EP 5: Weight Loss Treatment Plan

In this week’s episode, Dr. Agolli delves into comprehensive treatment protocols for weight loss. He provides answers to the following questions:

How much of weight loss is “about genetics”?
What is glucose and why is it pertinent to weight loss?
Why is the thyroid important?
What role do essential fatty acids play in a low-fat diet?
Why do we overeat as a society? What can we do to combat this?
What new supplements are vital to weight loss?
Is caffeine good or bad for you?
How do CLA’s work and why are they so popular?
Which is more beneficial-pure water or tap water? Why?
Why are glasses better to drink from rather than plastic cups?

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There are many reasons why we overeat. One reason is because food can stimulate the reward system in our brains. If eating particular foods makes us feel good, we are more likely to want more ¹.

Emotional eating is another cause of overeating. You’re more likely to eat in times of stress, or if you’re in a bad mood, tired, bored or sad ².

Other causes of overeating include preferred foods, highly processed foods, and eating too quickly ²

Obesity is a major public health problem in the United States. The prevalence of obesity was 42.4% in 2017-2018 ¹. From 1999-2000 through 2017-2018, the prevalence of obesity increased from 30.5% to 42.4%, and the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%¹. Obesity is linked to severe chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and cancer ²

From a naturopathic medicine perspective, the foundation for successful, healthy weight loss and maintenance is through healing the metabolism by balancing two processes ¹. Naturopathy can work very well for weight loss when we can take the time to analyze nutrition, metabolism, hormones, and vitamins that can impact weight ². Your naturopath will advise you to aim for a slow but steady weight loss of about 1 to 2 pounds (450 gm to 900 gm) per week. Thus your total treatment period will depend on how much weight you want to lose ³