In Part 1 we established that most cases of resistant weight loss are due to hormone shifts.  In essence this can leave you confused and frustrated as traditional diet and exercise recommendations no longer work.  We also introduced you to the most severe form of weight loss resistance called Metabolic Damage.  For an overview on metabolic damage click here for Part 1.

What to do if you suspect you have Metabolic Damage?

If you feel you might have a problem with your metabolism or full blown metabolic damage what do you do?  The short answer is you need to get answers as to what is creating your problems before you start making changes.  Just like a car mechanic first runs a diagnostic workup on a car before he starts replacing random parts, you need a diagnostic workup on your body to find out what is going wrong.

Below we have laid out the most important first steps and tests necessary to recovering your metabolism and beating resistant weight loss and metabolic damage.

First Steps to Repairing your Metabolism:

Step 1:  FREEZE.  When you have reached the point of metabolic damage your body will no longer respond normally to diet or exercise programs.  Well intentioned changes to your diet can be harmful and/or result in very rapid weight gain.  As a general rule we recommend not changing anything with your diet or exercise routine until you identify what metabolic breakdowns are causing your problems.  Then and only then will you be able to correctly tackle your metabolism concerns and get on the road to recovery.  So Freeze your diet and exercise routine where it is at, do not make any drastic changes.

Step 2:  IDENTIFY:  Get the proper metabolism tests completed as soon as possible.  Metabolic damage is a very frustrating condition, but it is even more frustrating when you try and guess at what is going wrong.  Randomly trying a new strategy because you heard it might help is one of the worst things you can do.  Not only does this frequently cause further frustration, it can also be more harmful than good creating further metabolism problems.  Isn’t that how you got here in the first place?  Break that cycle and get tested and get answers.  We recommend the following test panels for anyone who feels as though they might have a problem with their metabolism or metabolic damage:

Metabolism Tests you need to have:

Comprehensive Blood, Saliva and Stool Testing – To cover all different areas of metabolism thoroughly.

Metabolism Blood Tests – Proper blood tests will evaluate a large range of metabolism including inflammation, comprehensive thyroid tests (more than just TSH, and T4), liver function, protein levels, blood sugar control, iron levels, and much more.  The blood panel necessary to evaluate the cause of metabolism problems is much more thorough than the tests typically performed in a conventional medical office.  Even if you have had many years of tests and evaluation by a medical provider it is unlikely that any of these tests have been completed on you.

Hormone and Adrenal Saliva Tests – Comprehensive hormone and adrenal gland testing (the body’s stress hormones) are an absolute necessity in evaluating for metabolic damage.  Testing hormones in the saliva is preferred as it measures the body’s actual active hormones rather than inactive hormones bound to protein which can be found in blood.  In addition, saliva testing allows you to test multiple times over the course of a day or month to get more accurate readings.  These tests will very clearly show hormonal and adrenal related causes to resistant weight loss and metabolic damage.

Stool Tests – Stool testing is necessary to evaluate for the presence of infections, fungus and yeast, parasites, intestinal inflammation and how your body is digesting and absorbing nutrients.  The intestines contribute to normal hormone balance and metabolism by activating thyroid hormones and absorbing nutrients.  Detailed stool tests help you identify hidden problems that can be affecting your overall hormones and metabolism.

Common Mistakes:

Once you have the above test results for yourself you will have a tremendous amount of information and answers as to what is creating your symptoms and weight loss problems.  Without this information most people are doomed to randomly picking the next diet and exercise program and praying it will work.  As mentioned in part 1 this is a very bad idea as anyone with a metabolism problem like metabolic damage will not respond normally to traditional diet or exercise programs.  For instance:

• More exercise can overburden the adrenal glands and turn off fat loss.
• Eating less and/or cutting out carbs can create low thyroid function and halt fat loss.
• Eating too little dietary fat can shut off sex hormone production and halt fat loss.
• Not avoiding common food allergens can create inflammation and immune responses decreasing entire body hormone communication.
• Too much high intensity interval type training (HIIT, sprinting, circuit training, etc) can create adrenal gland fatigue and as a result stop muscle gains and fat loss.
• Etc.

As you can see most of the above problems are exactly what is recommended by almost every diet or exercise program out there.  In many cases, it is exactly the opposite of what you should do if you have metabolic damage.  Remember, metabolism problems and metabolic damage are hormonal based problems and therefore need to be solved by correcting the underlying problems first.  Once the underlying problems are corrected, diet and exercise programs will create a more normal response and weight loss will occur in a much easier fashion.

What Tests Exactly do I need and where do I get them?

Unfortunately conventional medical centers will not run these tests for you.  However, there are locations that specialize in metabolism that will be able to get you the proper tests if you search.  It can however be a long and frustrating process to locate a facility with the expertise and experience needed to get the proper help.

For those needing to get testing and a metabolism assessment we have created a FREE 3 part Metabolic Repair Video Course that walks you through all the steps.  From how to get the correct tests to a done for you metabolism assessment, we cover it all in the course.  The course will teach you:

• How to identify if you have Metabolic Damage
• The exact tests to identify the causes of resistant weight loss
• The fastest and easiest way to get all your metabolism tests completed, analyzed by a professional, and answers to what is causing your metabolism problems once and for all.

Don’t hesitate, get the tools you need to overcome Metabolic Damage and get your life back.  Visit www.fixyourmetabolism.com to receive the FREE video course.