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Hormones for Weight Loss: Everything You Need to Know

You might think you’ve tried everything to lose that extra weight you carry around. But what you didn’t know is that there are hormones for weight loss that can give you that edge you’ve been angling for.

Hormones play an essential role in the body. They are chemicals that act as messengers to tell it what to do. By their action, they control diverse vital functions of your body such as its development, metabolism, or reproduction.

They are so important that they can actually be a deciding factor when it comes to weight gain or weight loss. They can become imbalanced for various reasons, such as binge eating, poor diet, and medication, not to mention menopause and perimenopause.

And when they are imbalanced, they will make it difficult for you to lose weight no matter how much effort you put in.

In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the hormones that help your weight loss and the ones that hinder it.

Hypothyroidism

If you suffer from thyroid deficiency, also known as hypothyroidism, your thyroid produces an insufficient amount of crucial hormones. This causes your metabolism to slow down.

Weight gain is one of the symptoms observed for this condition, along with fatigue, elevated cholesterol levels, and depression, among other things.

Unfortunately, hypothyroidism is found more frequently in women and a common cause of weight gain.

Hypothyroidism is usually treated by making dietary changes first and foremost. You might find improvements by adopting a gluten-free diet, limiting your sugar intake, consuming probiotics, and eating more iodine-rich foods.

Ghrelin

Ghrelin is a hormone produced in the stomach, whose purpose is to make you feel hungry. This earned ghrelin the nickname of the hunger hormone.

When your stomach’s empty, ghrelin gets released to let you know it’s time to eat. Once your stomach’s full, ghrelin levels naturally decrease to their lowest point so that you don’t feel hungry anymore.

However, overweight and obese people don’t experience the same dramatic decrease after eating. As their ghrelin levels remain high, so does the sensation of hunger. This is what leads to overeating.

In order to get ghrelin functioning better, make sure to avoid consuming high-fructose corn syrup and sugar-sweetened drinks. Instead, favor protein intake at every meal, as it tends to reduce ghrelin levels.

Insulin

Insulin is secreted in your pancreas. Its purpose is to allow your body to absorb blood sugar, either for energy or storage depending on what it needs. It also happens to be the main hormone responsible for storing fat.

In the case of insulin-resistant cells, which is common, your insulin levels increase significantly. Insulin resistance may occur as a result of overeating, in particular sugar and refined carbohydrates.

Having persistently elevated insulin levels is a cause of many health issues, such as obesity and metabolic syndrome.

In order to adjust your insulin levels, you can minimize sugar intake, reduce your consumption of carbohydrates, while eating lots of protein, healthy fats, and exercising regularly.

HCG

HCG is a hormone known as human chorionic gonadotropin. It occurs naturally in high amounts in pregnant women.

It has some special characteristics that can make it an excellent aid for weight loss when combined with a proper dietary plan.

In particular, it helps you regulate your levels of estrogen and progesterone. Those hormones can make it difficult to lose weight when their levels are too high. HCG may also help regulate your appetite, and support the thyroid.

Visit www.hcgsupplies.com to supplement HCG in your weight loss journey.

Leptin

Leptin, which is a hormone produced by your fat cells, plays the opposite role of the hunger hormone ghrelin. In other words, it makes you feel full.

It does that by communicating with the part of your brain responsible for regulating your appetite. It sends the message that you have enough fat in storage, so no more food is needed.

Studies have found that, in people who are overweight or obese, leptin levels are extremely high. But, leptin’s role is to satiate hunger, so those people should start eating less, right?

This isn’t the case, as people with obesity develop what’s called leptin resistance. Leptin signaling doesn’t work properly, so there is no sensation of being full to stop eating. In essence, your brain thinks you’re starving and tells you to eat more.

This leptin resistance might occur as a result of having high insulin levels too frequently. Thankfully, there are tips that can make you more sensitive to leptin to help you feel fuller.

You should steer clear of inflammatory foods. Those include sugary drinks and trans fats. On the other hand, make sure to eat more anti-inflammatory foods, like oily fish. Finally, exercise more regularly and get enough sleep.

Cortisol

Cortisol is generally known as a “stress hormone”. It comes from the adrenal glands and gets released when your body experiences stress.

While it plays an important role, having elevated cortisol levels can cause overeating. If it happens chronically, it leads to weight gain.

Unfortunately, even having too strict a diet can raise cortisol levels. It makes you feel more stressed than people eating a regular diet.

In order to adjust your cortisol levels, eat a balanced diet. Don’t cut down your calories too drastically. You can also take up meditation, or listen to soothing music. As usual, make sure to get enough sleep.

Estrogen

Estrogen is produced by the ovaries. Its use is to regulate the female reproductive system.

Experiencing abnormal estrogen levels, whether very high or low, can cause weight gain. They fluctuate depending on age, health, and other hormones.

Estrogen levels start rising at puberty to foster fat storage, as a way of helping fertility. With menopause, they drop. As a result, fat no longer gets stored in the hips and thighs, it goes to the abdomen instead.

Obese women usually have elevated estrogen levels, compared to women within a normal weight range.

There are ways to regulate estrogen. These include eating plenty of fiber, cruciferous vegetables, flax seeds, and physical activity.

All You Need to Know About Hormones for Weight Loss

Now, you know how hormones for weight loss can influence your success with weight in the future.

They fluctuate naturally and can become imbalanced due to poor diet or lifestyle.

If you think you experience hormonal issues, consult your doctor for professional advice. 

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