According to a recent study, if you have trouble losing or maintaining your weight the reason for that could be your hormones. Weight gain has been associated to the misbalance of 4 most common hormones. The weight loss process is almost entirely controlled by these hormones which regulate your appetite, cravings, they control where you store the fat and how quickly the body converts food into energy.
Keep reading to find out what you can do to bring these weight gain hormones into balance in order to get the desired body weight.
- Insulin
Insulin imbalance is one of the reasons for weight gain, because this hormone regulates how and where the body is storing the energy. If there is insulin imbalance in your body, fat could be stored as a source of energy.
How to fix it:
- Avoid consuming simple carbohydrates, foods that have a high glycemic index and especially sugar.
- Pay attention to labels. Avoid foods that have ingredients that end with “-ose” such as fructose, dextrose, maltose, sucrose or ending in “syrup” particularly high fructose syrup, then honey, fruit concentrate, agave or cane juice.
- Eat more high quality proteins for example, meat, milk, egg white and whey.
- The protein reduces the amount of glucose that gets released thus helps regulate sugar levels and controls the insulin levels.
- Leptin
Leptin is a hormone that regulates satiety and is probably the most important hormone for keeping the body weight under control because it tells the body that you have had enough food. If there is leptin imbalance in the body, we may keep eating more even though we don’t need to.
How to fix it:
- Eat slowly and try not to use any distractions such as electronic devices. Eating too fast has a negative effect on the digestion and the blood sugar levels. If you eat slowly you won’t overeat.
- Sleep at least 7-8 hours every night because proper sleep is important for the metabolism and weight.
- Estrogen
Estrogen imbalance is common among women and it could lead to appearance of cellulite, weight gain and fat storage.
How to fix it:
- Reduce alcohol as much as you can because alcohol reduces the ability of the liver to metabolize this hormone
- Fiber is important for balanced estrogen so consume about 25-30 grams of fiber a day
- Avoid soy and soy based products such as soy milk and tofu because they can raise estrogen levels
- Cortisol
The adrenal glands release cortisol as a response to stress. This hormone makes the liver release sugar in the blood which results to increased sugar cravings. Cortisol can also slow the metabolism and break down muscles.
How to fix it:
- When you are stressed you breathe faster and much shallower than you usually do. You can reduce cortisol levels and lower stress by practicing deep breathing techniques.
- Try to meditate or practice yoga every day.
- Too much caffeine can significantly increase cortisol levels and have negative effects on your health.
- Try to get more high quality sleep.
- Follow a healthy diet plan, spend time in nature relaxing or listen to calming music.