Have you been unable to lose weight even with a healthy diet and exercise?
Our bodies are wired to send us signals when something isn't right, but often we're too busy to hear them. The symptoms of hormonal imbalance are experienced by many every day. Recognizing and treating these subtle warnings is essential to weight loss, yet so many of us have been imbalanced for so long, we don't even know what normal is anymore.
No matter how an imbalance manifests on the outside, the internal reality remains the same - all hormonal imbalances lead to difficulty losing weight and an increased risk of obesity. Unfortunately, the most common imbalances cannot be solved by dieting alone. In fact, they can prevent successful fat loss even when great diet and exercise plans are in place.If you have not been successful in the past, chances are, one or more the following hormonal imbalances could be the culprit:
1. Inflammation: Digestive disorders, allergies, autoimmune disease, arthritis, asthma, eczema, acne, abdominal fat, headaches, depression and sinus disorders are associated with chronic inflammation. This imbalance has also recently been recognized as the root cause of obesity and most diseases associated with 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.
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), artificial sweeteners, insufficient protein intake, inadequate fat intake and deficient fibre 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 body typically responds 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. Depression or Anxiety: 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 depressed or down, we naturally crave more sugars and starches to stimulate the production of serotonin. The World Health Organization (WHO) projects that by the year 2010 depression and anxiety will be the number-one disability experienced by adults. Plenty of sunlight; a healthy diet rich in protein, minerals and vitamins; regular exercise and good sleep aid in the body's natural production of serotonin. 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 multitasking-two of the main causes of serotonin depletion-and it's a wonder any one of us has been left unaffected by low serotonin.
4. Chronic Stress: Under situations of chronic stress - whether the stress is physical, emotional, mental or environmental, real or imagined-our body releases high amounts of the hormone cortisol. If you have 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 hard-won, metabolically active muscle tissue. In other words, stress makes us soft, flabby and much older than we truly are!
5. Toxic Estrogen: Researchers have now identified excess estrogen to be as great 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 estrogen-like 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 men may experience low libido, memory loss, poor motivation, depression, loss of muscle mass and increased belly fat.
6. Menopause: According to projections by the government of Canada, one in six 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 like progesterone, testosterone and DHEA also tend to dry up, right along with the skin, hair, eyes and libido. So many women come to my office intensely frustrated with the unwelcome changes in their body during this phase of life, especially an annoying thickening of the waistline. Other common symptoms of menopause include hot flashes, difficulty sleeping, emotional changes (including depression), anxiety and irritability, headaches, heart palpitations, poor memory and concentration, urinary urgency or incontinence, vaginal dryness and changes in the appearance of their skin and hair. A diagnosis of menopause is made clinically when the menses has been absent for one year, though it should be confirmed by blood tests.
7. 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. Low testosterone has been linked to depression, obesity, osteoporosis, heart disease and even death. Dr. Mitchell Harman, an endocrinologist at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, blames the proliferation of endocrine-suppressing, estrogen-like 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.
8. Hypothyroidism: Without enough thyroid hormone every system in the body slows down. Those who suffer from hypothyroidism feel tired, tend to sleep a lot, experience constipation andweight gain typically occurs. Extremely dry skin, hair loss, slower mental processes, feeling cold, brittle hair, splitting nails, diminished ability to sweat during exercise, infertility, poor memory, depression, decreased libido 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 levels of TSH (an indicator of thyroid function) within the normal range has been proven to accelerate weight gain and to interfere with a healthy metabolic rate in both men and women.
Restoring Balance: The Key to Weight Loss Success
Since hormones control our appetite and stimulate metabolism, achieving and maintaining hormonal balance plays an essential role in achieving lasting fat loss. Yes, diet and exercise are important, but the lasting solution must include sleeping well, conquering inflammation, reducing toxin exposure and harmful hormones, maintaining healthy liver function, optimizing digestion, limiting stress, regular sex and restoring our body's hormonal balance with supplements or natural (bio-identical) hormone replacement. All of these factors need to be examined because they all influence our hormonal activity- and ultimately our weight-loss success-in truly dramatic ways.
If you've tried every diet and they've all failed you, it's not your fault. Your past efforts were doomed to fail unless they took into account the complex chemicals that are really running the show-your hormones!
Our bodies are wired to send us signals when something isn't right, but often we're too busy to hear them. The symptoms of hormonal imbalance are experienced by many every day. Recognizing and treating these subtle warnings is essential to weight loss, yet so many of us have been imbalanced for so long, we don't even know what normal is anymore.
No matter how an imbalance manifests on the outside, the internal reality remains the same - all hormonal imbalances lead to difficulty losing weight and an increased risk of obesity. Unfortunately, the most common imbalances cannot be solved by dieting alone. In fact, they can prevent successful fat loss even when great diet and exercise plans are in place.If you have not been successful in the past, chances are, one or more the following hormonal imbalances could be the culprit:
1. Inflammation: Digestive disorders, allergies, autoimmune disease, arthritis, asthma, eczema, acne, abdominal fat, headaches, depression and sinus disorders are associated with chronic inflammation. This imbalance has also recently been recognized as the root cause of obesity and most diseases associated with 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.
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), artificial sweeteners, insufficient protein intake, inadequate fat intake and deficient fibre 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 body typically responds 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. Depression or Anxiety: 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 depressed or down, we naturally crave more sugars and starches to stimulate the production of serotonin. The World Health Organization (WHO) projects that by the year 2010 depression and anxiety will be the number-one disability experienced by adults. Plenty of sunlight; a healthy diet rich in protein, minerals and vitamins; regular exercise and good sleep aid in the body's natural production of serotonin. 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 multitasking-two of the main causes of serotonin depletion-and it's a wonder any one of us has been left unaffected by low serotonin.
4. Chronic Stress: Under situations of chronic stress - whether the stress is physical, emotional, mental or environmental, real or imagined-our body releases high amounts of the hormone cortisol. If you have 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 hard-won, metabolically active muscle tissue. In other words, stress makes us soft, flabby and much older than we truly are!
5. Toxic Estrogen: Researchers have now identified excess estrogen to be as great 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 estrogen-like 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 men may experience low libido, memory loss, poor motivation, depression, loss of muscle mass and increased belly fat.
6. Menopause: According to projections by the government of Canada, one in six 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 like progesterone, testosterone and DHEA also tend to dry up, right along with the skin, hair, eyes and libido. So many women come to my office intensely frustrated with the unwelcome changes in their body during this phase of life, especially an annoying thickening of the waistline. Other common symptoms of menopause include hot flashes, difficulty sleeping, emotional changes (including depression), anxiety and irritability, headaches, heart palpitations, poor memory and concentration, urinary urgency or incontinence, vaginal dryness and changes in the appearance of their skin and hair. A diagnosis of menopause is made clinically when the menses has been absent for one year, though it should be confirmed by blood tests.
7. 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. Low testosterone has been linked to depression, obesity, osteoporosis, heart disease and even death. Dr. Mitchell Harman, an endocrinologist at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, blames the proliferation of endocrine-suppressing, estrogen-like 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.
8. Hypothyroidism: Without enough thyroid hormone every system in the body slows down. Those who suffer from hypothyroidism feel tired, tend to sleep a lot, experience constipation andweight gain typically occurs. Extremely dry skin, hair loss, slower mental processes, feeling cold, brittle hair, splitting nails, diminished ability to sweat during exercise, infertility, poor memory, depression, decreased libido 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 levels of TSH (an indicator of thyroid function) within the normal range has been proven to accelerate weight gain and to interfere with a healthy metabolic rate in both men and women.
Restoring Balance: The Key to Weight Loss Success
Since hormones control our appetite and stimulate metabolism, achieving and maintaining hormonal balance plays an essential role in achieving lasting fat loss. Yes, diet and exercise are important, but the lasting solution must include sleeping well, conquering inflammation, reducing toxin exposure and harmful hormones, maintaining healthy liver function, optimizing digestion, limiting stress, regular sex and restoring our body's hormonal balance with supplements or natural (bio-identical) hormone replacement. All of these factors need to be examined because they all influence our hormonal activity- and ultimately our weight-loss success-in truly dramatic ways.
If you've tried every diet and they've all failed you, it's not your fault. Your past efforts were doomed to fail unless they took into account the complex chemicals that are really running the show-your hormones!
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