"NO Matter how much I exercise and watch my Diet I can Hardly lose any weight”... I hear that few times per day from many of you...
If you are an active woman and having a balanced diet and still having a problem losing pounds, it might be your hormones... yes, hormonal imbalances lead to difficulty losing weight and an increased risk of obesity.
5 Common Hormonal imbalances among women
1- Estrogen Dominance
Many women in their thirties and early forties find that they experience moderate to severe symptoms of estrogen dominance. The symptoms listed below, often arise when the ratio of Estrogen to progesterone is off track...
- Decreased sex drive
- Irregular menstrual cycles
- PMS
- water retention
- Breast tenderness
- Headaches (especially premenstrual)
- Mood swings (most often irritability and/or depression)
- Sluggish metabolism
- Weight and/or fat gain (particularly around the abdomen and hips)
- Hair loss or thinning hair
- Foggy thinking, memory loss
- Low Energy
- Fibrocystic breasts
Estrogen dominance has also been linked to many cancers like; breast cancer, uterine cancer, and ovarian cysts. In the next Article, I will address this issue in more details but if you have any of the above-mentioned symptoms come and talk to one of our in-store practitioners for FREE.
2- Excess insulin
There are several reasons for unbalanced Insulin, but the main reasons are:
- Eating too many carbohydrates (processed foods, sugary drinks)
- Low protein intake
- Low-fat
- Diet (good fat)
- Low fibre consumption
- Stress
When our insulin level is not balanced we feel hungry specially Craving High sugar or high carb Food, which then we end up in a vicious cycle of hormonal imbalances and a condition called insulin resistance which causes, even more, weight gain and a higher risk of diabetes and heart disease. This condition can easily be corrected by a higher protein and higher fibre diet and cutting down of carbohydrate.
3. Depression or anxiety (low serotonin)
When we’re depressed or down, we naturally crave more sugars and starches to stimulate the production of serotonin. Serotonin helps to elevate the mood.
Plenty of sunlight; a healthful diet rich in protein, minerals and vitamins; regular exercise and good sleep support serotonin. On the other hand chronic stress and multitasking are causes of lower serotonin.
4. Chronic stress (high Cortisol)
Our bodies release high amounts of the Cortisol, under situations of chronic stress ( physical or emotional). Prolonged stress results in a raging appetite, metabolic decline and belly fat to mention a few. One of the main herbs that help supporting Adrenal Function and to balance Cortisol is Rhodiola.
5. Low Thyroid
Without enough thyroid hormone, every system in the body slows down. If you feel tired, constipated, sluggish metabolism and gain weight easily, your thyroid can be underactive. Other symptoms are dry skin, hair loss, feeling cold, brittle hair, splitting nails, diminished the ability to sweat during exercise, infertility, poor memory, depression.
You can ask your doctor to test your TSH, T3 and T4. Even if your TSH level is in a grey zone but you are experiencing Hypothyroidism symptoms, you can easily and safely add some thyroid supports to your regimen.
*This article is informational only
Our practitioners at Heartland Natural Clinic located at Nutrition House Heartland will be happy to help you get the right product.