The I’s Have It: Individualized Medicine is Needed to Lose Weight

John wanted to lose 15 pounds before summer. Mary had gained 45 pounds in two months. And Janet was very unhappy about her appearance—she refused to step on the scale. Weight management has become a serious problem in America today. In fact, “obesity” was recently labeled a “medical condition” due to its epidemic status; it is estimated that 8 out of 10 Americans ages 25 and older are considered obese. New medical drugs and procedures were developed to battle this new medical epidemic. Soda machines were taken out of schools, and all gum on the market that had contained sugar was modified to contain at least one artificial sweetener (most contain 3). Pharmaceutical companies are racing to be the first to develop an obesity vaccine or new drugs that can curb eating or stimulate weight loss by a faster means than their competitors. Media is poised to tell of the latest and greatest supplement, medical drug, or procedure to battle the bulge. It also tells of the hazards and dangers of having too much weight, including diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. People by the thousands want to lose weight for their own self-esteem or to prevent a deadly disease. People are desperate. So the battle to lose weight was underway. But the treatments for losing weight still remain the same: dietary changes, a pill, and/or an exercise regimen are the common recommendations. In extreme cases, the new medical procedures could be used: liposuction or stomach stapling. Weight loss from any measure is short-lived as most people gain the weight back shortly after losing it. Very few people learn behaviors that make the weight loss remain. The main problem with treating everyone the same is that the treatment fails for almost everyone. Individualized treatment is needed for success. Each person who has excess weight has a reason for that weight, a reason that must be discovered and explored, and the treatment must be tailored to that individual, not to a group. The group is all those who are overweight; the individual is one of those people who are overweight—the individual is you. The medical community makes its treatments based on the multitude, not the individual. Everyone with diabetes gets the same diabetic drugs or insulin (depending on the “type” of diabetes). Everyone who has high blood pressure gets a pill or two and told to avoid salt. And, everyone who is overweight has to modify his diet, take a pill, and get some exercise. But not everyone will benefit from the group treatment, which is seen in the lack of success in losing weight in so many people. The reason for the weight gain or inability to lose weight must be looked at from an INDIVIDUAL BASIS. Only by finding the cause will the person lose the weight and keep it off. Consider Mary who had gained 45 pounds in two months. Mary had difficulty with eating all her life; mostly, she tried to keep thin because she felt she would not find a husband unless she was “visually appealing” to what she felt men desired—thin women. So Mary ate little and watched the weight. After she married, her dietary habits changed only slightly, so she was so surprised to find that she was gaining weight. In such a short period of time, she had gained 20 pounds. Frantic, she went to her doctor and was prescribed a drug for weight loss (which was actually an antipsychotic drug which had a side effect of loss of appetite). It was ineffective; in fact, it caused an increase in her weight to where she gained 25 pounds in 2 weeks! She stopped the drug and became depressed, spending the next 2 years eating next-to-nothing, exercising daily, and taking every over-the-counter weight-loss pill she could find. She didn’t gain any weight, but she didn’t lose any either. During her health history, it was discovered that she felt women who were overweight were not appealing to men, and, now that she was married, she didn’t want to be “hit on” by other men. Now Mary was able to lose weight and keep it off. The right homeopathic remedy was given to Mary based on her INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS and thoughts. For most people, an emotional or mental component interferes with weight management. In John’s case, for example, he felt he needed a “little weight behind his words.” John gave a lot of presentations and he felt he was not educated enough to be respected by his peers. Another person felt she was “invisible,” so she gained weight to be seen; whereas another woman wanted to be invisible and felt people wouldn’t look at her if she were overweight because she felt people ignore obese individuals. But there are true physical reasons for issues with weight management, weight gain and the inability to lose weight. An example of a physical reason is when there is an over-growth of yeast in the gut (no amount of exercise or dietary changes will help with weight loss), medical drugs (slow digestion, cause food to stay in the bowels, cause fat to be distributed to the hips and thighs, etc.), endocrine issues (low thyroid or adrenal gland function), age (metabolism slows with age), etc. When you want to lose weight, look for individualized treatment—the rewards are great. The best individualized care/medicine is CLASSICAL HOMEOPATHY. Best wishes, Dr. Ronda Disclaimer: The information provided by Dr. Ronda Behnke Theys is for educational purposes only. It is important that you not make health decisions or stop any medication without first consulting your personal physician or health care provider.