Patients more readily trust the natural approach of their holistic chiropractor when you’re considering implementing a patient weight loss program
The good news is that your patients may be more likely to listen to you and your recommendation to lose weight than they are from their regular physician if you’re considering implementing a patient weight loss program. Why? They already turned to you for non-invasive and prescription-free relief. They already trust you will have a more holistic and natural approach to being healthy. And that translates into having better information and better systems for losing weight.
Yet so many chiropractors are frustrated — they just can’t get their patients to lose weight.
The ‘why’ in the decision to lose weight
There’s a huge difference between somebody wanting to lose weight, needing to lose weight, and being ordered to lose weight. If you tell your patients they need to lose weight, this can come off as an order and most people don’t like to be ordered around.
They have to want to lose weight and have a driving need. Some of these needs include appearance, health issues, mobility problems and even things like family history. Many people between age 45-55 want to lose weight because they want to run around after their grandkids. But a simple desire isn’t going to get people to their goals. There must be a need to lose the weight — an undeniable motivation. There has to be something driving them that’s more important than sitting and watching TV when they should be exercising, or eating the sugary dessert when they should have fruit.
Your job is to find this indisputable need and reinforce it to your patients when implementing a patient weight loss program.
Why they have struggled
Here’s another complicated piece of the puzzle. Even with the right motivation, it can still be difficult for somebody to lose weight. Many biological factors inhibit this.
Far too many people are on their own trying to lose weight. They may choose whatever diet they’re used to or whatever fad diet is popular at that time. Most people try to lose weight and restrict themselves excessively. But, without a long-term plan, this type of weight loss doesn’t stick.
It’s one of the reasons why low-calorie diets and low-fat diets never worked. They’re far too restrictive and bland, and people go right back to eating the way they had before and put the weight back on. Restrictive diets just don’t work. The same thing is valid with weight loss drinks, diet pills and other fads. And that is even if the person can stick with the diet. Having somebody to help, having that accountability, can make a huge difference. That’s why as a chiropractor, you need to check in with your patients regularly. Just the idea that somebody is rooting for them can make a huge difference.
If you let people continue with the on-and-off dieting, or yo-yo dieting, they risk severe health problems, excessive weight gain and mental depression. You can make the difference.
Implementing a patient weight loss program
Why do some people lose weight and keep it off in the long term? It’s not willpower, motivation or having the secret. It comes down to working with the body as it is.
The advantage you have as a chiropractor is access to medical information for body composition, lab tests, hormones, nutritional deficiencies and basic metabolic panels. Many chiropractors can order these tests themselves, but for those who can’t, you can work with a person’s primary care physician to get these tests or request it from the patients themselves.
Balance Hormones — The number and size of the fat cells in your body can disrupt your hormonal patterns. This is much more impactful in women than in men, especially premenopausal women. As a person gains weight, their fat cells grow and divide, and losing weight gets harder the more fat cells you have.
These cells secrete insulin that disrupts the sugar balance in the body. As that becomes disrupted, you have the interruption in the leptin and ghrelin hormones that dictate hunger, the serotonin and dopamine in the brain that dictate mood, and sexual hormones. More insulin means you are hungrier and want more food, even if you don’t need it.
They also act on cortisol,(1) the stress hormone responsible for increasing fat storage. Stress, on-and-off dieting, and this disruption of insulin increases the cortisol in your body, which causes a cascade reaction that results in excessive weight gain, depression, lethargy, sleep disruption and a host of other issues.
Fix the Gut — The way we digest food can interfere with our weight gain or loss.(2) The probiotic bacteria in the gut helps digest food, absorb nutrients, fight off bacteria and viruses, reduce inflammation throughout the body, and almost act as a “second brain” to help regulate our emotions.
Unfortunately, the prevalence of fast food, high-sugar junk food and limited vegetables impairs our gut bacteria from doing their job. Healthy probiotics from fermented food and supplements can help reintroduce healthy probiotics that can reduce inflammation, improve the immune system, manage weight loss, reduce depression and provide better nutrition.
Toxicity in Fat Accumulation — Detox3 gets a bad rap, but the ability of the body to remove toxins, wastes and built-up materials is essential. The body can do it naturally, but toxins get stored in fat cells if overwhelmed. Then, once you start losing weight, all these toxins get released back into your body. The body has to re-detox itself. Many people call this a healing crisis, where the body experiences all of these toxic agents once again before clearing them out.
That’s why one of the first protocols for losing weight includes supporting the organs of detoxification (liver, kidneys, skin) so the body can get rid of the toxins and metabolic by-products from the weight loss process.
Long-term weight loss and sustainability
If you’re going to help your patients with weight loss, partnering with a nutritionist or naturopath can help guide you. Or you can obtain your certification in nutrition and weight loss as part of your continuing education.
Talk to your patients about their motivation when implementing a patient weight loss program and why they want to lose weight. Find that driving need to increase the chance of success for your patients’ weight loss. Then, start building healthy habits, including reducing stress to get cortisol under control, reducing sugars to get insulin under control, and increasing probiotics to restore the gut.
From there, nutrition is paramount. You have to get in enough nutrients to satisfy a person’s needs without craving anything extra. Diets rich in vegetables and fruits and eliminating processed foods are key. Then you can fill in the gaps by suggesting vitamins, herbs and other supplements. The keto diet has great success if combined with a long-term, lower-carb diet.
As a person starts to lose weight, they will go through periods where their weight loss stalls. This can be a point where the body could be trying to remove toxins or build muscle. Helping your patients understand the weight-loss process gives them the accountability and support to continue on their path. You may also want to discuss a true detox to help remove toxins and support the organs that eliminate those toxins.
Keep supporting and coaching patients through their proper diet, supplements and exercise programs. Walking is one of the best ways to get somebody back on track for exercising daily. You can aim for 10,000 steps or start them on a program of stretching, yoga or regular aerobic exercises. Finally, follow up. Most doctors do not follow up with their patients. You can lose half of your sales by not following up.
In your weight loss plan, it looks like this:
- Review your patients’ biomarkers and nutritional deficiencies.
- You can adjust your supplements, exercises and diet from there.
Between regular chiropractic care and your weight-loss program, you should have a pretty good idea of your patients’ mobility and progress. These are easy markers to measure and evaluate your weight-loss plan.
Increase your client base and success
Implementing a patient weight loss program can increase client retention and success rate. You can help your patients succeed in the long term and help develop a reputation as the doctor who makes weight loss a reality.
Weight loss is a complicated topic and many people want to lose weight, but lack the true motivation and accountability to do it properly. Taking charge and guiding your patients with authority and the right information can make the difference for their health and fitness.
ANTHONY CRIFASE, DC, CNS, DACBN, is double board-certified in clinical nutrition and maintains an active virtual functional medicine and chiropractic practice. With experience in multiple different industries and as a seasoned chiropractor who understands the ins and outs of functional medicine, chiropractic, and practice management, he is on a mission to help other practitioners maximize their time, revenue and systems. Learn more at drcrifase.com.
References
1. – van Rossum, Elisabeth F C. Obesity and Cortisol: New Perspectives on an Old Theme.
Obesity; Silver Spring Vol. 25, Iss. 3, (Mar 2017): 500-501. DOI:10.1002/oby.21774
1. – Bhagavathi Sundaram Sivamaruthi, Periyanaina Kesika, Natarajan Suganthy, Chaiyavat Chaiyasut, “A Review on Role of Microbiome in Obesity and Antiobesity Properties of Probiotic Supplements”, BioMed Research International, vol. 2019, Article ID 3291367, 20 pages, 2019. 3 – SanFilippo, Justine, MS, CHC. How to Naturally Detox. Alternative Medicine; Mendota Heights Iss. 44, (Feb 2019): 6-7.
