By naturopath Margaret Jasinska

Pauline is a 53 year old lady who recently consulted me because she was concerned about her weight. She was not significantly overweight, but it was all around her torso, which Pauline knew was a dangerous place to carry excess weight. Both of her parents had poor health and Pauline wanted to avoid following a similar path.

Pauline had been totally addicted to sugary foods all her life and would binge on sweet cookies, cakes, candy, ice cream and donuts; she felt totally out of control and was unable to prevent these binges. Pauline began a new diet every Monday and she rarely lasted beyond Wednesday afternoon. Triggers for her binges included stress, boredom and fatigue. She often experienced sleeping difficulties, and the day after a rotten night she snacked on sugar all day long as a way of coping with her exhaustion.

In my clinic I have found that addiction to sugar and high carbohydrate foods can be harder to overcome than addiction to alcohol or nicotine. Pauline’s blood test results were surprisingly good, but once she experienced menopause this was likely to change unless she improved her diet and lost weight.

I discussed the importance of relaxation and stress management with Pauline. If she could feel more relaxed, and achieve better sleep, she would likely experience fewer cravings. I gave her some meditation techniques to help her overcome mental and emotional stress. I also recommended magnesium to help her sleep.

I asked Pauline to eat more healthy fats and protein-rich foods such as seafood, poultry, eggs and meat. I recommended Synd X Protein Powder so she could make smoothies in the morning that are easy and filling. Protein and natural fats are excellent for increasing satiety and promoting stable blood sugar. I recommended Metabocel tablets, to curb appetite and increase fat burning.

Eating too much sugar can cause wild swings in blood sugar levels, and that can cause the sugar addiction to perpetuate itself and can cause brain fog, moodiness, poor memory, headaches and shakiness. The excess sugar is not used for energy but is converted into unhealthy types of fat which are stored in the liver.

For more strategies to help you lose weight for good, see Dr Cabot’s book “I can’t lose weight and I don’t know why!“.