Stubborn weight? Here’s How Digestive Issues Impact Weight and What to Do About It

Jannika is a Functional Nutrition Counselor and gut health practitioner specializing in chronic digestive issues, including bloating, constipation, IBS, SIBO, and IBD. Through personalized, holistic care and functional lab testing, she helps women identify and address the root causes of dysfunction, restore gut health and reclaim their vitality.

You’re eating healthy, exercising, doing everything that’s supposed to work… yet the scale won’t budge.

Maybe you’ve tried cutting carbs, counting macros, or adding more strength training, hoping this time something will click. But instead, you’re stuck in the same place—frustrated, exhausted, and wondering what you’re missing.

If this sounds familiar, I need you to hear this: It’s not because you’re not trying hard enough. It’s not about willpower. And it’s definitely not all in your head. The missing piece isn’t your workouts or your calorie intake—it’s your gut health.

Digestive dysfunction is one of the most overlooked reasons for weight loss resistance. Conditions like SIBO, IBS, leaky gut, and gut dysbiosis don’t just cause bloating or discomfort. They throw off metabolism, hormones, detox pathways, and nutrient absorption, making it nearly impossible for your body to burn fat efficiently.

If you’ve been spinning your wheels, here’s what might be happening under the surface.

Chronic Inflammation Puts Your Body in Fat Storage Mode

When your gut is inflamed, your whole body feels the effects. An overgrowth of harmful bacteria, food sensitivities, or even undigested proteins passing through a leaky gut can trigger a constant immune response, leaving your system on edge, inflamed, and overworked.

And when your body is inflamed, it holds onto weight like a security blanket.

Chronic inflammation leads to increased cortisol, your body’s primary stress hormone. And while cortisol is helpful in small amounts, when it’s elevated for too long, it signals your body to store fat, especially around the belly. It also slows down thyroid function, making metabolism sluggish and weight loss harder than it needs to be.

If your body is stuck in an inflamed, stressed-out state, it will prioritize preserving energy and storing fat rather than burning it.

Gut Imbalances Disrupt Hormones that Control Hunger & Metabolism

Your gut isn’t just responsible for digesting food. It also regulates hormones that control hunger, cravings, and how your body stores fat.

Take leptin and ghrelin, for example. Leptin is the hormone that tells your brain you’re full, while ghrelin is the one that makes you hungry. Normally, they work together to keep appetite in check. But if your gut is inflamed or imbalanced, it can lead to leptin resistance, meaning your brain never gets the “I’m full” signal. The result? Constant cravings, increased appetite, and a much harder time losing weight.

Blood sugar regulation is another key piece of the puzzle. Gut bacteria help regulate how your body processes glucose, but when your microbiome is off, it can lead to insulin resistance, which means your body is more likely to store sugar as fat rather than burn it for energy. If you find yourself crashing mid-afternoon or dealing with intense sugar cravings, this could be a sign that your gut is out of balance.

SIBO, Slow Digestion, and Weight Loss Resistance

If you have SIBO or sluggish digestion, weight loss resistance is even harder to overcome. 

If you have SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) or sluggish digestion, you know how frustrating it can be. The bloating, the discomfort, the feeling like food just sits in your stomach for hours.

But SIBO doesn’t just cause bloating—it actively slows down metabolism and makes weight loss harder.

Bacterial overgrowth ferments carbohydrates too quickly, leading to erratic blood sugar swings, insulin spikes, and more fat storage. At the same time, poor gut motility means your digestive system isn’t working efficiently, causing sluggish metabolism and nutrient deficiencies.

Your body needs essential vitamins and minerals (like B vitamins, magnesium, and iron) to convert food into energy. But if your gut isn’t absorbing them properly, you’re constantly running on low power, feeling tired, drained, and stuck in a cycle where no amount of dieting or exercise seems to move the needle.

Impaired Detoxification Leads to Fat Retention

Another missing piece is your liver’s ability to detox.

Your gut and liver work together to remove toxins, excess hormones, and byproducts from metabolism. But when the gut is overwhelmed with bacterial overgrowth or inflammation, the liver has to work overtime—leading to sluggish detoxification and fat storage as a protective mechanism.

This is why gut imbalances often lead to hormonal imbalances, estrogen dominance, and difficulty losing weight. If your liver and detox pathways aren’t functioning properly, your body holds onto fat as a way to store excess toxins.

So What Can You Do? 

If gut dysfunction is at the root of your weight loss resistance, no amount of dieting or exercise will fix the problem. It’s about what’s happening inside your gut.

Instead, you need to:

✔️ Identify the root cause of gut dysfunction, whether it’s SIBO, dysbiosis, leaky gut, or an infection
✔️ Support blood sugar balance so your body can shift out of fast storage mode
✔️ Optimize detox pathways so the liver can properly process fat and hormones
✔️ Repair the gut microbiome to restore balance and improve digestion

 ✔️ Address gut-brain connection to regulate cravings, hunger signals and metabolism

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to gut healing. Your gut health is as unique as your fingerprint, which means your healing strategy needs to be personalized.

If you’re tired of feeling stuck and are ready to understand exactly what’s happening in your body, this is where my work comes in.

I help women uncover the root causes of their gut issues, take out the guesswork, and guide them through a clear, step-by-step plan for healing.

If you’re ready to finally get real answers and long-term relief, book a free consultation with me today. 

References

• Cani, P. D., & Everard, A. (2018). "Gut microbiota composition and its impact on metabolism: The role of endotoxemia." Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care, 21(4), 304-309.

• Chiang, J. Y., & Ferrell, J. M. (2020). "Bile acid metabolism in liver pathobiology." Gene Expression, 20(2), 67-82.

• Cuevas-Sierra, A., Ramos-Lopez, O., Riezu-Boj, J. I., Milagro, F. I., & Martínez, J. A. (2019). "Gut microbiota differences according to ultra-processed food consumption in a Spanish population." Nutrients, 11(10), 2345.

• Pimentel, M., Saad, R. J., Long, M. D., & Rao, S. S. (2020). "ACG Clinical Guideline: Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth." The American Journal of Gastroenterology, 115(2), 165-178.

• Sharma, S., Tripathi, P., & Gutierrez, G. (2019). "Influence of gut microbiota on neurobiology: A link between brain and gut dysbiosis in obesity and related disorders." Frontiers in Neuroscience, 13, 1552.