Why you may not be losing weight, part 1

It's incredibly frustrating to be doing everything right and not feel like you are getting any results. We always hear 'calories in = calories out' but for many women, it is much more complicated than that.

I'm going to cover several reasons your weight might be stuck, and part one is hormonal imbalances.

Probably the two most common hormone imbalances I see in women are high cortisol and estrogen dominance.

If your cortisol levels are are high, it is very difficult to lose weight. You may have heard of cortisol as the 'stress hormone' - it plays a very important role in a healthy body. However, if it is chronically high, it can lead to stubborn weight gain, particularly around the belly.

Signs of high cortisol include the "tired but wired" feeling, depression, food cravings or feeling anxious. Our culture tends to push us to be always busy and on the go (maybe a bit less so currently with Covid19!) but this can lead to chronic high cortisol.

If you suspect this may be something you are dealing with, focus on deep belly breathing at least 1-2 times daily, less intense exercise and more gentle walking, yoga or pilates, and carving out time to sit in silence. Extra sleep helps, too!

Estrogen dominance is often linked to toxins from the environment- things like plastic water bottles, food containers and environmental toxins that are xenoestrogens, or in other words, act like estrogen in the body. I actually dealt with this twelve years ago when I was first trying to get pregnant. Estrogen becomes out of balance with progesterone and this can lead to weight loss resistance, moodiness, PMS and infertility or heavy periods.

Focus on removing plastics, toxic skin care and cleaning products to bring your estrogen back into balance.

Low testosterone, thyroid issues or other imbalanced hormones can be a problem as well. If you suspect hormones might be at the root of your symptoms, ask your doctor to do blood work including all of these markers. He or she can review it with you and if something is off, I would encourage you to begin with the lifestyle factors to address it first before resorting to drugs. A holistic nutritionist can also guide you in the next steps to correct these imbalances.

Have you ever suspected you had a hormone imbalance?