No matter where you live, Dublin, CA, Livermore or any other place on the earth, sometimes hormones get out of balance and that may cause you to gain weight. Of course, not all weight gain comes from hormonal imbalance. If you’re eating potato chips dipped in a big bowl of ice cream for snacks, that could be the cause of your problem. If, however, you’re sticking with a healthy diet and still packing on the pounds it may be hormones.
There are a lot of different types of hormones and many can play a role in weight gain.
Every cell in your body requires hormones to function. Hormones include more than just sex hormones like estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Hormones deliver messages to all the cells in your body. They affect your mood, growth rate and even your immune system. They also affect where you store fat, weight loss and hunger. For instance, if you get too little sleep, your body makes more ghrelin, the hunger hormone and less leptin, the hormone that makes you feel full. Insulin is another hormone that affects your weight and insulin resistance can lead to weight gain in the abdomen and type 2 diabetes.
Are you under stress?
When you’re under stress, your body sends out hormones, such as cortisol, which prepare your body to fight or run. If you don’t those changes remain in place and cause serious conditions and even weight gain, particularly around the middle, belly fat. How do you counter that problem? It’s easier than you think. Start by mimicking the actions of fight or flight. Run, exercise and get active at high intensity. It burns off the hormones of stress, can help you lose belly fat and leaves you feeling fabulous. Cut out sugary products and highly processed food. Before you know it, you’ll be dropping pounds quickly.
It’s all about balance.
Hormones balance each other out. For every hormone that does one particular job in your body, such as increase your heart rate, there’s a hormone that does the opposite, such as slow your heart rate. The body is all about balance and systems that counter each other. If you have high levels of insulin that reduce sugar levels in your body, your levels of glucagon will be lower. When the insulin reduces the sugar in the blood, glucagon increases glucose to maintain a balance. High insulin levels increase fat fast
- Sex hormones determine where fat is stored, so an imbalance with higher levels of hormones like estrogen, will put weight on hips, thighs and abdomen. Dominance of any of the sex hormones can cause weight gain.
- Inflammation in the body can create hormone imbalance. Foods high in sugar and processed foods are inflammatory. They can lead to insulin resistance, oxidative stress and weight gain. Opt for whole foods, healthy fat and foods higher in protein to help eliminate the problem.
- Find ways to control stress. Strenuous exercise is one way, but you can also combine them with meditation, breathing techniques and other stress relievers like taking a walk or going outside in the sun.
- Get plenty of sleep. You need about 7-9 hours a night. Turn off any electronic devices and sleep in a cooler, dark room. Cut out caffeine. It will help keep your hunger hormones and stress hormones in check.
For more information, contact us today at LIV Fitness