You Can’t Stop Thinking About Food
Feeling hungry? Blame it on ghrelin, a hormone made in your stomach. Ghrelin’s job is to ensure that your body has a steady supply of energy on tap. It kicks in when you haven’t eaten for a while, sending hunger signals from your gut to your brain telling you to start thinking about your next meal. Trouble is, ghrelin doesn’t just rise when your belly is empty. It also spikes when you drop pounds, leading to a gnawing hunger that makes it nearly impossible to maintain your new weight.
The Truth About Hgh For Weight Loss
Can human growth hormone help you burn fat and build muscle?
Can a naturally occurring hormone that promotes growth and development be a dieter’s dream come true? The quest for an easier weight loss solution has some people taking human growth hormone in pills, powders, and injections.
A few small studies have linked HGH injections with fat loss and muscle gain. But the changes seen were minimal — just a few pounds — while the risks and potential side effects are not. And experts warn that HGH is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for weight loss.
Advice From Your Primary Care Physician
If you have tried traditional doctor approved methods for weight loss and still havent seen any improvement, then it may be a sign your lack of results is caused by a hormonal imbalance.
The good news is, once you get an assessment and understand how hormones work, youll realize that you do not have to suffer the many symptoms associated with hormonal imbalances.
Multiple studies prove that hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, is an effective method for rebalancing your hormone levels and getting your life back to normal.
The first step to reducing stubborn fat on your waistline is to learn the facts. Then you can decide if hormone therapy is the right choice for you.
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Beware Rebound Weight Gain That Can Occur When Hormone Therapy Stops
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.
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How To Maximize The Benefits Of Hrt
Its essential to note that HRT isnt a miracle drug. Your hormone replacement drugs arent going to counteract a diet thats high in calories and low in nutrients. HRT wont dramatically increase your metabolism so that you can lose weight without even trying.
You have to combine HRT with a healthy diet and active lifestyle to obtain the maximum benefits. Make sure that youre consuming ample protein, and avoid processed carbohydrates.
Not sure if your portions are in line with your needs? Consider meeting with a dietician who can help you understand the size of a healthy portion. They can also offer guidance about your caloric and macronutrient needs.
Many women struggle with exercising enough as they get older. They might feel tired and experience an overall decrease in energy.
Look for small ways to add additional movement to your day. A short walk a few times a day adds up. If you arent already, add strength training to your exercise regimen.
Women tend to lose muscle mass as they get older, in part due to their decrease in activity. As you lose muscle mass, your metabolism will decrease. Per pound, muscle burns more calories than fat.
Strength training helps you retain your muscle mass. Aim to strength train at least a few times a week.
Dont feel like youre restricted to lighter weights. Heavier weights are much more effective at increasing your amount of muscle.
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How To Balance Cortisol For Weight Loss:
Simply put, you need to reset your bodys response to stress.
Gottfried recommends slowly weaning yourself off excessive caffeine or switching from coffee to tea. If tea isnt your favorite choice. you can also do other things to lower your cortisol levels, such as practicing mindfulness.
This idea may seem vague, but its really straightforward: slow down, breathe, and pay attention to what youre doing.
So often we get distracted and rush from thing to thing, and this task-switching can significantly raise stress levels.
Instead, try paying attention to one task at a time.
Other ways you can naturally lower your cortisol levels include:
- Taking a magnesium supplement or B vitamin
- Consistently get better, longer sleep
Does Anything Good Happen
Despite these changes, weight loss isn’t all bad news for your hormones. Some hormones improve after weight loss, doing good things for your health.
For instance, losing weight may:
- Lower estrogen, which can protect from breast cancer.
- Boost testosterone, helping to maintain muscle mass and bone density. It can also improve sex drive in all genders and increase sperm count if a person has testes and is not on androgen blockers.
- Improve insulin sensitivity, reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes .
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How To Restore Hormone Balance
Restoring insulin function opens the door to hormone balance and weight loss. Dunn recommends choosing high-fiber carbs that dont come in packages, eating enough protein, managing stress, getting enough sleep, and exercising daily.
Resistance training helps your body respond to insulin and stop hoarding fat. And aerobic exercise is necessary for overall healthy metabolism.
The second step in balancing hormones is to avoid toxins, including unfiltered tap water fragrances in skincare and cleaning products, detergents, and candles and toxins in plastic food containers. All of these chemicals disrupt hormones.
Get Plenty Of Protein
Another common mistake women make when trying to lose weight is not eating enough protein. Protein is essential for maintaining muscle mass while dieting, and it can also help you feel fuller longer.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Thanks to the thermic effect of protein, eating just 15 to 20 grams of protein at every meal can rev up your metabolism and burn about 80 more calories per daywhich could add up to a weight loss difference of almost 60 pounds in only one year!
Protein requires about 20-30% of the number of calories consumed to be used in the process of digestion. If you eat a 250-calorie meal and there are 30 grams of protein, your body will only use about 60 calories to break down these proteinswhich means that you activate a little “hack” to boost your results.
Aim to eat around 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day . So, if you weigh 150 pounds, you would aim to eat at least 54 grams of protein each day.
You can easily meet your protein needs by eating a variety of healthy foods such as lean meats, fish, eggs, dairy products, legumes, and nuts/seeds.
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How Fast Can Dim Help Me Lose Weight
Every individual varies when it comes to metabolism and genetics. Taking a DIM supplement daily, you may notice results as soon as 6 weeks, but keep in mind, it may be closer to 6 months for some people. It also depends on what other weight loss measures youre taking. For instance, you can expect results sooner if DIM is paired with a balanced diet and regular exercise. DIM itself doesnt burn fat as much as it assists your body in metabolizing estrogen better. Lifestyle is key. DIM can help, but it isnt a silver bullet.
Hormonal Imbalances Are Common
If you believe you may be suffering from a hormonal imbalance, you are not alone. Of all individuals who suffer from symptoms associated with hormonal imbalance, around 80% are women and 20% are men.
As it relates to weight gain, decreased testosterone levels can cause stubborn and persistent weight gain in our midsection.
Excess belly fat can lead to other serious health risks.
When it comes to excess weight associated with hormonal imbalances, a body fat percentage of 35% or more for postmenopausal women means a higher risk of obesity-related heart and diabetes risks. The risks dont stop there, in fact you can also suffer from a higher total and LDL cholesterol and insulin resistance.
Insulin is the primary hormone in regulating glucose levels in your blood. If your body builds up an insulin resistance, then you are at a high risk of being diagnosed with diabetes.
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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.
Three Hormones That Block Your Weight Loss
When it comes to weight loss, 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.
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Hormones And Weight Gain: How To Fix The Hormones That Control Your Weight
Did you know that your weight is directly related to your hormones? This is a fact many of us forget as we travel along the often slow and frustrating road to weight loss. To maintain a weight thats healthy for our unique bodily makeup, a delicate balance of hormones is required. If certain hormones are off-kilter, weight gain often results.
In order to lose weight and keep it off we must understand the intricate inner workings of our many hormones. Once we understand the relationship between hormones and weight gain, we can take the proper steps to balance these hormones and lose weight in a sustainable, healthy way.
Use A Probiotic Supplement
Probiotics are very important to the health of women. However, they do also play an important role in female weight loss, as they can help you lose weight and keep it off.
Studies have shown that women with high-quality gut flora are less likely to be overweight or obese, because their bodies metabolize food more efficiently. In fact, research has linked obesity in humans to an imbalance of healthy versus unhealthy bacteria in the body. And this is why probiotics can help.
Probiotics, such as Lactobacillus Acidophilus, help to maintain and support a healthy balance of bacteria in the intestinal tract. This is very important for weight loss because your body needs proper levels of good bacteria- which helps you lose weight faster than without it!
Give your body the gift of a probiotic supplement every day to help you lose weight and keep it off.
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Can Taking Estrogen Help You Lose Weight
The transition period for both genders leads to the hormonal imbalance that provokes serious adverse effects. One of them is the increase in body mass, especially in the abdomen and chest areas. Can hormone therapy help lose weight? Endocrinologists speak about the benefits of hormone therapy for weight loss. Fitness coaches state that weight gain is the result of reduced activity and wrong eating lifestyle. They believe that healthy eating habits and physical load guarantee the same results as hormone replacement therapy and weight loss.
To answer the question can hormone replacement therapy help you lose weight?, it is necessary to find out the reason for menopause and its consequences in detail.
Hormone replacement therapy weight loss is connected with the endocrine system that is responsible for hormone production. Hormones inform the body systems and organs about the functions they have to perform. Consequently, hormone replacement therapy for weight loss must send messages that force organs and systems to reduce fat. What hormones can do that?
Surgical menopause weight gain relates to the removal of reproductive organs like testicles and ovaries that leads to hormonal collapse. In this case, hormone replacement therapy weight loss is inevitable.
How Healthy Eating Can Help Keep Your Hormones In Balance
“You want to have 25 different types of vegetables per week,” Gottfried explained, adding that things like eggplant, squash, zucchini, and bell peppers are “good for your hormones because it helps with balancing insulin.”
Those vegetables are also packed with fiber, which Gottfried said can help you “with feeling like you’re full longer.”
Proteins like chicken, salmon, shrimp and scallops can help balance metabolic hormones, which are essential for losing weight.
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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.
Balance These 4 Hormones For Weight Loss
Your hormones impact so many thingsfrom your mood and energy levels to your weight.
Your hormones fluctuate monthly, but also throughout the course of your life as you go from puberty to adulthood and then into menopause. Hormones can become imbalanced due to a variety of factors, including perimenopause, menopause, or lifestyle choices.
In this article, we cover ways to naturally balance four hormones that can impact your weightestrogen, cortisol, leptin and insulinso you can lose weight naturally and feel great.
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Losing Weight Isn’t Just About How Much You Eat How Often You Exercise Or Which Diet Plan You Follow Explains Lacey Dunn Rd
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Your weight loss journey isnt just about how much youre eating, says Lacey Dunn, RD, author of The Womens Guide to Hormonal Harmony and founder of UpliftFit Nutrition. Its also about how well your hormones are balanced, she says, because hormones affect your metabolism, which affects weight and weight loss.
After helping thousands of women overcome hormonal chaos, Dunn has identified the best ways to restore harmony. The following five hormones, she says, are the most important ones to balance because they also enable healthy function of the hunger and satiety hormones leptin and ghrelin, as well as serotonin for mood.
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I was just feeling hope for the first time, French said. Some of my menopause symptoms were already fading. I wasnt having the night sweats, I wasnt having the hot flashes in the daytime. I was feeling clearer and I was definitely feeling more energetic.
To determine if you have a hormone imbalance, ask your primary care provider about administering a simple blood test that can reveal that information.
Gottfried gave Shriver a list of foods that are good for maintaining those hormone levels during a visit to the supermarket. To balance insulin levels, the hormone that helps you regulate whether you store or burn fat, Gottfried recommends stocking up on dark, leafy greens, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, onions, and foods like avocados that are rich in healthy fats.
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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.