Perhaps you’ve been struggling to lose weight for a while. You’ve put lots of effort into eating a healthier diet, like cooking at home rather than eating out, incorporating plenty of fresh produce into your diet, and choosing water and tea over sugary drinks. Maybe you’ve even been exercising more often. Yet try as you might, you’ve barely lost any weight. You don’t know what’s wrong, and you’re deeply frustrated that all of your hard work hasn’t made much of a difference.
Many people don’t realize that diet and exercise aren’t the only factors that can affect your weight. In fact, your hormones play a huge role in weight loss. They can influence your cravings, your hunger levels, and your metabolism. Understanding your hormones is the key to losing weight. Here’s how your hormones, nutrition, and weight loss are all connected.
How Hormones Affect Hunger Levels
Some of your hormones actually affect how hungry you feel - and how much you have to eat before you feel truly full. When your hormones are balanced, they will clue you in when you’re genuinely hungry and send signals letting you know that you’re full and satiated.
But if your hormones are imbalanced, you might feel hungry even when you think you’ve had plenty to eat. Perhaps you rarely feel truly satiated at the end of the day. You may feel like you have to keep snacking to feel full. Even if you’re cooking nutritious meals and reaching for relatively healthy snacks, consuming too many calories will still cause you to gain weight in the long run.
Hormones And Your Metabolism
Do you feel like you used to be able to eat more calories without gaining weight when you were younger? You’re probably not imagining things - your metabolism does slow down as you age. Women in particular may notice more significant changes in their metabolism as they enter menopause.
Your thyroid is especially important when it comes to regulating your hormone levels and maintaining a healthy weight. If your thyroid isn’t functioning properly, you will likely notice weight gain. An underactive thyroid is often the culprit behind seemingly unexplained weight gain.
Insulin And “Hunger Crashes”
Eating a diet full of sugary, processed foods and refined carbohydrates can affect your insulin levels, which has a significant impact on the way you experience hunger. If you eat sugary foods that cause your insulin levels to spike and then crash, you’ll feel hungry again quickly. Since sugary foods generally don’t contain many essential nutrients, and your hormones will prompt you to eat again shortly after a sugary snack or meal, you’ll end up consuming lots of empty calories, causing you to gain weight in the long run.
Lifestyle Factors And Hormonal Health
In addition to your dietary choices, other lifestyle choices can have a strong influence on your hormonal health - and in turn, these choices can either help you gain or lose weight because of their effects on your hormones.
For instance, if you don’t get enough sleep at night, you might notice yourself feeling hungrier during the day. This isn’t a coincidence! Sleep deprivation can actually cause insulin resistance, which increases your appetite. You’re tired, so you crave calorie-dense foods for energy - and in the long run, this leads to weight gain. Living with chronic stress can also alter your appetite regulation hormones, and you may find yourself feeling hungrier even when you’ve eaten plenty if you’re always stressed.
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Do you want to learn more about the connection between weight loss, nutrition, and your hormones? Working with a holistic healthcare professional can help. Reach out to us today to discuss your options for scheduling your first appointment to learn more about weight management.