Do you follow a regular workout routine most & eat healthily but still the weight scale shows you are gaining. Why is that? Stubborn fat around your waistline is the hardest to lose. Before you burden yourself for doing insufficiency crunches and planks at the gym or follow diet plans for losing belly fat, look into this. As we age, even a little disruption of the hormonal levels can cause the accumulation of stubborn belly fat.
There are a variety of reasons that can disturb your hormonal level. Your hormones help in regulating bodily functions, which includes stress, metabolism, hunger & sex drive. Having a deficiency of certain hormones can result in weight gain, that fat accumulation on the belly is referred to as the hormonal belly. So, before you go to the doctor for getting a prescription for the hormonal belly, let yourself know that there are natural ways that can help you in readjusting your hormone levels. Reduced sugar consumption, elimination of processed foods from the diet, & cutting on dairy products, alcohol & caffeine helps in resetting the blood sugar & insulin levels.
6 signs that weight gain is hormonal
Belly fat is often traced back to your diet. You have healthy meals following a gym schedule, but your belly is still growing out? Your hormone levels can be disrupted for a variety of reasons. Following is that your belly bulge is hormonal.
- Aging (menopause & andropause)
- Hormonal therapies
- Underlying medical issues
Your belly weight could be an indication that the testosterone or estrogen levels are fluctuating with age. But if you aren’t ageing and there’s no apparent lifestyle changes then your weight gain can be hormonal.
1) You having intense mood swings
Hormonal belly leads to sadness, rage, or can be a combo of both of them. The reason is that your hormones go haywire, and your full body gets affected. The abrupt fluctuations in estrogen levels trigger many changes. In females it happens with age it can be the most common cause of hormonal belly. Testosterone levels also drop with age, testosterone deficiency can cause erectile dysfunction, muscle loss, moodiness and fat gain.
2) You aren’t functioning well in bed
The hormones that are messing with the libido (estrogen & testosterone) also impact the waistline. The fluctuation in your hormones will also affect your performance in bed.
3) You’re always stressed
The adrenal glands in your body release a certain hormone in response to stressful conditions. Cortisol plays a great role in regulating your metabolism regulation, sugar levels and inflammation management. Chronic stress leads to higher cortisol levels for a long. It increases the fat accumulation in your body.
5) You always want a nap
Whether you do it intentionally or unintentionally, skimping the sleep have serious health consequences, slashing the sex drive to increasing your appetite. Disturbed sleep patterns mess with your cortisol, leptin & ghrelin. A recipe for your hormonal belly. A study revealed that folks who try to make up for their inadequate sleep by taking bulge sleep on weekends experience hormonal fluctuations, weight gain & increased calorie consumption.
6) You have got sugar in the brain
Balanced eating causes no harm. But if you load yourself up with sugars at the start of your day then you have to step back. Cravings are actually an early clue to hormone issues.
- Leptin resistance: It’s the hormone that helps in regulating your appetite. It signals your brain when the belly gets full. If the body starts ignoring it then you have developed leptin resistance. Leptin resistance causes weight gain. See the doctor if you don’t feel even after consuming big meals. Leptin resistance can be a great problem & can lead to overeating.
- Insulin issue: Another hormonal deficiency that leads to belly fat is Insulin imbalance. Unregulated sugar cravings can cause sudden weight gain & improper focus is an indication of insulin issues. There Are several ways to lower insulin.
Resetting your hormones:
Hormonal imbalance causes belly fat and it causes a lot of issues. There’re many lifestyle changes that you can make for resetting the hormones. Making mindful day-to-day decisions regarding what you are consuming, how much exercise you are doing, the quality of sleep you are getting & how you are coping up with stress. Go low on sugar, dairy, gluten, alcohol & caffeine. Aim for eating a pound of veggies daily especially cruciferous vegetables, and anti-inflammatory protein. The main goal is reducing nutritional stress. Trying intermittent fasting is also helpful.
There should be an 8-hour eating window & 16-hour overnight fasting. But you must decide at which time you would want to fast. For reducing your belly fat you have to treat the underlying cause. A combination of a healthy diet & exercise can help with the symptoms. You can perform activities that help in burning fat like walking, running, walking & aerobic activity. You can also take a diet and drinks that help in reducing belly fat.
1) Zenning out
There is a reason that cortisol is dubbed as a stress hormone. High cortisol levels can trigger weight gain, insulin resistance & more. One way of tackling the hormonal problem is tackling stress. Do meditation. Join some yoga class and do mindful breathing whirl.
2) Rest up
Do you have a regulated sleeping schedule? If not, now is the fine time of fixing it. Research links restless nights with the high index mass (BMI). You should at least get quality sleep of 7-8 hours in a night for regulating your hormones. It brings a healthy rhythm to the digestive system. There is no real substitute for sleep. The brain & body needs rest, reset & keep your hormones regulated.
3) Consume hormone-balancing foods
Your diet plays a prime role in regulating your hormone cycle. If the hormones go haywire, the body might gain belly fat. Consuming high fibre foods will set the insulin level on a straight & narrow. You can be on your path to success by stocking the pantry with different nourishing meals that have balanced hormones such as broccoli, lean proteins, chickpeas & sour cherries.
4) Pass the sugar
The sugar level in your blood spikes in your hormone regulation. Your belly fat can be tamed with a low glycemic diet, it focuses on the food which does not turn to the sugar in the bloodstream. Also, try incorporating more protein & fibre in your diet.
5) Limiting your alcohol consumption
Alcohol consumption can mess up hormonal levels, boosting the estrogen in premenopausal women. If it’s hormonal, consider ditching booze. It will affect your health positively.