Let’s assume you are doing everything right—your eating is perfect and your exercise is consistent and correct for your body type. What else should you look for?

I first check on anything that could be increasing cortisol—lack of sleep, pain in the body, stressful environment, or even hot flashes. I’ll have the person work on these. I will also look at the medication they are on, as this could be the main reason they are not able to lose weight. And by the way, check with your doctor before coming off the meds.


The medications that cause weight gain are as follows:
1. Insulin
2. Prednisone
3. Hormonal Replacement Therapy and Birth Control Pills
4. Diuretics
5. High blood pressure meds
6. High cholesterol meds
7. And especially psychiatric medication—Prozac, Zoloft, etc.

Then I make sure there are NO sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners in the diet, which cause major water weight accumulation.

I try to find out what problem the individual is trying to solve with regard to the medication. It might be a hot flash or some inflammation or depression. And I then call the doctor and work with him or her as a team approach. I get the doctor’s permission to use natural remedies. This works very well because the patient then gets the supervision of us both and the natural remedies have no side effects.

Other barriers could be flavored yogurt, sugar in salad dressing, MSG in restaurant foods, or too many occasional junk foods. The person will tell me, “It’s just a little bit.” But that little bit is enough to prevent the whole thing from happening.

Dr. Eric Berg

Dr. Berg on the web: www.drberg.com

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Dr. Eric Berg is a chiropractor who specializes in weight loss, nutrition and pain relief. He has taught as an associate professor at Howard University. He is the developer of the Acupressure Stress Elimination Technique (ASET) and has trained hundreds of healthcare practitioners. Dr. Berg is the author of the new book The 7 Principles of Fat Burning. This information is provided as information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action should be taken based solely on the contents of this publication. Readers should consult competent healthcare professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.