Women do everything, from eating carefully and right to moving their bodies, but the numbers on the weighing scale still climb. This is because not every weight gain is linked to calories and bad eating habits. Sometimes, the underlying reason behind unexplained weight gain can be a hormonal imbalance in your body. Only hitting the gym and having restricted diets can not reduce your weight if the root cause remains undealt with. Professional nutritionists can help you deal with hormonal imbalance and better weight management. Read further in this article to understand more about hormonal imbalance, how it affects body weight, the related signs and symptoms, and how Nutrition In Sync can help you understand your hormone health better.


What is a Hormonal Imbalance?

Hormones can be explained as chemicals in our bodies that are responsible for coordinating different functions in our body by carrying messages through our blood to our organs, skin, muscles, and other tissues. The endocrine system of the body creates and releases these hormones. Key hormones involved in weight gain regulation are insulin, cortisol, thyroid, estrogen, progesterone, leptin, and ghrelin. A hormonal imbalance happens when one or more such hormones are too much or too little than the amount required for normal body functions. Such hormonal imbalances can be chronic and may require specific treatments.


How Hormones Affect Body Weight?

Our body produces over 50 hormones, and many of them have a direct impact on our appetite, fat distribution, and weight. Let’s understand how these hormones affect our body weight:

  • Insulin: Insulin moves sugar from the food we eat to the body cells for energy. Insulin resistance is a condition in which our body cells stop responding to insulin, which creates a spike in blood sugar levels. 
  • Cortisol: Cortisol is the stress hormone, and chronic stress can lead to high cortisol levels. High levels of cortisol increase appetite and craving for sugar and refined carbohydrates, disrupt sleep, and increase fat storage, especially around the belly area.
  • Estrogen: Estrogen controls fat storage in our bodies. Low estrogen levels further reduce muscle mass, and less muscles lower calorie burning, which ultimately leads to weight gain.
  • Testosterone: Female bodies have a limited amount of testosterone in their bodies that supports muscle growth. Imbalance with testosterone appears with ageing, chronic illness, or long-term stress.
  • Leptin and Ghrelin: Leptin and ghrelin control hunger levels in our bodies. Poor sleep cycle and obesity may lead to and worsen leptin resistance and ghrelin sensitivity, which makes weight management even harder.


What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Hormonal Weight Gain?

When your body is dealing with hormonal weight gain, it throws multiple warning signs and symptoms, such as:

  • Constant fatigue despite resting
  • Brain fog and anxiety 
  • Irregular menstrual cycles
  • Disrupted sleep cycle and patterns, 
  • Sudden mood swings
  • Weight gain around the belly
  • Muscle weakness
  • Acne
  • Excess facial hair
  • Headaches 
  • Constant cravings despite balanced meals


It is important to understand when our bodies try to tell us something. When, despite balanced meals and proper exercise, you are not able to lose weight, the underlying issue can be related to disrupted hormone health.


Common Causes of Hormonal Weight Gain

Hormonal weight gain is often a result of multiple factors, including:

  • Any medical condition, such as hypothyroidism, PCOS, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, or menopause.
  • Chronic stress and lack of sleep
  • Certain steroids and medication used in specific medical treatments. 
  • Any gland damage, infections, autoimmune conditions, or disruption of the endocrine system



How Nutrition in Sync Can Help? 

At Nutrition In Sync, we believe that true healing requires targeting the root cause through a functional and holistic approach. Instead of just restricting your calorie counts for weight management, our expert nutritionists:

  • Assess your lifestyle, stress factors, and other aspects impacting your hormone health
  • Provide sustainable nutritional strategies
  • Restore blood sugar levels
  • And develop long-term habits for effective weight management.


Rather than short-term fixes, we stress addressing hormonal health directly.


Conclusion

As you now understand, a hormonal imbalance can create havoc in your body and can be the hidden contributor to your weight gain. It is important to tackle the root cause of such a hormonal imbalance for better weight management. Conventional methods of losing weight may fail in case of hormonal weight gain, since our hormones regulate our stress levels, metabolism, and appetite. Hence, it becomes important to get in touch with a professional who understands hormone health and the related aspects and can guide you with structured weight management. If you are someone who is struggling with hormonal weight gain, contact Nutrition In Sync today, and our expert nutritionists will guide you on your way to shedding that extra weight!