The Science Behind Women’s Weight Loss: Understanding Hormones and Metabolism

Have you tried all possible weight loss efforts to get in shape yet couldn’t achieve your fitness goals? Are you wondering what prevents you from losing those extra kilos? If that’s the case, hormonal imbalance or metabolism issues could be responsible. Weight loss in women is not an issue when the weight gain is due to the food you consume or a lack of exercise. However, weight gain can also occur due to certain hormones or metabolism problems. Often, a customised women’s weight loss diet can help you deal with hormonal imbalance and metabolism issues. Understanding how your body functions and how hormones and metabolism affect your weight can help you step on the right path to losing weight. Keep reading to discover everything about how hormones and metabolism affect your weight management.

 

How Do Your Hormones Affect Your Weight?

Often, weight loss in women can be managed by modifying their diet and exercise routine. However, if you experience larger weight fluctuations then they could be due to hormonal imbalance.

Hormonal imbalance can affect your appetite and cravings. It may also make your body store less or more fat. So, weight loss for women can be a challenge. Certain dietary modifications that can help you achieve hormonal balance can work wonders in achieving your weight loss goals. Let’s see which hormones can affect your weight management.

5 Prominent Hormones That Affect Your Weight:

Several hormones that are crucial for your body functions can affect your weight markedly. An imbalance of these hormones may cause weight issues. Here are some common hormones that can cause fluctuations in weight in women.

1. Oestrogen and Progesterone

Oestrogen (or estrogen) and progesterone are known for being primary female sex hormones that regulate several crucial functions and factors. These two hormones play a role in regulating appetite, metabolism, and eating behaviours in females. Any imbalance in these hormones at par with your age can may you to suffer from the pre-menstrual syndrome, fatigue, and weight gain. An imbalance in estrogen in women may make them suffer from weight gain. Also, hormone fluctuations during the menstrual cycle can impact weight loss in females. Women happen to consume more calories during the luteal phase (i.e. days that lead up to the period) than in the follicular phase (i.e. from the first day of the period). It reflects how progesterone affects the appetite.

Fortunately, modifying your dietary preferences can help regulate weight gain and enable you to stay in shape. Some easy dietary modifications include eating plenty of fibre, consuming more cruciferous vegetables, adding flax seeds to your diet, and practising exercise more often.

2. Insulin

Insulin is another hormone that can cause weight gain. It tells your body to store fat. At times, insulin stores in your body may spike, even if you are not suffering from diabetes. So, you need to keep your insulin in check. You can do this by avoiding sugary foods and beverages in your fast metabolism diet plan. Also, prefer consuming more protein and drinking green tea regularly.

3. Cortisol

It is called stress hormones, as cortisol is released when your body is under some stress. If you are having chronically soaring levels of cortisol, it might be hard for you to minimize your habit of overeating. Even women who can avoid overeating but have high cortisol levels may find it difficult to lose weight.

To alleviate your cortisol levels, you should avoid stress, practice mindfulness, and relaxation techniques, sleep a minimum of seven hours every night, and eat a balanced diet without cutting back on calories in an extreme way.

4. Leptin

Leptin is the hormone that is responsible for making you feel full. However, obese women may experience a problem with the functioning of leptin. So, this makes it hard for them to lose weight despite following the right diet and workout routine.

To improve the leptin sensitivity of your body, refrain from eating inflammatory foods, include fatty fish in your diet, and have continuous sleep for at least seven hours at night.

5. Thyroid Hormones

Thyroid hormones play a crucial role in regulating metabolic rate; so, they play a pivotal role in maintaining a healthy weight. When you cannot produce sufficient thyroid hormones, you suffer from hypothyroidism which slows down your metabolism markedly. This makes weight loss difficult for you to achieve. Consulting dieticians and following their well-planned female weight loss diet for hypothyroidism can help you shed those extra kilos.

How Women’s Weight Loss and Metabolism are Related?

Metabolism refers to the various chemical processes in your body that convert food into energy.  Metabolism impacts your weight loss and weight gain. BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the number of calories that you burn as your body carries out basic life-sustaining functions.

1. Metabolism Rate is Lower in Women than in Men

Typically, women have greater body fat and lesser muscle mass than men. This affects their BMR at rest. Muscle mass plays a crucial role in metabolism. As women have less muscle mass and more fat naturally as compared to men, women have a slower metabolism than men. So, females lose weight slower than men.

2. Menopause Can Lower the Metabolism Rate for Weight Loss

Menopause in women can reduce the calorie-burning ability of the body. When in the menopause phase, women have lower levels of estrogen that reduce their metabolic rate. It causes more belly fat to accumulate that influences metabolism. On top of that, age-related decline in muscle mass in this phase worsens weight management.

So, the best way to preserve muscle and lose fat is by combining a well-developed metabolism diet and exercise routine. Prefer to have frequent, small meals that are high in fiber. Include fresh fruits and vegetables and legumes that are rich in fibre in your diet.

3. Health Conditions Influence Metabolism for Weight Loss

At times, certain medical conditions affect metabolism in women that in turn impact weight loss. For instance, unhealthy thyroid function, certain medications, and insulin resistance cause weight gain. Blood pressure-lowering medicines, antidepressants, steroids, and epilepsy medicines are linked to weight gain. Consulting certified doctors and dieticians can help you have an individualized female weight loss diet plan that can prevent you from turning obese and manage your weight healthily.

4. Vitamin D Influences Metabolism for Weight Loss

Vitamin D is known for improving bone health; however, this crucial vitamin also plays a vital role in improving metabolism and weight management. Receiving sufficient vitamin D helps women lose weight healthily. Some of the common symptoms that indicate inadequate levels of this vitamin are muscle weakness and bone pain. Spend 10 to 30 minutes in the fresh morning sunlight daily to receive this vital vitamin naturally. Also, consulting certified nutritionists can help you have vitamin D supplements in the right quantities for optimum levels of this essential vitamin.

Now that you know the science behind weight loss for women and how hormones and metabolism affect it, adopt healthy dietary measures to keep your weight in check. Consulting certified nutritionists, such as health experts at Health Total, can help you receive a customised women’s weight loss diet that can help you lose weight without compromising your health. Our diet plan not only helps balance your hormones and metabolism but also eliminates your nutritional deficiencies, boosts your immunity, and prevents potential health risks. So, hurry up, reach out to us at Health Total and balance your hormones and metabolism to get in shape naturally with our personalized female weight loss diet.

Sign up for a FREE consultation with Health Total experts to get more tips for balancing your hormones and improving your metabolism for weight loss with diet or managing any other health condition. Call toll-free at 1-800-843-0206 and book an appointment!

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