"I Can't Lose Weight Because of My Hormones."

Anyone here say, if not think, this phrase before?

Ugh. Me. Me totally at the early part of last year once I found out what was going on. And every 4 weeks-ish.

It's a really easy go-to phrase actually. It opens up a vast, almost overwhelmingly bewildering reasoning and can stop most people in their tracks from saying "Well, did you try ______?"

I don't know about the rest of you, but we didn't learn anything useful or practical about the endocrine system at school. I wish we had learned anything about how much our hormones control our thoughts and behaviors every hour of every day, and what to watch out for. It's truly crazy once you delve into all of it.

And I don't just mean the girl hormones either.

I'm talking like leptin, ghrelin, melatonin, seratonin, cortisol, insulin (even for non-diabetics)... there is really a lot to know, and know about how changes affect you. (Hormone of the Week series, anyone?)

So my objective today is to not get all scienc-y and confusing, but maybe just put a couple thoughts into your brains as to how to increase some mindfulness as to what could be going on, especially if that first phrase sits all too well with you.

1. You're right. There's a really good chance your hormones ARE preventing you from losing weight.

Is it the be-all-end-all for your healthy habits and life choices? NO.

To a certain extent, you actually have some control over this too, but it's going to start off by you taking some initiative to change some lifestyle habits. For example:

~ Regular moderate to vigorous exercise (which makes you get out of breath a little), helps to regulate cortisol levels, which fake your body into thinking it's starving.

~I read an article from The Institute of Fundamental Medicine suggesting that your nutrition affects your hormone levels, that things CAUSE your hormones to be out of whack.

Diets high in saturated fats, sugar, refined carbs, chemicals, and low in fiber cause a number of things like:

-Insulin sensitivity (which can cause your body to be confused about storing fat among aother things)

-Leptin sensitivity (which means you won't feel full when you're supposed to, so you keep eating)

And, get this,

- The mobility of thyroid hormones. They're still studying all this, and the increase of knowledge on these topics is growing, but could you imagine if your DIET was influcencing hypothyroidism or hypothyroidism-like effects???

I know too many people with thyroid issues, that I was in AWE when I read that.

And this was a scientific institution, and teams of doctors talking about this, backed with resources and referring to studies. Not the next big diet fad. I'm not a fan of those.

I trust research that looks like this, and I'm only going to report on information backed by science and studies.

That's a promise.

Anyhow, tangents. Sorry, not sorry.

~ Not engaging in restrictive diets that prevent you from getting the carbs, protein and fats you need in order to functoin correcty. If you're missing something there, proper function elsewhere is going to be missing too. Did you know that too little fat can cause a decline in brain function. Brain cells need fat to regenerate. And, no, they're not going to steal said fat from your dupa.

~ And lack of vitamins and minerals. Just like the macronutrients stated above, the micronutrients we need are just as important. The American diet, consumed day after day is going to make you deficient somewhere. And our hormones are so integrated into all of those processes that something absolutely can go wrong with our metabolism as a result from that.

So if you have a medically diagnosed hormone condition, consider asking your doctor if improving your diet can help regulate it.

If you suspect you have a hormone issue that could be medically diagnosed, go get a blood panel done and see. I once got my thyroid tested because I thought that was the problem. It wasn't. But at least I knew.

Or if you want to give a lifestyle change a try first, go for it! Keep track of what you feel, maybe record it in a log or journal. Maybe it'll improve. If it doesn't, you know what to do then.

Things to ask yourself:

1. Am I hungry often during the day?

2. Does it take awhile to get full?

3. Applicable females: am I regular?

4. Does my heart race outside of vigorous exercise?

5. Unknown migraine triggers?

6. Am I able to calm down normally?

7. Am I gaining or losing weight for no reason at all, like you literally can't identify a behavioral reason.

These questions are good baselines, and if you're logging them, and you do need a doctor to help you out, the extra info from this log absolutely would help.

And certainly eating healthier, getting exercise will help.

After all, they do say "You are what you eat."