Did you know that the reason you're not losing weight could be because your hormones are unbalanced? Stress, excessive exercise, prolonged dieting and illness can all cause hormones to get too low or too high. But how do you know where your hormones are at? I've created a podcast episode explaining the 5+ major hormones that affect our health and weight loss. Tune into the episode HERE!
In a gist, here's what you need to know:
ESTROGEN: The female hormone
-Responsible for breast growth and building the uterine lining -too much causes weight gain -Too much causes depression -Too little or too much causes low libido
-Released in the first 2 weeks of the monthly female cycle
PROGESTERONE: The other female hormone
-Released in the last 2 weeks of the monthly female cycle
-Natural diuretic
-Natural anti-depressant
-Maintains uterine lining
-Restores libido
TESTOSTERONE: The male hormone
-Responsible for body hair
-Increases confidence, memory and focus
-Improves muscle mass and bone density
-Too much causes facial hair in women
INSULIN AND GLUCAGON: The weight gain/loss hormone
-Insulin is the fat storing hormone
-Glucagon is the fat releasing hormone
-Carbs and sugar spike insulin
-Exercise and fasting spikes glucagon
CORTISOL: The stress hormone
-The fight or flight hormone
-Should be high in the morning and taper off through the day
-Causes belly fat when too high
-Raises blood sugar
Make sure you listen to the episode to get the full scoop on these extremely important hormones so you can better understand WHY you're feeling the way you do and WHAT you can do about it.
Enjoy the rest of the week and please email me if you have further questions! I'm always happy to help.
Best,
Leah Peters