I struggled with weight gain all my life: from my teenage years all I can remember is losing pounds (or kilos), and regaining pounds. I tried every diet I ever heard of and, without fail, I exercised as hard as I could. Yet, losing weight was always a struggle. Even when I was successful, my progress was painfully slow compare to my friends, who had similar problems to mine.
I remember working out at the gym so hard that even the gym instructor approached me and told me I should have my health checked by a doctor: he said he feared I may be suffering from some form of 'thyroid' problem, given the amount of efforts I'd put into my work outs and the pathetically tiny results I would be achieving!
I never understood why losing weight was so hard for me; health checks showed nothing significantly wrong, ever, and they left everybody 'scratching their heads'.
I never wanted to take drugs to stimulate my metabolism (why create a problem whilst trying to solve a problem?), so I was left with researching natural ways to resolve my problem once and for all. I need to add now that I have never been the type of person who can survive on tiny portions and flavorless food. I love my extra virgin olive oil on my 'rich' salads and I do eat pasta, pizza and bread; learning to eat in a bland way will never be a solution for me. Although I have never eaten particularly unhealthily (I don't like fat meat, I don't eat white 'carbs' and I don't have a sweet tooth), I like my huge portions! So, starvation was never a way to lose weight for me and, even it could have been, I know I would always regain my weight back the moment I'd resume eating something!
I researched and started to try various natural supplements. The only which worked for me almost immediately (taken in large doses) was Vitex. It was suggested to me by my homeopath (more on this in my next paragraph) and, 2 weeks after I started, I began to notice that I was not only losing weight more easily but I was also becoming more 'toned'. For the first time I experienced what it was like to be 'normal'! Having said this, I am a woman and Vitex is not going to have the same effect on men, because it addresses subtle hormonal imbalances often present in 'fat' women but rarely detected because very 'mild', such as hyperprolactinemia (too much prolactin). If you are a man who's been struggling with weight issues, the next paragraph is suitable for you too (as well as for women).
At the same time, as I mentioned, I'd started seeing a very good homeopath who had prescribed 2 deep-acting remedies to cure my body, going back to those early years when I began struggling with my weight. These remedies acted as a catalyst to stimulate my body to return to the balanced, healthy state necessary for a perfect, 'normal' metabolism, through a series of stages targeting all the 'problem' areas of my body.
Homeopathy is, through a complex process, a remedy made of the 'imprint' of the disease or condition it's trying to cure (in this case an 'abnormal' metabolism, for example) or, rather, of the cluster of symptoms which typifies the specific 'ill' state of your body: this could be a slow metabolism but also hair loss, acne, fatigue, depression, and so on.
Once the right remedy is taken, it will 'stimulate' your body to 'react' and address the imbalances which make it function abnormally in that specific way (in this case, by creating excess weight which is near impossible to eliminate). A good homeopath will determine which remedy is the most suitable for you and in what potency is to be given (and dosages). (From 'arthritis-homeopathy.com', E.J.G.)
In order to speed up the undeniable progress I was experiencing, I continued to exercise (cardio and toning); I would exercise anyway because of its health benefits (to heart, mood, circulation, skin, and so on). But, for the first time, I was experiencing easy weight loss despite the fact that I was eating the same foods and in the same amounts as before.
