It’s really a bummer to add weight gain to the stressors you’ve been experiencing in this difficult year of Covid-19, police brutality, and economic crashes.
You’re the victim of a perfect storm: inactivity, anxiety, disrupted sleep, and eating too many of the wrong calories. I know comfort foods are comforting, but did you really need to bake another batch of snickerdoodles?
The result of all this, dubbed the Covid-15 (with a nod to the freshman 15), is weight gain caused by your metabolism slowing down. In case you’ve forgotten, your metabolism is your burn rate, the rate at which you convert food to fuel for energy. With a sluggish metabolism, you store fat in predictable areas of your body. Women look down and see a flabby belly where their once flat tummy barely touched the bikini dangling from their hips. Men see beer (or snack-food) bellies.
There are just two solutions to get this weight off:
–Eat the right foods.
–Increase your burn rate.
Yes, it matters what you choose to eat and carbs in general are the villain, especially fast carbs like sugar and refined grains. Read more here.
Increasing your metabolism can be a little more challenging, but it helps to understand that inactivity itself slows your burn rate. If you’ve spent the past 100 days sitting in front of your computer, phone, or TV nibbling sweet or salty things, don’t be too shocked when you waddle over to the scale, shamefully avoiding eye contact with your dusty Peleton. Or when your summer pants don’t close at the waist.
You can increase your metabolic burn rate by skipping the fast carbs and:
–Eating more protein (animal or plant-based).
–Drinking coffee or green tea.
–Eating spicy foods.
–Doing virtually anything physical (standing is better than sitting, walking beats standing, and doing all of these plus working out daily is ideal).
–If you’re taking thyroid medication, asking to have your dose adjusted to the upper limit of normal range.
—Getting a good night’s sleep.
You can also increase your metabolism by starting IV Metabolic Boosts, also known (and this is s-o-o California) as skinny shots.
Skinny shots, also called Lipotropic or MIC intravenous infusions, will speed up your metabolism. The MIC stand for methionine, inositol, and choline, the three fat-burning amino acids that your body naturally produces to clear excess fat and accumulated toxins from your liver.
Here’s what makes the skinny shot work
Methionine This protein-based amino acid is needed to burn fat and for muscle growth and energy. It’s an important building block in much of your body’s normal physiology, including nerve function and immune well-being. It is also an excellent antioxidant
Inositol An important amino acid whose role goes well beyond fat burning to improving circulation, preventing hair loss, nourishing your brain, and facilitating the conversion of nutrients to energy.
Choline An amino acid with many roles in your body, including clearing fat from your liver, detoxification, and manufacturing neurotransmitters (including acetylcholine) for your brain. Various forms of choline (like citicoline) are included in memory-enhancing supplements.
In addition to the MIC blend, skinny shots contain:
Pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6) B6 is essential to many biochemical pathways involving the bone marrow, immune system, and the production of your brain’s neurotransmitters.
Methylcobalamin (vitamin B12) Essential throughout your body for the healthy growth and maturation of all cells, but especially blood and nerve cells. Until doctors understood the mechanics of B12, a deficiency could actually kill you with a disease called pernicious anemia. B12 shots (whether via IV or as an injection) also provide a quick energy boost. One famous symphony orchestra conductor (who lived to be very old) swore by a B12 shot 30 minutes before every performance.
L-Carnitine The primary function of this amino acid is to convert lipids, or fats, into fuel for energy.
How to use this infusion
MIC infusions are useful in jumpstarting a weight-loss program whose foundation is based on high-nutrition eating and regular exercise. I suggest you start by having the infusion twice weekly. Anticipate a loss of about ten pounds a month, as long as you’re also following the food and exercise recs.
Skinny shots are really useful when you’ve hit a wall with your weight-loss efforts. You can also ask your doctor about combining the infusions with a prescription appetite suppressant (like Adipex-P) or a low dose of natural thyroid.
For a long time, many physicians were uncomfortable prescribing either of these even as they acknowledged their beneficial effects on weight loss. The main problems are that Adipex-P stops working as an appetite suppressant after about two months. Also, unless you stick to high-quality eating and exercise, just about everyone who loses weight on thyroid gains it back in a year.
To schedule your first series of skinny shots call us (773-296-6700). All CDC Covid-19 safety precautions are followed in our clinic. Your temperature will be checked on arrival, staff members wear appropriate PPE, and you’ll spend the entire infusion time (about an hour) in your own private room, so please bring something to read.
Be well,
David Edelberg, MD