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!
Focus On Diet Quality
Overall, diets that are high in a variety of whole foods that are rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals, and phytochemicals promote healthy hormone levels.
Hormones such as insulin, cortisol and sex hormones can be negatively affected by a lower-quality diet, such as one that has lots of refined carbohydrates along with hydrogenated and saturated fats from fried foods, fatty meats and highly processed foods.
To reduce elevated insulin levels, eating better-quality carbohydrate sources and less carbohydrates overall may help.
Higher-quality carbohydrates tend to be lower on the glycemic index, minimally processed and higher in fiber. Examples include whole grains such as 100 percent stone-ground whole wheat, rolled or steel-cut oats and barley, pulses such as lentils and chickpeas, sweet potatoes, and berries.
There is also some evidence that low-carb diets can help lower elevated insulin levels.
Eating too much or not enough is also not desirable from a hormone perspective: Overeating can cause insulin levels to rise, while undereating or chronic dieting negatively affects levels of cortisol and sex 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
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Post Cycle Therapy Guide : The Timeline
We suggest beginning a PCT regimen after finishing your cycle. If youre using any medications that inhibit your natural testosterone production. You may start using SARMs and prohormones as soon as you stop taking them.
If youre using steroids, wait a week before starting PCT. To design a treatment plan and monitor your progress, you should seek the advice of a competent doctor.
We are here to provide you with the most impartial counsel and the finest medical assistance. Regardless of whether you are a natural, aided or long-term AAS user.
Signs Your Hormones Are Causing Weight Gain
Several different factors can cause belly fat, including gender, age, dietary habits and amounts of physical exercise and hormonal misfiring. So how can you tell if hormones are the cause of your abdominal weight gain? While you can look out for some signs, its important to discuss any of your questions with a doctor to identify the root cause. Sometimes its not always so obvious and can vary from person to person.
Here are a few warning signs and symptoms you can look out for to help identify the cause of your belly fat:
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The Top 3 Fat Storing Hormones And How To Reset Them
Can you relate to any of the following?
I follow all the rules, but I still cant lose the weight.
Im just getting old and my metabolism is slow. Its genetic. Theres nothing I can do about my hormones and weight loss.
Dont you have a weight loss pill you can give me?
Ive tried everything to lose weight. Maybe I need to accept myself as fat, and give up my skinny clothes.
Nutrition strategies that work for others dont seem to apply to me.
I lose 5 pounds, and then I regain 7. Its so frustrating!
These are comments that I hear frequently from my patients and online community, and most of them dont know an important secret: the reason youre weight loss resistant is that your hormones are out of whack.
When it comes to women and weight, there are seven hormones that make losing weight very challenging if not impossiblewhen they are out of balance. In this article, I want to show you the top three hormones that are the most likely culprits when it comes to your difficulty with weight loss, and how you can begin to reset them.
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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S For How To Balance Hormones Naturally
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Hormones such as estrogen, testosterone, adrenaline and insulin are extremely important chemical messengers that affect many aspects of your overall health. Thats why a hormonal imbalance can be problematic, so you want to make sure you know how to balance hormones.
Conventional treatments for hormonal imbalances typically include synthetic hormone replacement therapies, birth control pills, insulin injections, thyroid medications and more. Unfortunately, for the majority of people suffering from hormonal disorders, relying on these types of synthetic treatments often does three things:
Is it possible to balance hormones naturally? The good news is, yes, in many cases it is.
Lets examine how to balance hormones naturally.
What Else You Should Know
Cost: Eating organic will probably add to your grocery bill. Beyond your food shopping and supplements, the hormone tests Turner recommends may not be covered by your insurance.
Support: None, though Turner runs a Toronto clinic that offers health assessments, nutrition and exercise coaching, and other health and wellness services.
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Lifestyle Considerations To Reset Your Hormones According To A Naturopath
Consider Supplements And Alternative Medicines
There is some evidence that alternative therapies or supplements may address some hormonal issues.
For instance, a found that a Chinese herbal therapy routine resulted in doubled pregnancy rates among female participants with infertility when compared to Western, drug-based treatment.
A reports that Nigella sativa, known as black seeds or fennel flower seeds, helped raise estrogen levels in an animal model.
If studies in humans confirm these findings, the supplement may be beneficial for people going through menopause.
The following tip may benefit males:
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How To Prepare The Hormone Reset Diet & Tips
The plan claims to lead to a staggering weight loss of up to 15 pounds in 21 days by improving the balance of seven different hormones to burn belly fat and decrease appetite.
The 21-day program is similar to an elimination diet as it excludes specific foods thought to cause hormonal imbalances. Dr. Gottfied claims that most women have at least one, if not three or more, significant hormonal imbalances. The diet plan claims to fix these imbalances by eliminating meat, alcohol, fruit, grains, and dairy.
It should be noted that there is no scientific evidence to back up the claims made by Gottfried regarding the Hormone Reset diet. Some of the recommendations for what to eat or avoid are based on a quiz taken in the book.
Go Toxin Free: For Testosterone Reset
We are exposed to toxins every day from many different sources. We have genetically modified foods, hormones, and antibiotics in meat and dairy sources, pesticides sprayed on vegetables and grains, cosmetics, soaps, perfumes, cleaning products, and so much more.
However, one of the most insidious to a woman are the endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including BPA or bisphenol A. These artificial chemicals are found in plastic and can wreak havoc on a womans hormones by altering testosterone levels.
Detoxing helps remove estrogen-disrupting chemicals, improves thyroid functioning and boosts metabolism.
With these strategies, you can reset your hormones in as little as 21 days.
While many women will show massive improvements after this 21 day detox, there may be some long-term work to do depending on the severity of symptoms.
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Adaptogens And Medicinal Herbs
Adaptogens are herbs that help the body adapt to stress, whether external or internal. There are also herbs that help to balance other hormones in the body too.
I mention symptoms because these are indications that there is something wrong. For example, PMS symptoms indicate estrogen dominance or a deficiency of progesterone.
Menopause symptoms indicate low estrogen. Fatigue may be a symptom of thyroid issues and/or sex hormone imbalance.
Here are a few of the main issues
For stress:
- Caralluma Fimbriata
Its best if you go the herbal route to check with your doctor first. They can interfere with other medications and are not suitable for those with certain conditions.
Some conditions, such as hypothyroidism may require medical treatment and constant monitoring, particularly if its severe. Hashimotos disease especially as its an autoimmune condition.
If you are concerned about a severe hormonal imbalance and natural treatments dont help, go see a doctor. He or she will do blood, urine, or saliva tests as needed to confirm.
As to the dosage, it varies based on factories like your weight and gender and how your body responds to them. It may be best to see a herbalist or naturopath, especially if a blend is to be used.
That said, reputable brands do have recommended dosages written in the inserts on the packaging. Never exceed the recommended dose.
See some of my related articles:
Herbal Supplemental Considerations To Reset Your Hormones According To A Naturopath
It is important to keep in mind that no one diet, lifestyle or herbal recommendations will be the same for every woman. It is highly recommended to work with a practitioner if youre considering coming off the birth control pill. A practitioner can suggest your specific testings, dietary and herbal recommendations depending on your individualised needs and symptoms. Overall, women deserve to know what the pill does to their body before getting on it. Just as we have the freedom to choose for ourselves whether to have a child or not, every woman deserves an education on the side effects of the pill. As a Naturopath, I believe this should also include educating women on how to manage symptoms and reset hormones when weaning off the pill.
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Go Sugar Free: For Insulin Reset
Insulin is critical to the body. It helps to convert food into energy. Consuming sugar several times a day can increase your bodys demand for insulin and create insulin resistance. When this occurs, insulin instructs the body to convert unused sugar into fat. Insulin resistance can also cause glucose to build up in the blood and put you at risk for diabetes and pre-diabetes.
What you want to do in this reset is get off of sugar and get off of the sugar substitutes the artificial sweeteners, Gottfried writes.
Removing sugar for a minimum of 21 days gives your body the opportunity to detox and reset. In addition to the obvious sources of sugar, dont forget alcoholic beverages, wine and flavored water . Know that for the first few days of discontinuing sugar, you can feel an increase in fatigue, irritability, and malaise. Persist! You will feel great as soon as you push through this initial withdrawal.
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What Is The Hormone Reset Diet
The hormone reset diet originates from a book written by Dr. Natasha Turner, a naturopathic doctor.
What is a naturopathic doctor? A naturopathic doctor practices alternative or functional medicine which focuses on non-invasive, or natural, methods to promote self-healing.
This diet focuses on regulating hormone fluctuations, which may contribute to weight gain and other problematic health effects. Dr. Turner believes that regulating what and when you eat for six weeks can have a positive impact on your hormones which, in turn, can help you lose weight.
Apart from regulating when and what you eat, the diet also involves detoxification, exercise, nutritional supplements, and changing certain lifestyle habits. Dr. Turner believes that this diet not only regulates hormones but will also improve your overall health.
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How To Include Turmeric In Your Diet To Support Hormone Balance:
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Start with 1tsp per day added into smoothies, curries, turmeric lattes, warm drinks, stir-fries
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Try sprinkling it over eggs or toast
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Try my Warming Golden Milk Recipe: download my 7 Day Hormone Reset Program to gain access to this recipe
So there you have it, you have taken amazing steps in 7 days that will have you on the road to achieving balanced hormones naturally. Adding these habits into our daily routine can have such positive affects on our overall hormonal health and balance our hormones. Remember, if our hormones are balanced the way they are meant to be, you can avoid asking yourself the questions such as Is this normal to be in this much pain during my period? Why am I so irritable? Why am I constantly breaking out?.
Most importantly, now you should be able to answer the question: How can I reset my hormones in just 7 days?
For more tips and information, download my 7 Day Hormone Reset Program.
Incorporate Stress Reduction Techniques
No surprise here. Stress causes your body to go into fight or flight modeits just the way were wired. And when were stressed, cortisol rises. In turn, elevated cortisol affects your hormones, including ovulation. Chronic stress can lead to late periods. From stress-relieving yoga poses to stress-reducing teas, there are a variety of ways to bring more om into your life. Making time to de-stress does wonders for your mind, body, and hormones.
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How To Reset Your Metabolism
At some point in your life, you may have heard that someone is thin because they have a fast metabolism. You may have even felt like you were doomed to be overweight because your metabolism is slow. While everyones body is different, there is some good news: you CAN reset your metabolism.
The process of resetting your metabolism isnt simple it involves changing many aspects of your life, from how much you sleep to how you flavor your food and even the amount of stress you experience. Because our metabolisms are complicated, you will need to take a multifaceted approach in order to improve your metabolic rate.
Sound overwhelming? It can be which is why Ideal You developed a program that is specifically designed to help change your metabolism from fat-storing to fat-burning. If youre ready to lose a life-changing amount of weight, we are here to help.