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Is Weight Loss Harming Your Clients? Plateaus, Pain, Depression, and Toxicity

November 10, 2016 | 11 Comments | SAFM Team

Weight loss (especially hip, thigh, and belly fat) is a common client and patient focus area. Sometimes they are unable to move beyond a loss plateau along their journey, or they inexplicably start to gain weight back. Or their debilitating symptoms get worse! Because we store many dangerous and ubiquitous toxins in our adipose tissue (body fat), weight loss increases toxin circulation. Unless the liver, kidneys, and GI tracts are supported to process these toxins efficiently, our clients will suffer from increased inflammation (which can worsen Diabetes, Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, and other chronic inflammatory dis-ease in the body). It is also a major cause of depression, anxiety, and chronic fatigue. Always, always make sure that you support detoxification in your clients who are working to lose more than just a few pounds.

I want to affirm a few general tips you likely already know which will make a significant difference:

Make sure they drink plenty of clean, plain, uncarbonated water daily to help with flushing toxins through urine and prevent kidney damage.
Consume plenty of cruciferous vegetables daily (e.g. broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, kale, and other dark leafy greens). These nutrient powerhouses are very high in sulfur-containing molecules such as indole-3-carbinol which boost glutathione function (and thus liver clearance of – and protection from – toxins) through upregulation of the NRF-2 enzyme pathway.
Ensure your clients are not constipated – and have at least one full, solid, easy-to-pass bowel movement each day. Many toxins are excreted via the bile in the GI tract. Delay in emptying increases the risk of colon inflammation and dysfunction (e.g. motility issues that can become .
Use a toxin binder supplement (e.g. at night before bed away from other supplements and with a glass – not just a sip – of water) to help ensure thorough phase 3 detoxification.
*After* all of the above are in place, ensure that Phase 1 and Phase 2 detoxification are well supported with nutrients, especially minerals (which are essential cofactors for detox enzyme activation) and B vitamins based on their unique needs.

To learn more, check out this related post: https://schoolafm.com/ws_clinical_know/biggest-levers-for-weight-loss/ .

P.S. If you are passionate about transforming healthcare through the power of functional medicine, we encourage you to learn more about SAFM’s practitioner training programs. Enrollment for our next cohort is now open!

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Anne Marie says:

June 19, 2019 at 6:25 pm

Good evening, I was taking nac for about a week it was working great and then it just stopped working!? I am desperate for this to work as it was getting rid of myxedema mucin/fluid from low thyroid function but also took iodine and it made be blow up even more due to the toxins be released I can’t get it to work again. Any idea as to why this plateau happened ? Ty 🙂

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  SAFM Team says:
  
  June 30, 2019 at 4:14 am
  
  Alas, we are not able to give personalized advice in these forums. You may want to consider working with an FM-trained practitioner to get to the root cause of the hypothyroidism and receive a plan uniquely specific to you for reversing the myxedema. To start learning more about the thyroid action on the skin and a deeper dive into this issue I encourage you to explore this study:
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3219173/
  
  Reply
4

Courtney Carmadelle says:

July 30, 2018 at 3:58 pm

How long is each phase?

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  SAFM Team says:
  
  August 5, 2018 at 5:34 pm
  
  The ‘phases’ of detoxification refer to different stages of toxin transformation from fat-soluble to water soluble and excretion. Each phase is characterized by specific biochemical reactions, for example, phase I is composed mainly of cytochromes P450 (toxins are typically made more reactive in this phase and often free radicals are created), phase II enzymes modify the phase I metabolites (anti-oxidants quenching), while phase III includes membrane transporters responsible for the elimination of modified toxins that are water-soluble. The timing of each phase varies and what is the most important that all of the molecular co-factors required for the reactions in each phase are sufficient for the reactions to complete.
  
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3

Jennifer says:

January 6, 2017 at 2:10 pm

Hi Tracy,
In reference to your glutathione comment – I am taking reduced glutathione from Pure Encapsulations. PE also has liposomal glutathione. Which would be the better form to take, or is s-acetyl glutathione the best kind? I am just wondering if I should switch to a different glutathione or to NAC.
Thanks for your help!

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- 3.1
  
  SAFM Team says:
  
  January 17, 2017 at 8:07 pm
  
  First of all, “reduced” glutathione is *active* glutathione – that is available for antioxidant effects. So you would want any glutathione you take as a supplement to be ideally reduced; otherwise, it has to be converted from its oxidized form by other nutrients in the body (e.g. alpha lipoic acid) which may not happen readily. Liposomal and s-acetyl forms are designed to help ensure absorption through the GI tract w/o the glutathione being broken down by enzymes and stomach acid, an important consideration. I would never purchase “plain” glutathione, and I personally wouldn’t choose just regular reduced form either without some absorption aid to increase yield. I personally choose the s-acetyl form; other practitioners choose the liposomal form. There is evidence that both enhance absorption into the blood. They are both more expensive than the regular reduced free form, so as always quality vs. cost and affordability are considerations.
  
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2

Charissa Murray says:

February 1, 2016 at 10:45 am

Great article! I have a client who is doing an 11 day, whole foods, elimination diet, detox. She has lost 5-7 lbs in just a few days. She asked today if detox can cause her to mix up words, for example, say “fun” instead of “run”. Could it be that release of toxins is causing this?
Thank you!

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  SAFM Team says:
  
  February 1, 2016 at 10:08 pm
  
  Absolutely! A great catch. I have seen this before where oxidative stress from toxins promotes confusion, aphasia, or memory issues.
  
  Reply
1

assurance auto says:

April 1, 2015 at 12:19 pm

An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a friend who had been conducting a little homework
on this. And he actually bought me dinner because I found it for him…
lol. So let me reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!!
But yeah, thanks for spending time to talk about this subject here on your web
site.

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  Jodi Franklin says:
  
  September 18, 2015 at 7:16 am
  
  Great into Tracy!
  
  Just wondering if you recommend acetyl glutathione vs taking N-acetyl cysteine.
  
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  - …
    
    SAFM Team says:
    
    September 21, 2015 at 12:53 pm
    
    Great question! Yes, s-acetyl glutathione is an excellent, absorbable form of glutathione. This is an important distinction because the vast majority of glutathione supplements will simply be broken down in the GI tract and not absorbed in a usable form. N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) is one of the three amino acids needed to help the body to synthesize glutathione, and in many people, this is sufficient to boost glutathione production within the body (especially when we ensure adequate dietary protein intake and digestion). The big distinction is that an s-acetyl glutathione supplement is going to cost at least twice (likely more like 4X) as much as NAC, so cost is going to be a determining factor for the majority of our clients.
    
    Reply