Are your hormones sabotaging your weight loss?
Are your hormones sabotaging your weight loss?
Have you ever believed that calories are the little, sneaky, evil creatures that lived in your closet and sew your clothes tighter every night? Well, those sneaky little creatures were your hormones, not calories.
Have you ever felt, that no matter how clean you ate and how much you exercised, the results weren’t coming? This used to be me for a decade. When you eat as little as you can and exercise as much that you feel like fainting but the weight just doesn’t want to come off. I was eating less than 1000 calories a day and ran 4-6 miles daily. Every time I started eating normally, I gained back the weight I lost in a week. I was working so hard and tortured myself to lose the weight for months and everything was ruined in less than 2 weeks.
When I decided to start eating normally and cut back on my exercise, I gained more than 50 pounds. It didn’t want to come off. No matter how clean I ate. Even when I started doing more cardio again, not just weight training. I stagnated for years until I started diving into holistic health more.
I believed that hormones fell into the ‘woo-woo’ area. I had no clue what influence they had on my body...and maybe you don’t see the point, yet, either. Learning about hormones has changed my life and how I view health and weight loss. I am sure it will change your life, too.
Sex hormones are not only relevant for how you look like an adult and if you can have kids or not. Sex hormones play a huge role in almost every process in your body. They have an influence on how you feel, how you think, how clear your skin is, how energetic you are, how lean you are, if you have menstrual cramps or not, headaches, depression, hair loss, skin aging, etc…
The 3 main sex hormones are estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
All 3 of these are present in humans. When it comes to gender, the only difference is their ratio. Females have more estrogen and progesterone. In males, testosterone is the dominant sex hormone.
Having too much and having too little of them can cause some serious issues and can negatively impact your weight loss efforts.
1. Estrogen dominance
Have you seen the movie Gremlins? Incredibly cute-looking creatures that look like a nightmare if you feed them after midnight or get wet.
This is the most common issue in both genders. The reason estrogen is so high in everyone nowadays is xenoestrogens. Xenoestrogens are estrogen-like molecules. They might look cute from the outside but they are rather Frankenstein molecules. Your body has a hard time getting rid of them. Then bind to the places estrogen does. Too much estrogen in the body causes weight gain and ruins your weight loss efforts. I remember, when one of my cousins got her first period and it didn’t want to stop. Doctors put her on hormones and she gained a lot of weight, which she couldn’t lose for many years. Before that, she was very lean. That drug was messing with estrogen metabolism.
Xenoestrogens can come from various places. Contraceptives, pesticides, bottled water (gremlins love water), tap water are all possible risk factors from this aspect. Also, certain foods like dairy and soy products are high in estrogen and can interfere with your natural hormonal levels.
Most of the plastic bottles contain estrogen-like chemicals, which can dilute into the water. One more reason to skip them besides polluting the environment.
If you want to lower your estrogen levels naturally, take DIM (diindolylmethane), eat more cruciferous veggies, flaxseeds, mushrooms, and red grapes. Stay away from soy and dairy products. Also, cleansing your liver is an important factor to eliminate excess estrogen. Check liver cleanse posts here:
2. Too much testosterone
Too much testosterone can ruin your weight loss. Yes, if you have too little of it, it will be more difficult to gain muscle. On the other hand, excess testosterone will give you a lot of breakouts and extra fat. Also, there is an enzyme in your fat cells called aromatase, which creates estrogen from testosterone and vice versa. This can worsen your estrogen dominance, too.
High testosterone is often present in women with PCOS. I don’t think I had it and my T-levels were still high.
The story that provoked my attention to this topic when I researched acne causes and I came across a video where a woman was talking about her acne and weight struggles. She finally went to see a naturopath and her testosterone levels were off the chart.
Also, nowadays, doctors often prescribe spironolactone to their patients who suffer from acne. Spironolactone is a diuretic drug and can get rid of excess testosterone. It reduces the bloating before your period as well as helps you to achieve clear skin.
Thank goodness, there are natural DHT blockers and foods that can get rid of testosterone such as green tea, berries, mint, flaxseeds, licorice root.
3. Low progesterone
Insufficient progesterone levels are also quite common. OK, actually, low progesterone instantly means estrogen dominance because what really matters is their ratio. On the other hand, it has way more benefits. Progesterone supports healthy thyroid function, stable insulin levels. It reduces water retention and inflammation, as well as helps you to sleep better.
Taking vitamin B6 supports progesterone production, as well as drinking lady’s mantle tea. Royal jelly is also an overall great hormone balancer.
If you want to try some healthy and delicious recipes to balance your hormones, check this link.
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