Your body’s functions are controlled by a number of different hormones, and there is no doubt that hormone imbalance affects weight gain. However, there are a number of hormones that interact to help determine your weight. Some of these are connected to your life stage and biology, but not all of them have this correlation. Therefore, health practitioners seeking to optimize your hormones should look at all of the possibilities before suggesting a treatment plan.
Thyroid Hormone Imbalance
Thyroid hormones are among the most commonly-implicated suspects when it comes to an inability to lose weight. However, the same hormones can also cause too much weight loss – sometimes, nearly to the point of starvation! How can this be? The key is in the amount of hormones present.
The amount of thyroid hormone in your body determines your metabolic speed. If you have too little of this hormone, everything runs more slowly. Because of this, it only takes a little food to gain weight. This hormone imbalance condition is called hypothyroidism.
If you have too much thyroid hormone in your system, your metabolism races. This will cause you to burn through food as if it has almost no calories. For a while, it may seem pretty awesome. You can eat bags of chips and still lose weight! Unfortunately, the side-effects of the condition soon catch up. Insomnia, shaking hands, a feeling of constant ravenous hunger, hair loss, and a racing heart are just some of the reasons that people turn to doctors to eliminate hyperthyroidism.
Because thyroid hormones affect weight in both directions, one of the first things a doctor should check for if you have weight issues is your thyroid levels.
Estrogen
This hormone is present in a much greater amount during a person’s fertile years than after menopause. The drop in levels often causes older people to gain weight. Therefore, people typically have these levels checked if they start gaining unwanted pounds without eating more.
Testosterone
The hormone helps people build muscle while reducing fat gain. Since muscle actually weighs more than fat, it can seem as if increasing it causes weight gain! However, problems with fat accumulation in men may be treated with testosterone supplements. Notably, testosterone and its analogs are very potent athletic performance enhancers – to the point that such drugs are banned from many athletic competitions (such as the Olympics). For those who aren’t trying to enter sanctioned athletic events, however, testosterone supplements can be of high value.
Notably, all people have testosterone and estrogen, though levels will vary depending upon biology and certain treatments. This mixture can have an effect on weight gain that is dependent upon hormone imbalances in the body.
Cortisol Hormone Imbalance
This hormone is generated in response to physical and mental stress. It is part of the fight-or-flight response that is supposed to happen when confronted with a physical threat. However, it is also produced in response to other types of stress, such as negative human interactions, low-grade bodily infections, pain, and endless other triggers.
When the body doesn’t use the energy mobilized by cortisol, it tends to store it as fat. Over time, this hormone imbalance causes weight gain and other problems.
Leptin
Unlike some of the other hormones, leptin’s role in weight is quite straightforward. It causes a loss of appetite. Leptin levels should be high if you already weigh enough, since your caloric needs have been met. If your leptin levels stay low, or your body ignores its presence, you’ll almost surely overeat. Overeating, of course, results in weight gain.
Ghrelin
Ghrelin makes you feel hungry, and the more of it you have in your system, the hungrier you’ll feel. This hormone is produced in your gut, and travels to your brain to cause hunger signals. Of course, your weight will be strongly affected by a ghrelin hormone imbalance.
Importantly, ghrelin doesn’t just cause people to become overweight. Underweight people often feel that they aren’t hungry, or even like eating will make them nauseous. This problem is caused by a lack of ghrelin.
Correcting Hormone Imbalance
Since most people have more problems with being overweight than with being too thin, hormone doctors focus on making it easier to lose weight. However, the methods used will typically be the same no matter which way you want the scale’s numbers to go. Optimizing your hormone levels will help to optimize your weight, helping you go more toward normal in either direction.
Let Us Help Balance Your Hormones
If you’ve had trouble losing or gaining weight despite what should be appropriate changes to diet and exercise, let us evaluate you for hormone imbalance. We’ll track down which hormones need to be adjusted, and prescribe an appropriate treatment plan. Since hormone imbalance affects weight gain, you should then find it easier to reach your weight-related goals.
We offer personalized hormone replacement therapy to increase the levels of the ones you’re low on. This will bring about speedy results if you’ve had a serious imbalance. Our hormone replacements are personal and specific, so you won’t have to worry about how you’ll look or feel during or after your treatment.
For a consultation about your body’s hormone levels and how they can be optimized, just contact us here at Optimal Body and Wellness in Orlando. We’ll be happy to help you.
