What Are Hormone Diets And Can They Really Help You Lose Weight Quickly
As a registered dietitian, I have found that my clients are increasingly asking about books and programs that claim you can adjust your hormones with a diet to lose weight quickly and easily.
Search for hormone diet and there are more than 30 recent books on the topic. The authors allege that the reason people over 35 struggle to lose weight doesnt have to do with eating too much or not exercising enough. They say its your hormones working against you.
According to these books, you can trick your metabolism and feed your thyroid. They claim that all you need to do is eat the right foods and take the right supplements, and youll unlock the secret to lasting weight loss.
But is there any evidence these diets work?
In researching hormone diets, I found some that are sold at weight-loss centers, created by wellness experts who have no recognized credentials. They claim to promote rapid weight loss by affecting hormones such as insulin, which moves sugar from your blood into your cells cortisol, the stress hormone sex hormones such as testosterone and estrogen and thyroid hormones.
So, do hormone diets lead to quick and easy weight loss?
I dont know of any diet that will change hormone levels in a way that these hormone changes will be instrumental in promoting weight loss, Franck Mauvais-Jarvis, a professor of medicine at Tulane Universitys medical school, wrote in an email.
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What Do The Reviews Say
Amanda Tsigonias, 36, of Meridian, Idaho, has lost 52.4 pounds on the GOLO diet in the past year, and tells WH, I still have about 60 pounds to go, so maybe another year to go. But Im adding exercise this year. So I might have better results by next year.
The GOLO Release helps me feel full so I eat less, no more snacking, and I dont crave sweets as much, Tsigonias adds. I love how they allow delicious options, unlike other strict diets. I can still eat my favorite foods, like potatoes, pastas, and breads. Its just healthier options, like whole wheat and measured portions. They have an amazing recipe book, as well as hundreds of recipes online. The company is so great too. They help you along the way, reach out to you for support and follow-up. I even joined an empowerment group that meets on Zoom every couple of weeks to stay connected and motivated.
Shanna Booher, 40, from Baldwin, Wisconsin, has enjoyed being on the GOLO diet. She tells WH, I have been on MANY diet plans, and this is the first to truly use real food, from all food groups. Fats and carbs are no longer off-limits. Its very freeing mentally after diet culture has brainwashed so many of us into eating fake food full of chemicals and replacements. The online community are so helpful and encouraging, and their vast recipe portfolio on the website is so good!
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Balancing Hormones For Weight Loss
Insulin, leptin, cortisol, and insulin are all hormones involved in metabolic rates and appetite control. According to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, your lifestyle choices, including your food habits, exercise routines, sleep patterns, and stress levels, can heavily influence these hormones.
Here are the top hormones that affect your weight loss journey and the different ways to balance each one.
What Are The Cons Of The Golo Diet
WH advisory board member Amanda Baker Lemein, RD, a nutritionist based in Chicago, says there are some cons to consider. While some people think a pro to the diet is that it doesnt seem like a diet in the traditional sense but a supplement regimen, Lemein says this is actually a hurdle.
Supplements are not a heavily regulated industry, Lemein points outwhich means you need to proceed with extreme caution and research before using them. Whats more, the plan may not be sustainable. As a nutrition expert who has counseled many weight-loss clients over the years, this does not evaluate any of the behavioral issues that need to be resolved, Lemein says.
Its also unclear what the long-term effects of taking the supplement are, and its possible that any ingredients in this supplement could interact with another medication or supp you are taking, Ehsani notes. So always check with your medical provider before starting a new supplement.
And Lemein recommends focusing on making long-lasting lifestyle changes that include healthy, balanced meals and the ability to allow all foods to fit in moderation.
She also points out that you wouldnt know much about your hormones unless you worked with your doctor to get that information. It is simply untrue to claim that everyone is insulin-resistant, Lemein says. If someone has concerns about having a hormonal imbalance, they should consult with their physician, who can recommend proper therapies for their individual situation.
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Obesity Hormones As A Risk Factor For Disease
Obesity is associated with an increased risk of a number of diseases, including cardiovascular disease, stroke and several types of cancer, and with decreased longevity and lower quality of life. For example, the increased production of oestrogens in the fat of older women who are obese is associated with an increase in breast cancer risk, indicating that the source of oestrogen production is important.
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What Are The Pellets Made From
BioTE ® pellets are made of pure Human Identical hormone derived from plant atoms and a small amount of stearic acid that acts as a binding agent to keep the hormone in pellet form for insertion. These hormones are all natural and bio-identical, meaning they are the exact replication of what the human body makes. The human body also naturally makes Stearic Acid. There is no genetic material in atoms, so they cannot be genetically modified therefore, there are no concerns regarding GMO, pesticides, antibiotics, herbicides, etc.
Hormones Influence Body Weight
Fat storage and breakdown are strictly regulated by certain hormones in the body. Hormones also influence energy expenditure, or the number of calories your body burns on a daily basis.
For this reason, fluctuations in hormone levels may lead to weight gain or loss, as well as body fat accumulation in specific areas.
For example, the thyroid secretes hormones that are responsible for metabolism regulation.
When the thyroid gland is overactive, it releases too much thyroid hormone. This puts the body into a hypermetabolic state, where it burns more calories . This is known as hyperthyroidism.
Conversely, an underactive thyroid, characterized by low thyroid hormone levels, leads to less energy expenditure . This is known as hypothyroidism.
This is why people with hyperthyroidism may lose weight, while those with hypothyroidism may gain weight.
Insulin is another hormone that can affect body weight.
Cells need insulin to use glucose for energy and store it for later use in the form of glycogen. Insulin is also required for storing energy as fat and inhibiting fat breakdown to maintain body weight .
Keeping insulin levels within a standard range is critical. Chronically elevated insulin levels may lead to insulin resistance, where cells stop responding appropriately to insulin.
Human and animal studies indicate that this may lead to the impairment of hunger and fullness hormones, excessive fat uptake by organs like the liver, and compromised metabolism (
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What Are Common Symptoms Of Hormone Imbalance
Difficulty sleeping at night Lack of energy and fatigue during the day Reduced mental focus, memory and poor concentration Unstable mood, anxious or depressed Weight gain, including increased fat around the midsection Inability to lose weight regardless of healthy diet and exercise Decreased muscle strength Reduced sexual desire and performance
How Do I Know If I Am Hormone Deficient
- Low energy, fatigue or weakness
- Lack of enthusiasm, drive or motivation
- Loss of figure or muscle tone
- Poor focus or concentration
At our Meridian area Hormone Replacement Therapy Clinic we have helped hundreds of men and women just like you, overcome the issues of age-related hormone decline, with the best quality service and most competitive pricing on a doctor certified Hormone Replacement Therapy, including, Bioidentical Hormone Replacement ,Testosterone replacement, and HGH replacement.
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What Can I Do About My Symptoms
At Meridian Aesthetics and Wellness, we offer BioTE® Hormone ReplacementTherapy to help men and women achieve hormone balance and restore their health. Each person is different, and their needs change over time. We design individualized treatment plans to replace hormones according to the hormone levels indicated in specific bloodwork, along with your symptoms.
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Our patients receive personalized medication, exercise, nutrition, and lifestyle techniques in order to achieve their long-term weight management goals and help them live the healthy life they desire. We also treat Diabetes Differently and have a customized approach to managing your symptoms. We dont want diabetes to hold you back.
Owner, MSN, FNP-C, BC-ADM
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Hormones Affecting Weight Loss And How To Balance Them
Here are the 11 most important hormones that can help you lose weight. Ive derived simple, science-backed tips helping you get these hormones back in check.
1. Insulin
The most important hormone when it comes to weight loss is insulin. Most people have heard of insulin and immediately associate it with diabetes.
Thats because regulating blood glucose levels is a crucial job of this hormone. After an excess of sugar molecules in the blood is harmful, the body strives to control the amount of sugar .
The fastest way to rid the blood of glucose is to transport it into the cells, where they are used as energy or stored as fat.
And it is precisely this regulation of glucose amount in the blood that insulin is responsible for at any given time.
Accordingly, insulin plays an essential role in supplying energy to cells. On the other hand, it is also our primary storage hormone.
Finally, insulin also signals fat cells to take up excess energy.
In addition, the fat-storage hormone has a so-called antilipolytic effect .
Hence, it prevents fat breakdown by enzymes and, in return, promotes fat build-up .
In short, high insulin levels prevent fat burning.
Since insulins role is to regulate blood glucose, it is only legitimate that its presence blocks energy use from fat stores.
Accordingly, when you supply an adequate amount of glucose by eating carbohydrates, insulin does a first-rate job of consuming that energy.
How to Lower Insulin Levels
2. Glucagon
How to Increase Glucagon
How Does The Liver Relate To Hormone Imbalance
One of the livers roles is to help regulate the balance of sex hormones, thyroid hormones, cortisone and other adrenal hormones. The liver transforms or removes any excess hormones from the body.
Like all organs, your liver health can be impacted by a range of factors. Drinking too much, certain medications or diseases, infections, accumulation of fat in the liver and genetic factors can contribute to liver problems.
If your liver is not functioning optimally, or if you have a liver condition, then your liver may not be able to properly remove oestrogen at its normal rate. That means oestrogen can be poorly metabolised and can get reabsorbed in the body, leading to a hormonal imbalance.
Symptoms of hormone imbalance
Hormonal imbalances may occur when there is too much or too little of a hormone in the bloodstream. Hormonal imbalance can affect people with liver conditions, where symptoms can include a loss of libido, fatigue and mood symptoms.
Hormonal imbalances can be associated with symptoms related to:
- Weight – unexplained weight gain or weight loss
- Mood – irritability, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, fatigue
- Physical – unexplained or excessive sweating, changes in sensitivity to cold and heat
- Skin – dry skin or rashes
- Heart – changes in blood pressure or heart rate
- Bones – brittle or weak bones
- Digestion – bloating, changes in blood sugar concentration
- Sex – reduced sex drive
Promoting liver health for optimal hormonal health
References available on request.
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Why Calorie Counting Does Not Work
Hormones are the missing piece of why eating less and exercising more has not inevitably led to success.
Because of the varying impact of foods on hormone balance, a calorie is not always a calorie.
Hence, 99.5% of 99,791 overweight women and 76,704 overweight men could not lose weight successfully through a classic calorie deficit according to a British study .
Our body is not a combustion engine that runs equally well on any fuel source, no matter how dirty. Instead, its life expectancy depends on the quality of food.
So why is calorie counting still the standard of the fitness industry?
Because this allows industrially produced foods such as protein bars or vegan butter to sell first-class. Moreover, this fake food is shelf-stable almost forever.
The ongoing obesity pandemic is a composition of increasingly stressful lives and the industrialization of food.
Eating less and exercising more is not a good recipe against this toxic lifestyle. You may lose weight with it in the short term, but whether it is body fat that you are losing is determined by your hormones.
A study conducted on participants in the weight-loss TV series The Biggest Loser shows that people cannot lose weight sustainably with calorie reduction and exercise if hormones are left out of the equation.
Thus, the participants who lost the most weight through calorie restriction still suffered from an overwhelmingly reduced basal metabolic rate six years later .
Which Hormones Make You Lose Weight
Some major hormones in the body are associated with weight gain or loss. If you are able to correct hormonal imbalances, you may see a significant reduction in your body weight.
Endocrinologists, physicians that specialize in metabolism and hormones, can help confirm the cause of your weight gain and determine if hormonal therapy is going to affect your weight loss. They can also help you work on a treatment plan, prescribe medications, and monitor your progress.
However, not all hormonal imbalances require hormone replacement. Some hormonal issues may fade away with lifestyle changes such as exercise, proper diet, sleep, and stress management. Specialized diets and supplements may address the symptoms of hormonal imbalances, but they often do not address the cause.
Here are some hormones that affect your weight and may help you lose weight if adequately controlled:
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Lifestyle: What Lifestyle Changes Can Help Balancing Hormones For Weight Loss
How to balance your hormones for weight loss?
There are many factors that affect our bodys hormone balance. Some of these factors include stress, diet, sleep patterns, physical activity, medications, age, gender, genetics, etc. When one of these factors changes, the balance of hormones in the body is affected. This imbalance causes us to feel tired, depressed, stressed, anxious, angry, sad, etc. The most common symptoms of this imbalance are fatigue, depression, anxiety, anger, sadness, etc.
Hormonal imbalances are often caused by poor lifestyle habits such as eating too much sugar, processed food, unhealthy fats, alcohol, caffeine, smoking, lack of exercise, etc. In addition, hormonal imbalances are often because of emotional issues like relationship problems, financial problems, work-related problems, etc.
When we eat foods that contain high amounts of carbohydrates , sugars or a poor diet of unhealthy fats , they cause insulin spikes which then leads to fat storage in the body. Insulin spikes are caused when blood glucose levels rise after consuming carbs. This is because our bodies use carbs as fuel and store excess calories as fat. If we do not burn those extra calories, they become stored as fat.
If you dont burn off the extra calories from carbs, they become stored as belly fat. Belly fat is stored around the organs and intestines. It is especially dangerous because it can lead to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer, etc.