How Does Estrogen Impact Weight Gain
Produced within the ovaries, estrogen is responsible for optimal functioning of all female reproductive organs. Estrogen promotes the storage of fat for healthy reproductive years. When estrogen is balanced, the right amount of fat helps carry out female reproductive functions. However, when theres too little or too much estrogen, weight gain often results.
Overweight women typically have high amounts of estrogen, as do women in the first half of pregnancy. Then theres perimenopause and menopause, which are characterized by a notable decrease in estrogen. Its during this time that some women opt for hormone replacement therapy to replace declining estrogen levels.
How Hormones Affect Weight Loss
Hormones obviously have a lot of control over our bodies. Unfortunately, they also have the power to inhibit our weight loss once they get thrown off course.
Hormones control everything that leads to weight loss: the amount of muscle you gain, how energetic you feel, and your metabolism, for example.
If youre not losing weight, you could have a hormonal imbalance thats affecting one or more of these body processes.
Take, for example, insulin. Tis hormone is one of the most important for keeping your metabolism on track.
If your body has an insulin imbalance, which happens to those with diabetes, your body can lose energy, gain weight, have trouble breaking down food, and raise blood sugar.
You may notice that when you become stressed, you have a more difficult time losing weight. Why?
Stress can inhibit effective weight loss hormones and signal not-so-healthy hormones to start working.
Your hormones could even trigger unhealthy snacking habits and a lack of energy that keeps you from working out.
Other hormonal balances, which several factors can cause, may also to blame. A Rutgers study showed that when certain hormones were depressed in lab mice, they ate foods high in fat and bigger portions than usual .
Is My Thyroid Meds Making Me Fat
Weight gain This is because the drug can increase your appetite, which may make you eat more food than usual. It’s also possible for you to gain weight if your dose of Synthroid isn’t high enough for your body’s needs. This is because if your thyroid hormone levels aren’t high enough, your metabolism* may be slowed.
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The Interplay Between Diet And Hormones
Although hormones are complex, when they are out of balance it can make losing weight close to impossible, particularly for women. Understand that permanent weight loss or long term healthy weight management occurs as a result of hormone balance. Our endocrine system, which manages your hormonal makeup, is extraordinarily sensitive to challenges.
Several different dietary triggers can cause problems with your hormones:
- The frequent use of stimulants, such as caffeine in coffee, and depressants like alcohol
- Consuming lots of sodium, which can also influence blood pressure and heart function
- A diet that includes lots of processed sugar, which can interfere with metabolic processes
- Consuming artificial ingredients including sugars, genetically modified ingredients, etc.
Anything that causes you to carry excess weight can diminish the effectiveness of your bodys ability to regulate its hormones. At the same time, dietary or lifestyle habits that lead to less sleep or less restful sleep can also spark issues even in people who are at a healthy weight.
How Can I Balance The Hormones That Affect Weight
Once you understand the various hormones roles in your body, you will see how to balance them.
1. Insulin
Insulin plays a key role in weight loss and weight gain. Secreted in the pancreas, insulin stores sugar and uses it depending on the bodys needs. The hormone stores fat and decides how much fat the body will hold or convert to energy.
To maintain balanced insulin levels and avoid insulin resistance, eat regularly, but dont eat too much. Reducing your carbohydrate intake can also keep your insulin stable. Increased insulin levels eventually lead to weight gain.
2. Leptin
Leptin is the appetite suppressant hormone. Ideally, this hormone “talks” to your brain, telling it when you are hungry or full.
Just like insulin, keeping leptin levels balanced requires you to be on top of your diet. Remember to eat less processed sugar, include more fiber, exercise more, and consume anti-inflammatory foods.
3. Ghrelin
Ghrelin is the hunger hormone. It sends signals to the brain telling it to eat. Every time the stomach is empty, the body releases ghrelin into the bloodstream.
One way to keep ghrelin levels balanced is to consume more protein. Protein makes you feel full, so you should incorporate it into every meal.
4. Cortisol
Cortisol is the stress hormone. Whenever your body is under any form of stress, it releases cortisol into the bloodstream. Studies have linked high levels of cortisol to overeating.
5. Estrogen
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What Steps Can I Take To Correct Hormonal Imbalance
Estrogen dominance can be safely and effectively treated with the use of bio-identical progesterone. Lab testing, preferably saliva testing, allows us to see the levels and balance of estrogen and progesterone in your body and develop a treatment plan to supplement the progesterone you have with enough to adequately balance out your estrogen. By simply replacing the missing progesterone in your body with bio-identical progesterone, you can get your hormones back into balance. The benefits of hormonal balance can include better sleep, improved moods, increased energy, better mental function, improved libido, and yes, even weight loss!
If you suspect you have a hormonal imbalance, you can Test Your Symptoms for Free. You can also request a Free Consultation and find out how we can help you get to living your best life possible!
Posted in: Bioidentical Hormone, Birth Control, Estrogen Dominance, Hormone Imbalance, Hypothyroidism, Weight Loss, Wellness, Women
What You Can Eat
Turner calls her food plan âGlyci-Med, since its a mix of foods low on the glycemic index and a traditional Mediterranean diet.
Foods you can eat include lean protein vegetables and most fruit chia seeds, flaxseeds, and most nuts olive oil and some other unsaturated oils and fats, like canola oil and whole grains like buckwheat, brown rice, and quinoa.
On this plan, youll avoid or minimize caffeine, alcohol, fried foods, processed meat, peanuts, saturated fat, full-fat dairy, artificial sweeteners, and simple high-GI carbs like white bread.
Youll eat often every 3-4 hours making healthy food choices at least 80% of the time. But you do get one to two âcheat mealsâ a week.
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Does The Hormone Diet Work
Generally, the hormone diet recommended in this book is not bad nutritional advice. But the key here is that any potential weight loss will probably be from the change in calorie intake, rather than an effect on your hormones.
Weight loss is achieved by creating a calorie deficit, not by resetting your hormone balance. Despite what advocates of the hormone diet might claim, hormonal imbalances are usually the result of a more serious underlying health condition, such as diabetes or hyperthyroidism , which couldnt simply be fixed through diet alone, and would require medical treatment.
Currently, there is no viable theory to demonstrate that a person can reset their hormones to influence fat loss. There is also no peer-reviewed research in a major journal that has specifically studied the hormone diet and its effects. But there might be a simple explanation for why people think the hormone diet works: it helps to create a calorie deficit through improved nutritional habits and exercise, which will probably result in weight loss.
Ultimately, anyone that wants to lose weight or body fat should focus on creating a calorie deficit. How a person creates this calorie deficit may vary from person to person, and might even include following popular diet plans like keto or intermittent fasting. However, the best approach is whichever someone finds the most compatible with their lifestyle.
You Might Want To Eat More Often
Know how slowly digested nutrients like protein and fiber keep your belly full between meals? There’s a hormone in your small intestine, called cholecystokinin , that does the same thing. CCK works by reducing the rate at which food empties from your stomach. Unless you start losing weight, that is. Then CCK begins to tank. In one study, the longer volunteers dieted, the more their CCK levels dipped.
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Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Restores Hormone Balance
A sure way to reverse the effect of a hormone imbalance on your weight is to restore your hormones back to normal levels. The great thing about regaining your hormone balance is that it does more than help you lose weight it also helps to reverse and prevent the multitude of health problems that arise due to low hormones.
Here at BioAge Health, you receive personal attention and customized hormone replacement. We review your medical history and run advanced lab tests to determine your hormone levels. If you have any imbalances, your hormone therapy is individually developed to replace the precise amount and type of hormones you need.
Dr. Kodama prescribes SottoPelle® bioidentical hormone replacement therapy for several reasons. Bioidentical hormones are identical to those produced by your body, so they exert the same effect. Additionally, the hormones in your SottoPelle therapy are made from natural botanicals.
While youre on bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, we routinely check your hormone levels to be sure you maintain optimal, healthy levels.
Do you want to learn whether a hormone imbalance factors into your weight gain? Call BioAge Health or use the online booking feature to schedule an appointment.
Why Am I Putting On Weight And Why Is It So Hard To Take It Off
If youre putting on weight easily and having a hard time taking it off, you should know that hormonal imbalances affect weight loss and weight gain. These imbalances could be part of the problem or the entire problem. In fact, some hormonal imbalances can make it downright impossible to lose weight!
Plenty of people attempt various diets and exercise programs with the intention of taking off excess weight. And it can be frustrating when they dont see results and can give up altogether. What many people dont realize is that many underlying health issues can impede weight loss attempts. These same issues can actually be the cause of the weight gain in the first place, in addition to poor diet and lack of exercise.
We frequently get phone calls from patients who are desperate for help because the pounds keep packing on no matter what they do. Hormone imbalances and other deficiencies can likely be the reason. Unfortunately, many of them have sought help from their doctor, only to be told that they just need to eat less and exercise more, period. This not only leads to feelings of shame but also helplessness and can be quite demoralizing.
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Which Hormones Help You Lose Weight
Hormones play a key role in weight management. When they are out of balance, it can result in weight gain or make it difficult to lose weight. If you are trying to lose weight, certain hormones must be available in adequate amounts for that to occur. Read more to find out which hormones you need to help you manage your weight loss.
Where Do I Start
If you think hormones are sabotaging your weight loss, it may be worth getting a blood test , to check key biomarkers such as your thyroid and oestrogen levels.
Knowing whether you have an imbalance in hormones is a great starting point and depending on which hormones may be affected will depend on the best lifestyle changes to make. For example, if your cortisol levels are found high, then your first step may be to look at ways to de-stress.
Ultimately though, improving your diet, increasing your physical activity, and finding ways to manage your stress levels will have a positive impact on your health, body weight, and hormone production.
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What Does Burning Fat Actually Mean
So whats actually happening when your body burns fat? Burning fat is just one of the ways your body uses the energy from food as fuel. We evolved to be able to store fat in neat little packages that we can call upon in times of need like when were sprinting away from a saber tooth tiger. Ugh. Hate when that happens.
The process goes a little something like this:
- Fuel from food is stored as fatty acids those little packages we mentioned.
- When we need to use energy, those fatty acids are released into the bloodstream. From there, they are broken down by your muscles and organs, ready to be used.
- Once the body uses up the fatty acid, the fat cell dies and the body absorbs it and thats how you burn fat!
Sounds simple, right? Maybe not
Replenish Your T To Jumpstart Weight Loss
If your T is low, all the conventional diet and exercise advice can fail. With low free T, your muscles cant build after a weight-lifting session. Your metabolism cant speed up enough to burn fat, either.
However, when you replace your missing T, that entire sequence reverses. Testosterone replacement therapy provides your muscles with the kind of circulating free T they need to get stronger and bigger. More muscle mass speeds up your metabolism. A faster metabolism burns off fat.
Of course, TRT alone isnt enough to help you achieve your ideal physique and optimal health. You still need to focus on a whole-foods diet and plenty of exercise, water, and sunlight.
Call us today at 469-912-2113 to find out if your hormones are why you cant lose weight. You can also use our online form to schedule an appointment for a hormone evaluation and TRT.
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Putting It All Together
Restful sleep has so many benefits on natural hormone production that perhaps it is our most important strategy to successful weight loss! During deep sleep we make more anabolic hormones and more leptin. Melatonin is part of the normal sleep cycle and is promoted by absolute darkness, quiet, and cooler temperatures.
Regular exercise is another way to increase anabolic hormone production and improve insulin and leptin sensitivity so that each works properly. A combination of aerobic and anaerobic is ideal. Peak intensity training, also called interval or burst training, to threshold will maximize growth hormone output.
Diet plays a major role in more than just the amount of calories consumed. The proper balance of proteins and carbohydrates is essential. The protein stimulates glucagon production and provides the amino acids necessary to make serotonin, dopamine and GABA. Protein is also necessary for good muscle development. Including anti-inflammatory fats is also important as fats do not stimulate insulin and help provide a long lasting energy source. Eliminating sugar and limiting high-glycemic foods and inflammatory fats will help. Avoid high-fructose energy drinks.
Our weight loss program addresses all these issues and many others. Simply telling patients to watch what you eat and exercise more is not good enough! Addressing hormone imbalances is a necessary part of successful weight loss.
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Testosterone Builds Fitness And Lean Mass
As a regular reader of SpotMeGirl youll know how much we value the role of testosterone for athletic women who want to develop a sexier, leaner body with toned muscle and no huge mass.
Women who have optimal levels of testosterone also have:
- More energy and endurance
- Better strength and lean mass
- Lower levels of body fat
- More confidence
- Fewer mood swings during their period
Normal levels of testosterone for women is a low 25-70 ng.dL thats nearly 15 times lower than a man, and one of the reasons why women cant build muscle mass like men can.
With 90% of women over 45 suffering from low testosterone levels, its a hormone that needs boosting. The biggest drop in natural anabolic hormone levels occurs between 20 and 40 years of age.
Discover our top T-boosters for women here:
Weight training has been shown in numerous research studies to elevate testosterone levels, especially during late follicular and ovulatory phases when the hormone is elevated already.
In fact, many women chasing PRs on big lifts such as the bench press or squat attempt a new record between days 10-15 of their cycle to try and use the natural spike in testosterone to their advantage.
When it comes to weight training and female hormones, testosterone is hugely important.
Key Points on testosterone:
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What Happens To Your Hormones After You Lose Weight
If youre overweight, everything is harder. Its harder to stay active. Its harder to find clothes that fit. Its harder to eat a healthy diet. Its harder to lose weight. Also on the list, its harder to stay disease free, especially as you age.
Why so many difficulties? One reason is that those extra pounds throw your hormones out of balance. And your hormones control just about everything, including how often you feel hungry, as well as your risk for certain types of cancers.
Kimberly Bolling, MD, has seen for herself how her patients transform almost every aspect of their lives through healthy weight loss and weight loss management. Here she details how weight loss helps to restore your hormones.
But Theres A Twist Our Adrenals Also Produce A Hormone Called Dhea
While cortisol provides our bodies with a boost to help meet whatever challenge were facing, DHEA boosts how our brain functions to help us learn from the stressful situation we are in, and become stronger so that we can better deal with similar situations in the future.
DHEA reduces the effects of cortisol and vice versa, so if cortisol levels are high, DHEA levels are correspondingly low.
DHEA is a foundational building block for the sex hormones. Without it, our bodies could not produce essential hormones like testosterone or estrogen. In addition, DHEA has been shown to improve heart disease, dementia, immune deficiency, cancer, and osteoporosis. DHEA peaks around age 25 and declines as we get older, which is why I call it the fountain of youth hormone.
These counter-effects on cortisol make DHEA a helpful friend when it comes to weight loss. DHEA instructs fat cells to stop taking in the energy that cortisol has told them to store, which causes these cells to reduce in size, reversing the weight gain effect of cortisol that I just mentioned. DHEA also improves insulin sensitivity, further enhancing its weight loss ability.
When were stressed to the max and not doing anything to mitigate the effects of that stress, our DHEA drops and subsequently our sex hormones drop. This causes period and fertility problems, and weight gain.
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