A healthy weight is an important part of a healthy life. A healthy weight allows us to be more active, contributes to a happier and more positive outlook, improves our self-confidence and sense of self-worth, and greatly reduces risks of disease and disability.

Reaching a healthy weight and maintaining it can be a challenge for some. Remember that we are all different and will face different obstacles when aiming for any specific goal. Achieving healthy weight loss is no different.

At Vive, each patient is given an individualized plan to help best achieve long-lasting success. Some of the most important factors affecting weight loss are listed here.

An effective program requires a thorough assessment of a number of factors that may be preventing effective weight loss. If any of these factors are overlooked, success may not come easily. At Vive, each patient is given an individualized plan to help best achieve long-lasting success. Some of the most important factors affecting weight loss are listed here.

Dietary Evaluation

Our diet probably plays the largest role of all factors in promoting good health. Fortunately, it is something we have control over. Our foods are not only our fuel, but also the building blocks for every one of our cells and organs. When developing a good diet, we look at the quality of meals, the specific foods included, the quantity of meals, and also the timing of meals.

Food Sensitivities and Allergies

Even foods often considered to be ”healthy“ can be problematic for certain people. If we are eating foods we are sensitive or allergic to, the body can respond with water retention, inflammation, digestive upset, poor absorption of nutrients, and numerous other symptoms, all of which inhibit the body from achieving a healthy body composition. Visit Food Sensitivity Testing for more information.

Energy levels must be optimized

Without energy, it can be difficult to muster up the motivation we need to begin the process of adopting some important lifestyle habits. For example, it is much easier to commit to regular physical activity if a person feels energetic enough to do so!

Stress

Stress affects our bodies in many ways. Even when under only mild stress, our adrenal glands secrete excessive amounts of cortisol, our stress hormone. One of the effects of cortisol is to make the body build fat instead of burn fat, even when eating a good diet. Salivary Hormone Testing is often utilized to assess cortisol levels.

Food cravings

Food cravings can be an enormous obstacle for someone adopting a new dietary regime. Fortunately, there are strategies to effectively eliminate cravings and therefore make progress much easier.

Hunger and Fatigue

If we are hungry and fatigued, it becomes difficult to adhere to a dietary plan. Our programs have been developed to not leave patients hungry and tired through the duration of the program. In fact, the opposite is usually true.

Lifestyle Evaluation

There is no getting around the importance of a healthy lifestyle in health. Numerous factors play a role in body composition: physical activity, sleep and digestion. Changing ones habits and routines does not need to be a difficult process however. Each small step in the right direction will amount to a giant leap forward in time.

Hormone Balance

When our normal hormones are imbalanced, our body’s physiology can be changed in many ways, including both physically and mentally. Interestingly, stress is one of the biggest factors contributing to imbalances in sex hormones, thyroid hormone and hunger hormones. Each of these hormones should be assessed through Salivary Hormone Testing and conventional bloodwork.

Toxicity

Toxicity is an interesting and generally overlooked factor in body composition. Most of the toxins we are exposed to every day are fat-soluble, meaning they dissolve in fat, but not in water. Most of the body is water however, so these toxins look for a fatty place to deposit themselves. One of these locations is in fat tissue, and as long as those toxins are there, the body can have a difficult time burning fat. Effectively detoxifying the body can remove this important obstacle. (See our Detoxification Program for more information).