Note:  I am not a doctor and I am not giving medical advice.  Please do your own research!

I pretty much had a mental breakdown in July and threw it all out there.  I was so discouraged in my weightloss / fitness journey that I was actually in tears when I wrote it.  So, I need to update you on that one.  My August health goal will make much more sense to you if you read July’s first.  If you have read it, you know I have tried everything.  I even got some really nasty messages telling me that I wasn’t giving this or that long enough time to even tell if it was working.  Another thing that I discovered in throwing all of this out into the atmosphere is that people are VERY, VERY PASSIONATE about keto.  I MEAN….. very passionate.  ????   Like….”There is no way you can say keto doesn’t work….. ????  I lost 30 pounds and I never could before.  Fasting is the key to it all…. So don’t knock it until you have really given it a shot.”

Calm down, people.  ????   I would never, ever say that a certain plan sucks or doesn’t work for people.  What I said was that NOTHING is working FOR ME.  That doesn’t mean that certain things won’t work for YOU.   WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT.  What works for you, may not work for someone else.   So, that’s that….

Update to July

Women are complicated beings.  We are VERY, VERY COMPLICATED.  If everything isn’t running correctly, it can mess a lot of other things up.  I just had a huge feeling something was “off” because my body was just not responding properly to any amount of exercise or any particular diet like it should.   Early last month, an ad popped up on Facebook for the Metabolic Research Center.  They are a national weight loss program and there happens to be one in Fort Wayne which is about 35 minutes from where we live.  It was truly like the ad was talking directly to me.  I just finished having a nervous breakdown, feeling sorry for my self, and crying in my own soup about my little to no results at the gym.  I read the ad aloud.  Deb said, “CALL THEM….. there has to be something going on with you hormonally.  You’ve tried everything else.”

The ad said something about belly fat, not being able to lose weight no matter what you do, balancing hormones, genetic testing, etc.  I scheduled an appointment the very next day.  I had absolutely no clue what to expect, and was even a little hesitant when I went the first time because I walked in with an attitude of desperation.  PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE tell me there is something “off” and if you don’t, I’m going to pop my cork.”  I may have even said that.

Metabolic Research Center

My girl…. the poor girl who randomly got “ME” as her client is so nice. ???? I probably looked as desperate as I sounded.  I was so upset.  Deb, my bodyguard, went with me to the initial consultation.  She had her armor on and was ready to cut anyone who said I wasn’t trying hard enough at the gym or closet eating.  I sat and spilled my guts to my girl.  Basically I told her every single thing that I have tried and everything that didn’t work.  I told her everything about my diet and how much we work out.  And, that EVERYONE in our classes is seeing HUGE results, except me.  Basically this was me with my words. ????????????????????????????????   My poor girl.  ????

My girl mentioned checking my cortisol levels and doing hormone testing.  She HIGHLY recommended that to me because she said I am the classic case of those levels being “off.”  I told her that I JUST HAD my labs drawn at the doctors office for my thyroid and hormones and he said they were normal.  She explained that doctors look at the levels of hormones through testing your blood.   The Metabolic Research Center looks at those same levels in terms of weight loss, through SALIVA testing, which also checks your cortisol levels at the same time.  There is a BIG difference.

My Test Results

I ended up taking my hormone / cortisol saliva test a few weeks back and sent it in.  They told me it would be two weeks before my results would come in.  I kid you not.  I told Deb more than once, “I’m telling you what… if those DAMN levels come back normal, I’m going to flip my lid.”  She kept saying, “Something is wrong… trust me……. you work so hard…..”

Well.  I got my results back.  My girl acted pretty excited to tell me that several of my levels are very OFF.  ????  AND, I was equally excited to hear that, too.

I suspected my cortisol levels to be HIGH.  But, they were the opposite.  They are very low which means exhaustion all the time… which is why I thought my thyroid wasn’t working normally.  And my hormones are all off balance, too.  My progesterone is VERY, VERY LOW…. And my testosterone is high….  So that means my ratio of all of my hormones together are all EFFED UP. ????  I have pretty much every single symptom of low progesterone which includes weight around the mid section, a slow metabolism, brain fog, anxiety, and many more.  SOOOO….. this explains so much to me!  I cannot tell you how much better I feel just knowing that there really IS SOMETHING OFF and it can be fixed.

Some things to know about the MRC…..

Metabolic Research Center people are the weight loss specialists.   Signing up for their program means weekly weigh-ins and eating a specific amount of food each day at different times throughout the day.  Your own food.  We still cook all of our own food, etc.    You are required to weigh and measure your food during the weight loss phase and not go so many hours without eating.  They give you specific times to eat according to you, your lifestyle, and your issues.   It’s a trial and error thing all designed to YOU.  I have tried two different types of their eating plans and I definitely feel and respond better to the one.  BUT, that’s me.

You take their natural vitamins according to YOUR SPECIFIC needs.  I am on something for my cortisol levels and a few other things.  You, also, are required to drink THEIR protein drinks during the day, which are all delicious by the way.  And, eat their snack bars if you want something “snackity” like that.

Their main goal is to “help you lose weight” by making sure everything is balanced… hormones, food amounts, food timing, etc.

There is a doctor who actually reads your test results, etc.

Again….. what works for some, may not work for others.  This seems to be working for me as I’ve lost over 7 pounds since starting.  I’m not telling you to run out and sign up for this program and that it will definitely work for you.  Because again, we are all different.  Do your own research.

August Health Goal

So here is my August health goal.  I will keep working out at the gym and sticking with all of my previous month’s goals because clearly I was on the right path.  This month will obviously be focused on the food combos and the amounts I should eat at the times I am supposed to eat it according to my plan.  I am on several supplements, one of which is helping me with my cortisol level, and a few others they recommended for other things.  I am starting a natural hormone cream to get my hormones leveled out.

All in all… it’s a month to learn everything that I can about getting everything BALANCED.

I’m cannot tell you the relief I feel that something is “off”….

I am still learning so much about all of this myself.   Before I called MRC, I tried to get into a functional medicine group with an 8 month waiting list.  I am on that list and plan on paying them a visit for a complete work-up depending where I am during this whole process.  I would suggest if you are having the same issues, read as much information as you can about cortisol levels, low progesterone, and estrogen dominance.  Once I read all about those things, everything started making a ton of sense to me.

This is NOT a sponsored post.  I wrote this for those of you who told me you wanted an update because you are just as discouraged as I was. However, if you decide to sign up for MRC, make sure you mention me, Danelle Harvey.  I will get a small credit to my account to use towards my protein drinks and snackity snacks.   So I really would appreciate that!

Please let me know if you have any questions for me specifically.  I can answer them in the comments or revise my post.  If it has anything to do with the Metabolic Research Center and their practice, I would suggest giving them a call.  And remember… I am not a doctor and not at all giving medical advice.  I am simply sharing what is and is not working for me.  Please do your own research.