How hormones affect weight loss -

Stress, cortisol & weight gain.

Emily De Luzy

It is estimated that 20% of women suffer from an under-active thyroid - otherwise known as hypothyroidism. Women are also 5-8 times more likely to develop the condition than men. What’s worse is that up to 60% of women suffering from the condition are unaware of it.

Hypothyroidism isn’t straightforward to notice. Often women who exercise often & eat healthily can be suffering unbeknown to them. When the thyroid is not functioning as it should, it will cause your body's metabolism to slow down, which can result in weight gain - even over short periods of time.

Even with a proper diet & exercise - hypothyroidism can make it feel near impossible to lose weight. This can cause compounding mental effects on a woman who is trying to transform her body. So can anything be done about it? As we will discover in this article, there are a few ways you can help your body out when it comes to hypothyroidism.

Hypothyroidism - What are the symptoms?

As with any hormone imbalance, the list of symptoms can be long and easily cross over with other conditions. However, some of the symptoms experienced by those with hypothyroidism are as follows:

• tiredness
• being sensitive to cold
• weight gain
• constipation
• depression
• slow movements and thoughts
• muscle aches and weakness
• muscle cramps
• dry and scaly skin
• brittle hair and nails
• loss of sex drive
• pain, numbness and a tingling sensation in the hand and fingers (carpal tunnel syndrome)
• irregular periods or heavy periods

How do I know if I am suffering from hypothyroidism?

Often to diagnose hypothyroidism you will need a blood test to be carried out. Measuring your hormone levels is the only accurate way to find out whether there's a problem.

The test, called a thyroid function test, looks at levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroxine (T4) in the blood.

Occasionally, however, a diagnosis may be missed. This is because reference ranges of thyroid hormones have been based on people who have already been known to have thyroid dysfunction. No "healthy" test subjects were used, meaning people with thyroid dysfunction can actually be classed as "normal”.

What can be done about hypothyroidism?

Typically, in consultation with your doctor or endocrine specialist, a course medication will be used in order to restore the correct levels of thyroid hormones.

There are however some easy to implement & holistic ways to naturally balance your levels of thyroid hormones & boost your metabolism:

• Less High Intensity (HIIT) exercise - this has the benefit of reducing cortisol levels in your blood, another hormone linked with stress (physical stress in this case from the intensity of the exercise) which causes an increase in fat storage.
• Check for vitamin and mineral deficiencies - in particular - Iron, Vitamin D, Vitamin A, Homocysteine, Selenium, Zinc & Magnesium.
• Look to eat more food sources rich in these nutrients - Organic vegetables grown in nutrient-rich soils rather than store-bought over washed vegetables.
• Spend more time outdoors. The sun is the most readily available & easily absorbed source of Vitamin D available to us.
• Make sure you are getting enough sleep. Between 7-9 hours of good quality sleep are needed per night.
• Make sure you are eating enough! Sitting in too high a calorie deficit will actually make the problem worse. If you are trying to lose weight, you need a controlled & calculated approach to it.

I hope this helps you better understand the role your thyroid plays in weight management & has given you some useful insights into how best you first identify an imbalance and subsequently how you can balance your levels, both with medical intervention and naturally.

How do I take the first step?

A staggering 43% of women - that’s more than 14 million women in the UK - have imbalanced hormones which cause them huge problems with trying to lose weight.

The good news is, by implementing a series of simple-to-follow changes to diet, lifestyle and understanding, you can get your body firing on all cylinders & before you know it the weight will be falling off.

I call this, my hormone balancing method and I designed my Mind & Body Mentorship around it.

Hormones are complex, but losing weight with my team of coaches isn’t.

You’ll be walked through every step of the way, given the tools & support needed to ensure you never have to worry about starting another diet again. It’s not your fault diets failed in the past… the real problems were never addressed.

Even better when your hormones are balanced you’ll have more energy, you’ll see a real physical change in your body, and you’ll be able to wear the clothes which actually excite you!!!
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Over the last 8 years we have partnered with over 1000 women supporting them to achieve their weight loss transformations and the one thing they all have in common when leaving the mentorship... increased self worth and the confidence to do what they really want to with their lives.

Whilst also being armed with the knowledge of how to work with their hormones to keep them balanced, so the weight has stays off... for good!

Weight loss does not have to be tough or something you dread, which is why I am offering you a free consultation call so we can explore your unique situation and show you an easier (hormone friendly) way to achieving weight loss.

Simply click the button below, choose a time which works for you and lets together get you unstuck and on to seeing results.