| Hormones
and Weight Loss | "Why am I gaining this weight?"- Hormone Changes |
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Hormones and
Weight Loss
By:
Greg Landry
Taken from The
Sideroad
There are many physical, mental, and physiological benefits to regular
exercise. One category of benefits is the impact that exercise has on many of
your body's hormones. Hormones are chemical messengers within your body that
affect almost all aspects of human function:
1. Growth Hormone (HGH)
- Stimulates protein synthesis (muscle tone/development), and strength of bones,
tendons, ligaments, and cartilage.
- Decreases use of glucose and increases use of fat as a fuel during exercise.
This helps to reduce body fat and to keep blood glucose at a normal level which
helps you to exercise for a longer period of time. Release of growth hormone
from the pituitary gland in the brain is increased with increasing aerobic
exercise time, especially more intense exercise such as interval training.
2. Endorphins
- An endogenous opioid from the pituitary gland that blocks pain, decreases
appetite, creates a feeling of euphoria (the exercise high), and reduces tension
and anxiety.
Blood levels of endorphins increase up to five times resting levels during
longer duration (greater than 30 minutes) aerobic exercise at moderate to
intense levels and also during interval training.
Also, after several months of regular exercise, you develop an increased
sensitivity to endorphins (a higher high from the same level of endorphins), and
endorphins that are produced tend to stay in your blood for a longer period of
time. This makes longer duration exercise easier (you're feeling no pain) and it
causes your exercise high to last for a longer period of time after exercise.
3. Testosterone
- An important hormone in both males and females for maintaining muscle
tone/volume/strength, increasing basal metabolic rate (metabolism), decreasing
body fat, and feeling self-confident. It's produced by the ovaries in females
and by the testes in males.
- Females have only about one tenth the amount of testosterone that males do,
but even at that level in females it also plays a role in libido and intensity
of org*sms. Production of testosterone in females begins to decline as a woman
begins to approach menopause and in males it begins to decline in his forties.
Blood levels of testosterone increase with exercise in both males and females
beginning about 20 minutes into an exercise session, and blood levels may remain
elevated for one to three hours after exercise.
4. Estrogen
- The most biologically active estrogen, 17 beta estradiol, increases fat
breakdown from body fat stores so that it can be used and fuel, increases basal
metabolic rate (metabolism), elevates your mood, and increases libido. This
hormone is at much higher blood levels in females, but the ovaries begin to
produce less of it as a woman begins to approach menopause.
The amount of 17 beta estradiol secreted by the ovaries increases with exercise,
and blood levels may remain elevated for one to four hours after exercise.
5. Thyroxine (T4)
- A hormone produced by the thyroid gland, Thyroxine riases the metabolic rate
("metabolism") of almost all cells in the body. This increase in "metabolism"
helps you to feel more energetic and also causes you to expend more calories,
and thus is important in weight loss.
Blood levels of thyroxine increase by about 30% during exercise and remain
elevated for several hours afterward - this period of time is increased by an
increase in intensity and/or duration of exercise. Regular exercise also
increase thyroxine levels at rest.
6. Epinephrine
- A hormone produced primarily by the adrenal medulla that increases the amount
of blood the heart pumps and directs blood flow to where it's needed.
- Stimulates breakdown of glycogen (stored carbohydrate) in the active muscles
and liver to use as fuel. It also stimulates the breakdown of fat (in stored fat
and in active muscles) to use as fuel. The amount of epinephrine released from
the adrenal medulla is proportional to the intensity and duration of exercise.
7. Insulin
An important hormone in regulating (decreasing) blood levels of glucose ("blood
sugar") and in directing glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids into the cells.
Insulin secretion by the pancreas is increased in response to a rise in blood
sugar as is often the case after a meal. Typically, the larger the meal, or the
greater the quantity of simple sugars consumed, the larger the insulin response.
This is another reason that it's good to eat small frequent meals and to limit
consumption of sugar and of processed bread, pasta and rice. The whole grain
(non-processed) versions of those products are a much healthier choice.
Blood levels of insulin begin to decrease about 10 minutes into an aerobic
exercise session and continue to decrease through about 70 minutes of exercise.
Regular exercise also increases a cell's sensitivity to insulin at rest, so that
less is needed.
8. Glucagon
A hormone that is also secreted by the pancreas, but it's job is to raise blood
levels of glucose ("blood sugar"). When blood sugar levels get too low, glucagon
is secreted and causes stored carbohydrate (glycogen) in the liver to be
released into the blood stream to raise blood sugar to a normal level. It also
causes the breakdown of fat so that it can be used as fuel.
Glucagon typically begins to be secreted beyond 30 minutes of exercise when
blood glucose levels may begin to decrease.
So, next time you're exercising, think about all the wonderful things that are
happening to your hormones. It might even make you want to do more exercise!
"Why am I gaining this weight?"
by Marcy Holmes, NP,
Certified Menopause Clinician
We hear this question every day in our medical practice. And no wonder. Most
women gain weight as they get older — especially around our waists and hips —
despite their best efforts to diet. It can happen at any age, but it's a special
problem in perimenopause–the period of
time from the start of symptoms of hormonal change to to the ending of menses -
which could be 10 years or longer.
Why does this happen? Much of the answer lies in the remarkable links between
hormonal balance and body fat. The good news is that when you understand these
links, you're much more likely to achieve and maintain the healthy weight that's
right for you.
Links between hormonal balance and body fat.
The first and most basic link is between insulin metabolism and body fat.
Most women follow the conventional low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet, with lots of
processed foods. (Pasta, breads, most snacks, beer and wine, etc.) Over time
this diet commonly creates a condition known as insulin resistance. When you are
insulin resistant your body converts every calorie it can into fat — even if
you're dieting.
A second basic link is between stress and body fat. Stress hormones block
weight loss. This is sometimes called the "famine effect": despite adequate
food, the body interprets prolonged stress as a famine, and once again, the body
thinks it should store every spare calorie as fat. Which it does very
effectively. And most of us are under tremendous amounts of stress — often more
than we realize — much of it prolonged and unremitting, which leads to a
metabolic disorder called adrenal fatigue.
These two links work together. Many of us combine a high-stress life with a
low-fat, high-carb diet. This creates such a powerful hormonal imbalance that
weight gain is almost inevitable. Yo-yo dieting — strict dieting followed by a
rebound in weight — will only exacerbate the pattern because it stresses the
body and damages your metabolism.
A third link is the cravings created by high-carb diets. Because your body
can't readily maintain optimal blood sugar and serotonin levels, you are
compelled to have snacks and caffeine to make yourself feel better. But they
only exacerbate your insulin resistance and adrenal exhaustion while adding body
fat. This is a vicious circle.
For women in perimenopause, a fourth link is estrogen loss. As the estrogen
production of your ovaries falls, your body turns to secondary production sites,
including body fat, skin, and other organs. If your body is struggling to
maintain its hormonal balance, body fat becomes more valuable. Of course, if you
are stressed and on a low-fat diet, your body will be struggling — adding to its
need to increase fat deposits.
Note that artificial sweeteners are not a solution, they're part of the
problem. They may lack calorie content, but they mimic sugar so well that the
body produces insulin to metabolize them — contributing to insulin resistance.
They actually lower your blood sugar level, which is why most contain caffeine
to compensate. The caffeine worsens any problems you may have with adrenal
exhaustion.
Diet myths
Most diet plans advocate calorie control and low-fat foods as the path to
weight loss. But that approach can actually starve our bodies of the nutrients
we need to maintain health, while signaling our bodies to put on weight. Neither
outcome is desirable!
It's no wonder that so many women lose a little weight only to gain it back
and more. The whole process leaves us feeling like failures — as though
willpower had anything to do with it!
Other blocking factors
The links between hormonal balance and body fat aren't the only factors that
block weight loss. Unresolved emotional issues are often the root cause of
unhealthy eating habits. We also see many individuals whose efforts to lose are
blocked by other functional problems, including food sensitivities, digestive
issues such as yeast or other dysbiosis, even heavy metal toxicity.
So what can you do?
We have learned that you have to get healthy before you can lose weight and
keep it off. Once you get healthy, your body will naturally seek and maintain
its ideal weight. Here are the things we know work:
- Follow an eating plan like the one in The Schwarzbein Principle. You'll
have protein at every meal, low carbohydrates, very little processed food, and
lots of fruit and vegetables and water. And learn more about healthy
nutrition.
- Be sure to take a medical-grade nutritional supplement, including a fatty
acid supplement. Your hormonal balance depends on a supply of rich nutrients.
- Stop weighing yourself. Use your dress size as your gauge.
- Start exercising. Walking 4-5 times a week for 30 minutes each time is
perfect. Something more vigorous is fine but not necessary. Exercise is
essential for a healthy metabolism.
- If you recognize that you have a habit of emotional eating, get some
counseling. The underlying emotional issues create other health problems too.
And they won't go away without intervention.
- Reduce the stress in your life to the extent you can. Make time for
yourself to compensate for when you can't.
- If you have obvious digestive problems, or take the steps above and don't
see results, discuss potential blocking factors with your primary care
provider. There are simple, reliable tests to find out.
- Love and accept yourself. Focus on your health, not your weight. And if
you fall off your program, get back on. If you can't do it all, do what you
can do.
http://www.womentowomen.com/LIBgainingweight.asp
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