The Functional Dietitian

Yael* was a 32-year-old woman who started experiencing “stomach issues” after the birth of the second of her four children. Although she had always had somewhat of a sensitive stomach as a teen (“I would pay the price if I would eat pizza, fries, and ice cream at once like my friends all seemed to be able to do”), her symptoms did not interfere with her life too much until that point. After the birth of her second baby, her symptoms of diarrhea with occasional constipation, post-meal bloating and burping, and frequent heartburn and stomach pain exacerbated to the point of severely interfering with her quality of life.

Numerous times weekly, I am contacted by individuals wanting to work with me for weight loss, but who suspect that they first need to treat an underlying digestive issue prior to starting another unsuccessful weight loss attempt. They are convinced, and I believe rightfully so, that their inability to lose weight despite tremendous efforts is stemming from unresolved gut issues. It is quite validating to them when I agree that their hypothesis has validity, as I often see that my weight loss clients with concurrent unresolved digestive issues often do not lose weight until we spend 3 to 4 months fixing up the gut. To quote Dr. Kenneth Brown: