and your thyroid function and I will explain it in this post.
As a physician I've had the advantage of treating patients before, during and after undergoing the HCG diet.
I know that so many of you out there are desperate to lose weight and you'll basically do anything to get there, but let me tell you this:
There is a better way to lose weight and it has nothing to do with the HCG diet and I will explain more about this in the post as well.
Let's dive in...
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11 Weight Loss Supplements That Actually Work [With 18 Literary Citations]
[Unlock stubborn fat cells by hacking your cellular biochemistry]
This post highlights some of my recommended weight loss supplements found in my weight loss guide which you can get for free by signing up to get email updates..
These supplements are intended to be used with diet, exercise and stress reduction techniques for optimal results...
Whether you’ve taken vitamins or supplements in the past there are some things you should know on how they really help you break the barrier of weight loss to get the results you deserve.
- Recommended dose: High quality soil based organisms in probiotic capsules ranging from 1-5 billion colony forming units. Or heat sensitive probiotics containing at least 30 billion CFU's of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria.
4. Berberine - This supplement is one of my personal favorites. It helps with cholesterol, blood sugar control and weight loss. It activates an enzyme called AMP kinase which helps burn fat for energy, build mitochondria, and sensitize the body to insulin.
5. Vitamin D3/K2 combo - I always recommend vitamin K2 with D3 because of their synergistic effects.Vitamin K2 helps shuttle calcium from the arteries and blood vessels to your bones where you want it to be.
6. Optimetabolix - I recommend using one scoop instead of the recommended 2 scoops in a high protein, high fat smoothie for breakfast.
Remember...
Several other issues can cause you to gain weight but may not be targeted with the supplements I listed above.
Examples include:
If you have a problem with stress then you will need my basic supplements plus daily stress reduction techniques like meditation, yoga or stretching to help reduce your cortisol levels.
If you have an issue with your thyroid you may need thyroid support supplements and ultimately you may need bioidentical hormone therapy to kick your metabolism back on.
Adrenal fatigue can also cause you to gain weight and feel like crap.
This personalized approach helps explain why it seems you have friends that try very strange dieting fads or cleanses that really help them lose weight but do nothing for you! You have to dial in to your specific issues to get results.
If you are having trouble finding your specific issue, or you need hormone replacement then you would benefit from seeing a functional medicine practitioner in person.
By repleting the critical nutrients, vitamins and minerals required in multiple cellular pathways in your body you will help burn fat and regulate your metabolism. Even better you will find that many other chronic conditions may simply vanish (abdominal issues, fatigue, decreased energy, brain fog, etc.)
Now it's your turn - What supplements have you been using? Which do you find work the best for you and why? Which supplements DIDN'T work for you?
References and citations:
(1) Kreisberg, Joel. "Learning from organic agriculture." Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing 2.5 (2006): 450-452.
(2) Fairfield, Kathleen M, and Robert H Fletcher. "Vitamins for chronic disease prevention in adults: scientific review." Jama 287.23 (2002): 3116-3126.
(3) Wolff, Tracy et al. "Folic acid supplementation for the prevention of neural tube defects: an update of the evidence for the US Preventive Services Task Force." Annals of Internal Medicine 150.9 (2009): 632-639.
(4) Kelly, GS. "Insulin resistance: lifestyle and nutritional interventions." Alternative medicine review: a journal of clinical therapeutic 5.2 (2000): 109-132.
(5) Yin, Jun, Huili Xing, and Jianping Ye. "Efficacy of berberine in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus." Metabolism 57.5 (2008): 712-717.
(6) Yang, Jing et al. "Berberine improves insulin sensitivity by inhibiting fat store and adjusting adipokines profile in human preadipocytes and metabolic syndrome patients." Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2012 (2012).
(7) Hu, Yueshan et al. "Lipid-lowering effect of berberine in human subjects and rats." Phytomedicine 19.10 (2012): 861-867.
(8) Howarth, Nancy C, Edward Saltzman, and Susan B Roberts. "Dietary fiber and weight regulation." Nutrition reviews 59.5 (2001): 129-139.
(9) Crawford, Paul. "Effectiveness of cinnamon for lowering hemoglobin A1C in patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized, controlled trial." The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine 22.5 (2009): 507-512.
(10) Venables, Michelle C et al. "Green tea extract ingestion, fat oxidation, and glucose tolerance in healthy humans." The American journal of clinical nutrition 87.3 (2008): 778-784.
(11) Singh, Uma, and Ishwarlal Jialal. "Alpha-lipoic acid supplementation and diabetes." Nutrition reviews 66.11 (2008): 646-657.
(12) Mijnhout, Gerritje S et al. "Alpha lipoic acid for symptomatic peripheral neuropathy in patients with diabetes: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials." International journal of endocrinology 2012 (2012).
(13) "A scientific review: the role of chromium in insulin resistance." 2008. 21 Jul. 2015 <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15208835>
(14) Takaya, Junji, Hirohiko Higashino, and Yohnosuke Kobayashi. "Intracellular magnesium and insulin resistance." Magnesium research 17.2 (2004): 126-136.
(15) Mallappa, Rashmi H et al. "Management of metabolic syndrome through probiotic and prebiotic interventions." Indian journal of endocrinology and metabolism 16.1 (2012): 20.
(16) Chuengsamarn, Somlak et al. "Curcumin extract for prevention of type 2 diabetes." Diabetes Care 35.11 (2012): 2121-2127.
(17) Minich, Deanna M, and Jeffrey S Bland. "Dietary management of the metabolic syndrome beyond macronutrients." Nutrition reviews 66.8 (2008): 429-444.
(18) Zittermann, Armin et al. "Vitamin D supplementation enhances the beneficial effects of weight loss on cardiovascular disease risk markers." The American journal of clinical nutrition 89.5 (2009): 1321-1327.
Understand how to lose weight [the interplay of hormones and obesity]
When treating any medical condition it is absolutely essential to understand the basic physiology or reasons why it occurs. That means you have to be asking the right questions in order to get the right answers.
When it comes to obesity conventional medicine hasn’t been asking any questions in over 40 years. If you are overweight and go to your doctor you will get the same advice: eat less and exercise more, the so-called ‘calories in, calories out’ model. The problem is this: patients have been following their advice and as a result they are more sick than they have ever been: