Low Estrogen And Weight Gain

Beware Rebound Weight Gain That Can Occur When Hormone Therapy Stops

Low Estrogen & Weight Gain – The Hidden Link

There is something of a catch. The benefit may last only as long as the therapy. Ultimately, if youre stopping hormone therapy, also talk to your doctor about the risk of increasing belly fat, as well as what you can do in terms of diet and exercise to prevent this weight rebound, says Pinkerton.

Balance My Hormones: A Potential Weight Loss Key

How do I balance my hormones to lose weight? At Pellecome, we believe one key to weight loss can be found in supplements that help your body find a natural balance to aid in breaking down fat, increasing metabolism, and preventing dietary obesity. For more information about the selection of supplements that can help you balance your hormones and improve your health, please contact Pellecome in Randolph, NJ today!

Does Estrogen Cause Weight Gain Estrogen Dominance And Belly Fat

WhatÃ¢s the deal with estrogen dominance weight gain? Are these really estrogen fat deposits? Does estrogen cause weight gain?

These are just a sprinkling of real questions IÃ¢ve been asked on this topic. Let me break it down for you.

Estrogen, in normal amounts, does not cause weight gain. In fact, it helps with weight maintenance throughout the years that a woman has a cycle. Estrogen actually benefits muscle mass, bone health and insulin sensitivity. When we lose estrogen production, through menopause, that may contribute to weight or fat gain. So remember that estrogen is good when itÃ¢s in balance.

When estrogen is out of balance and estrogen is clinically high, or high relative to progesterone, the relationship between estrogen and fat takes on a new challenge.

Estrogen is produced in the adrenal glands, brain, ovaries and also by fat tissue. Yes, you heard that right: fat increases estrogen. Estrogen also signals for fat storage, which makes sense because a woman needs a certain amount of fat on her body to be fertile. But, in certain cases, this cycle between fat producing estrogen and estrogen signaling for fat storage can become a cycle, and an unwanted situation if you are trying to lose weight.

I want to take an aside to mention that this is one of the reasons that exercising more and eating less doesnÃ¢t work for weight loss, especially sustained long-term weight loss. Hormones play a huge role.

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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.

What Are The Stages Of Hormonal Change For Women

Women begin to experience the hormonal changes associated with the cessation of ovulation about eight to 10 years before menopause truly sets in, which means that menopause is a slow process.

Premenopause and Perimenopause

For many women, the first stage of menopause happens between ages 30 and 40, with the primary symptoms being cycles that become less regular and hot flashes during the night. Perimenopause is a more substantial stage where the symptoms of hormonal changes become more pronounced. In particular, perimenopause includes faster depletion of estrogen levels however, women are still capable of becoming pregnant during perimenopause, although fertility rates are likely lower.

Menopause and Postmenopause

Menopause is the full suspension of the ovulation cycle, meaning women no longer have any periods because their bodies do not produce enough estrogen to ovulate. Menopause is marked by hot flashes, mood swings, sleep disturbance, sexual dysfunction, and more. Many women are surprised to learn that postmenopause, which can occur for over 10 years after the onset of menopause, features a continuation of these symptoms.

Which Stage Features the Most Potential Weight Gain?

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Hormones That Affect Your Weight

Your body is driven to maintain balance. This concept, called homeostasis, holds true for every system and process in your body because its the key to survival. Homeostasis ensures vital functions like your body temperature and blood volume stay within the specific limits needed for you to live.

Hormones have a key role in homeostasis, and when their levels are too low or too high they significantly impact your health. Several hormones actively regulate your weight. When their levels drop below normal, you gain weight.

These are some of the key hormones connected to your weight:

Other Exercise Tips To Help Ensure Success

Before you begin exercising:

Talk to your doctor about a new exercise program. Choose activities you enjoy so you’ll stick with your workouts.

Find an exercise partner to help you stay motivated.

Buy supportive shoes — the right ones for your activity.

Pick a start date and start.

After you begin exercising:

Allow at least 10 minutes to warm up before starting to exercise rigorously. To do this, choose an activity that gently works major muscles.

Before you work out, stretch the muscles that will absorb most of the shock of your exercise routine.

If you have any new pain while exercising, stop and let your doctor know.

Gradually boost the distance, length, or intensity of your workout.

Mix it up. Do different exercises to keep from getting bored and to keep your body challenged.

For the best fitness results, combine your exercise efforts with good nutrition. Here are just a few tips:

Choose whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean protein.

Stay away from processed foods.

Keep a food diary, or explore programs for your computer or apps for your cell phone, to help you watch how many calories you eat.

Don’t eat too late in the evening.

When you eat out, take half the serving home.

Eat smaller amounts but more often.

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What Questions Should I Ask My Provider

How will I know that I need an estrogen test?
Are my low estrogen levels a sign of a condition?
What lifestyle changes can I put into place to manage low estrogen symptoms?
Do I need to increase my estrogen levels to manage my symptoms?
Would you recommend hormone replacement therapy for me? What are the risks?
What foods, vitamins or supplements would you recommend to prevent or treat hormone imbalances?

A note from Cleveland Clinic

Many people shrug off the symptoms associated with low estrogen as an unpleasant part of getting older. But you should address symptoms that interfere with your quality of life. If youre noticing bothersome signs of low estrogen, see your provider and discuss the hormonal and non-hormonal ways to manage your symptoms.

What Is Hormonal Weight Gain

Womens Hormones | Estrogen Dominance & Hormonal Weight Gain | Dr. J9 Live

Weight gain associated with underlying hormonal imbalances. For men, hormonal weight gain can be caused by high stress or cortisol levels in the body. The heightened levels of cortisol may make the body go into survival mode and induce the production of fat cells which will cause a declining metabolism to store food for later use. For women, a specific estrogen hormone called estradiol decreases at menopause helps regulate metabolism and body weight. The lower the levels of estradiol may cause weight gain. Throughout a womans life, they may notice weight gain around their hips and thighs.

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Does Progesterone Cause Weight Gain

While the hormone itself does not cause weight gain per se, progesterone interacts with estrogen in critical ways that can ultimately have an effect on your weight and cause weight gain.

It can be misleading to blame weight gain on progesterone alone, especially when other hormones are involved. In reality, when progesterone and estrogen levels are ideal, they form a natural balance in our bodies and regulate one another. When that balance is off, progesterone cant work like it should and other hormones are left unchecked, both of which lead to weight gain.

Youre Experiencing New Cravings

Hormones might cause your hormonal belly if youre experiencing some new cravings that are unusual for you, especially for sugary foods. If youre finding yourself with a constant sweet tooth, your body might be struggling with insulin resistance.

Due to your cells not properly absorbing insulin, high insulin levels will signal your body to store more fat. Elevated insulin levels can also cause increased amounts of the hormone leptin, which gives you a feeling of fullness after eating. High leptin levels combined with insulin resistance can lead you to start excessively eating sugary foods, resulting in lower belly weight gain over time.

Can Progesterone Help You Lose Weight

Progesterone can help you lose weight if your levels are low to begin with, but its more complicated than a cause-and-effect relationship. Progesterone is especially helpful to control weight when estrogen dominance is the issue as the effects of progesterone tone down the influence of estrogen.

Its important to note that progesterone doesnt directly cause weight gain or loss but instead works to reduce the effect of other hormones in the body that may be causing weight gain.

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How Does Estrogen Cause Weight Gain

In addition to being a driving force behind sexual development and reproductive health, estrogen also plays a role in other important bodily functions. This includes bone metabolism, cholesterol metabolism, glucose metabolism, insulin sensitivity, and the way the body stores fat. Estrogen is also known to help regulate brain functioning and mood.

Because estrogen plays such a key role in so many aspects of our health, it only makes sense that our bodies can be sensitive to changes in our estrogen levels.

For example, when estrogen levels are too high in comparison to progesterone , this can trigger the body to produce more insulin. This in turn leads to insulin resistance, high blood sugar, and weight gain. On the other hand, when estrogen levels are too low in comparison to other hormones, this can cause the body to convert more energy into fat in order to keep estrogen levels in balance.

Common symptoms of an estrogen imbalance include mood swings, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and even infertility all of which can have an indirect impact on things like how hungry we feel, how much energy we have, and how effective we are at maintaining a healthy weight.

Reasons You Have Low Hormones

Your hormones can become depleted for any number of reasons. An underlying health condition, chronic stress, lack of sleep, nutritional deficiencies, a toxic overload in your body, and some medications can all disrupt hormone levels.

You can also be generally healthy and end up with low hormones because their production naturally goes down as you get older. The classic example is the decline in estrogen at menopause, but men also lose testosterone at a steady pace after the age of 30 or 40. Aging also leads to a gradual but continuous drop in cortisol, thyroid hormones, and DHEA.

Causes Of Hormonal Weight Gain And How To Prevent It

Have you been losing and gaining the same 10-20 pounds for the past couple of years? Its now halfway into 2020 and if your New Years Resolution was lose weight and you havent quite reached your goal yet, dont feel too discouraged.

Weight gain and weight loss are influenced by a lot of factors, some of which you may not know about and are out of your control.Keep reading to learn more about the reasons for hormonal weight gain and the steps you can take to prevent it.

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Estrogen Dominance And Painful Heavy And Irregular Periods

Another big sign of estrogen dominance is period issues. Specifically, heavy, painful and/or irregular periods.

Having too much estrogen in relation to progesterone can stall or halt ovulation altogether. No ovulation = no period.

Excessive estrogen also builds up the lining of the uterus more than normal, and often results in heavy periods accompanied by clotting. Pain and menstrual cramping may also be severe with estrogen dominance.

Why Does Your Estrogen Level Matter

Hormones and Weight Gain in Perimenopause and Menopause

Estrogen is a hormone. Although present in the body in small amounts, hormones have big roles in maintaining your health.

Estrogen is commonly associated with the female body. Men also produce estrogen, but women produce it in higher levels.

The hormone estrogen:

is responsible for the sexual development of girls when they reach puberty
controls the growth of the uterine lining during the menstrual cycle and at the beginning of a pregnancy
causes breast changes in teenagers and women who are pregnant
is involved in bone and cholesterol metabolism
regulates food intake, body weight, glucose metabolism, and insulin sensitivity

Girls who havent reached puberty and women approaching menopause are most likely to experience low estrogen. Still, women of all ages can develop low estrogen.

Common symptoms of low estrogen include:

What Are The Symptoms Of Low Estrogen

First off, it is worth saying that low estrogen symptoms can be also a result of smoking, hereditary predisposition, and excessive exercising. So, whenever a woman wants to prevent the fast onset of menopause, she should avoid such activities, and inform a dedicated expert about signature genetic details. In such a case, he will be able to appoint hormone replacement therapy or recommend health supplements that will stabilize the levels as much as possible. Besides, such treatment can alleviate the symptoms of low estrogen, and let the woman live a comfortable life.

Signs And Symptoms Of Estrogen Dominance

I want you to know these 8 signs and symptoms of estrogen dominance. Now, its important you do not ignore these signs because they can indicate serious health concerns and issues. Always talk to your doctor about any unexplained signs and symptoms.

The Hormone Health Network lists these 8 signs and symptoms of estrogen dominance:

Weight gain, mainly in your waists, hips, and thighs.

Menstrual problems, such as light or heavy bleeding.

Worsening premenstrual syndrome.

Loss of sex drive.

Feeling depressed or anxious.

All too often we dont notice these signs and symptoms, accepting them as simply part of getting older. I know because I did this! I assumed the stubborn belly fat, tiredness, and mood swings were normal for a woman in her 40s.

Thankfully I learned about estrogen dominance and how to rebalance my estrogen levels so I could get back to feeling like my energetic and sexy self. Remember, you should not suffer in silence if you dont feel right, speak up and talk to your doctor.

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Can Oestrogen Levels Affect Weight Gain

So, what is the relationship between a womans oestrogen levels and her weight?

How to manage weight gain?A healthy diet to manage weight means:

avoiding processed foods
eating lots of fruits and vegetables each day
staying hydrated by drinking lots of water
avoiding full sugar fizzy drinks, juice, and alcohol
including whole grains and lean proteins along with healthy plant-based fats such as avocados, olive oil or rapeseed oil.

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Menopause And Abdominal Fat

The hormonal changes we experience during menopause can affect how our bodies store fat. While age-related weight gain happens for both men and women, menopausal women specifically may start to notice more fat in their abdominal area. Estrogen levels help control how your body distributes fat. Declining estrogen levels during menopause can lead to accumulating fat in your belly. This not only affects many womens self-esteem but is also a risk factor for serious health complications such as diabetes and heart disease.

Your hormone doctor may recommend estrogen replacement therapy to help reduce your symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, mood changes, and difficulty sleeping. In addition to helping with these disruptive symptoms, it may also help with belly fat during menopause.

Can Taking Estrogen Help You Lose Weight If You Are A Man

Men begin to experience the cons of andropause during the after-50 period. Males lose sexual drive, muscles become weak, and overall well-being drops. Does hormone replacement cause weight gain in men? Testosterone accumulates fat in the abdomen and its low to up levels cause risks for syndrome X and fatness in tummy and breast areas. Katya B. Rubinow, MD, published an article in NCBI which goal was to answer the question can taking estrogen help you lose weight if you are a man? Clinical trials and thorough research asserted that decreased and excessive levels of estrogen in the male organism result in metabolic dysfunction and obesity. The implication of the research claims the crucial role of estrogen in hormone therapy for weight loss.

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Hormones That Affect Weight Gain

Some of the main hormones that control weight gain and weight loss are:

Thyroid hormones

Were going to look at each of these hormones more closely in just a moment.

But before we dive in, its important to remember that these hormones are not BAD.

They are our allies and they play very important roles in the body.

However, when theyre out of balance, theres a ripple effect that can cause rapid weight issues.

So, with that out of the way, lets look at how each of these hormones impact our weight.