These Hormones are Responsible For Weight Gain in Women

Weight gain could be due to a number of factors. So, healthy eating is not the only way to lose weight. It is essential to understand the real reason behind it. If your hormones are all imbalanced, it could be really difficult to shred some fat. Hormones are responsible for some of the most critical activities in the body, and imbalance leads to a number of complications.

Read on to see which are the hormones responsible for weight gain, and how you could treat it and lose the extra fats.

Weight Gain Hormones:

Estrogen:

You could gain weight if your estrogen level goes high or low. High estrogen could be due to overproduction by the ovarian cells or due to a diet of estrogen rich food. Animals are fed with steroids and hormones, and they could act as estrogen in your body when you consume them. When your estrogen levels increase, the cells producing insulin get stressed. This makes your body resistant to insulin, and causes an increase in the blood sugar levels, leading to weight gain. As for menopausal women, the estrogen levels get lowered, which ends ovulation. This again lowers the estrogen levels. In order to compensate for the loss, the body looks for other sources to produce estrogen. Fat cells are one such source. So, the body converts all the sources of energy to fat to replenish the estrogen levels. This causes weight gain, especially in the lower part of the body.

Maintaining Estrogen Levels:

• Avoid alcohol
• Avoid processed meat
• Consume lots of fresh veggies, fruits, and whole grains
• Work out on a regular basis. Yoga could help lower stress.
• Keep in touch with your doctor

Ghrelin:

This is the hunger hormone. It stimulates appetite and increases fat deposition. A high level of ghrelin causes weight gain, and obese people are more sensitive to it. Ghrelin levels also increase when on a strict diet or fasting.

Lowering Ghrelin Levels:

• Have 6 meals in a day.
• Eat every 2 to 3 hours.
• Include fresh fruits, healthy fats, dietary fiber, vegetables, and proteins in your diet.
• Drink 1.5 cups of water 20 minutes before your meal.
• Be active always.

Insulin:

The pancreas secretes insulin to carry the glucose to the cells to use them as energy or store as fat. This maintains the level of glucose in the body. Consuming too much of alcohol, artificially sweetened drinks, processed foods, and unhealthy foods could lead to insulin resistance. As such, the muscle cells are not able to recognize insulin, and glucose remains in the blood stream. This causes the blood sugar levels to increase, and causes weight gain and Type 2 diabetes.

Treating Insulin Resistance:

• Check your blood sugar levels and consult a doctor.
• Avoid late night snacks, processed foods, alcohol, aerated drinks, and such foods.
• Consume nuts, olive oil, fatty fish, flaxseeds, and other foods rich in omega 3 fatty acids.
• Drink 3 to 4 liters of water in a day
• Start working out 4 hour in a week.
• Have seasonal veggies and fruits, and green leafy veggies.
• Have nutritious foods that are low in calories.

Leptin:

Leptin shows you that you are full and should stop eating. But, over-consuming foods rich in sugar content, the fructose converts in to fat and deposits in the liver, belly, and other parts o the body. Fat cells secrete leptin. So, the more you consume such foods, more fat is accumulated and more leptin is secreted. This makes your body immune to leptin and the brain stops receiving the stop signal while eating. This causes weight gain.

Lowering Leptin Levels:

• Get proper rest. Sleep deprivation could cause leptin levels to fall. 7 to 8 hours of sleep is required every day.
• Stay away from sugary processed foods and do not consume more than 3 servings of fruits in a day. Have healthy snacks and dark green leafy vegetables.
• Eat every 2 hours.
• Have lots of water as dehydration could also cause hunger.

Progesterone:

Progesterone and estrogen need to be balanced for the body to function properly. Menopause, contraceptive pills, stress, consumption of foods containing antibiotics and hormones that convert to estrogen are some main reasons why the progesterone level could drop. This could cause depression and weight gain.

Raising Progesterone Levels:

• Consult your gynecologist for the best birth control method suiting you.
• Exercise regularly.
• Avoid stress.
• Practice deep breathing.
• Do not consume processed meat.

Thyroid:

The thyroid is present at the base of the neck, and is responsible for producing three hormones – T3, T4, and calcitonin. They regulate sleep, heart rate, metabolism, brain development, growth, and so on. At times, the thyroid gland under-produces the thyroid hormone and causes hypothyroidism. This condition causes depression, fatigue, constipation, weight gain, high blood cholesterol, slow heart rate, etc. hypothyroidism could be caused from several factors like malnutrition, gluten intolerance, environmental toxins, and others. It causes water accumulation which makes you plump.

Treating Thyroid Imbalance:

• Get thyroid tested and checked by a doctor
• Consume well cooked food, and not only raw veggies
• Consume pumpkin seeds, oysters, and other zinc sources
• Consume iodized salt
• Consume vitamin D supplements and fish oil
• Take medicines if the doctor prescribes

Testosterone:

Testosterone is also found in low levels in women. It helps strengthen bones and muscles, burns fat, and improves libido. It is produced in the ovary. Stress and age could cause the testosterone levels to drop, and this could cause loss of bone density, obesity, loss of muscle mass, and also depression. This increases stress and inflammation and causes more fat accumulation.

Increasing Testosterone Levels:

• Check your testosterone levels.
• Workout regularly to improve testosterone levels and increase metabolism.
• Avoid alcohol as it could damage your liver and kidney.
• Vitamin C, probiotics, and magnesium supplements prevent constipation.
• Consume flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, prunes, whole grains, and other fiber rich foods.
• Protein and zinc supplements help improve testosterone levels.

So, these were some common hormones responsible for weight gain. Follow the tips above and stay healthy!