If you have been unable to lose weight, even with diet and exercise, in the past, one or more of the following hormonal imbalances could be the culprit.
1. Hypothyroidism
Without enough thyroid hormone, every system in the body slows down. Those who suffer from hypothyroidism feel tired, tend to sleep a lot, have constipation, and typically experience weight gain. Extremely dry skin, hair loss, slower mental processes, brittle hair, splitting nails, diminished ability to sweat during exercise, infertility, poor memory, depression, decreased libido, feeling cold, or an inability to lose weight are also symptoms to watch for.
If you suspect you have a thyroid condition, make sure your doctor assesses you and your full range of symptoms, not just your blood work. Even when levels of TSH (an indicator of thyroid function) are within the normal range, slight changes have been proved to accelerate weight gain and to interfere with a healthy metabolic rate in both men and women.
2. Insulin Excess
Insulin is an essential substance whose main function is to process sugar in the bloodstream and carry it into cells to be used as fuel or stored as fat. There are several reasons for excess insulin, but the main culprits are stress, consuming too much nutrient-poor carbohydrate (the type found in processed foods, sugary drinks and sodas, packaged low-fat foods, and artificial sweeteners), insufficient protein intake, inadequate fat intake, and deficient fiber consumption.
Heart palpitations, sweating, poor concentration, weakness, anxiety, fogginess, fatigue, irritability, or impaired thinking are common short-term side effects of high insulin. Unfortunately, our bodies typically respond to these unpleasant feelings by making us think we're hungry, which in turn causes us to reach for more high-sugar foods and drinks. We then end up in a vicious cycle of hormonal imbalance, a condition called insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome, which only furthers weight gain and our risk of diabetes and heart disease.
3. Serotonin Imbalance
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Serotonin exerts powerful influence over mood, emotions, memory, cravings (especially for carbohydrates), self-esteem, pain tolerance, sleep habits, appetite, digestion, and body temperature regulation. When we're feeling down or depressed, we naturally crave more sugars and starches to stimulate the production of serotonin.
According to the World Health Organization, depression is the most common disability experienced by adults. For adequate serotonin production, all of the following are crucial: plenty of sunlight; a healthy diet rich in protein, minerals, and vitamins; regular exercise; and good sleep.
When we measure our current lifestyle against all the elements necessary for the body's natural production of serotonin, the wide-ranging epidemic of low serotonin is certainly not surprising. Add in chronic stress and out-of-control multitasking—two of the main causes of serotonin depletion—and it's no wonder many of us suffer from depleted serotonin.
4. Too Much Cortisol
Under situations of chronic stress—whether the stress is physical, emotional, mental, environmental, real, or imagined—our bodies release high amounts of the hormone cortisol. If you suffer from a mood disorder such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or exhaustion, or if you have a digestive issue such as irritable bowel syndrome, you can bet your body is cranking up your cortisol.
Through a complicated network of hormonal interactions, prolonged stress results in a raging appetite, metabolic decline, belly fat, and a loss of metabolically active muscle tissue. In other words, chronic stress makes us soft, flabby, and much older than we truly are!
5. Imbalances From Inflammation
Digestive disorders, allergies, autoimmune disease, arthritis, asthma, eczema, acne, abdominal fat, headaches, depression, and sinus disorders are all associated with chronic inflammation, which has recently become recognized as a root cause of obesity and unhealthy aging. At the 2007 Postgraduate Nutrition Symposium at Harvard University, researchers revealed findings suggesting that inflammation and excess insulin are the major contributors to rising rates of type 2 diabetes and the overall fattening of North America.
Interestingly, the wrong or right food can be both the cause or the cure of your inflammation issues.
6. Extra Estrogen
Researchers have now identified excess estrogen to be as much of a risk factor for obesity—in both sexes—as poor eating habits and lack of exercise. There are two ways to accumulate excess estrogen in the body: We either produce too much of it on our own or acquire it from our environment or diet. We are constantly exposed to estrogenlike compounds in foods that contain toxic pesticides, herbicides, and growth hormones.
A premenopausal woman with estrogen dominance will likely have PMS, too much body fat around the hips, and difficulty losing weight. Menopausal women and, yes, men too, may experience low libido, memory loss, poor motivation, depression, loss of muscle mass, and increased belly fat.
7. Imbalances From Menopause
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In the United States, a projected 25 million women will hit menopause within the next decade. Contrary to popular belief, menopause, which can begin as early as 40 years of age, is not just about estrogen decline. Supplies of other hormones, such as progesterone, testosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), also tend to dry up, right along with the skin, hair, eyes, and libido.
Many women come to my office intensely frustrated with the unwelcome physical changes, especially an annoying thickening of the waistline, during this phase of life. Other common symptoms of menopause include hot flashes, difficulty sleeping, headaches, heart palpitations, poor memory and concentration, urinary urgency or incontinence, vaginal dryness, changes in the appearance of skin and hair, and emotional changes like depression, anxiety, and irritability.
8. Low Testosterone
Testosterone enhances libido, bone density, muscle mass, strength, motivation, memory, fat burning, and skin tone in both men and women. An increase of body fat and loss of muscle may happen, even with dieting and exercise, when testosterone is low. Testosterone levels tend to taper off with aging, obesity, and stress, but today men are experiencing testosterone decline much earlier in life.
This is quite an alarming finding, considering low testosterone has been linked to depression, obesity, osteoporosis, heart disease, and even death. Mitchell Harman, MD, PhD, an endocrinologist at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, blames the proliferation of endocrine-suppressing estrogenlike compounds used in pesticides and other farming chemicals for the downward trend in male testosterone levels. Phthalates, commonly found in cosmetics, soaps, and most plastics, are another known cause of testosterone suppression.
Adapted from The Supercharged Hormone Diet. Order your copy today!
The article The 8 Most Common Hormonal Imbalances That Drive Weight Gain originally ran on RodaleWellness.com.
