I’ve read your blog and I am quite intrigued by the information you’ve provided. Interestingly enough, you quote Dr. Kent Holtorf. I am going to his clinic next week to get a full metabolic panel to assess whether I have leptin resistance and high levels of reverse T3. I’ve struggled with my weight for ages, always up and down, often to extremes. Hopefully the visit to the Holtorf Group will enable to maintain long term weight loss!

Hey Peter-
Good luck at Dr. Holtorf’s clinic. Great that you are getting tested. Leptin resistance is present in nearly all people who’ve had ‘yo-yo’ type of struggles like you mention. So much of your metabolism is controlled by your thyroid hormones as well as insulin and leptin. Keep me updated on how you do.

PS A product I strongly endorse is LepToThin. It’s on the cutting edge of helping to reversing leptin resistance, naturally. Most recently, a new study has even shown that after leptin sensitivity is restored mice are even more willing and able to exercise! Who knows what the possibilities are.

Here is the study on overcoming leptin resistance and exercise.

Dear Dr. Ron,
Thank you kindly for your prompt reply. I sincerely appreciate it. I will take your advice to heart regarding LepToThin. In fact I’ve bookmarked the website so that I can order the product in the near future. I would like to see the results of any laboratory tests I undergo at the Holtorf Medical Group prior to beginning a new weight loss regimen though. Subjectively speaking, I feel that the likelihood of leptin resistance in my case is quite high…recently I’ve been working out at the gym, burning 1000-1200 calories a day for the past two weeks by incline walking on a treadmill at a 15% grade. Despite this strenuous effort, I have lost no weight. Moreover, I am certain I haven’t been consuming more calories than I burn because I have adhered to a healthy diet. In any event, I WILL keep you posted on my progress.

Let me close by stating, that you are an inspiration Dr. Ron…you have overcome so much and your willingness to share your experience is an act of kindness and humanity in that it instills hope to all those who read about it.

Dear Dr. Ron:

I too, have struggled with my weight in my 40′s. I have always been thin and active. I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. However, Synthroid just doesn’t seem to be doing the trick. My levels are “within normal limits”, but I am always tired and still can’t seem to get my metabolism to kick in. thank you for this additional info. My endocronologist doesn’t seem to have any more answers for me. I do excersise 4 times per week and am very strict with my calorie, sugar, and fat consumption. I will keep you posted with my results with LepToThin.

Peter,

It’s not uncommon for people to ‘try’ to do whats right and not get the results they are looking for, in your example, losing weight by eating less and exercising more. In fact, I see it repeatedly-with exercise and diet. Then you have the so called ‘experts’ demeaning your ‘will power’ telling you, “Its really pretty simple… just ‘eat less and exercise more.” For the majority of people who chronically struggle with metabolism and weight it’s way more the ‘rule’ than the ‘exception’ for the scenario to play out just like you explain…less in + more out = no change. That’s the definition of a metabolic fault.

Regarding your exercise efforts…

When it comes to exercise, the best research I’ve scrutinized has shown that in order to maximize the hormones that have so much to do with metabolism, body composition and healthy aging (leptin, insulin, HGH, testosterone are a few) it isn’t the duration of your exercise but the intensity. Our nervous and endocrine systems were built for short bursts of stress, not extended, prolonged, and chronic exposure to stress (which most of us bear). The same can be said for exercise; we were built to be quite capable to fight or flee, at astounding levels, but only for short bursts. Read this article on High Intensity Limited Time exercise and then go through some of the research on this site. (watch demo vids)

My best Peter,
Dr. Ron

P.S. As always, keep in mind my opinions are general and you should always have your health care provider’s approval before embarking on a new regimen.

[...] The hormone leptin itself was just recently discovered. When it was, it was viewed as the ‘new frontier’ of weight loss. Why? Well, it may have something to do with the fact that two of its most influential effects are on controlling cravings and burning body fat. But as the science advanced we learned that due to a number of factors, mainly overeating and eating too much of the wrongs foods, people who were chronically over weight and obese were resistant to leptins powerful effects. That reason is now known as “Leptin Resistance.” [...]