You can overcome hormonal changes that are impacting your body weight by choosing low-calorie-dense foods. These foods help stave off hunger and cravings. “This facilitates your ability to alter your body composition and helps you get back to feeling the way you did before the hormone changes.”
Sometimes diet and exercise aren't enough to lose stubborn fat. Aging causes your hormone levels to change, and hormone fluctuations make it tough to burn fat and keep it off. So, despite eating healthy and following an exercise program, you may still have unwanted fat because of your hormones.
Hormonal weight gain affects different areas in men and women. Men tend to gain excess weight in the abdominal area. However, premenopausal women add pounds around the hips and thighs. After menopause, women usually gain weight in the abdomen and develop a "menopausal belly."
More often than not, belly fat can be traced to your diet. But if your tummy's popping despite a steady diet and lifestyle, your weight gain could be hormonal. Hormone levels can change for a variety of reasons outside your control, including: aging (think menopause and andropause!)
The treatment will depend on the cause. A doctor may recommend medication to balance the hormones that are causing the problem. If a hormonal belly is due to thyroid problems, a doctor may recommend using medication, such as levothyroxine. Diet and exercise can help lose weight around the belly.
Most diets don't work for women, because they fail to address the hormonal root causes that are the most common reasons for weight loss resistance, like excess cortisol, insulin and/or leptin blockage, estrogen dominance, a sluggish thyroid, low testosterone, and problems with the HPA (hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal) ...
Insulin is one of the most important hormones when it comes to weight loss and weight gain. Made by the pancreas, insulin is responsible for storing blood sugar, or utilizing it, depending upon your body's needs of the moment.
Struggling with belly fat and sudden weight gain as early as perimenopausal thru to post-menopause is really common. Data shows that post-menopausal women really struggle with obesity. You're not alone. According to science, you can actually lose hormonal belly fat!
A hormonal belly looks like an accumulation of fat around the belly. It looks like excess fat on the stomach that cannot be removed. Hormonal imbalances can lead to excess fat accumulation in the belly area.
Hormonal belly is weight gain around the abdomen and waistline due to hormone fluctuations. Hormones monitor and maintain normal bodily functions. Menopause, low T, an underactive thyroid, and PCOs can cause hormone inconsistenies.
Fruits, certain veggies, and whole grains have a high fiber content, which helps regulate estrogen. Reach for root veggies like sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots to accompany whole grains like quinoa and brown rice. Don't ditch the starch completely! Starches can help your body regulate melatonin and cortisol levels.
Exercises that help boost hormone levels
High-intensity exercises like squats, lunges, pull-ups, crunches and pushups are ideal, with minimal rest time in between. The more intense a workout, the more these hormones are released.
Processed foods such as cookies, bread, and other packed foods are high on preservatives, sodium, and sugar. This dangerous combination increases inflammation and stresses the adrenal glands, putting you at risk of weight gain and severe hormonal imbalance.
In fact, hormones and belly fat are so intertwined that some researchers suggest that the fat acts like an “extra organ” or gland. As a result, losing belly fat often takes hard work, especially if you're in your 40s or older.
Irregular periods (missed periods, abnormally heavy bleeding, and periods that last longer than usual) Stomach and digestive problems (erratic bowel movements during your period are normal, but prolonged digestive problems can be a sign of an estrogen or progesterone imbalance)
Recent studies show that menopausal women on hormone therapy tend to have less body fat, especially visceral belly fat. Because estrogen affects how your body distributes fat, low estrogen levels can contribute to gaining fat in your belly area.
Estrogen deficiency can also impair the action of insulin, making it harder to regulate blood sugar and leading to increased hormonal belly fat and abdominal weight gain.
There are many reasons why people gain belly fat, including poor diet, lack of exercise, and stress. Improving nutrition, increasing activity, and making other lifestyle changes can help people lose belly fat. Belly fat refers to fat around the abdomen.