Can’t Lose Weight? Blame Your Hormones

Have you been counting calories, exercising, and even resisting the urge for in between mean snacks? Is your body still resisting weight loss? That is exactly how Harvard-trained integrative physician, Dr. Sara Gottfried felt – she wasn’t able to lose weight despite how much she had tried. She had an extra 25 lbs. of baby fat from her children that she just couldn’t get off. No diet tricks were working. She couldn’t function at work and get to know her patients like she truly wanted. The fatigue became overwhelming, which is when she decided it was time to see her GP. Her doctor told her that weight loss is just a matter of simple mathematics. He told her to eat less and exercise more. What? Like she hasn’t already been doing that? She was humiliated, but then she felt angry as she knew he was wrong. Sara knew that her hormones were out of control and all she needed was a blood test to prove it. She decided to get that done and she found that her cortisol was high, which was responsible for her sugar cravings and her weight gain. Her thyroid was also borderline, which was making her hair fall out and making her depressed. Her oestrogen was high, which is actually common after the age of 35 – that made it even harder to lose weight. It took her just 21 days to turn things around. When she did, she felt like herself again; she felt free and happy. That is when she realized, even more-so, that hormones control the body and will dictate what the body will do with food. Sara states that when you can’t lose weight, your metabolism is typically broken as metabolisms are linked to hormonal misfires. You will store fat no matter which diet you try. Your metabolism can be speeded up, even after age 30. If you try, “The Hormone Reset Diet,” you have to be willing to make the changes, as well as the dietary changes. Avoiding sugars and processed foods are important, just like getting more sleep and lowering your stress level. You will not be able to consume alcohol for 21 days. Alcohol will raise your cortisol and oestrogen levels (your stress hormones.) This will slow metabolism down by 70%. Thinning eyelashes and hair can signal a low thyroid. A warning for oestrogen is sunken tear troughs for the second half of menopause and perimenopause. The fat around your midsection can be a huge sign of hormonal imbalance, especially insulin resistance, high cortisol, and leptin resistance. Sara states that the three huge factors for weight loss issues is cortisol overwhelm, insulin resistance, and oestrogen dominance. To lower oestrogen levels, it is best to eat one pound of veggies each day. The fiber that comes from the veggies will rid the oestrogen. To reset insulin levels, drink filtered water and add apple cider vinegar. When you have 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before you eat a high carbohydrate meal, it can bring down the blood glucose levels significantly. High cortisol levels are related to sugar cravings, food addiction, and depression. In order to bring down your cortisol levels, you should reduce caffeine intake. Exercise is Key Certain exercises, such as spinning and running can put too much stress on the body. Sara states that you shouldn’t exercise hard, just to burn off calories. You should exercise smarter. Try mediation or yoga a few times per week and add in some burst training. Enhance Your Sleep Cycle Humans have been designed to sleep when the sun goes down and wake as the sun comes up. There will always be night owls and morning people, but the hormones are released with your specific sleep and wake cycle. Getting your body into a circadian rhythm will allow the hormones to produce when you need them. Practicing Yoga Yoga is a good way to boost serotonin levels, which is a brain chemical that makes you happy and assists with appetite, sleep, and overall mood. Women have 52% less serotonin than men do, so it is important for them even more. Beat The Gain From Menopause The majority of women find that it is hard to lose weight once they have reached menopause. Even the tricks there are to lose weight that work for others, just won’t work for them when they are going through menopause. Your thyroid will slow down and your testosterone levels can completely drop. Try cutting sugar and make sure you get enough sleep. Doing just those two things should help with weight loss immensely. Birth Control Taking birth control pills can lower your Vitamin B levels, so adding Vitamin B Complex can help significantly. If you experience PMS, and you would like a birth control pill, try asking for one that has drosperinone in it. This will be essential as long as you don’t have a history of blood clots, or any condition that will put you at risk for blood clots. Add Maca To Your Diet Adaptogens are unique herbs that assist the body when it comes to lowering your cortisol to reduce stress. Sara is a big fan when it comes to maca. Maca is a superfood and is an ancient wonderfood. It is so old that your grandmother’s mother’s mom probably used it when it comes to female issues. Boosting Your Mood Let’s face it – mood swings happen! Avoid sugar substitutes and alcohol. Consuming alcohol can raise cortisol, induces anxiety, causes headache and memory issues, and lowers metabolism. Aspartame and diet soda can lower serotonin. Testing Your Cortisol You can test your cortisol by saliva, blood, and dried urine. Many doctors test by blood. Vitamin D in The Winter Increase your Vitamin D in the winter by taking a Vitamin D supplement. When someone is deficient in Vitamin D, it can cause a low sex drive because of low oestrogen. It will also cause low testosterone in men. If you feel your hormones start to peak in the summer months, it is due to getting Vitamin D naturally by the sun.   Source: Bel Fast Telegraph   Do you follow us on Instagram? [caption id="attachment_105144" align="alignnone" width="100"] @BodyRockTV[/caption]