Weight gain is one of many hormonal imbalance symptoms. A few pounds here and there. A few more pounds there. And there. And there. Then before you know it, it’s gotten out of control.
Maybe you are just going through the natural changes that happen as you age and those extra pounds that used to fall off instantly are hanging around.
Maybe your weight has always been a struggle. Or perhaps this is all new to you, and you are looking for answers. There are all kinds of diet and weight loss programs out there promising you fast results, but if those fast results aren’t working, it’s important to understand why.
Let’s start with your typical go-to reasons for weight gain like exercise, rest, and proper nutrition— if you’ve already got a handle on these skip this section and read the read about hormones.
Let’s Start with Diet
And we aren’t talking about “going on a diet.” We are talking about the foods you are choosing to put in your body.
1. Kick Out the Bad Fat
Particularly the good kinds of fat that you find in essential fatty acids, but be careful not to go overboard if you want to lose weight.
-
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Avocado
- Olive oil
Kick out the bad, saturated fats like beef, lamb, and dairy products. These aren’t really benefitting you nutritionally, and they will add to your weight gain problem.
2. Remove Processed Sugar
Eating small amounts of fructose-sugar that is found in fruits and process foods alike— is okay. But when you exceed the five suggested servings of fruit per day and then add additional processed sugar into the mix, your liver can’t deal with the fructose fast enough to use it as fuel.
Instead, your body converts the sugar into fats. These are then sent into the bloodstream as triglycerides and deposited in the liver and elsewhere in your belly.
At this point, your levels of leptin increase because fat produces leptin. Because of the increase in leptin, your brain starts to miss the signal that you are full. You continue to eat, and you keep gaining weight.
3. Eat Your Cruciferous Vegetables
Vegetables are good for your body.
-
- Brussels sprouts
- Kale
- Cauliflower
- Bok choy
- Broccoli
Their high fiber content creates a feeling of fullness in your belly, and they also are great for estrogen metabolism.
4. Watch Out for “Healthy” Processed Foods
You’re trying to eat healthy by eating processed foods that are labeled “healthy.” It turns out that excess salt and sugar are often hidden ingredients in these “healthy” foods.
Both are inflammatory and cause excess weight gain. It may be sold at a health food store, and it may be labeled “gluten-free” or “low fat” or “natural.” But that does not mean it’s good for you.
Sleep Is Required
Your body needs sleep— this includes all of its parts. Your hormones, brain, muscles, bones, organs, and cells all need you to get a good night’s sleep. There is also a relationship between weight gain and not getting enough rest.
Ghrelin, the so-called ‘hunger hormone’ tells you when to eat. Leptin, the ‘satiety hormone,’ tells you when to stop. If you are sleep-deprived (defined 7 hours or less a night), you have more ghrelin and thus more appetite.
In turn, this means you have less leptin. Less leptin means you never get the signal that you are full, so you feel hungry all the time.
These key appetite hormones operate on the sleep-wake cycle. Anything that disrupts that cycle, such as a high night cortisol (the stress hormone) level can upset the balance leading to overeating and cravings.
Moderate Exercise Lowers Stress Hormones
This reduces the body’s tendency to store fat and increases the body’s burning of calories. Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, etc. can help release tension in the body. 2-3 workouts of strength training or weight-bearing exercise a week builds muscle and increases anabolic hormones like testosterone and DHEA that rev metabolism.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D, synthesized by the action of sunlight upon the skin, is converted to a vital hormone in our bodies. Its deficiency has been linked to:
- Food allergies
- Asthma
- Weight gain
- Fatigue
- Diabetes
- Cancer
If you aren’t getting 30 minutes of sun a day you may be deficient in Vitamin D. Now let’s move on to how hormonal imbalances might be the culprit when it comes to weight gain.
High Cortisol Levels
High cortisol levels might cause that muffin top. Cortisol is the “stress hormone” that comes for a visit when we are under consistent stress, strain, or do not feel safe. This hormone can pack the fat on— particularly around the belly.
The fat tends to remain until the stressor is minimized or resolved. Unwind every day with whatever it is (deep breathing, meditation, yoga, walking), that shuts off your hyper-vigilance. Get counseling to help you work out the stressors if needed.
Estrogen Dominance
Many women – especially those of childbearing age – suffer from estrogen dominance. Oddly enough, the strenuous exercise that you are using to try to lose weight may be having the opposite effect. This strenuous exercise might be producing less progesterone and more estrogen, leading to weight gain in the hips, thighs, and buttocks.
Other causes of estrogen dominance include disrupted ovulation (meaning no progesterone is produced), and supplementing with estrogen alone, in the absence of its balancing partner, progesterone. Environmental factors such as the following could be part of the problem.
- Pesticides
- Plastics
- Industrial waste products
- Car exhaust
- Meat
- Soaps
- Chemicals in furniture and carpets
Menopause…Naturally
Women over 50 often find that the end of periods marks the beginning of weight problems. Naturally-occurring progesterone deficiencies create a surplus of estrogen (estrogen dominance) – that triggers weight gain in the hips and thighs and slows metabolism so that it becomes harder than ever to lose weight
Decreases in Testosterone in Men
As men age, testosterone levels naturally decline. Add high-stress levels to that, and you have a cocktail for decreased metabolism and an increased spare tire.
Unearthing the Root Causes
Now you know some of the “whys” around why a weight-loss diet or program may not be working for you. It’s all about addressing the root causes of your weight gain. That’s our specialty at Evexipel— getting to know you and unearthing the root causes of your problems.
Hormones dictate what your body does with food — fixing hormones = effortless weight loss. But when it comes to hormones, you need to get expert help. Our EvexiPEL practitioners love spending time with their patients.
Open communication channels, comfortable dialogue, and regular follow-ups empower our patients to keep searching until they’re able to work with their practitioner to get the results they need.
We’ll create a personalized plan that caters towards your needs. This may include multiple therapeutic methods – pellet therapy, detoxification, nutrient supplement – whatever we need to do to make you feel better.
Again and again, we have seen Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy work for patients who are struggling with weight gain.
What Is Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy?
You’ll see the phrases “BHRT” (bio-identical hormone replacement therapy) and “pellet therapy” scattered all over our website, but you may not know what the difference is, or how they’re related.
- Pellet therapy is a type of bio-identical hormone replacement therapy.
- BHRT is a way to deliver bio-identical hormones to your body.
There are several methods of delivering bioidentical hormones to your body. You can apply:
- Patches
- Creams
- Pills
Each of these “solutions” has its issues; they:
- Require constant maintenance
- Require you to remember to do something every day
- Can be messy
- Aren’t even guaranteed to work
Pellet Therapy
That’s why we prefer pellet therapy. It consists of injecting a prescribed number of pellets that are a little bigger than a grain of rice into the fatty tissue underneath your skin. The pellets contain hormones that are bio-identical to the ones in your body and are gradually released into your bloodstream.
It’s Natural
EvexiPEL’s approach to BHRT is superior because it’s natural. The materials used in our pellets are derived from natural plant sources.
Federally qualified pharmacists extract the exact amount of testosterone or estrogen needed from plant sources and compound them into our pellets. Nothing synthetic or hard to pronounce is going in your body so you can feel safe using our pellet method.
Why Do You Need It?
As we have discussed, often the underlying cause of weight gain has to do with hormonal imbalances. BHRT is one of the most effective methods of addressing hormone imbalances or deficiencies.
One of the best ways to get back to balance is to put the hormones you need back into your body, which is exactly what we do with BHRT.
Does this sound like a solution to your weight struggle? Find an Evexipel practitioner today and get started on your journey to a happy healthier you!
Resources
- Image attribution.
- Medicalnewstoday.com
- Onhealth.com
- Healthline.com
- Webmd.com
-
Article Reviewed By The Medical Faculty and Advisory Review Board