Thursday, March 28, 2024

How To Lose Weight If Your Hormones Are Imbalanced

Don't Miss

Prioritize Stress Relief First And Foremost

2 Hormones Imbalanced Makes Weight Loss and Finding Your Ideal Weight Difficult

After writing for and coaching women for years, my humble opinion is that non-diet-related weight struggles most often have to do with chronic stress. Whether you want to lose weight or not, you need a go-to stress relief plan and should prioritize it before anything elseincluding work, time with family, going to the gym, or even eating healthy. That means make time for daily meditation, go to therapy frequently, have a nighttime routine that calms you down, get enough sleep, fit in activities that bring you joy, and get rid of habits that dont. This also means that stress about weight gain is worse than weight gain itself, so while its OK to want to lose weight, simultaneously work on self-love and stress relief so theyre not contingent on the pant size your body fits into.

Why Am I Putting On Weight And Why Is It So Hard To Take It Off

If you are putting weight on easily and having a hard time taking it off, you should know that hormonal imbalances affect weight-loss and weight gain and could be part of the problem or maybe even the whole problem. In fact, some hormonal imbalances can make it down right impossible to lose weight!

Plenty of people attempt various diets and exercise programs with the intention of taking off any excess weight. Sometimes it can be frustrating when results are not forthcoming, which can end by giving up all together. What many people dont realize is that there can be many underlying health issues which impede weight loss attempts. Not only that, but 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.

Hormone imbalances and other deficiencies can very likely be the reason. We frequently get phone calls from patients who are desperate for help because the pounds keep packing on no matter what they do. 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.

How Do I Balance My Hormonal Fluctuations To Lose Weight

There are several ways to balance your hormones to help you lose weight. The best way to pick a treatment plan for this is to have your hormone levels tested and talk to your doctor about hormone therapy. The best way to lose weight with a hormonal imbalance is to provide yourself with the best possible nutrition for weight loss and daily activity. Depending on your unique hormone levels some vitamins and minerals may have a better effect on you than others.

Also Check: Does Testosterone Increase Sperm Count

More Signs Of Hormonal Imbalance

Weight gain or difficulty losing weight are two common signs of hormonal imbalance, but they arent the only ones. Other common signs of hormonal imbalance are:

  • Depression
  • Mood swings
  • Sexual dysfunction

If these symptoms sound familiar, talk to your health care team about screening for hormonal imbalance.

What Kathleen Zelman Mph Rd Says:

Pin on Healthy Living

Does It Work?

Research suggests that a Mediterranean diet, similar to Turner’s, can aid weight loss. You will lose weight on the plan because it is low in calories.

But promising that it can “balance hormones,” cure a whole host of problems and diseases, restore sleep, give you glowing skin and healthier hair, and more is not based on solid, scientific evidence.

Eating a clean, natural, preferably organic diet, free of preservatives and processed foods is ideal, but it’s not practical or necessary for weight loss or good health. Nor are the tremendous amounts of supplements, including herbal and bowel cleansers.

Is It Good for Certain Conditions?

Following a Mediterranean-style, low-glycemic diet is a sensible approach to healthy eating and weight loss that could benefit most people. Reaching a healthy weight can improve many conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.

The Final Word

The cocktail of supplements and the hormone theories are unfounded and not recommended. Keep in mind that many things affect your hormone levels. It’s not just about your food. To say that certain foods are “hormone hindering” is inaccurate and oversimplifies the role of nutrients in the body.

If you think you have a hormonal imbalance or would like to follow this diet, consult your doctor.

Show Sources

Read Also: What Foods Help Hormonal Acne

Hot Flashes And Night Sweats

One of the most common symptoms of perimenopause is hot flashes, which often coexists with night sweats. Almost 80 percent of people who are in perimenopause or transitioning into menopause have hot flashes. Also, most women who receive chemotherapy or undergo surgery to remove their ovaries will experience hot flashes.

Scientists know that hot flashes occur as a result of low estrogen levels. Each hot flash involves a sensation of heat that starts in the chest area and travels to the neck and the head. It can last for a few minutes and may cause sweating. Some women also develop a faster heart rate during hot flashes.

If a hot flash happens during sleep, they are called night sweats. Women who have night sweats often wake up in the morning feeling tired.

Some people experience redness along their neck and face during a hot flash. This is called a hot flush.

On average, each hot flash lasts for about three to four minutes. Hot flashes can occur for a few months to several years. In a few rare cases, some people had hot flashes for 10 years.

Other signs of hormonal imbalance include:

  • Constipation
  • Heavy or irregular periods, missed periods, frequent periods, or stopped periods
  • Vaginal dryness and itching
  • Weakened muscles
  • Pain in the muscles, tenderness, and stiffness
  • Pain and swelling in the joints
  • Depression
  • Cancer treatments

Targeting Specific Fat Areas

Sometimes people have fat deposits that are more problematic than others. Stubborn areas might seem to always remain chubby because of biological misfortunes. There are certain types of supplements and food that you can use to target individual fat areas. And here is what Dr. Turner recommends:

The Belly

We all have ab muscles, its the fat on the stomach that keeps them from showing. Studies have suggested that too much cortisol could be a major factor behind the accumulation of stomach fat. Holy basil is an Indian herb that helps maintain healthy cortisol levels and is commonly taken in capsule form. Foods for reducing cortisol include spinach, citrus, nuts, beans and barley.

Further reading: read my previous article about 10 warning signs you have high cortisol level and how to lower it. Also find here exercises to get a flat tummy that you can easily do at home.

The Back

Fat on the back and upper trunk is less common than stomach fat but equally as challenging to take on. Its also a likely indication that you have high insulin levels. Foods containing conjugated linoleic acid such as milk, yogurt, cheese and beef will help. You should also lean toward whole-grain options and green vegetables.

The Butt

Some people like big butts, but everyone has a limit. If you have excess body fat on your bottom, it could be due to high levels of estrogen. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage are high in estrogen-blocking phytochemicals.

Don’t Miss: Foods That Help With Hormone Imbalance

Hormonal Weight Gain Symptoms

Since hormonal weight gain is linked to many types of imbalances, it can cause different symptoms. The symptoms you have depend on the hormone involved and whether you have too much or too little of it.

In addition to trouble losing weight, common symptoms of hormonal weight gain include:

  • A thirst that isn’t satisfied despite drinking water
  • “Brain fog,” or an inability to think clearly

Hormone Imbalance Can Be A Symptom Of Weight Gain

How To Lose Weight with a Hormone Imbalance Gauge Girl Training

Weight gain triggers pro-inflammatory responses in your body. Unfortunately, body-wide inflammation can quickly throw your hormones off balance. For example, systemic inflammation increases cortisol, your stress hormone.

Inflammation can also affect your bodys output of other hormones, including insulin, thyroid hormones, estrogen, and testosterone. As a result, you might experience increased facial hair growth, thinning hair, acne, mood swings, fatigue, low libido, and sleep problems.

You May Like: How To Reset Your Body Hormones

How To Fix Your Hormones And Lose Weight

Ive hit a stubborn weight-loss plateau, writes this weeks house call, even though I seem to be doing everything right, like eating the right foods and exercising. How can I overcome that obstacle?

Ive discussed different reasons for weight-loss resistance in past blogs. Many obstacles have nothing to do with what you eat or how much you exercise. Instead, they involve things like nutritional imbalances, chronic inflammation, metabolic challenges, leaky gut, changes in your microbiome, environmental toxins and your genes.

One huge but often-overlooked reason for weight-loss resistance involves hormonal imbalances.

No contest: The monster hormone that causes weight gain, inflammation and chronic disease is excess insulin. Think of this hormone as your fat cell fertilizer! My new book, Eat Fat, Get Thin, discusses how to naturally regulate insulin so you can shift your body from fat storage mode to fat-burning mode.

At the same time, insulin isnt the only player other hormones also affect your weight and health. Three big disruptors are: thyroid, cortisol and sex hormones. I discuss these hormones in-depth in The Blood Sugar Solution, however, lets briefly look at each of them here.

Thyroid

Research shows hypothyroidism, or low-thyroid function, affects one in five women and one in ten men. Unfortunately, in over half of these cases, this condition isnt diagnosed.

A common cause of hypothyroidism is gluten intolerance.

Cortisol

Sex Hormone Imbalances

How To Balance Hormones For Weight Loss

Home > Blog > Weight Loss | May 2, 2022

Are you having difficulty losing weight even when you cut your calories, follow a weight loss diet, and exercise regularly? Does it seem like no matter what you do, you cant seem to lose weight? Take heart! you are not alone. One of the most common causes of weight loss difficulty is a hormone imbalance. Hormone imbalances have been linked to reduced metabolism and increased fat storage, which can make it difficult to lose weight. Lets take a look into how to balance hormones for weight loss.

Don’t Miss: What Is The Difference Between Progestin And Estrogen Birth Control

Have You Tried Everything And Are Still Struggling To Get Rid Of Belly Bulge It Turns Out Your Hormones May Be The Answer Find Out Why A Hormonal Imbalance Can Cause You To Hold Onto Fat In Unexpected Places And How To Get Rid Of Hormonal Belly Today

Unexplained weight gain can be frustrating, especially when you feel like youre doing all the right things. Sometimes, though, a sudden belly bulge or stubborn abdominal weight you cant seem to lose is a sign of something deeper going on with your hormones. Your hormones actually play a big part in regulating metabolism, hunger, fullness, and energy. And because your hormones are always talking to each other, they form a tangled web of communication to keep your body regulated.

A number of hormone-related conditions can cause abdominal weight gain including an underactive thyroid, polycystic ovary syndrome , or menopause. Outside of specific conditions, general hormone imbalances, which can be the result of obesity, environmental triggers and toxins, chronic stress, or medications, may also be at the root of your resistant hormonal belly fat. If you think youre dealing with a hormonal belly, here are a few signs to look for.

Engage In Regular Exercise

Pin on Annie exercise

Physical activity can strongly influence hormonal health. A major benefit of exercise is its ability to reduce insulin levels and increase insulin sensitivity.

Insulin is a hormone that has several functions. One is allowing cells to take up sugar and amino acids from the bloodstream, which are then used for energy and maintaining muscle.

However, a little insulin goes a long way. Too much can be downright dangerous.

High insulin levels have been linked to inflammation, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Whats more, they are connected to insulin resistance, a condition in which your cells dont respond properly to insulins signals .

Many types of physical activity have been found to increase insulin sensitivity and reduce insulin levels, including aerobic exercise, strength training and endurance exercise (

18 ).

For people who are unable to perform vigorous exercise, even regular walking may increase these hormone levels, potentially improving strength and quality of life .

Although a combination of resistance and aerobic training seems to provide the best results, engaging in any type of physical activity on a regular basis is beneficial.

Summary:

Performing strength training, aerobics, walking or other forms of physical activity can modify hormone levels in a way that reduces the risk of disease and protects muscle mass during the aging process.

You May Like: How Much Melatonin Is Good For Sleep

Reduce Exposure To Exogenous Oestrogens

Hormonal imbalances may also be affected by our exposure to exogenous oestrogens. Exogenous oestrogens are an environmental source of oestrogen that mimics the oestrogen within the body and can cause imbalances.

Examples of exogenous oestrogens include:

  • Female contraceptive pills
  • Hormone replacement therapy

There has also been a rising concern surrounding day to day exposure from sources within food, plastics, and other household products.

To counteract and help balance exposure to exogenous oestrogens, there are some foods that can help balance the bodys oestrogen.

Foods to help balance oestrogen include :

  • Broccoli
  • Kale
  • Collard greens

My blog on should women be worried about exogenous oestrogens explains more about where they are found and how to avoid them.

How Weight Loss Can Bring Balance To Your Hormones

Weight loss is about more than fitting into smaller pants although thats a big perk! By maintaining a healthy weight, you could boost your mood and reduce your risk of serious obesity-related diseases. Weight loss can also bring balance to your hormones.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle through a balanced diet, regular exercise, practicing good sleep hygiene, and managing stress levels can help you lose weight and correct the hormonal imbalance caused by weight gain.

Losing weight can be a challenge, though, especially if its compounded by high stress and a chaotic schedule. Thats where our team of expert providers at Serendipity Med Spa excels. We offer medical weight loss services in Southlake, Texas, to help you succeed, even if other strategies havent worked for you.

Recommended Reading: Non Hormonal Birth Control Ring

Ready For Healthy Weight Loss

If you are ready to begin your journey toward improved health, talk to us today about hormone therapy for weight loss. Our team of functional doctors will provide guidance on how to balance hormones for weight loss through natural health protocols and proven dietary directives designed to rev up metabolism and aid in weight loss. If needed, hormone replacement therapy will be used.

Practice good health by eating a healthy diet, getting the recommended daily amount of sleep, following a detoxification program, and exercising daily to help in your journey toward weight loss. In addition to this, talk with your doctor to learn about the connection between bioidentical hormones and weight loss. Hormonal imbalances can negatively impact weight. Just one hormonal imbalance can cause your metabolism to drop significantly. By learning about the hormones that can help you lose weight, you will no longer be frustrated when the scales keep rising as you keep eating less and exercising more.

How Does The Stress Hormone Cortisol Sabotage Weight Loss

How to Fix Your Hormones and Lose Weight

How is this overproduction of cortisol related to weight gain? First of all, heightened cortisol is linked to overeating. Ever notice how you eat when youre stressed? A study published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology found that higher than normal cortisol levels were linked to overeating and weight gain. Another study links elevated cortisol levels to an increase in belly fat.

You May Like: Can Hormone Imbalance Cause Insomnia

Try Syncing To Your Cycle And Change Your Exercise Routine

For women with a period, its extremely crucial for hormonal health to adapt your lifestyle, diet, and exercise to your cycle, otherwise known as the Cycle Syncing Method ®. Let the experts explain: Your infradian rhythm affects your metabolism, so if you are not supporting it properly, youll be disrupting your period, but it will also increase stress levels, disrupt blood sugar, and make weight management extremely difficult, Vitti explained. In other words, modify caloric intake and workout intensity based on your cycle phasesyou should not be eating, moving, or doing the same things every day.

We talk more about the Cycle Syncing Method ® below, but when it comes to movement, you already know that exercise can help with weight management. However, if its done incorrectly , it can disrupt your hormones and lead to weight gain. For more information, check out Vittis book In The Flo or download the MyFlo App to track and sync your own cycle.

Getting To Know Ghrelin

You can think of ghrelin as your hunger hormone. Like leptin, it communicates with the brain in this case, telling your brain to eat. Every time your stomach becomes empty, it naturally releases ghrelin into your bloodstream. Ghrelin levels are lowest just after youve finished a meal. Theyre at their highest when the stomach is empty and youre ready for your next meal. This scenario is normal when a person is healthy and maintaining optimal weight.

An overweight person, on the other hand, will find that like the other hormones weve explored ghrelin levels are typically out of whack. In healthy individuals, ghrelin levels decrease in a way that satiates them and signals their brains to stop eating. But in obese individuals, ghrelin levels dont decrease enough after eating, which fails to send the brain the signal it needs to stop eating and feel satisfied.

Read Also: How Many Tablets Of Melatonin Can I Take

More articles

Popular Articles