Low cal/carb still not losing weight?

Question
Tom
I am at my wits end. I am 53, 5'8", and have always had a slow metabolism. I have no idea why-I go for physicals every year and my Doc says all my numbers, including thyroid, are fine. He says to eat less and exercise more BUT I eat less than 1000 calories a day, spend 45 minutes  thre times a wek on my elliptical, and the scale wont budge from 250. I have been told I am not eating enough and my body is in starvation mode. Last summer I raised my intake to 2000 calories a day, didnt execise except for golf, and I gained 15 pounds! I am only now getting back to 250, which my body seems to want to stay at.
Have you ever heard of this? The worst part is my huge belly. The rest of me is not bad-thanks to the exercise, but the belly makes me ware size XL clothes. If it was smaller I could prob wear L. I have tried lots of supplements, 'HIIT' workouts, low carb, low fat, vegetarian. Nothing works.
Thanks for any comments!

Answer
Hi Barry,

I can't give any medical advice, but this is what I would do were it me in a similar situation.

First of all, just because a conventional thyroid test shows normal thyroid function does NOT mean there is normal thyroid function. It's quite possible that a person could be functionally/clinically hypothyroid at the cellular level. Usually physicians only check T4 thyroid, not T3.

Seeing an expert in functional medicine (ND, MD or OD) who really understands thyroid functionality could provide better diagnostic measures for thyroid.

There are also many other non-diet factors that can impact weight gain and metabolism including sleep deprivation, stress, shallow breathing and many other factors. Doing deep breathing exercises, getting plenty of sleep ever day (No alarm clock if you can manage without), and reducing stress as much as possible can all help stimulate your sympathetic nervous system and boost your metabolism naturally.

In terms of diet, I highly recommend not starving yourself. Counting calories is completely unnecessary in my opinion! I recommend eating as much fresh raw fruits, vegetables and berries as you can possibly get in. I can pretty much guarantee you won't gain weight eating fresh salads. The key foods to avoid are anything processed - no fried foods, no packaged foods, no white flour, white sugar, candies or pre-packaged products.

The key is to eat as much plant-based food as possible. In addition to fruits, veggies and berries go for whole grains and legumes.

Dr. Candace Corson and I talk in a lot more detail about this specific diet with research, recipes and much more in our newsletter. You can get access to it for free at www.AuthenticHealthCoach.com

I hope that helps!
Wishing you wellness,
Tom

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