Can Estrogen Cause Weight Gain

A Word About Vitamin D

While we call it a vitamin it is actually a precursor to your hormones your body converts it from sunlight or dietary cholesterol. Without it, you may experience fatigue, depression, muscle weakness, pain, or cramps. Being low in this hormone may steal your thunder when it comes to your workouts.

Vitamin D levels can be checked with a simple blood test, you can even do it at home.

Covered in this episode

• Let’s talk about the stigma of weight and how people relate it to being healthy
• What are the signs and symptoms of hormonal imbalance?
• What is happening with hormones when someone is trying to lose weight but doesn’t seem to be able to? What are the hormones that are most responsible for weight gain? How do hormone imbalances lead to metabolic disease?
• What hormones can cause hormonal imbalance? How do they work together?
• What tests are recommended to address and find hormonal imbalance?
• You say a little food and lots of exercise is a recipe for disaster, can you explain why and what is better?
• Why is the grind is the last thing that is helpful for your body and weight loss goals?
• What foods and nutrition changes can someone make to support their hormones?
• Lacey’s best advice/top tips for hormone health for women of any age along with the lifestyle changes are essential to create and keep healthy hormones.

Meet Lacey Dunn

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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Some Medications Are Able To Cause Estrogen Dominance Too

• Avoid using products containing oxybenzone, 4-Methylbenzylidene camphor ingredients mainly found within certain types of sunscreens
• Avoid using hormone replacement therapy or birth control pills without your doctors monitoring because they could cause hormonal disturbance as well as increase the risk of having breast cancer

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A Daily Battle With The Bathroom Scale Can Cause Shame Judgment Suffering And Obsession With Weightcontributing Further To Weight Loss Resistance

Even worse, the drill-sergeant approach of restricted eating and harsh exercise can escalate hormonal and emotional problems. A daily battle with the bathroom scale can cause shame, judgment, suffering, and obsession with weightcontributing further to weight loss resistance. When meals are accompanied by guilt, suffering, or anxiety about our food or our bodies a physiologic stress response is activated, triggering a fight-or-flight reaction and raising cortisol.

How do you reset your hormones, or jump-start your metabolism? Can you do it through diet alone?

The best way to get your hormones back on track and reinstate a healthy weight is to correct hormonal misfires with changes to the way you eat, move, think, and supplement. Start with diet: In my experience, 80 percent of weight loss is determined by the hormone/food interaction, so you want to eat in a way that optimizes your hormones. Heres my priority list:

CHANGE THE WAY YOU EAT AND DRINK. Remove processed foods, refined carbohydrates, sugars and sugar substitutes from your diet. Eliminate alcohol for 21 days .

TAKE SUPPLEMENTS TO IMPROVE YOUR HORMONE LEVELS. Here are a few of my favorites:

What causes hormones to go haywire? Is it the natural aging process, stress, having babiesis there a primary culprit?

The main culprits of haywire hormones are:

What Is The Connection Between Estrogen And Weight Gain

Several scientific studies have found a link between estrogen and weight gain, especially for women going through menopause. The estrogen found in hormone replacement therapy can have several side effects, and weight gain is one of the most common. Estrogen dominance, which is caused by too much estrogen in the body in relation to other hormones, can cause extra pounds to distribute more in the waist region, rather than the hips and thighs, which can increase the risk of heart disease. Additionally, estrogen and weight gain are further connected because estrogen can cause temporary bloating and increased water retention.

Higher than average levels of estrogen and weight gain both generally occur during perimenopause, or the time just before, during, and just after menopause. Both estrogen and progesterone levels decrease around the time of menopause. As a result, the proportion of androgens in the bloodstream increases because the estrogen is no longer available to cancel out the androgens effects. Androgens are also responsible for allocating additional weight gain to the middle section of the body, including the stomach and trunk regions.

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Is Toxic Estrogen Causing Your Weight Gain

Estrogen balance is essential for achieving and maintaining fat loss. In men and premenopausal women, too much estrogen, a condition called estrogen dominance causes toxic fat gain, water retention, bloating and a host of other health and wellness issues. While premenopausal women with too much estrogen tend to have the pear-shape body type with more weight at the hips, both men and menopausal women with this excess exhibit an apple shape with more fat accumulation in the abdominal area. In fact, excess estrogen is as much a risk factor for obesity in both sexes as poor eating habits and lack of exercise.

Although estrogen is typically considered a female hormone, a certain amount of it is natural and important for men as well. Excess body fat in men, however, spurs an unhealthy rise in estrogen levels because fat cells are involved in converting testosterone to estrogen. In women, with stress and age there is a natural decline in testosterone and progesterone levels leaving a relative excess of estrogen. Estrogen dominance can also be an issue for men, as testosterone and progesterone naturally decline with age or stress while estrogen conversely rises.

Causes of Estrogen Dominance

What Does Estrogen Dominance Look Like?

In both sexes, estrogen dominance is thought to be responsible for many types of cancers. This particular hormone imbalance is currently estimated to be one of the leading causes of breast, uterine and prostate cancer.

How Can I Treat The Estrogen Dominance Case

First, you should your exposure to the previously mentioned causes then, you should:

Third, you should increase your consumption from the following points and change your lifestyle as follows:

• Eat a paleo diet

This type of diet is mainly based on avoiding most of the phytoestrogen foodstuff in order to balance the hormonal levels once again. It is always recommended for people who will start paleo diet to consume grass-fed animal products in order to avoid absorbing the growth hormones that may have an impact on estrogen levels.

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Hormones That Lead To Weight Gain And Ways To Avoid It

Weight gain is often associated with overeating and can be caused by various hormones going berserk. Gaining weight is easy, losing it is not. Various triggers, such as stress, age, genes, and improper lifestyle, can cause a hormonal imbalance that leads to obesity.

We identified 9 hormones that cause an imbalance in the body, resulting in weight gain. Also, we will tell you how you can control these hormones. Keep reading!

Hormone Imbalance And Increased Appetite

For many of us, it’s absolutely no surprise that hormones affect our appetite.

Progesterone and estrogen also have opposite effects on hunger however, excess progesterone can drive weight gain. Higher estrogen levels reduce appetite while also reducing the amount of ghrelin that our brains receive. Progesterone, on the other hand, stimulates our appetite.

If you feel like quitting hormonal birth control or hitting menopause had a noticeable effect on your cravings, this could be a clue to look closer at your hormones.

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Obvious Signs Of Hormonal Weight Gain And How To Fix It

Weight Loss2

If you suspect that your hormones are making you gain weight, this article will show you signs of hormonal weight gain and how to fix it.

Hormones have a bigger impact on your body than you may realize. Unbalanced hormones can ruin your mood, cause fatigue, lower your libido, and trigger weight gain.

Dont be too quick to blame your hormones if the scale isnt budging. Most people fail to lose weight due to overeating. According to research, many dieters underestimate their calorie intake, which leads to weight gain.

However, hormonal imbalance can hinder weight loss, especially in women. Women experience more hormonal changes than men due to periods and menopause.

Men also struggle with hormonal weight gain due to poor nutrition, lack of sleep, excessive drinking, lack of muscle, and genetics.

Read on to discover the common signs of hormonal weight gain you should look out for. And then I will show you how to fix these imbalances.

How Is A Hormonal Imbalance Diagnosed

First, make an appointment with a health care provider for a physical exam. The health care provider will ask about your symptoms. Then, depending on your symptoms, they will suggest which hormone imbalance tests to do. These could be evaluations like:

• Blood test: Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, thyroxine, TTH, insulin, and cortisol levels can be detected in the blood.
• Pelvic exam: A health care provider will search for any lumps or cysts.
• Ultrasound: Images of your uterus, ovaries, thyroid, and pituitary gland can be obtained.
• Biopsy

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It Could Pose An Adverse Effect On Your Physical Health As It Causes

• Induce magnesium and zinc deficiency
• Accelerate the premature aging process
• Eye dryness, hair loss, regular headaches, and hypoglycemia
• It disturbs the menstrual cycle and causes irregular menstruation
• Increase the risk of strokes as it increases the rate of blood clotting
• Increase the breast tenderness, allergies, asthma, and fatigue all over the body
• Increase the risk of having polycystic ovaries, Cervical dysplasia, breast cancer and fibrocystic breasts
• Increase the risk of thyroid dysfunction, infertility, uterine cancer and many autoimmune and gallbladder disease

What Measures Can Be Take To Reduce The Imbalance Of These Hormones & Help Reduce Weight Gain

Hormone replacement therapy can be used to replace estrone with estradiol, increase testosterone and progesterone, and increase levels of DHEA and thyroid hormones. By rebalancing the levels of these hormones with hormone replacement therapy, it can help to decrease fat deposits, while also having a positive effect on other menopausal symptoms.

If you have a family history of diabetes or have been diagnosed with diabetes, then dietary changes can also help. These can include reducing simple carbohydrates, increasing lean protein, and increasing complex carbohydrates into your diet. When trying to lose weight and blast belly fat, a healthy lifestyle, diet and exercise are important parts of any weight loss plan. However, imbalanced hormones may have a huge impact on your ability to lose weight, especially belly fat.

Apollo Medical Associates offers a variety of hormone replacement therapies and medical weight loss services to help you with your weight loss journey. We can measure your hormone levels, measure your body fat, and work out an individually tailored plan to help you lose hormonally influenced belly fat. For a consultation telephone us on to make an appointment or contact the BHRT experts for more information.

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What You Need To Know About Leptin Resistance

When your body becomes resistant to leptin, leptin levels become too high. In fact, overweight individuals who get their leptin levels tested typically find their leptin levels to be as high as four times the normal level. Whats more, its really difficult to balance leptin levels once theyve become resistant.

With leptin resistance, communication between the brain and leptin is impaired, so that your brain doesnt understand that its full, and tells your body to keep eating. Its as if your brain thinks youre starving when in reality, youre just leptin resistant.

To reverse leptin resistance or prevent it from happening to you in the first place, lets talk food, drink, and supplements. Everything in your body impacted by what you put into it, and leptins no different. Sugar, in particular, can cause leptin levels in your body to skyrocket, so youll want to eat less sugar. Other ways to prevent or reduce leptin resistance include:

• Committing to a regular exercise routine
• Getting truly restorative sleep on a regular basis

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.

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Weight Loss Helps Reduce Frequency Of Hot Flashes Night Sweats

That doesnt have to be downer news, however. Past research has shown that women who lost at least 10 lb through a healthier diet over the course of a year were significantly more likely to see hot flashes and night sweats disappear compared with those who didnt lose weight. That small weight loss can also decrease your heart disease risk, Dr. Pinkerton notes.

To determine if this hormone therapy is right for you, Pinkerton notes that the treatment is safe for women who start it at menopause, especially for women under 60 or who are within 10 years of menopause.

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Whats more, if women are over 65 and already using hormone therapy for symptoms, Pinkerton says theres no evidence to suggest they stop. Certainly, any of these situations warrant a conversation with your doctor to assess the benefits and risks for you.

How To Balance Ghrelin Levels

If you have a sneaking suspicion your ghrelin levels are in need of some TLC, here are a couple of ways to balance them:

• Eat adequate amounts of protein. Protein helps you feel full and should be consumed with every meal. Studies show how eating protein promotes healthy ghrelin levels.
• Avoid sugar as much as possible. As you can see by now, consuming too much sugar disrupts hormonal balance, making weight loss seem an impossible feat. Be sure to read labels. If an item contains high-fructose corn syrup, dont buy it. A 2013 study published in Nutritional Diabetes shows how high-fructose corn syrup is one of the primary culprits of imbalance when it comes to hormones and weight gain.

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How To Get Cortisol Under Control

Tips for maintaining healthy, balanced cortisol levels include the following:

• Consider what relaxes you. Is it meditation? A walk in the park? A bubble bath? Engaging in a creative project? Find what relieves stress for you, and integrate it into your daily routine.
• Exercise regularly, and give yoga a try if its not already part of your workout regimen. The synchronized breathwork that accompanies a nice, flowing vinyasa routine calms the nervous system and reduces cortisol all while giving your body and mind a thorough workout.
• Listen to your favorite music. A 2011 study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology found that patients who listened to instrumental music during surgery had lower cortisol levels than a control group.
• Get enough sleep at night. Have you ever noticed how easily stressed and anxious you become on days when youre sleep deprived? This happens because during a night of deep, restorative sleep, your body is working to balance all hormones, including cortisol. A study published in the peer-reviewed journal Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine explored how sleep deprivation impacted helicopter pilots on a 7-day emergency medical duty. Findings suggested it was sleep deprivation not the act of emergency medical care that elevated adrenaline and cortisol levels.