Hormonal Imbalance & Weight Gain

If you’ve been ignoring those extra kilos shown on your weight machine, then this is the time to get concerned and start looking for the reasons causing that. Sometimes people eating the right food and carrying out the appropriate workout everyday still finds it hard to lose weight. Have you ever wondered why is that the case?

Hormonal imbalance is one of the major but commonly overlooked reason for weight-loss resistance. There are certain hormones in human body that need to be balanced at any age in order to maintain a healthy weight. Other reasons might include your genetics, nutritional imbalances, metabolic challenges or environmental factors.   

Some of the major hormones affecting your body weight and health includes:

Testosterone

Testosterone is a human sex hormone which is also required for bone density, muscle mass and strength. Even if you are controlling your diet or regularly doing exercise, lower level of testosterone may cause increased body fat and muscle loss. Mostly the lower testosterone level is linked to obesity, stress, aging, alcohol, lack of exercise or heart diseases. Another known cause of testosterone suppression is a compound Phthalates, commonly found in cosmetics, soaps, and most plastics.

Estrogen

Primary function of estrogen in human body is the development of female secondary sexual characteristics while in males it is involved in sperm maturation. Regardless of the gender, excess amount of estrogen in your body causes weight gain. Too much fat gained around your hips or belly as a result of elevated estrogen level causes difficultly in losing weight. Increased estrogen level is linked to increased body fat, menopause in women, depression, muscle loss and might lead to memory loss as well.

Ghrelin

Ghrelin is a hunger hormone, regulating appetite and hunger, consequently regulating homeostasis. Less ghrelin will help you in losing weight as you won’t get hungry. The hormone level is high before you eat and low after you eat. The ghrelin production is increased in response to stress, explaining why so many people eats a lot when they are stressed. Moreover, the increased level may contribute to obesity.

Leptin

Leptin is one of the hormones produced by fat cells in our body, playing a major role in regulating appetite. After you eat your meal, leptin is released which tells the brain to stop eating as you are full. It has been known that high-calorie foods might slow downs your metabolism leading to hunger signals towards brain. Thus, making you feel hungry most of the time. Ultimately influencing body fat and weight.  Moreover, excess body fat can cause a condition known as leptin resistance. 

 2 Ways to Overcome the Problem

Proper Diet

Foremost thing is to have a proper check on the amount of calories you are intaking, as undereating protein and overeating carbs can lead to weight gain. Moreover, vegetables are a good source of vitamins and antioxidants and are found to reduce inflammation that interferes with proper functioning of leptin. Such diet can help in keeping you full, increase fat burning and reduce your cravings.   

Good Night’s Sleep

A good night’s sleep of about 7-8 hours keeps cortisol and insulin levels in check. When you're excessively drained two hormones are released in your body that are leptin and ghrelin. Leptin tells your body to stop eating because you are full while ghrelin tells your body when to eat. During the lack of sleep, leptin level decreases and you enter a state of constant hunger. On the other hand, ghrelin level spikes when you are sleep deprived.