Sally is a 43-year-old female. She came to see me for fatigue. She also experienced unwanted weight gain in the last couple of years. She was of average weight, slightly on the heavier side. She mentioned her weight wouldn’t budge despite eating a whole food-based diet and exercising 5 times weekly. She also noted she used to reset her weight and energy by using the keto diet. Alternatively, she used intermittent fasting. Nonetheless, it stopped working this time. Now, even after adding exercise, the number on her scale stayed. Frustrated and unsure what else to do.
Rarely, fatigue is caused by one thing, same as stubborn weight gain. These two often go hand in hand, especially as you get older. It is important to take a step back and gather some information first.
For Sally, after learning more about her case, I started her with a comprehensive lab assessment. This was to check for any nutrient deficiency, like low iron or anemia. It also aimed to identify hormone imbalance problems, for example, low thyroid performance or poor stress response. We also checked if there’s any blood glucose problem and occult inflammation that’s keeping her weight.
Her results came back, and her inflammation marker was off the roof, at 13 (normal < 1). Her stress hormones were low. They barely made the cut-off the normal range. Her thyroid started to struggle, shown by elevated TSH, normal fT3 and fT4. Other significant findings include slightly elevated blood glucose and depleted iron storage. No wonder she feels tired and can’t lose weight.
In her follow up consultation, we reviewed her lab results. I gave her an individualized treatment plan. It includes nutrients to support her iron status and stress response. Additionally, I recommended botanical extracts to target the inflammation pathway. Recommended her to focus on at least 7 hrs of sleep per night.
We fast-forward a few months later. We patched her energy drains. We reduced her inflammation and improved her thyroid labs. She felt much more like her old self. She also felt lighter. She had no more cravings. She admitted later that she was using food as comfort to compensate for her stress.
It was not an overnight success. Even with the support Sally had, it was hard at times, but she stuck with it. 6 months later, she continued to follow her plan. She was able to lose the weight she wanted and kept it off.
Chronic fatigue, stress, or inflammation is seldom caused by one thing. It is important to learn what is off balance in your body. The best way is to work with a trained healthcare provider. It is not fast medicine, but your health is well worth the investment.
Doctor Monica Xu 