FUNCTIONAL DIAGNOSTIC NUTRITION

Are you having trouble losing weight even though you are doing everything right?

Do you feel tired and fatigued all the time and even find it difficult to exercise?

Do you feel like you “just don’t feel right” and suffer from persistent symptoms that just won’t go away no matter what you do?

Most likely you are frustrated, disappointed and feel hopeless.  But most of all you are confused.  I mean in the past you used to lose weight easily and now it seems SO difficult.  You’ve tried so many things: diet pills, high intensity workouts, low calorie diets, detoxes, clean eating, various meal programs and all the lotions and potions that come along with it.  Maybe you had some success on the scale but it stalled fast – only to have it gained back faster than how it came off.  

Honestly….diets don’t work.  They are fads and the more fads out keep people hopping from one diet to another.  All for short term gain and long term frustration.

You want to know why…..why is this so hard?  You are tired of getting your hopes up and putting all your energy towards something that just seems to fail.

Now you can stop guessing and get REAL answers as to why you are struggling by using Functional Diagnostic Nutrition.

What is Functional Diagnostic Nutrition?

Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN) is an emerging field and body of work that bridges the gap between clinical nutrition and functional medicine.  FDN is a program which teaches individuals how to be their own health detective by using functional lab work to identify and correct the underlying causes and conditions that lead to the inability to lose weight and many common (and unusual) health complaints.  With Functional Diagnostic Nutrition, the goal is NOT TO DIAGNOSE AND TREAT DISEASE, but instead to help identify the root cause of physiological imbalances in the body that result in the inability to lose weight and other dysfunctions.

How does Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN) work?

FDN utilizes a series of comprehensive lifestyle assessments as well as functional lab testing to identify malfunctions at a sub-clinical level of these following systems:

• Hormones
• Digestion and Intestinal Barrier
• Immune
• Detoxification

Often the inability to lose weight can be a symptom of a larger problem.  Functional Diagnostic Nutrition aims to correct the underlying imbalances to help your body find homeostasis (balance) by eliminating blocking factors such as hormone imbalances, environmental, lifestyle, antigenic, inflammatory and other hidden stressors.

FDN applies drugless protocols and lifestyle changes tailored to each person vs. a “one size fits all” approach.  FDN protocol seldom interferes with any current medical treatments and rather enhances it to aid in the healing process.

SYMPTOMS ARE COMMON BUT NOT NORMAL

• Weight gain/inability to lose weight
• Depression, feelings of gloom/doom
• Poor sleep
• Night sweats
• Decreased libido
• Fatigue
• Sick all the time (poor immunity)
• Intense cravings for salt/sugar
• Inability to gain or maintain muscle
• Joint aches
• Difficult waking in the morning
• Digestive issues (bloated, puffy, gassy)

The list can go on and on and on.  Think of these symptoms as a signal that something isn’t right in your body and your body has fallen out of balance or “homeostasis”. 

Think about it……we listen to our cars better than we listen to ourselves.  If we hear something rattle – we try to find out where it is coming from.  If we hear something squeak we check our breaks.  We use gas that is OPTIMAL for our engines and we bring it in for a tune up to make sure all the levels are at optimal levels.  We seem more motivated to make sure our cars are running optimally and we are quickly alerted to a “symptom” from our car.

But when symptoms occur in our body…..we brush it off as “age” or being “overworked and tired”. 

When our stomach is bloated and gassy after eating certain foods we just say that those foods may not agree with us……but we keep eating them.

We struggle against cravings thinking we just don’t have the willpower.

When the scale doesn’t move we think we are just not working hard enough and need to cut the calories more and workout harder.

When we find it so difficult to get out of bed in the morning and need 2-3 cups of coffee to get going we just “grin and bear it”. 

Well I can tell you there is a better way.  I know because I was there.  You can take a look at my first lab results below.

Now mind you…..I am healthy…..look pretty good in a bathing suit and workout like a beast.

But I felt like POOP.  

I had all, if not most of those symptoms above.

Then when I saw it in black and white that I was really like the “walking dead” I made some serious changes by applying the D.R.E.S.S. protocol from Functional Diagnostic Nutrition.

• Diet
• Rest
• Exercise
• Stress Reduction
• Supplementation

I got on a diet that was RIGHT FOR ME.

I really learned what it means to REST AND RECOVER ( and no, it’s not just about giving yourself 24 hours in between workouts)

I learned that with my current cortisol levels certain types of exercise was just making the situation worse – so I made changes there.

I learned that Stress Reduction isn’t just about avoiding difficult people and staying out of traffic but rather uncovering all the HIDDEN STRESSORS that was occurring in my body like:

• Hormone imbalances
• Food intolerances
• Digestive imbalances and disturbances like increased permeability in my intestines which was leaking out antigens into my blood stream causing a whole host of symptoms.
• Assessing the levels of oxidative stress caused by TOO MUCH EXERICISE
• Lastly, supplementation……yes, I needed some support in the form of DHEA, progesterone, pregnenalone, licorice root, etc.
• And more......

(Now don’t just go out and buy these things thinking that it’s the answer you need…..always check with your health professional and get tested before taking ANYTHING.  Supplements are powerful and if it’s not what your body needs then it can send it into a state of distress or toxicity.)

Then…..one day the cloud lifted and I did not wake up with the feeling of panic.

I was not crying at the drop of a hat.

My energy levels were coming back and I could now stay up at night and play a board game with my daughter without feeling like I was being sleep torchered.

My muscle mass was coming back.

And……my cravings for sugar were diminishing.

Am I 100% healed?  No…..not yet.   But I feel TREMENDOUSLY better.  This is a process and it will take some time for my levels to fully recover.  My adrenal glands took a beating and I was pretty close to Addison’s disease.  

The stress that had been placed on my body over the last 11 years was tremendous (my mother passed away, had a baby, moved far away from home, suffered a divorce, got re-married and more). The toll it took on my body was tremendous and it helped contribute (if not was the direct cause of) to the increasing malfunction in my body causing a whole HOST of issues.

This is happening to many of my clients…..to many people…..and then they wonder why they cannot lose weight.  

Two things are needed to lose weight.

Calorie deficit and hormonal balance.

When your body is at war with itself it is not going to comply to your demands to let go of fat and often we try to apply SHEER FORCE to get the weight off only to make the current imbalance worse.

Then we are left confused, frustrated and discouraged.

If this sounds like you……

Three things are needed to lose weight.

1.  Calorie deficit
2.  Hormonal balance
3.  A positive mindset

When your body is at war with itself it is not going to comply to your demands to let go of fat and often we try to apply SHEER FORCE to get the weight off only to make the current imbalance worse.

Then we are left confused, frustrated and discouraged.

IF THIS SOUNDS LIKE YOU......FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME FOR A FREE ADRENAL STRESS INDICATOR ANALYSIS.  I WILL CONTACT YOU WITHIN 24-48 HOURS.

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Related Pages:

• Success Stories
• Case Study: How Heather Lost 40lbs. When She Turned 40
• Hormone Imbalance Symptoms in Women

Related Pages:

Dealing With Perimenopause: Your Ability To Lose Weight Has Now Changed

PCOS Weight Gain: What Do You Need To Do To Lose Weight

Life After 40: Fat, Falling Apart, Unfulfilled and