Weight Loss Support in Greenville, SC
Weight Loss Support at IHP Greenville. Dr. Hendry, DAOM — functional medicine, root-cause diagnostics, personalized care. Call (864) 365-6156.
"I have been going to Dr. Hendry for 2 months now, for Acupuncture and Supplements. After 2 months, this is the best I have felt in over 2 years. My energy is so much better, my gut and digestion is back to normal."
— Danny Pyatt · March 2026 · Google Review
A patient who exercises four days a week, eats well, and hasn't lost weight in two years doesn't have a willpower problem — she has a physiology problem. Fasting insulin at 22 mIU/L blocks lipolysis regardless of caloric deficit. Free T3 in the lower quartile reduces metabolic rate by 20–30%. Leptin resistance at 38 ng/mL suppresses thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue. None of these appear on a standard annual physical. I test fasting insulin and free T3 in every weight-loss patient because those two findings alone explain why most diet programs fail — and they're both fully correctable with the right investigation and protocol.
How Weight Loss Support Works
Weight loss support begins with comprehensive metabolic testing: fasting insulin (insulin resistance assessment), HbA1c, fasting glucose, full thyroid panel, cortisol curve, sex hormones, inflammatory markers, and gut health assessment. Based on findings, Dr. Hendry builds an individualized protocol targeting identified barriers. Acupuncture for appetite regulation, hypothalamic function, and metabolic support is combined with Chinese herbal medicine and functional medicine-guided dietary and lifestyle intervention.
Conditions Treated with Weight Loss Support
Root-Cause Weight Management vs. Eat Less, Move More
A patient has tried three rounds of calorie restriction over five years. She exercises four times a week. Her weight hasn't changed in two years. GLP-1 medications were mentioned by her doctor as the next step. At IHP, Dr. Hendry investigates the metabolic barriers: fasting insulin is elevated despite normal fasting glucose (early insulin resistance — the body is working harder to maintain blood sugar but fat mobilization is blocked). Free T3 is in the bottom third of the reference range. DHEA is low. Gut microbiome analysis shows dysbiotic patterns that produce metabolites impairing weight loss. None of this appears on a standard physical. GLP-1 drugs reduce appetite and slow gastric emptying — they don't address insulin resistance, thyroid conversion problems, or gut dysbiosis, and they stop working when you stop taking them. The IHP approach identifies the specific physiological barriers to weight loss — each testable, each addressable — so the body returns to normal metabolic function rather than requiring pharmaceutical override indefinitely.
Research & Evidence
Insulin resistance as the primary driver of metabolic weight gain is well-established: research by Lustig et al. and published in Nature Reviews Endocrinology documents how hyperinsulinemia drives adipogenesis and blocks lipolysis through direct cellular signaling. Berberine, a primary herb in functional medicine weight management protocols, demonstrated equivalent efficacy to metformin in a head-to-head trial (Zhang et al., 2008, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism) for reducing fasting blood glucose and insulin. A 2017 meta-analysis in Obesity Reviews confirmed acupuncture's statistically significant effects on BMI, waist circumference, and metabolic markers in overweight patients.
Your First Appointment
Bring a food diary and any prior metabolic testing. Describe your weight history: when you started gaining, what preceded it, what you've tried, and what worked or didn't. Emotional, hormonal, and medication-related weight changes are all clinically relevant.
Why Dr. Hendry for Weight Loss Support
Dr. Hendry's functional medicine metabolic assessment identifies the specific physiological barriers to weight loss — insulin resistance, thyroid dysfunction, cortisol-driven fat deposition — that diet and exercise programs alone cannot overcome.