Case Study: Weight Loss Plateau

Sophie was frustrated – she was stuck in a weight loss plateau,
poor Sophie she was at her wits end. Despite going to the gym 4 times a week and devotedly counting her calories via the calorie king website she could not lose the fat around her abdomen. She also had digestive issues, as she had been prescribed triple antibiotics several times to clear a helicobacter infection in her stomach and despite this the infection kept recurring.

She was fatigued and complained of abdominal bloating, gastric reflux and heart burn and the antacid medication she took daily only partially relieved her acidity.
At 48 years of age she felt like an old fat women!
She weighed 79 kilograms and was an Android body type and thus gained all her weight in the upper body. To discover your Body Type go to Weight Control Doctor Body Type Questionnaire and do our questionnaire to get your answer.

I did some tests on Sophie which showed the following:

• Raised fasting insulin levels of 24
• Slightly elevated blood sugar at 6.0
• Low blood levels of vitamin D at 25 nmol/L
• Fatty liver was evident on the ultrasound scan of her abdomen
• Low iron levels in the blood although her menstrual periods has ceased due to menopause
• A blood test showed she had the HLA DQ8 and 2 genes which made her gluten intolerant

I explained to Sophie that good health begins in the gut and the liver and this was her problem – her liver was fatty and she had an inflamed gut with an overload of candida and unhealthy bacteria.

I prescribed the following program for Sophie –

1. 2 week detox diet during which she would eat only raw vegetable salads, citrus fruits and paw paw and vegetable soups. No meat, dairy or carbohydrates were allowed, except from the vegetables in her soup. The soup was flavoured with miso paste and garlic.
2. Glutamine powder to heal the inflamed gut
3. A good liver tonic to support the fat burning function of her liver
4. A selenium supplement of 200mch daily to support detoxification in her liver
5. Vitamin D supplement of 3000 units daily with food
6. Magnesium to help reduce her high levels of insulin

I explained to Sophie that it would take approximately 6 months to reverse her fatty liver and she was pleased that it could be repaired. After her detox, Sophie was told to follow the diet in my book Fatty Liver – You Can Reverse It. Her fatty liver had been caused by her excess intake of sugar and grains over many years, which had elevated her insulin levels. High insulin levels cause a fatty liver and also keep your metabolism in the fat storing zone.

Sophie returned to see me 6 months later and was very pleased with her results, which now showed normal fasting insulin levels of 6. Her ultrasound scan of the liver showed that it was no longer fatty and it looked completely normal. Sophie now weighed 67 kilograms and wanted to get down to 60 kilograms, which was easily achievable as her weight loss had been slow and steady. She had been helped by my naturopath and weight loss detective Victoria Taylor at my Camden clinic who had provided excellent support and reviewed Sophie’s food diary regularly. Sophie had avoided all gluten containing foods and kept up her supplements. She had also avoided sugar and was using the Nature Sweet Sugar Substitute in her drinks, which is free of carbohydrates. A breath test for the helicobacter infection was clear showing that she no longer had this infection in her stomach. If you want a copy of our new Weight Loss Detective Dairy you need to see one of my weight loss detectives or you can order it from 1800 151 052

Visit www.weightlossdetective.com.au and do our questionnaires to pin point problems that may be stopping you from losing weight.

Fatty liver, gut problems and high insulin levels often go together and are the most common problems that stop your exercise program from working.
 
As I always say “Good health begins in the gut and the liver”