My Stomach Is Usually Sore And Bloated Particularly After Food
Blame it on: High adrenalin and cortisol
These two hormones can wreak havoc on your digestive system.
- Reduction in stomach acid: You know how you just cant eat when stressed out? This is partly due to a primal response of your body to shut down the digestion so you are light to escape and deal with danger. In modern times, this low stomach acid can translate to feeling overly full and bloated after a meal, indigestion, seeing food particles in your poop, bad breath and nutritional malabsorption. This is some information about acid relux, stomach acid and some solutions.
- Reduce blood flow to your gut: Your body doesnt need you to digest food or ovulate when youre stressed, so it quickly shuttles blood away from organs like your ovaries and gut, to organs like your heart. This means that your digestive system gets far less blood and oxygen to nourish it. This can lead to chronic inflammation, which compromises the protective functions of your gut wall. As a result, your stomach may become over-sensitive and develop food sensitivities or you may suffer discomfort every time you eat. Meanwhile, you are absorbing less nutrients, which only makes you more exhausted.
- Encourage gut bacteria to grow: Studies show that when adrenaline is added to gut bacteria in a Petrie dish in a lab, the growth of bacteria like E.Coli increases substantially. This makes sense as low stomach acid creates a perfect environment for the pathogenic bacteria to grow.
I Cant Shed Any Pounds No Matter How Little Or How Well I Eat
Blame it on: High and low cortisol
Do you:
- Hate getting dressed in the morning because you have to find new ways to disguise the extra kilos that keeping appearing on your belly?
- Feel distressed by unpredictable fluid retention that makes you look puffy in the face, tummy and legs?
- Struggle to shed any kilos or even just maintain your current dress size even though you eat right for your body and exercise regularly?
- Complain that even if you ate nothing but air you still wouldnt lose any weight?
Then its highly likely you have adrenal fatigue. Its well accepted that stress and weight gain go hand in hand.
The culprit? Cortisol. The impacts of high cortisol can easily be seen in people who suffer Cushings disease, a condition that causes chronic excess cortisol. Cushings sufferers experience round puffy faces, high blood pressure and weight gain, particularly around the belly and chest.
But similar side effects can occur if you are exposed to sustained stress. Suddenly you pack on more pounds even though youre not eating more food. And exercise doesnt shift it either.
When Should I See An Endocrinologist For Weight Gain
There are a wide range of hormonal issues that may cause sudden, unexplained weight gain. These include thyroid deficiency, declining estrogen , and polycystic ovary syndrome . Weight gain may also be accompanied by other symptoms, such as headaches, insomnia, mood swings, and heavy or painful periods. If you find yourself gaining weight with no apparent explanation or changes in diet or exercise, you should discuss this with your doctor. An endocrinologist can help identify hormonal imbalances by reviewing your symptoms and performing laboratory tests when necessary.
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Which Hormones Contribute To Weight Gain
Insulin takes the cake when it comes to hormones in your body that contribute to weight gain. Insulin actually contributes to much more serious issues like Inflammation and chronic disease. However, this hormone is not the only disruptor in the body when it comes to weight gain. Thyroid, cortisol, and your sex hormones all play a role in your weight and health. A hormonal imbalance causes weight gain when these hormones are too prevalent or too minimal in your body. Lets look at each one briefly below.
Hormones Responsible For Weight Gain In Women
by Ed Hagen | Jul 30, 2018 | Blog1, Women’s Health
Did you know that stubborn fat can be harder to lose if your hormones arent in balance? So its a great idea to get all your hormones in check first.
Which hormones? Here are the hormones youll want to get in check to ensure you can achieve the healthiest weight of your life.
1.Thyroid
The thyroid gland produces three hormones: T3, T4, and calcitonin. Togther, they regulate metabolism, sleep, heart rate, growth and brain development, among other functions.
Sometimes the thyroid doesnt produce the right quantities of these hormones, though, and it can lead to hypothyroidism.
Hypothyroid is associated with constipation, fatigue, depression, slow heart rate, and other symptoms. However, it is also related to weight gain, as your metabolism slows down due to the hormone deficit.
2.Leptin
When your body is 100% healthy, leptin signals that you are full and should stop eating.
But when we overeat foods that are high in sugar or processed foods, the oversupply of fructose is converted into fat, and it gets deposited in the liver, belly and other areas of the body.
That is a problem because fat cells can also secret leptin, desensitizing the body to it and causing the brain to ignore the signal to stop eating. This vicious circle can lead to high levels of weight gain.
3.Insulin
4.Estrogen
Estrogen levels that are too high or too low can cause weight gain.
5.Cortisol
6.Progesterone
7.Ghrelin
8.Testosterone
9.Melatonin
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Hormones And Weight Gain
When women consider hormone replacement, one of the factors they need to consider is the potential for weight gain. Weight gain can result from low levels as well as high doses of hormones. If replacement is not done with knowledge of this possibility and how to avoid it, there is a pretty good chance the woman will add 10 or more pounds within a short time.
Before we dig into the details, lets look at the main classes of hormones in women: Estrogen, Progesterone, and Testosterone. We will discover that it is not the hormones themselves which cause weight gain, but an imbalance between the hormones .
Estrogens affect weight by several mechanisms including improvement of insulin sensitivity and increasing the metabolic rate . So if estrogen is too low, weight gain could occur by those mechanisms. And if estrogen is out of balance with other hormones , the result is frequently weight gain around the abdomen, hips and thighs. Other signs of an imbalance of estrogen related to weight gain are: depression, abdominal bloating, fatigue, and water retention. Depression and fatigue usually lead to weight gain due to over-eating.
There are multiple female conditions associated with weight gain which are hormone related, but we will focus on PMS , PCOS , and Peri-menopause/Menopause. We will explore the different ways the hormones contribute to the condition and to weight gain.
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Your High Estrogen Levels Are Expanding Your Fat Cells
Although estrogen is responsible for making women uniquely women, it’s also the hormone that can be the most troublesome in the fat department. At normal levels, estrogen actually helps keep you lean by goosing the production of insulin, a hormone that manages blood sugar. When estrogen gets thrown off, though, it turns you into a weight-gain machine.
Here’s how: When you eat, your blood sugar rises. Like a bodyguard, insulin lowers it by escorting glucose into three different places in your body. When insulin is in good working formnot too high and not too lowit sends a small amount of glucose to your liver, a large amount to your muscles to use as fuel, and little to none for fat storage.
If you’re healthy and in good shape, your pancreas produces exactly the right amount of insulin to have your blood sugar softly rise and fall within a narrow range . But when your estrogen levels climb, the cells that produce insulin become strained, and you can become insulin resistant.
That’s when insulin starts to usher less glucose to the liver and muscles, raising the levels of sugar in your bloodstream and ultimately storing the glucose as fat. Your fat tissue can expand by as much as four times to accommodate the storage of glucose.
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Hormones And Weight Gain After 40
Its one of life cruel tricks that sadly, hormonal issues and weight gain do become more common after 40.
Hormone changes related to Perimenopause and Menopause can lead to weight gain, especially in the hips, thighs and Belly area.
Women are often made to feel there is nothing that can be done about this middle aged spread but thankfully thats not true.
Controlling your hormones and making lifestyle changes can work to reverse the menopause weight gain.
Can a hormone imbalance cause weight gain? Pin for later
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Did You Know A Sex Hormone Imbalance Causes Weight Gain
Estrogen and testosterone imbalances can also lead to weight gain and muscle loss. Excess estrogen, for instance, can not only cause a woman to gain weight but keep her from losing it. In men, excess estrogen can cause a beer belly, loss of body hair, muscle loss, and even the dreaded man boob.
Low Testosterone can also cause men to gain weight and lose musclein addition to causing sexual dysfunction, low sex drive, fatigue, brain fog, and even bone loss.
Hormone imbalances are even associated with increased risks for obesity. A recent study examined the interaction between the decrease in estrogen secretion and the prevalence of obesity in menopausal women. It notes: The hormones help integrate metabolic interaction among major organs that are essential for metabolically intensive activities like reproduction and metabolic function. Sex steroids are required to regulate adipocyte metabolism and also influence the sex-specific remodeling of particular adipose depots. In humans, the factors that control fat distribution are partially determined by sex hormones concentrations. In laymans terms: your sex hormones are integral to both weight gain and fat distribution on your body.
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Hormonal Causes Of Weight Gain
Possible causes of weight loss resistance: hormonal imbalance, adrenal imbalance, neurotransmitter imbalance
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If youve gained and lost weight over and over, you may have noticed that it gets more difficult each time to drop excess pounds. You may feel alone, but according to the Mayo Clinic, most women gain weight during adulthood. This is often true even for women who are dieting, restricting calories or engaging in extreme exercise.
Most of us were taught that that weight management is simply a matter of calorie control and discipline. But every woman who has ever been on a diet knows this is not true and is, in fact, misleading. This well-worn myth causes a tremendous amount of unnecessary guilt and suffering.
Instead, there is usually an underlying cause that interferes with weight loss, or that drives weight gain in the first place. If weight loss feels impossible for you, you may be actually resistant to it. Weight loss resistance can arise when you have a metabolic or other physiological imbalance that tells your body to hold onto to weight at all costs.
These core imbalances can involve hormone levels or adrenal function, or even the brains neurotransmitter function. Unusual weight accumulation can also be related to a thyroid imbalance.
Three Categories Of Symptoms Often Caused By Hormonal Imbalances
When we see patients at Madison Womens Health for hormonal imbalances, most of their symptoms and concerns fall into three categories:
Lets first discuss these groups of symptoms. Next, well cover the most common hormones your doctor may check based on your symptoms.
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The Link Between Hormonal Imbalance And Weight Gain
Underlying health issues and getting older can both cause hormonal fluctuations, making you feel less than your best. A hormonal imbalance can even cause weight gain, along with a few other unpleasant side effects.
Our dedicated primary practitioner, Gordon Hart, PA-C, at Balance Hormone Center, promotes healthy hormone balancing using gentle and effective methods. These compassionate treatments include holistic solutions to help rebalance everything your body needs to stay active, happy, and healthy.
Balance Your Hormones For Weight Loss
There is a strong connection between hormones and weight gain. When hormone levels increase or decrease, a chain of events occurs. Your body forgets its full, the metabolism slows, and your weight increases.
Thankfully, hormonal weight gain is treatable. Our team strives to assist men and women struggling with hormonal imbalances. Contact us to learn more about our hormone and weight loss treatments.
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What Is Hormonal Imbalance
Dr. Amy Beckley, PhD, Founder and Inventor of the Proov test the first and only FDA-cleared test to confirm successful ovulation at home.
Did you know that our hormones need balance as well?
Ah, balance. Many of us strive for it in our daily lives balance between work and play, spending and saving, the list goes on.
Did you know that our hormones need balance as well? In order to live and feel our best, balanced hormones are so important! Keep reading to learn more about hormonal imbalance.
What You Can Do: Stop Overeating The Foods That Cause Insulin Resistance
How do we ensure our insulin levels remain balanced? First, we need to stop eating too much. Its a known fact that overeating leads to insulin resistance, especially when we eat too much food thats no good for our bodies and minds. When we eat too much sugar, too much fast food, and too many processed carbohydrates, insulin goes haywire. These elevated insulin levels lead to weight gain and low-grade inflammation. A 2010 study published in the journal Diabetes found that even eating too much of these foods in the short term leads to insulin resistance and weight gain.
You may also want to restrict carbohydrates in your diet. According to a study published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism, a low-carb diet prevents metabolic syndrome and the insulin resistance that causes it. Other findings show drinking green tea, consuming omega-3 fatty acids from fatty fish, and eating adequate amounts of protein all help balance insulin levels.
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Address Root Causes Of Your Stress
- Seek counseling: if you need to help heal from unresolved trauma or need support for depression.
- Reduce lifes daily stressors: These can add up to big adrenal impacts if they continue day after day. That might mean you get up just 15 minutes earlier so you dont have to rush and have time for breakfast. Or it might mean that you try pull back your mortgage payments so you have more money to get through the week.
A while ago, a woman from our Hormones Balance community contacted me for help with stabilizing her hormones. When she wasnt improving we tried to identify hidden stresses that may be standing in the way of her hormonal balance. She identified that she was suffering stress every morning when she had to walk through an area where she didnt feel safe on her way to work. Once she took a different route, even though it took her a little longer, her stress levels significantly reduced and her hormonal health substantially improved. Its a potent reminder of just how much we are hardwired for survival and as a result, how big even seemingly small stressors can be.
- Address relationship problems and potential abuse: Make time for more intimacy and improved communication with your partner. If youre not in a good place together, read some self-help books together or attend couples counseling. I did a call about abusive relationships , watch it here.
Dont:
Try A Variety Of Relaxation Approaches
- Keep your focus here and now: Try to live through your senses, not just your head. The more mindful you are, the more this will help to reduce your cortisol levels.
- Take a break in nature: This can not only reduce your stress hormones, but also boosts natural killer cells that increase your immunity.
- Enjoy regular touch: Through hugs, making love or enjoying a massage. Enjoyable physical contact triggers the release of oxytocin, which has calming impacts.
Dont:
- Persist with meditation if its not working for you: Try visualization or listening to soothing music with your eyes closed. Chanting for just 12 minutes a day can also reduce stress levels and lower inflammation in people who are stressed.
- Slouch: Instead strike a power pose. Try the victory pose and the wonder woman pose . Research from Harvard University shows that these kinds of poses, drop your cortisol and raise your testosterone, so you feel more in control and more able to handle risks and tricky situations. Amy Cuddy, who is an expert in this area, gives a fantastic Ted talk about the impact of body language on hormones and emotional states.
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Phase 1 On High Alert
When youre meeting a huge deadline for work or youve been up all night with a very sick child, you enter this first adrenal phase for a short period of time. Elevated stress hormones initially power you up with energy and then drop you down, leaving you feeling more worn out than usual. But your body is still able to make all the hormones it needs to respond to stress effectively and to energize you to get through the day.