Hormones are the tiny chemical messengers that regulate all your major bodily processes. Released into your bloodstream by various endocrine glands, they play an essential role in everything from growth and development to mood, circadian rhythms, and sexual function.
Hormones also control your metabolism, and to a large degree, your body weight.
Weight gain and difficulty losing weight are common signs of several different hormonal imbalances. As a board-certified anti-aging expert specializing in weight loss management, Jennylle Zanzi, FNP-C, and our team at RVA Regenerative Wellness know that sometimes, all that stands between you and successful weight control is balanced hormones.
Here, we take a closer look at several hormonal problems that are associated with excess weight and stubborn fat that’s hard to lose — and explain how we can help.
Many factors, including aging, stress, and chronic disease, can give rise to a hormonal imbalance. Even a mild imbalance can trigger significant “non-specific” symptoms — like constant fatigue, uncharacteristic irritability, or weight gain — that could be erroneously attributed to other causes or dismissed altogether.
A hormonal imbalance can occur in various ways, including when your body:
Some hormonal imbalances are short-term (acute) and resolve without intervention, while others are long-term (chronic). Chronic hormonal imbalances may undermine your quality of life without affecting your health, or they may require treatment to safeguard your health.
Hormonal imbalances have a bidirectional relationship with numerous medical conditions and health concerns: Just as hormonal changes can set the stage for these problems, the existence of these conditions can exacerbate hormonal imbalances.
Five common hormonal imbalances that are linked to stubborn weight gain are:
Hypogonadism occurs when your sex glands (gonads) produce fewer sex hormones. In women, these glands are the ovaries; in men, they are the testes. Most hypogonadism cases are caused by normal aging:
Menopause, which causes ever-diminishing estrogen levels starting in middle age, is the most common form of female hypogonadism. In addition to causing vaginal dryness and hot flashes, menopause is strongly associated with midlife weight gain (especially around the midsection).
Declining reproductive hormone levels in middle age is the most common cause of male hypogonadism, also known as low testosterone, or “Low-T.” Diminished muscle mass, low libido, a sluggish metabolism, and weight gain are common signs of Low-T.
Your thyroid gland secretes hormones that regulate your metabolism, or the complex process of how your body produces, uses, and stores energy. Any condition that causes the gland to make too much or too little thyroid hormone is called thyroid disease.
The most common thyroid disease — an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) — occurs when your thyroid gland produces too little thyroid hormone, causing your metabolism to slow down. Low energy and easy weight gain are tell-tale common symptoms.
Diabetes is the most common hormone-related disease in the United States. It occurs when the pancreas doesn’t make the hormone insulin (type 1 diabetes), or when the body no longer responds to insulin normally (type 2 diabetes).
Insulin resistance, the precursor stage of type 2 diabetes, causes elevated insulin levels as your body works to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Unfortunately, high insulin levels promote weight gain, and excess weight makes insulin resistance worse.
Women’s ovaries naturally produce a small amount of testosterone. But with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the ovaries produce high levels of testosterone, along with other “male” androgen hormones like DHT, DHEA, and androstenedione.
In addition to causing symptoms like facial hair, oily skin, and acne, women with a PCOS-driven androgen imbalance are prone to insulin resistance and weight gain.
Released by the adrenal glands, cortisol is your body’s main “stress hormone.” Chronic stress can prompt these glands to secrete excess cortisol for as long as the stress remains, leading to fatigue, weight gain, and sugar cravings; over time, high cortisol levels may lead to high blood sugar levels, insulin resistance, further weight gain, and diabetes.
Whether you’re dealing with unexplained weight gain or stubborn, hard-to-lose weight, a hormonal imbalance could be contributing to your problem. We can get to the bottom of the issue with:
Luckily, many hormonal imbalances can be successfully addressed with medication and/or healthy lifestyle changes, and some can be completely offset with hormone therapy.
Worried your weight problem may be tied to an underlying hormonal imbalance? Our RVA Regenerative Wellness team can help. Call or click online to schedule a visit at our Midlothian, Virginia, office today.
