Sandy came in to the office after hearing about our weight loss program. She had started dieting and exercise with good results. But the last two years she had been doing the same thing but simply could not get the results she wanted. When she came into the office she stated she had done well but could not get rid of that “roll around the stomach and weight on the hip area”.
After a thorough consultation it was obvious that Sandy had Estrogen dominance. Estrogen dominance is commonly seen in females and at times in males. In the female it will manifest in the stomach, hips and the triceps fat (back of the upper arm). When Estrogen is not cleared properly from the body it will be stored in fat cells. At that point even though one will try as hard as they can to lose weight the fat will stay especially in these areas because the estrogen needs a place to store.

These patients will always have difficulty losing weight. When I find Estrogen dominance we use certain supplements to get rid of the excess estrogen. Each patient is different so one must carefully evaluate every patient. We look also at the hypothalamus in the brain as it talks to the pituitary which in turn governs the thyroid, adrenals and ovaries. Based on that I make recommendations for the patient. Once the body starts to clear the estrogen weight loss continues. Octavio Chirino MD states that “as women gain weight with the passing years via bad diet, decreased exercise and sluggish metabolism that adipose fat both produces and stores estrogen from the hormone androstenoine turning into Estrogen.”
Symptoms of Estrogen dominance that I see are decreased sexual desire, mood swings, depression, anxiety, water retention, poor sleep and increased aging among others. Of course as is becoming more well know is that Estrogen dominance will cause an increase in breast, cervical and uterine cancers. (See my previous post on the Estronex test). In men it will increase the possibility of prostate cancer and gynecomastia or “men boobs.”
In these patients there is no one size fits all treatment plan. Each patient is unique and as you look at their complete health picture is always different from others. This is one reason that on each weight loss patient I run a urinalysis routinely to see as they are losing weight what I need to do to “tweak” the program for their benefit. The one thing that is sure is that when we start a patient on this program if they commit to it they will not only lose weight but change their entire health picture. They will feel better, look better, and have more energy. Many problems they have will simply disappear and most of the time their medical provider can decrease or take them off their medication. The one key is COMMITMENT.
If you need to lose weight or just want to feel better call the office today. Don’t put off what can help you reclaim your life and get the results that you desire.

Another reason one can stall in their weight loss goals is insulin resistance. Insulin is the hormone that is responsible for regulating the amount of sugar going into the brain after we eat. It also stores glucose in the cells which will decrease the blood glucose levels. But with insulin resistance the cells become resistant to the effects of insulin and blood sugar remains high.
This as well can cause one to stall in their attempts at weight loss because it affects the insulin/glucagon ration. Glucagon tells the liver to release glycogen for energy. It also tells the fat cells to release fat for energy. If the ratio is off this is effected and the fat is not released. The insulin/glucagon ratio is what determines if food will be used for energy or stored as fat. If the ratio is balanced then the body will be functioning correctly. If the ratio is high fat will be stored, if low lean body mass is destroyed.
In every weight loss patient that I see this has to be considered. It is another reason that one can stall in their attempts to lose weight. We can always blame age or some other factor but the proper evaluation can normally get one the results that they want. One of those factors is menopause which is very difficult on the female body and does make it harder to lose weight. In a few days I will be discussing estrogen resistance and its effect on weight loss which is a must know for anyone who is directing any weight loss program. Estrogen will store itself in the yellow fat. In the female this is in the abdomen, hips and triceps. This has to be addressed or the fat cannot decrease because it has to store the estrogen.
It is not always eat less, work out harder and you will lose the weight. I have seen many patients that have problems losing and they always have a physiological reason that they cannot lose. Once that is addressed they will lose weight. It all comes down to proper evaluation and commitment.

This is the first in my series on things that will stop the body from losing weight or make it stall. In 1994 the hormone Leptin was discovered. At first the thought was that Leptin was the cause of obesity in some cases. It was quickly discovered however that it was actually the body resisting leptin and its influence on fat storage and metabolism. Leptin is released from fat cells and will signal to the hypothalamus when it is time to stop eating. It is a key part of the b...ody’s weight lose system.
Leptin has two functions. It travels to the brain to reduce appetite and therefore reduce cravings and it boosts metabolism by encouraging the body to burn calories from fat cells. When this does not occur the patient tries to lose weight but cannot. This is one reason why I see some patients that diet and exercise but simply cannot lose the weight. Of course there are a number of reasons for weight lose stalling and all have to be evaluated.
Our program decreases the inflammation of the body. Inflammation will decrease Leptin function. Both are key factors to obesity. As inflammation decreases we see other amazing changes on the program. Fat cells also produce adipokines. These are called tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-6. Tumor necrosis factor is associated with rheumatoid arthritis which of course is an inflammatory condition. Our program is great for the patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis as their symptoms respond remarkably. Interleukin-6 is associated with osteoarthritis and heart disease. Also greatly effected with weight and inflammation loss. Though there are no real diagnostic indicators to determine leptin resistance there are signs that confirm it is effecting the patient. When I suspect it an additional supplement according to the patient physiology is given to help with weight loss or fix the stalling.
Any weight loss program takes commitment. In these cases Leptin resistance must be addressed. What we are doing now gives us the best results I have seen and because of the inflammation loss the most aggressive changes in a patient’s health that I have ever seen. As we say at the office, isn’t it time to “Reclaim Your Health, Reclaim Your Life”.

At the clinic we are continuing to change lives with our weight lose program. We call it, Reclaim Your Health,Reclaim Your Life. Below is a letter from a letter from a patient that has had her live completely changed.
Dear Dr. Schopp,
I wanted to thank you for treating me with your weight loss program. My results have been nothing short of incredible. For years I have been trying to lose weight on my own. Going through menopause really put weight on me as well as diminishe...d my shape. When you started talking about how no matter how hard some women try to lose at times they just can’t because of estrogen, insulin problems and something you said that started with an L I knew that I had a chance. There had to be a reason that I could not lose. All the dieting in the world as well as exercise was not working for me.

When we started as you know I did not lose for a while. But I was losing inches and feeling much better. I could work without tiring at the office and my boss noticed the difference. Then I started losing pounds also. You had told me every patient is different. But the one thing you said was you have to commit. If not it would not work just like everything else. So I committed. I said no matter what I am going to listen and just do what you told me.
There were as you told me there would be some bumps in the road. There were times I did not lose much. But there were times I would lose quite a bit. Please tell all your patients to just hang in there. A couple times I wanted to quit. You had warned me about that. I can say now it was well worth the commitment. I feel great. My biggest fan is my husband. He simply cannot believe it.
I know with anything in life you have to just go for it. I finally decided to do that. Thanks for all the help, I am only a few pounds from my goal weight. I will still be in for my next appointment to get my urinalysis. As you said that is the key to the program. Every time you tweaked as you call it according to the urinalysis I would just continue to lose. Overall this program has not been hard to follow. You just have to set the goal and commit to getting there.
Thanks again and see you next Thursday.

Smoking of course is one of the worst things we can do for our health. For years our AcuStop program using Acupuncture has been extremely effective to stop patients from smoking. Our success rate is right at 100 percent to those who finish the program. If you or someone you care about needs to quit smoking call 314-843-9355.

Basal Metabolic rate is controlled by non other than the Thyroid gland. Tis determines how fast chemical reactions occur in the body. In the case of a sluggish Thyroid digestion slows and energy reduces. This can be a cause of inability to lose weight. In our weight loss program we are making sure the Thyroid gland is supported when needed so the patient can reduce their weight effectively.

A patient has given me permission to post this partial information on her response to Clinical Nutrition using Nutrition Response Testing while evaluating her progress with lab results over time. She came in with hot flashes, high TSH (thyroid), and her liver enzymes were high. High TSH 90 percent of the time is treated medically with Synthroid. She did not want to go on this medication because of its problems so we started to treat the seven pillars of health using Nutritional Response testing. The hot flashes at that time were already subsided.

As time went on I tested her monthly as well as using Clinical Nutrition that supported what was happening physiologically. I always treat the entire system not the actual disease evaluating the seven pillars of health. As of her last visit she had TSH down almost into the normal range which should continue to go down. Her liver enzymes were within normal limits so further evaluation based on those lab results will not be needed.
Nutritional Therapy takes time. At times there will be bumps in the road. Sometimes when symptoms resolve they will come back for a time while the biochemistry in the body continues to change. But if one hangs in there the body will heal. Medications that suppress symptoms and injections will give some symptomatic relief but will not heal. Additional hormones will work great for a time but are hijacking the entire endocrine system. If you have a health problem and want to go the natural methods call us at 314-843-9355.