In this video Dr. Marcantel explains why it’s important to check hormone levels, including thyroid function, before starting a diet. Dr. Tina Marcantel is a naturopathic doctor in Gilbert, Arizona, who also serves the East Valley cities of Mesa, Chandler, Tempe, Scottsdale, Queen Creek, Apache Junction, and the greater Phoenix area.
At a free public meeting about the HCG diet program Dr. Marcantel shared why some people have trouble losing weight on diets. Others may be able to lose weight but have trouble keeping it off once they stop dieting. As she points out in this video, the problem may be related to hormonal imbalances (including thyroid problems) that may need to be addressed before beginning a diet.
Who is the HCG Program for? People who have tried everything but still can’t lose weight. Women go through that tiime–40’s, 50’s–and it just stops. I have so many women who come here and say, “Dr. Marcantel, I’m exercising, I’m eating right but I just can’t lose weight.” I go over their diet and exercise routine with them and many of them, sure enough, are eating right but they’re just stuck. People get very discouraged and even depressed about that.
When you’re going through those changes with the estrogen and the progesterone and those things being out of balance–a lot of people are estrogen dominant, as well– you’re stuck and you just can’t lose weight no matter what. If you try to get on Atkins or some other diet what can happen is that you will actually lose some weight but you put it right back on.
When I have people come in who have already been on the HCG diet but have been unable to maintain it I want to know why. My intention is for this diet program to be: first, safe and doable for people, and second, I don’t want it to just be a fad. I want it to be a lifestyle change that will last a lifetime.
I have some people coming in and saying, “I lost 80 pounds on a diet and I gained 40 of it right back. What’s going on?” That’s why I have my patients do a chem panel to check the liver and kidneys first. Your hormones are very important–your thyroid gland, in particular, and we do a thorough thyroid panel. A lot of people have thyroid problems that have gone undiagnosed, so we need to get those things balanced before we get you started on the HCG or you’re just wasting your money and your time.
The same is true with women who have hormonal imbalances between estrogen and progesterone. We need to get that taken care of, as well, for you to be successful on a weight loss program.
A lot of times people will also come to me in a pretty toxic state–maybe they’re only having a bowel movement once every three days or so. That’s a sign that things are sluggish in the liver and the gut. Often I’ll put them on a mild two to four week detox, depending on how much they need. That really helps because it gets the liver and the gut ready to handle the fat breakdown and you’ll see much better results from the diet.
I know that there are a lot of other HCG programs out there offered by weight loss centers and others that promise to get you in and out fast and that don’t address these issues, but I believe we need to take our time with this so it will get long-term results. If I say, “Let’s do this first,” or “Let’s get the labs done first,” it’s because I want it to last a lifetime–that’s the main reason.
