Beverly Weidner Wellness Coaching, LLC

Despite what we have long been told, losing weight is not a simple matter of “eat less and exercise more”.

Often the real key to losing weight, gaining energy, and improving your mood likes with your hormones.

The idea that all you have to do is eat less and exercise more totally oversimplifies what is going on, and all it really does is create a lot of guilt and frustration. Using the calorie count of foods to determine what to eat completely ignores HOW food is metabolized in your body for optimal health, and the quality of food you are taking in.

There are several key hormones that involve metabolism and weight loss. Let’s talk about a couple.

Cortisol-high cortisol levels interfere with sleep, causing you to store fat, especially in the belly. It is linked to depression, food addictive behaviors, and sugar cravings. It increases protein breakdown in the body, which can lead to muscle wasting and osteoporosis, or low bone density. Long term, it can increase the risk of hypertension, high cholesterol, and heart disease, and can suppress the immune system, which can lead to increased allergies, infections, and cancer.

Insulin-tries to reduce your blood sugar level. When too much insulin is released, this causes blood sugar level to go really low and can make you feel hungry and want to eat again. Insulin is also a fat storage hormone, which means it encourages the body to store fat.

Thyroid hormone-regulates your metabolic rate which is how the body converts food into energy and how quickly we burn calories. It controls how fast or slow you burn calories. When the thyroid is sluggish and not producing enough thyroid hormone, it can cause fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, depression, constipation, dry skin, and many more problems.

What are some strategies for balancing hormones?

Choose complex carbs over simple carbs. All foods stimulate blood sugar, but simple carbs like white bread, cookies and sweets cause extreme spikes. So, you want whole grains, vegetables, and beans that are broken down more slowly, providing energy to help regulate blood sugar.

Protein helps balance blood sugar by slowing down digestion. It also is a building block for muscles, bones, skin, and hair. High protein diets promote feeling full which means eating less.

Healthy fats help with growth and development and regulate hormones. They help support gut health and they can help the body absorb essential vitamins and improve blood sugar control. They also help prevent fat around the stomach area.

I challenge you to try one dietary strategy today to help balance your hormones.

If you want more information on how I can help you lose weight, balance hormones, have more energy and feel good again, let me know.