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 I have been researching the many healthy ways that people can lose weight and keep it off. I will be culminating this research as well my clinical experience into a new book which will be released in March 2010 called "Your Drug Free Guide to Healthy Weight Loss". In each monthly newsletter each month I will be highlighting the many reasons for weight gain and how we can improve our health so that we can achieve a healthy body weight. Last month we highlighted food allergies.
Reason Three: Hormonal Imbalance
Hormonal imbalances can influence weight gain and distribution of fat cells. As mentioned in my new book, the thyroid has the greatest impact on our weight, energy and metabolism. However other hormonal changes or imbalances do shift the distribution of fat cells and can affect us emotionally. There are other times where people may not have balanced hormones and their glands may be over or underactive.
Some people are high in estrogen, low in progesterone, high in cortisol and low in DHEA. All of these hormones affect our ability to maintain proper hormone balance and influence our mood, sleep, energy, weight distribution and sex drive. We may even feel like we have less sex appeal when we are imbalanced. Menopause and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) are the key conditions that affect our ability to trim down. Many of us don't stop to think about the orchestra that hormones play in the background of our bodies. Some women experience more hormonal shifts than others during menopause. Mood affects our choices of foods, our desire to exercise and our resolve to stick to a regime. Imbalances in estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and DHEA affect our blood sugar balance and distribution of fat cells.
There are several tests that one can do in to show one's hormone levels. For men there is a test that can ascertain the levels of testosterone, cortisol, DHEA and estradiol. For women they can be tested on the same plus progesterone. Too much cortisol, estrogen and testosterone can signify an imbalance in our hormone levels which can play a role in weight. There is an excellent test that shows how well we excrete estrogen metabolites which may help to prevent hormonal growths and cancer. These three types of tests are expensive but worth looking into if you suspect you are hormonally imbalanced. Lastly, we have a quick home test called "My Set Menopause Test" which can detect the start of menopause so you can supplement yourself accordingly. It retails for only 25.50 and may give one peace of mind regarding whether they have entered menopause or not. Contact the clinic for more information on how to test yourself for hormonal imbalance.
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