How Hormone Therapy for Weight Loss Works
Over the years, physicians and researchers have investigated the connection between hormones and weight loss. Regulation of body weight can be complex, and a lot of that has to do with our body’s hormones.
Varying levels of hormones, and the enzymes needed to metabolize them, have a significant effect on body weight.
Hormones are essentially the chemical messengers in our body telling all of our cells what to do, when, and how to do it. There are hundreds of chemical messengers, and it is all part of a complex, interconnected system. If one hormone goes up, another goes down.
Everything is about balance, and maintaining that balance can significantly impact your health.
As we age, men and women produce fewer hormones needed to maintain healthy body weight and desired physique. This is why many patients are now choosing hormone therapy for weight loss.
Many health professionals recommend bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) to address weight gain symptoms associated with hormone imbalance. The hormones most commonly used for replacement therapy are testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone.
These hormones are also used to treat the symptoms of specific cancer treatments, menopause, and erectile dysfunction (ED). Such treatments include pills, patches, gels, creams, implanted pellets, and injections.
If you struggle with weight gain, a healthy diet, exercise, and proper sleep are foundations for a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle. But as men and women get older, keeping the weight off becomes increasingly more difficult. As people age, their ability to metabolize food decreases.
Hormones play a crucial role in regulating our ability to metabolize food, and as we age, our hormone levels can change drastically.
Can BHRT Help Someone Loss Weight?
Health practitioners prefer patients to use bioidentical hormones because they are molecularly the same as those produced by your body. BHRT causes very few side effects and usually provides a safer medical treatment when administered correctly.
If someone has a hormone imbalance, BHRT can help stabilize your hormone levels and provide a better chance of weight loss.
Your Body Weight and Your Hormones
It is important to note that when one or more hormones go up, inevitably, there is a counteraction in the body. Knowing how bioidentical hormones can affect your weight can guide you in choosing the best treatment option.
The main hormones affecting weight are:
● Insulin
● Leptin
● Ghrelin
● Cortisol
● Testosterone
● Estrogen
● Thyroid Hormones
Some of these are easier to regulate than others. Leptin and Ghrelin, for instance, are two sides of the same coin. Leptin makes you feel full and triggers a body response to not overeat. Ghrelin, on the other hand, stimulates cravings. To keep ghrelin under control, get enough sleep.\
Cortisol is the stress hormone secreted through the adrenal gland. Prolonged periods of stress release too much cortisol and put your body into “survival mode.”
Essentially, your cells start storing fat to ward off the possibility of a prolonged period of food deprivation. Even though stressful times, sleep, meditation, and exercise can be the things that help the most in keeping cortisol in the normal range.
Thyroid hormones increase the rate of energy use, build muscle, and regulate body weight. The thyroid keeps your metabolism moving at a steady hum when working correctly. Low thyroid hormones result in hypothyroidism and difficulty losing weight. When thyroid function is working correctly, weight loss is a lot easier.
Generally, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) focuses on the following hormones. Having the right balance of these hormones can help you lose weight:
● Testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone. These “sex hormones” found in men and women can help regulate weight.
In men and women, testosterone, “the male sex hormone,” can help break down the fat stored around the stomach. Testosterone is a hormone that helps build muscle and bone strength and increases fat burning. Testosterone tends to decrease around the age of 30, especially in men.
Estrogen, “the female sex hormone,” is found in both men and women and is integral in preventing fat from accumulating around the organs. Estrogen tends to redirect fat storage to the stomach or buttocks—"Jiggly” fat.
Progesterone helps process stored fat into energy. You could be the workout King or Queen, but low levels of progesterone will keep you stagnating at a certain weight.
● Human growth hormone (HGH). The central function of HGH is to influence the growth of muscle and bone, but it also takes part in the production of fat and the burning of fat.
● Insulin. The function of this hormone is to carry glucose to cells and maintain the balance of glucose. It also aids in the metabolism of fat.
If you’re experiencing weight gain and can’t seem to lose those extra pounds, or want to know more about the effects of hormone levels, then let’s talk.
Schedule an appointment today.