“Clients will contact me, asking, ‘When will I lose weight?’” says Lockhart. Aggressive workouts stress the body, she explains, and if stress is one reason you have trouble losing weight, more of this type of exercise can work against you. Functional-medicine nutritionist Cindi Lockhart, RDN, LD, IFNCP, says her clients often ramp up their exercise regimens when their weight-loss efforts stall - but for some, this slows weight loss even more. This is why the nutrition guidelines that helped Aunt Carla manage her blood sugar may not work for you. In 2015 the journal Cell published a study that tracked the effects of 46,000 meals on blood-sugar levels in 800 participants and found an astonishing range of responses to identical foods. High blood-sugar and insulin levels wreak havoc on weight-loss efforts, but not everyone responds in the same way to the same foods. Take, for example, blood-sugar regulation. With weight loss, as with so many things, the reason is highly individualized - there are a lot of factors tied to your unique physical, mental, and emotional status that could either stall or spur your progress. Yet you’re not reaching your weight-loss goals. You’re committed and consistent, and, according to what you hear around the office and at family gatherings, a similar approach worked for colleagues and your Aunt Carla. You’re eating whole foods and performing a sustainable cardio routine. You’re going slow and steady, because you know crash diets usually result in rebound weight gain. So, you’ve started on a weight-loss journey, and you’ve done your research: read books by trusted sources, consulted blogs by leading thinkers, and calibrated your daily routine accordingly.

Have we found the missing link