Having trouble losing weight even though you’re doing everything right? You are not alone. Although the key to weight loss seems to be a simple equation of “how many calories we burn and how many calories we expend,” in reality there are other factors that sabotage this effort.

As we know, hormones support many vital functions within the body, including our ability to maintain muscle, lose body fat, and experience stress and hunger. But when a hormonal imbalance occurs, it becomes much more difficult to lose weight. Hormones that affect women’s weight loss include:

  • Estrogen and progesterone
  • Cortisol
  • Thyroid hormones

Estrogen and progesterone

Estrogen and progesterone are the main female sex hormones and play a role in many important pathways, regulating appetite, eating behaviors, and metabolism. Any change in the above hormones is accompanied by:

  • Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
  • Weight gain
  • Fatigue – lethargy

Although it is a natural phenomenon, the hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle are responsible for the difficulty in losing weight in women. Women tend to eat significantly more calories during the luteal phase (the days leading up to the period) compared to the follicular phase (starting on the first day of the period). Thus, mirroring the effects of progesterone on appetite, the increase in hunger in the luteal phase means that starting a diet at this time can be much more difficult. The natural variation of sex hormones is not something that can be directly controlled, but it can be controlled by the dietary and exercise habits we choose.

Cortisol

Cortisol is also known as the stress hormone, and it can be a major obstacle to weight loss. The adrenal glands, located above the kidneys, release the hormone cortisol in response to both physical and psychological stress. Acute (short-term) stress is necessary for the survival and adaptation of the human organism to life. However, when this stress becomes long-term (chronic), it is important to “act”. When we experience chronic stress, cortisol levels rise excessively, which can lead to unwanted symptoms such as:

  • Suppressed immune function
  • Increased appetite
  • Weight gain around the belly (belly fat)
  • Muscle wasting

Important changes to improve elevated cortisol levels are rest, quality sleep, a proper and balanced diet and meditation in order to reduce stress.

Thyroid hormones

Thyroid hormones regulate our metabolic rate and therefore play an essential role in maintaining a healthy weight. When the body cannot produce enough of the thyroid hormones (hypothyroidism), it slows down the metabolism significantly, making weight loss more difficult. While diet can cause some thyroid abnormalities, it is also important to understand that these issues can be genetic. Therefore, well-regulated thyroid hormone levels are a key requirement for weight loss.

How can I maximize diet success and minimize hormonal imbalances?

Hormones will always play a role in fat loss, but by making simple lifestyle changes, we can improve our health and achieve weight loss, weight maintenance and most importantly hormonal balance.

Improve your diet

Eating a well-balanced diet is vital. Foods to optimize health mainly include:

  • Unprocessed products
  • Lean protein sources (meat, chicken, egg, fish, seafood)
  • Whole grains
  • Fruit and vegetables
  • Fiber

Surely these foods you know should be included in your diet. Both for a healthy body weight and for balancing hormones. Every processed food rich in sugar, salt and saturated fat is able to deregulate their normal secretion and cause you various abnormalities. Especially, when their consumption is frequent.

Reduce exposure to exogenous estrogen

Hormonal imbalances can also be affected by our exposure to exogenous estrogens. Exogenous estrogen is an environmental source of estrogen that mimics estrogen within the body and can cause imbalances. Examples of exogenous estrogens include:

  • Female contraceptive pills
  • Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
  • There has also been a growing concern about daily exposure from sources in food, plastics and other household products/cosmetics.

Exercise

Regular physical activity will not only help regulate your hunger and control weight, but it can also help reduce:

  • Stress
  • Display of hypertension
  • Appearance of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
  • Appearance of Cardiovascular diseases

Inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle can also lead to an increase in circulating estrogen, causing hormonal imbalance and making weight loss even more difficult.

De-stress Yourself

Incorporating stress management into your routine is fundamental to living a balanced life. Activities like meditation and yoga may not be for everyone, but

studies have shown to improve many symptoms. Meditation and yoga can reduce:

  • Worry
  • Depression
  • Pain
  • Cortisol levels
  • Blood Pressure
  • Heart beats

Sleep well

Prioritizing sleep can do wonders for both healthy cortisol secretion and weight loss. Sleep has many health benefits, and most studies have linked poor sleep quality to weight gain. This is mainly for two reasons. The first is because cortisol secretion is dysregulated and the second is that lack of sleep causes fatigue, bad mood, increased hunger and cravings.

Of course, many more hormonal changes, such as ghrelin, leptin, peptide YY, can make it difficult to lose weight, but in each woman this is controlled individually. Overall, the pursuit of a balanced diet, restful and quality sleep, and regular exercise can benefit health, weight loss, and reduce any hormonal abnormalities.

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