Balancing Hormones for Weight Loss
Hormones are our body’s chemical messengers that oversee hundreds of processes every second of the day. They control our sex drive, mood, and energy levels. Clearly, an imbalance is concerning because who doesn’t want sex, happiness, and energy?! Unfortunately, as women, we often ignore these subtle “internal signs” until the more obvious “external” sign of weight gain occurs. This happens because hormonal imbalance affects our appetite, metabolic health, and how our bodies store fat, making our attempt to lose weight even more difficult. The good news is that your body is incredible, and you can naturally restore hormonal balance through simple lifestyle changes. You can achieve your weight loss goals by integrating the recommendations below into your routine.
Eat a balanced diet.
Incorporate healthy fats, protein, low-glycemic carbohydrates, and fiber into your diet. Fats and proteins are essential for hormone production. Healthy carbohydrates and fiber help regulate insulin and support gut health.
Eating well-rounded meals is equally important as a balanced diet. Combining protein with healthy carbohydrates helps slow the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream, preventing extreme fluctuations in blood sugar.
2. Exercise
Regular exercise suited to your physical needs can aid in hormone health by releasing dopamine, which combats stress; releasing serotonin, which aids in sleep; and increasing estrogen levels that may become imbalanced due to natural events such as menstruation, perimenopause, and menopause.
Consider adding High-intensity interval Training (HIIT) into your weekly routine. HIIT alternates short bursts of intense exercise with lower-intensity activity. This technique effectively targets visceral fat, often linked to hormonal imbalances.
3. Rest
Develop a sleep schedule that includes waking up at the same time every morning and going to bed at the same time every night. Aim to get 7-9 hours of sleep for hormone balance and overall health. Lack of sleep negatively impacts cortisol (the stress hormone), estrogen, and progesterone. It also causes ghrelin, known as the hunger hormone, to rise and leptin, the chemical that lets the brain know you’re full, to fall. Long story short, lack of sleep makes you hungry!
4. De-Stress
Develop a De-Stress Routine. Whether you start your day with gratitude, prayer, journaling, or meditation, take time to express yourself or clear your mind. Prolonged stress causes hormonal imbalance, metabolic syndrome, leaky gut, thyroid dysfunction, weight gain, and much more.
These are just a few tips to balance your hormones that you can incorporate into everyday life. Read Chapter 2 in my book HER Balance for more information on hormone-balancing strategies. Once you begin integrating some of these techniques into your schedule, please contact me via Instagram, Facebook, or email at brandy@herbalancewellness.com. I’d love to hear from you!