The Reasons Your Body Will Not Let Go Of Fat

I had to learn the hard way that the reason my body was holding onto excess body fat, and not letting me lose body fat no matter what I did, had nothing to do with eating too many calories or not exercising enough. It had everything to do with poor estrogen metabolism, impaired detoxification pathways, high inflammation, stress and cortisol, and insulin resistance. How many years of my life were wasted being upset and self-conscious about my excess body weight, especially my belly fat and my large breasts? I don’t know about you, but I did not feel comfortable at all in a body with 40-50 extra pounds of excess fat on it. I tried low-carb diets and would lose about 7 pounds, but as soon as I ate more carbs, the weight came right back on. I jogged 1-2 miles a couple days a week, which used to work like a charm to drop a little weight, and my weight wouldn’t budge. I even did a four week "New Year New You" HIT Boot Camp thinking that would really rev up my fat burning, but instead I gained 8 pounds of inflammation puffiness and water retention.

I used to feel like pushing myself too hard with things like burpees or sprint intervals might actually kill me. My heart would start acting weird—fluttering, skipping beats, or racing out of nowhere—and it was honestly terrifying. Working as a nurse in the Electrophysiology Lab taught me a sobering truth: sometimes people collapse and die while exercising—doing the very thing we’re told is best for our health. It’s a powerful reminder that there’s more to the story when it comes to heart health. I developed a phobia of pushing my heart too hard and I greatly reduced the intensity of my exercise.

After having breast reduction surgery when I was 37 years old, and then a hysterectomy when I was 42 years old, I really started to question why. Why did my body grow huge breasts since age 15? Why did my body grow a huge uterine fibroid tumor that led to infertility and anemia? Why did I have painful, heavy periods since age 13? Why did my heart feel uncomfortable every time I tried to push myself physically? And lastly, why, when I was exercising more and eating less, did I actually gain weight?

The traditional medical world says, "You have heavy, painful periods? Try this birth control." (Side note, oral contraceptives contribute to gut inflammation).

The traditional medical world says, "You have fibroids and heavy bleeding? Try this birth control or, better yet, let’s remove one of the most important organs in your body . . . your uterus!"

The traditional medical world says, "You’re having palpitations and skipped beats while you exercise? You probably need to be on a heart medication and you shouldn’t exercise to that level." Or they will suggest you undergo extensive electrical and plumbing testing of your heart to see what is causing your symptoms. But at the very least, you will walk away with a prescription for palpitations. Maybe even an anti-anxiety pill.

The traditional medical world says, "You feel like you are retaining fluid and you’re very puffy? OK, let’s try a diuretic on you."

And my personal favorite, the traditional medical world says, "Your fasting glucose is increasing and your hemoglobin A1c is borderline diabetic? Let’s get you started on metformin." Then, because you are prediabetic and at increased risk of heart disease, they will tell you to eat a low-fat, "heart-healthy" diet.

When it comes to disease prevention or reversal of disease, the traditional medical world is really missing the mark. I don't say this lightly - I worked in it for over 26 years and saw it firsthand.

All of my poorly-answered questions led me to start looking for answers on my own in Holistic Medicine, and eventually in an amazing field of study called Functional Medicine. I started by listening to podcasts and reading books. This eventually led me to discover a six month Functional Medicine Nurse Specialist certification course. What I learned at age 49 about gut inflammation, hormone imbalance, weight loss resistance, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, "high" cholesterol, belly fat, uterine fibroids, painful periods, heavy bleeding, menopause, cancer, etc., all made so much sense to me. It finally revealed how an imbalance or dysfunction in one system leads to the breakdown of all of the other systems. These were the answers I had been searching for.

So let's replay the above questions, only this time I will give the Functional Medicine answer.

• The Functional Medicine world says, "You have heavy, painful periods? Ok, we need to test your hormone levels, urine metabolites, and detoxification processes. It is not normal to have heavy, painful periods. I am sorry you have been experiencing this since age 13 and noone knew how to help you besides offering synthetic, inflaming hormones known as birth control. There are clearly estrogen metabolism and detoxification abnormalities that are causing your symptoms."

  
  

• The Functional Medicine world says, "You have fibroids and heavy bleeding? We would really like to avoid a hysterectomy at your young age since the uterus is an integral organ in a woman's longevity. We need to get to the root cause of why your body grew this fibroid and reverse it so you stop having heavy bleeding. Estrogen is a growth hormone. It causes your breasts to grow during puberty and certain times of your cycle. It helps a baby in the womb grow. If you don't detoxify and eliminate your used estrogens, or if you don't metabolize your estrogens well, this can lead to overgrowth of the uterus, development of uterine fibroids, and also excessively large breast development. It sounds like this is the case for you and we can do testing to see exactly what supplements your body needs to support these important functions."

  
  

• The Functional Medicine world says, "You’re having palpitations and skipped beats while you exercise? Oh wow, that sounds like your body is really revving up the adrenaline response when you are under stress. This excess adrenaline is likely caused by too much cortisol production and high inflammation, as well as poor detoxification. Let's do some blood and urine studies to figure out why that is and work to correct it with diet, lifestyle and targeted supplements."

  
  

• The Functional Medicine world says, "You feel like you are retaining fluid and you’re puffy? That's definitley a sign that you are inflamed. The body retains fluid to protect you when inflammation or toxic burden is high. Most of the time you will notice an improvement with diet changes alone, like eliminitating dairy and gluten, but it would be beneficial to see what is going on in your gut that is causing such high inflammation."

  
  

• The Functional Medicine world says, "Your fasting glucose is increasing and your hemoglobin A1c is borderline diabetic? It sounds like you have insulin resistance that has been caused by many factors, including high stress, poor detoxification, food sensitivities, and poor metabolic health that comes with hormonal imbalances. Follow this lifestyle and nutrition plan for 12 weeks and let's recheck those markers."

As you can see, the Functional Medicine approach to treating troubling symptoms is not to just prescribe a medication or recommend a major surgery, it's to find out why you have the troubling symptoms and fix the cause of them. This approach allows your body to truly heal and perform optimally.

So back to the title of this blog article . . . what are the reasons your body will not let go of fat? Your body will not let go of excess fat if it is inflamed or over-toxed because your fat is actually protecting you. Your fat is where your body stores toxins to protect your vital organs, especially your brain. Your body will also not let go of excess body fat due to poor estrogen metabolism, poor detoxification, high internal stress and cortisol, high insulin, and hormone imbalances, among many other factors like sleep disturbance, lifestyle habits, and food choices.

If you or someone you know feels like no matter what you do to lose body fat it is just not working, please schedule your free call here to see if I can help you uncover the root cause of your weight loss resistance. There are ways you can force fat loss by extreme dieting or taking weight loss injections to the point you can not eat. This is not only ill-fated to fail, but it is also dangerous because as you lose fat, those toxins are being released back into your bloodstream, your tissues, and your organs. That is why some people look much older after they suddenly drop a lot of weight, and why some people develop health conditions after fast weight loss as well.

My commitment to helping others is rooted in my own journey—I want to help people avoid the struggles I had to face alone. Let’s work together to uncover the root cause of why your body is holding onto excess fat. When we address what’s driving the imbalance, your body can finally feel safe to let go, restore a healthy metabolism, and begin to heal. I’m here to support you every step of the way—and I truly look forward to working with you soon.

Visit www.kshannonfunctionalwellness.com to learn more!