There are a number of reasons to gain weight. Sedative lifestyle and poor eating habits are some of the prime reasons for weight gain. Exercising and eating right helps to get rid of excess pounds. If regular exercising along with eating a healthy diet does not make you lose fat, you might need a doctor instead of crunches. Hormone imbalance may be the reason for your weight gain.
When considering weight gain, hormonal imbalance and weight gain are often overlooked. Hormones are secreted into our bloodstream and regulate the bodily functions. A hormone imbalance can make you gain weight as well as can keep you from losing weight. Certain medications like antidepressants, mood elevators, certain drugs that are taken for controlling diabetes, steroids, and oral contraceptives may lead to weight gain. If hormonal imbalance is the reason for your weight gain, despite all the exercising and dieting you’ve been doing, you won’t be able to lose fat. Detecting and correcting various hormonal imbalances alone can make you lose excess fat in this case.
Hormones control our physiological functions and play a vital role in controlling emotions, appetite, growth, energy level, and metabolism. Apart from this, hormones control the amount of fat deposited in the body. Some hormones directly influence the fat synthesis and degradation, whereas some hormones affect the appetite and metabolism. When hormone levels are too high or too low, a hormonal imbalance takes place, and this affects your weight loss process. Excess of hormones such as insulin and cortisol can either prevent the breakdown of fat or stimulate fat synthesis, resulting in an unexplained weight gain.
Reduced thyroid hormone, decreased level of estrogen in women, decreased level of testosterone in men, and decrease in metabolism are common causes of weight gain. Another prime factor of hormonal imbalance and weight gain would be psychological changes like stress. In order to cope with stress, the body’s undergoes hormonal changes. Another reason for weight gain during stress is the tendency to eat more.
Sudden weight gain is an indicator of a hormonal imbalance. In order to maintain normal functioning, hormones are adjusting to the current body’s state. This leads to hormonal imbalance. Most of the people have the misconception that hormonal imbalances are reserved for women undergoing menopause or during menstruation or pregnancy. Of course, women tend to have more hormonal imbalances, they can occur in people of all ages and sexes.
In women, hormonal fluctuations typically occur during the menstruation cycle and menopausal period. During menopause, the estrogen level drops, resulting in emotional imbalances and stress that can cause hormonal imbalances resulting in weight gain, depression, bone loss, osteoporosis, etc. Hormonal imbalances in men occur due to dietary factors like high fat and high carb food. This results in weight gain, impotence, depression, and irritability.
Medical conditions like hypothyroidism and Cushing’s syndrome also cause hormonal imbalance. Also, the hormone secreted by the thyroid glands regulates metabolism and growth. Underactive thyroid production results in a low metabolism and causes weight gain. Over production of the steroid cortisol results in Cushing’s syndrome. This condition increases unnecessary food cravings, resulting in weight gain.
Other causes include the following:
The symptoms of a hormonal imbalance include the following:
The easiest and simplest solution for weight gain that occurs due to hormonal imbalance is by making changes in your diet. Hormonal changes take place because of the absence or decreased level of hormones that you need to be healthy. Therefore, consuming foods that provide the needed nutrients to restore hormonal balance is one of the best home remedies.
In sum, in order to address unexplained weight gain, one should first check with a doctor to ascertain any medical conditions associated with hormonal imbalance. Thereafter, eating right along with regular exercise regime can help to lose weight and keep it off.
References