Have you experienced being tired, sluggish, and challenged with a bit of weight gain? For many of us, the impact of hormones and how it affects our energy and weight has reached a point where it could be challenging to take off the pounds, no matter how hard we try.
We have spent countless hours trying to lose weight and have failed. The lack of energy and the weight gain has left us feeling weak and frustrated. Are willpower and self-control the real solution to low energy and high weight?
I often felt my energy levels dip in the afternoon, sometimes so much so that I often wondered, what’s happening here?
And even when I would finally make it to the office, I realized that I had been pulling all-nighters for days without realizing it. I would wake up and feel like I was dragging my feet.
So what’s going on here? Are we just parched and fatigued, or are there deeper issues at play? And if so, what can we do about it?
It might very well be your (powerful) hormones.
We are talking about the hormones that directly affect our blood sugar, metabolism, and appetite.
Let’s take a look at how hormones influence your energy level and weight. The links may be stronger than you think.
WHAT ARE HORMONES
Healthy, happy hormones are all around the “health waves” these days. And for a good reason!
Your hormones are part of the master control system of your entire body. In the body, hormones are compounds made by one part of the body and used to communicate with another.
Your hormones control your blood sugar, metabolism, and appetite (among other things).
- The pancreas, for example, produces insulin. In response to high blood sugar levels, insulin gets released into the bloodstream.
- It then tells your muscles and other cells to absorb the sugar from your blood.
- If there is still too much blood sugar, it signals to store it as fat.
- In addition, you probably know that maintaining healthy blood sugar, metabolism, and appetite is the foundation of a healthy weight and energy levels.
So, how can your hormones get out of whack to zap your energy and pile up the pounds?
Well, let’s talk about this~
COMMON HORMONAL IMBALANCES
In optimal health, your hormones would work great, and you would have plenty of energy and be a good healthy weight. But often, there are problems with this whole setup.
One common issue is that there could be too much or too little hormone released to have the desired effect. This is known as hypo- or hyper- “hormone” (i.e., hypo- or hyperthyroidism).
Another common issue is that, even if the right amount of hormone is released, the hormones can be ignored by the cells it communicates with.
(Well, well, well, even the body gets an attitude sometimes)
This is known as hormone “resistance” (i.e., insulin resistance). When your hormones are in charge of controlling blood sugar, metabolism, and appetite, a breakdown in their function can lead to weight gain and energy problems.
HORMONES AND ENERGY
Your metabolism is critical for controlling your energy. Metabolism itself is basically how much energy (calories) you burn. One of the leading players in this is…you guessed it! Your thyroid hormones. Your thyroid releases hormones that affect the metabolism of all the cells in your body. If it’s too low and your metabolism goes down (hypothyroid), you may feel cold, hungry, and tired. If it’s too high and your metabolism is too fast (hyperthyroid), you may feel hot and jittery and lose weight. What you actually want is an ideal metabolism, ideal energy use, ideal temperature, and ideal weight. Your thyroid hormones are the master controller here.
HORMONES AND WEIGHT
Your weight may be controlled by hormones more than you think!
Your blood sugar is controlled by insulin, and whether that sugar is stored as fat depends on it.
And when your blood sugar is too low, you may start craving sugar and carbs.
You also have hormones that control your appetite! How hungry and full you feel is governed by the hormones ghrelin & leptin. When those get out of whack, you may want to eat because your body thinks you’re hungry and not satisfied…even if that’s not true.
And craving food (especially sugary ones) and not feeling full will be a massive drive for you to eat more. Even if your body doesn’t truly need it, the hormonal signals tell you that you do.
And don’t forget the stress hormone cortisol. When it’s too high for too long, it tells your body to store fat. And not just any fat – belly fat!
NOW LET’S RECAP AND SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO
Your body is very complex and uses hormones to control many functions. They govern your blood sugar, metabolism, and appetite, amongst others. And these directly affect how much energy you feel, how much you weigh, and even where your body fat is stored. Your blood sugar is controlled by insulin, and whether that sugar is stored as fat depends on it. While you may think that your weight is strictly controlled by how much food you eat, there may be more to it than that.
Here are a few “hormone stabilizing” tips that might help you with your energy and weight:
● Get regular exercise to use up excess blood sugar before your insulin has your body store it as fat
● Try stress-relieving activities like deep breathing, meditation, or even coloring to reduce your (belly-fat inducing) cortisol
● Support your thyroid with iodine-containing sea vegetables, fish, legumes, or even an egg
● Balance your blood sugar with extra fiber from raspberries, avocados, or flax seeds
● Reduce blood sugar spikes by replacing your juice or soda with fruit-infused water
GET EVEN HEALTHIER!
Are you curious about how easy changes can affect your health? I would love to invite you to have a conversation with me to discuss how to restore your body naturally from hormonal imbalance. Let us chat! Schedule an initial discovery session with me today.
