Hormonal Weight Gain: Why won't it budge?
It goes without saying that weight gain and weight loss can be an absolute beast for women. For men, the traditional “calories in and calories out” may apply, but for women, not so much. Hormones matter!
The truth is, everything from oral contraceptives to environmental estrogens to perimenopause and menopause can wreak havoc on your hormones. When I owned my gym, I spoke with women almost every day who were doing all of the lifestyle things: eating healthy and exercising, but who couldn’t seem to lose the excess weight. I found it to be so common, in fact, that I started to dig into it on a research level (having also experienced issues myself with hormone imbalance), and came to the conclusion that said imbalances can and do cause a lot of issues as it pertains to women maintaining a healthy weight.
So what are the most common causes of hormonal weight gain? Let’s dive in.
- Estrogen dominance — This term refers to the ratio between estrogen and progesterone. This doesn’t mean your estrogen is “high” or that your progesterone is “low” but that the estrogen is high in relation to the progesterone. This is common in perimenopause and menopause, but also in other various times of a woman’s life depending on her unique body. With dominance, the weight typically likes to stick to the hips and thighs. Often times, women dealing with estrogen dominance may also be dealing with issues such as endometriosis.
- Blood sugar — Never underestimate the power of blood sugar in the grand scheme of your hormonal health. Some experts say it is the most crucial hormone to assess. When blood sugar is fluctuating, women can find excess weight in their lower belly. Often times, women dealing with these fluctuations in blood sugar may find themselves diagnosed with PCOS, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
- Cortisol — Ahh, our stress hormone. As we age, our adrenal glands start to make up more of our sex hormone production as our ovaries start to wane. This causes cortisol to oftentimes be affected, which can contribute to weight gain. Also, for women who are training extremely hard in their fitness, low cortisol (and often times, LEA — Low Energy Availability) can be a result of that high intensity training. In other words, exercising at that level can be playing against you when it comes to your weight.
- Perimenopause/Menopause — It goes without saying that into our 40’s and 50’s (and sometimes even sooner, in our 30’s!) we can start to see our progesterone decline, causing estrogen dominance or even cortisol issues.
- Sluggish Thyroid — If your thyroid is underperforming, it’s undoubtedly causing an issue with your weight. Knowing what exactly is going on here is crucial.
While a variety of things could be going on, these tend to be the most common issues I see. Without proper testing and a functional medicine doctor to help you get to the root cause of your imbalance, you could find yourself frustrated and struggling. It doesn’t have to be that way! In my course, I teach women how to get to the root cause of what’s going on from them, how to find the right practitioner for them, and ultimately, how to sync their exercise and nutrition with their cycles.
If you’re unsure whether this could be an issue for you, start here by taking my Hormone Imbalance Quiz.
You don’t have to suffer from weight gain without help. Tackling your hormone health will benefit you in so many ways. You deserve to feel good again!
xoxo,
Jenny