Weight Loss Hormones:

Why You Can't Lose Weight

Sometimes weight loss is not only a matter of limiting your food intake and exercising. You might be eating low-calorie diet and spending all you free time in the gym but still have unsatisfactory results. Well, it helps a little, but you certainly can't achieve your weight goals at this pace. If this is your case you need to check your hormonal health, because the answer is most likely to be there.

Hormonal balance is the key to losing weight. You can't lose weight effectively if your key weight loss hormones are out of balance. In this article we will explain how hormonal imbalance makes you gain weight.

It is important to mention that hormone related weight gain may affect men in similar way it affects women. Male hormonal imbalance can be caused by stress and aging. Once their hormones start to decline, they start to fall apart just like us.

Let's look at hormones that interfere with weight loss in some detail. Keeping these hormones in balance will facilitate weight loss.

Thyroid Hormones

This includes TSH, T3 and T4. If you are affected by hypothyroidism your TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) is high, although it is possible to have it in high end of normal range and have difficulties with losing weight. Any low levels of T3 and T4 need to be addressed immediately.

People with hypothyroidism don't metabolize the food effectively. The calories they consume turn in fat instead of energy. Both digestion of food and excretion of wastes are slowed. Constipation is extremely common.

Hypothyroidism is characterized by gradual weight gain and inability to lose weight despite diet and exercise. Other symptoms may include fatigue, dry skin, losing hair and sensitivity to cold.

Although hypothyroidism is a serious problem it is usually easily regulated by medication. Once you start the treatment the symptoms disappear almost instantly.

Cortisol

Cortisol (or hydrocortisone) is another important weight loss hormone. It is released by adrenal gland in response to stress. One of main functions of cortisol is to help your body metabolize fat, protein and carbohydrate.

If you are not sleeping your cortisol will rise due to the rise of your stress levels. It also works other way around: if you have high cortisol levels you are unable to sleep. High cortisol also promotes the formation of new fat cells from connective tissue cells, so obviously you won't to get it down in this case.

It is important to mention that cortisol also rises during physical exercise. If you are overdoing exercise in hopes to lose weight quicker, you might be getting quite opposite results. Exercise is important for weight loss, but you should never let yourself become overtrained. Keeping your cortisol high will make you heavier, not thinner.

Your cortisol may rise due to estrogen drop (another hormone involved), because estrogen inhibits enzyme that transforms cortisone into active cortisol. Once this inhibiting effect is diminished due to estrogen drop, cortisol will rise.

Reducing physical and mental stress, sleeping well, implementing relaxation techniques, massage therapy can help reduce your cortisol levels.

Insulin

High levels of insulin lead to weight gain. If you tend to gain weight around your waist area this may be a signal of excess insulin production. This is so because fat cells in your abdominal area are especially sensitive to insulin levels.

Insulin production may be overstimulated by consumption of sugar and carbohydrates. Eating too much sugar makes you hungry for even more sugar, so the cycle begins. Overabundance of sugar and sugary foods are much to blame for insulin resistance. With insulin resistance your body is less efficient in controlling your blood sugar. Insulin resistance encourages obesity.

Another reason for high insulin in women is decline of estrogen and progesterone. Regulating estrogen and progesterone will help control insulin levels in this case.

As you see, excess weight is not always a problem of eating too much or not exercising enough. This doesn't mean you should stop all your weight reduction efforts and sit on the sidelines. It only means you must do different things in order to see the results. Finding solutions for these medical problems will ultimately help you lose weight and feel better.

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