Have you been doing everything “right” with your weight loss efforts, yet seeing little to no results? Incredibly frustrating, right?! Well, maybe it’s not your fault. See, your hormones (chemical messengers inside your body) have a big impact on your ability to lose and maintain weight. There are several hormones in the body. Each plays a very specific, but different role.  Many impact your weight, energy, appetite and how you feel overall. All the hormones work together in a super complex way, and when one is off, it influences all the others. Women, in particular, are prone to hormone imbalances, which is why men have an easier time with weight loss (#nofair). For women, hormone support must factor in to any weight loss program.

What Causes Hormonal Imbalance?

Why does this happen to begin with? Why can’t our hormones just stay balanced? Hormones become imbalanced for several different reasons, and as you’ll see, most are female-related situations. Here are just a few:

• Stress
• Pregnancy
• Breastfeeding
• Menstrual problems
• Diet high in processed foods
• Too much/too little exercise
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome
• Hormonal birth control
• Hormone replacements
• Menopause
• Environmental chemicals, plastics, toxins (1)

Hormones can be impacted by diet and a variety of lifestyle factors. Some of these you can control, like how you exercise or eat, but others are not as much in your control, like menopause. In addition to all the above, women also experience fluctuations in hormone levels month to month, adding even more complexity. This is why any sustainable weight management program for women must include a hormone-balancing component.

Hormones and Weight

Before we jump into what you can do for balance, first we need to understand which hormones we are talking about. There are many hormones that impact your weight. The four we discuss are: estrogen, cortisol, leptin, and insulin.

Estrogen

Estrogen is the main female sex hormone; its primary role is reproductive health. It helps boost sex drive and maintain a stable mood. In order for you to feel your best and maintain a healthy weight, estrogen and progesterone (the other sex hormone) must be in balance. The delicate ratio between these two hormones can be thrown off during different times of your life, but especially during menopause when hormone levels start to decrease. These two hormones may not decrease at the same rate, leading to an imbalance that causes weight gain, especially around the mid-section. Other signs of estrogen dominance include depression, fatigue, and painful or heavy periods (2).

Cortisol

Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, can also impact your ability to lose weight. Many of us experience a constant state of low-grade stress and our cortisol is chronically elevated. This causes our bodies to store more abdominal fat and resist weight loss (3). The reason is that a stressed-out body is in a constant state of “fight or flight,” meaning it is preparing to run away or fight any danger it may encounter. In order to do either, it needs to tap into energy stores. A stressed body works hard be sure it has enough energy (fat) to run away or fight when a situation arises. These days, it’s quite rare we encounter real life-threatening situations to use up the stored fat, so it just keeps getting stored.

Leptin

Leptin tells the brain when you have had enough to eat. But, many people are resistant to the action of leptin, meaning they can’t tell when they are full. This is particularly common with our modern diet of processed foods high in sugar, particularly fructose, which throws off leptin. When the body stops responding to leptin, it doesn’t know when to stop eating, therefore calorie consumption is too high, leading to weight gain (4).

Insulin

Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that helps regulate blood sugar. When we are sedentary, overweight, and eating a less than ideal diet (with a dash of genetic predisposition), the body stops responding to insulin. The sugar from the diet is not able to get into the cells where it needs to go, causing an elevation in blood sugar. This leads to uncontrolled cravings for high sugar foods because the cells believe they are starving. And any extra sugar that is floating around ends up being stored as fat.

In order to lose weight and keep it off, you have to get your hormones in balance. Luckily, there is a lot you can do between diet and lifestyle changes to get them under control.

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How to Balance Hormones

Here are a few things you can do to help:

• Eliminate processed foods. Extremely processed diets high in sugar, refined grains, unhealthy fats, and low in fiber, vitamins, and minerals wreaks havoc on hormones. Shift your diet to include real, whole foods, instead.
• Sugar and sweetened beverages. Too much sugar causes spikes in insulin levels, leading to increased sugar cravings and a never-ending cycle of energy crashes and spikes. Leptin, in particular, is sensitive to one type of sugar called fructose, found in many sweetened beverages. We know it’s hard, but if you stop the sugar, you stop the cycle. Try our Lemon Ginger Water recipe to beat soda cravings.
• Cut back on caffeine. Yes, we know you need your coffee, but too much can increase cortisol, so take a look at how much you consume. Consider weaning yourself slowly and limiting your caffeine to one cup a day. Or switch to green or black tea instead, which has a bit of caffeine, but a ton of healthy antioxidants.
• Reduce alcohol. We know you love your wine, almost as much as your coffee, but alcohol is a toxin, screws up your metabolism, messes with your sleep, and throws your hormones all out of whack. Consider not drinking or save those cocktails for special occasions only. Or, go with a low carb organic wine like Dry Farms.
• Too much exercise. Exercise is definitely good for you and a valuable tool in helping lose weight. But, more is not always better. Excessive exercise can increase cortisol levels, throwing off other hormones like estrogen and progesterone. Forms of exercise that are more supportive of hormonal balance include walking, Pilates, barre, or swimming.

We hate to leave you with a list of things not to do for your hormones, because who likes restrictions? So, let’s talk about foods that help balance hormones. The focus of a hormone-supportive diet is nutrient-dense foods. You want to be sure you are getting enough:

• Increase fiber. Fiber binds to excess estrogen removing it from circulation. Aim to eat 30-40 grams per day, primarily in the form of fruits and vegetables.
• Focus on B-vitamins. B-vitamins, including riboflavin, thiamin, folate and B12 help reduce symptoms of PMS and help balance hormones. Good sources include: whole grains, nuts, and green leafy veggies (5).
• Boost your minerals. There are several minerals women don’t eat enough of that can cause hormonal imbalances. Iron and zinc are particularly important. Iron is found in beans, leafy greens, and meat. Zinc is particularly high in nuts, seaweed and red meat (6).
• Eat healthy fats. Some hormones are made from fat, particularly omega-3 fats found in fish, walnuts, and chia seeds. These fats can also help lower inflammation which can, in turn, help you lose weight.
• Sleep. Getting enough quality sleep is one of the best ways to balance your hormones. It helps regulate cortisol and leptin levels, reduces sugar cravings, and makes you a better person overall. Aim for at least 8 hours a night.

As you can see, your hormones rest in your hands! Get more balanced and on the path to maintaining a healthy weight by trying a few of these tips. For more info regarding your hormones and weight, check out the Phase It Up By 131 Method today today!

 

References:

1. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/endocrine
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3660717/
3. https://news.yale.edu/2000/09/22/study-stress-may-cause-excess-abdominal-fat-otherwise-slender-women
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17212793
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21346091
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3649635/