Balance These 4 Hormones If You Want To Lose Weight
When women get older, weight loss becomes more difficult. Even after eating the right food and exercising regularly, it seems very hard to lose weight. You may be following the same routine that you have always followed, but suddenly find that it is not enough to remain fit. Well, if you know you are entering menopause or per-menopause, you may be unaware of the role of hormonal fluctuations behind the weight gain. It is always recommended to discuss hormonal imbalance and weight gain with a weight loss doctor.
How Your Hormones Affect Your Weight
Hormones impact a lot of things—from energy levels to mood, and physical appearance to weight. Hormones fluctuation occurs every month. And they also fluctuate throughout life. Unfortunately, hormonal changes are not discussed much when you think about weight loss or weight gain.
If you are trying to lose stubborn weight and not able to lose it, then you should better get your hormones tested. You can lose weight naturally by bringing hormones into balance. Whether your hormone got imbalanced due to lifestyle choices or menopause, it is possible to balance the hormones by taking the right nutrients.
Get these hormones checked and lose weight:
Thyroid hormones
Thyroid hormone deficiency slows down the metabolism. This results in weight gain. Thyroid imbalance can be easily detected in blood tests. It is possible to avoid thyroid deficiency by consuming enough iodine. Seafood is the healthiest source of iodine. Common symptoms of thyroid deficiency are:
- Cold intolerance
- Dry skin
- Weight gain
- Constipation
- Fatigue
Sex hormones
Deficiency of sex hormone can cause Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and elevate the levels of insulin and testosterone. This results in menstrual disorders, acne, male pattern hair growth, infertility, and weight gain. A low-carb diet is the best treatment option for this condition.
During menopause, the level of the female sex hormone drops. This often results in some weight gain, especially around the gut. Weight gain after menopause is less femininely proportioned. Deficiency of sex hormones also result in weight gain in men.
Stress hormones
Another culprit behind stubborn weight is a stress hormone. This hormone increases the hunger level and eventually causes weight gain. In order to keep this hormone balanced, try not to minimize the stress, and take proper sleep at night.
Bad Habits that give you belly fat
People easily develop bad habits to save energy and time. Old habits may be hard to break, but it becomes important to get rid of bad habits when they are breaking your weight loss efforts. Some bad habits can give you belly fat. Already it is not easy to burn belly fat and your bad habits can sabotage all your dieting and exercising efforts, as a result, belly becomes bigger and bigger. If you want to say goodbye to your flabby stomach and welcome a toned body, you have to avoid these belly fat causing habits:
Drinking Diet Soda: You might think that switching sugar-based soda from diet soda will help your health, but that’s not the case. Diet sodas have their own side-effects and dangers. This non-sugary soda can increase your waist circumference.
Using a Larger Plate Each Time You Eat: Pay attention to oversize the plate that you use during mealtime. When you have more space to put food, you tend to eat more than your body actually needs, and that causes more belly fat.
Late Night Dining: Yes, it is true that the body naturally burns some flab while you are asleep, it might not be efficiently done if you sleep with a full stomach. Along with causing belly fat, late-night dining increases the risk of indigestion and acid reflux. To avoid this consider taking your dinner at least 3 hours before sleeping.
Eating when you are Sad, Angry or Upset: Eating absent-mindedly when your emotions are at peak is not wise. By doing this you are ruining all your work-out and diet efforts. Emotional eating will not make you feel comfortable, instead, it will load you with calories.
Depriving Yourself from Sleep: Sleep deprivation not only slow-down your weight loss, but it will increase the secretion of stress hormones. These hormones increase the sugar craving. This eventually increases belly fat.
Not Getting Enough Protein in Your Regular Diet: Protein is very essential for body. By increasing your protein consumption, you can stabilize your blood sugar while dropping insulin levels. Ask your weight loss nutritionist for healthy proteins.