How to Look and Feel Great Without Feeling Hungry with Functional Medicine

Everyone wants to look perfect, and they’re usually hurting their bodies trying to lose weight. 

Diets where you only eat meat. Diets where you only eat once a day are very popular. GLP-1 Medications. 

Starving yourself is not the answer…

Your body is designed to need calories and protein to move about and live! If you don’t eat enough, your body will find those calories in your tissue. This puts you at risk of hernias, organ damage, or wasting your muscles instead of fat loss. 

Using Functional Medicine to Achieve Your Goals

I’ve seen people achieve their physique goals through healthy eating and working out rather than depleting their body of fuel. The bodies you long to have might even be eating more carbs to support muscle development and sufficient exercise.

There’s nuance to this, though. The types of carbohydrates you eat are important – the basics your body’s functionality apply here.

Carbohydrates give you energy. Not only do you need carbs to move around, but your brain burns carbs to think and work as well.

Healthy carbohydrates should be whole food and organic if possible. Do your best here. I like to operate under “good,” “better,” and “best.” If you can’t access organic food, aim to at least switch to whole foods. 

Stir fry is a good example of nutrition providing carbs. Exclusively eating crackers as your only fuel source is a bad example. 

Fruit and vegetables give you vital nutrients, and it’s important to pay attention to how your body is digesting them. Many people are sensitive to excess carbohydrates in certain vegetables or sensitive to overeating fruits if they have gut flora imbalance. If this applies to you, I’d suggest a functional medicine appointment to dig deeper into a daily food plan that works for your body’s specific needs.

Healthy fats are the building blocks for good brain function, nerve function and hormones. Extra virgin olive oil, avocados, salmon, chia seeds, and almonds are great examples of healthy fats your body needs to thrive.

If fats have gone rancid, they are bad for you. This might occur because of exposure to oxygen, heat, light, or time. Rancid fats might smell bitter or metallic, and they taste harsh. Trust your senses. If something doesn’t seem right, you should replace it.

Proteins are important for your muscles and healthy tissue. They also help your body produce hormones and maintain immune health.

A lot of people want to look leaner and more toned, but this comes with better muscle definition and tighter skin. When you lose weight without eating enough protein, you risk losing muscle mass and metabolic rate. Both of these components are crucial to looking and feeling the way you want.

Protein intake depends on your activity level and whether you’re healing from an injury. If you’re not sure how much you need, this is another great opportunity to come in for a functional medicine appointment.

Listening to Your Body

If you are hungry – you need to eat.

Starving yourself doesn’t help you reach your physique goals, choosing foods wisely does. It’s not as hard as you think it is to eat healthily and afford it, too. It often comes with understanding that you need to do better and making the choice to do it.

While your metabolism drives hunger, your taste buds are designed to “crave” what your body needs.

Cravings indicate that something the body needs is missing. Often, it is missing not because you eat poorly, but because of the way the nutrient depletion in the soil from modern farming practices. Another problem is that your diet might not contain enough variety to supply the nutrients you need.

I notice that if I put my patients on the General Daily Health Pack with a whole food multivitamin, trace mineral, and high-quality fish oil filtered of toxins, that their cravings subside. 

If you’re struggling to feel regular, or if your gut feels off, there’s different foods you can eat to aid digestion. 

Fermented foods can help. Get a jar of sauerkraut, and a tablespoon a day with a meal will reset your gut. A shot of apple cider vinegar with a meal will also reset your gut and help you digest your proteins.

Adding some greens to breakfast will add a veggie serving. Choosing to eat fruit every day will help you to be regular.

What to Do If This Feels Overwhelming

You might have more questions about what choices you need to make to look and feel better. There’s a lot of information out there, and it’s hard to figure out what applies to your body’s needs.

You need an expert partner who understands nutrition, fueling needs, and the demands of a busy life. Someone who can look at every part of your health puzzle and help point the way to reaching your goals.

This is one of my specialties. Functional medicine is a powerful tool for helping every system in your body work better, leading to more energy and less unwanted symptoms. It’s an important step to reaching your physique goals, too.

Let’s get started. Schedule a functional medicine appointment, and we can get started right away to figure out what your body is asking for.