Skip to main content

This Is How Your Hormones Affect Your Weight Loss Journey



Most women undergoing menopause also notice significant weight gains during this time. This is often attributed to age-related changes in their hormonal balance.

However, weight loss and hormones share a tentative link at every phase of life, and this applies to men too.


Find out more about this delicate balance here. 



The Link Between Weight Loss and Hormones


Hormones are part of an intricate regulatory system in our bodies called the endocrine. They’re like tiny messengers delivering updates to hormone receptors located in numerous internal systems.


These hormone receptors are like docking bays for these messengers circulating throughout our bodies. 

In this way, hormones help regulate the delicate balance between various parts of our bodies and control several body functions.

These are:

  • Emotional wellbeing
  • Growth and development
  • Immunity
  • Metabolism 

When your hormones and your hormone receptors experience a lapse in communication, or these messages become less frequent, it’s easy to see how things can start to go wrong. 


Endocrine disruptors, caused by things like lack of exercise and a poor diet, are usually the culprits when it comes to these internal communication problems. Menopause can also cause affect the relationship between hormones and weight loss after 40.


The Hormones Involved in Weight Regulation


There are two main ways in which hormones affect weight gain. They control appetite and regulate energy storage. There are several hormones implicated in these functions.

These are: 

  • Leptin – signals the body to shed weight
  • Ghrelin – responsible for hunger signals
  • Thyroid hormones – regulate your basal metabolic rate
  • Insulin – regulates energy use from nutrients
  • Estrogen – regulates where the body stores fat
  • Testosterone – enhances muscle development at the expense of fat
  • Cortisol – tentative links to fat storage

Through diligent studies, researchers have already uncovered a few ways to address hormonal imbalances.


What Can You Do About Hormone Health and Weight Loss?


Fortunately, there are several ways you can deal with your hormones and weight loss problems.


One of the most common remedies for women struggling with weight gain issues due to menopause is hormone replacement therapy. However, some of these treatments are controversial as well as risky for certain individuals.


Several studies indicate a link between growth hormone and weight loss, although these therapies also present risks. 


Unless you’re dangerously obese, it’s sometimes better to embrace your new shape instead of meddling with the natural order of things. 


In this light, some people swear that a functional medicine doctor can help with hormone-related weight gain or loss. This approach centers on a holistic approach to hormonal health by adjusting lifestyle factors that could be influencing hormonal health or weight gain issues.


Although this approach involves a lot more effort than simply popping a pill, and it can take longer to see results, it’s a safe alternative to chemical interventions. 


A Happier Healthier You


The relationship between weight loss and hormones is top of mind for most people as they age, but hormones aren’t always the source of our troubles.  Remember, there’s a strong link between your lifestyle and your body’s internal workings too.

If you’d like to find out more about how to promote your health and make the most of life, keep browsing our blog. 


Article source: https://www.articlecity.com/blog/this-is-how-your-hormones-affect-your-weight-loss-journey/

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

All About Hormones: How they Function to Keep You Healthy

If your   circulatory system is a superhighway, your hormones are some of the most important traffic traveling those critical thoroughfares. Likening hormones to cars shows these complex molecules as simply vehicles. And that’s exactly what they are. Hormones are constantly driving through your internal highways to transport messages and signals between your body systems and organs. For example, when you’ve eaten a meal, the hormone insulin enters the highway from the pancreas. Then it races through the bloodstream to collect glucose and deliver it to your cells for energy. Let’s broaden this driving metaphor. If hormones are various vehicles, then the glands that produce them are like car manufacturers. These manufacturers are all a part of the larger controlling body—your endocrine system. The endocrine system employs vehicle (or hormone) manufacturers throughout the body: the pancreas, thyroid, adrenal, ovaries, and testes to name a few. Let’s take a closer look at the major hor...

Foods That Fuel You: Understanding the Glycemic Index

  You want to eat right and don’t know where to start. So, you find yourself surfing the web for examples of “good” and “bad” foods. A list of healthy options is essential for paving the road to a healthy diet. But lists do little to educate you on why good foods are, in fact, good for you. You can pick better ingredients for healthier meals if you understand how the food you eat creates usable   energy in your body . The glycemic index can be just the tool you need to build a better understanding of how food works in your body. You already know that the food you eat becomes energy. But learning how to use the glycemic index can illuminate just how much energy you can derive from certain foods. It can also teach you about the quality and dependability of that energy. Glucose—Derived from Food to Fuel the Body The energy currency for your body is glucose. This simple sugar is an abundant   carbohydrate   in your diet. Not all of the carbohydrates you consume are in th...

Growing Up Healthy: Proper Nutrition for Kids as They Age

  Healthy kids have a better chance of turning into healthy adults. But it takes work—and that work starts early. That’s because kids’ nutritional needs tie to the rapid development of childhood. So, nutrition for kids is about growth and development in the present and forming healthy building blocks and habits for a lifetime. Just think about this: at two years old, your child’s brain has grown to 80 percent of its adult size. That’s incredible growth in a short amount of time. And for one of the most important parts of the body, too. You understand why proper nutrition for kids is important. Now it’s time to deal with how you provide for kids’ nutritional needs. And the advice about the foods needed to grow healthy kids will sound very familiar. When kids start eating solid foods, you should strive for a healthy balance. Like adults, kids’ nutritional needs start with fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats, and whole grains. Similar advice applies from six months (or whe...