Why does it seem so much more complicated to lose excess weight when you are a woman?

Well a lot of this may come down to one word; Hormones.

A smarter way to lose weight without driving yourself crazy with the calories in calories out approach is to understand your hormones!

Hormonal imbalances contribute to weight issues and leave many women frustrated when they seem to be doing “everything right” but still are not achieving the results they want.

When it comes to sustainable weight loss, there is no quick fix, it’s about getting to the root of sugar addiction, inflammation, blood sugar imbalances, mood swings, and fatigue.

A common hormonal imbalance countered by women is estrogen dominance.

How does estrogen affect weight loss? Estrogen has the ability to control energy balance, food intake, and body fat distribution. In excess, estrogen can promote the accumulation of subcutaneous fat.

Too much of the wrong estrogen can result in dysbiosis in the gut, low progesterone levels and thyroid imbalances – slowing metabolism and making it more difficult to lose weight.

This is where balancing estrogen levels is absolutely essential to achieve a healthy weight and reduce hormonal symptoms.

Movement

A healthy amount of exercise is an important part of regulating your hormones.

For women it’s not a good idea to continuously be choosing high intensity workouts every single day and throughout the month. This creates a chronic state of stress in the body which can result in hormonal changes and even resistance to fat loss.

We recommend incorporating a variety of exercises such as strength training, cardio, yoga, pilates, walking, and stretching.

During the menstrual cycle, this is absolutely not the ideal time for intense workouts which can deplete our hormones and make us feel much worse.

Experiment with what you enjoy and what makes you feel good, that’s the best formula for exercise that you will be able to stick to!

Toxins are unfortunately ever accumulating in our diet, cosmetics, furniture, body care products, plastics, water supply, and pollution.

Though many of these are outside of our control, we do have a choice in the ones we bring into our home and that we consume either internally or topically.

Toxins can contribute to weight issues by accumulating in fat tissues. These toxic chemicals are also known as obesogens. Obesogens can make it even more difficult to lose the excess weight by altering metabolism and hormonal activity(1)(2).

What you can do:

Avoid using plastics and conventional beauty and cleaning products whenever you can. There are some great alternative brands or you can even make them yourself!

Opt for organic whenever possible especially when it comes to animal products. If you are on a budget the clean 15 and dirty dozen are lists you can refer to minimize your toxin exposure while keeping costs lower. Including plenty of fruits and vegetables, especially leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables can help support your body in eliminating toxins from the body.

EWG.ORG is a great resource to use to help you navigate the products out there so you  can reduce your toxic load by making better everyday choices.

Not only can hydrating regularly help you regulate your appetite and keep cravings at bay, but it also helps to flush out toxins, improves brain health and mood, stimulates your metabolism, and supports fat burning (3)(4).

After all, our body is made up of up to 70% water which means it is an essential component to good overall health.

The recommended daily amount for water intake is typically 8 glasses per day however if you’re spending time out in the sun or exercising you will likely need more.

One of the most overlooked reasons for stubborn weight issues is stress.

Cortisol is our main stress hormone activated during times of stress but the problem is for most of us today it is continually elevated over and over again.

Chronic cortisol can promote fat storage especially around the belly area and make it harder to lose weight. It also messes with our moods, sleep, and reproductive function.

Over time this may end up showing up as depression, fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, and increased cravings for all of the foods that make this whole picture worse.

Now it may seem like stress is an impossible devil to conquer, however, it’s not about eliminating all stressors in your life, it’s about managing them. Developing a more positive self-talk can make a big difference to your stress levels as well.

One of the best ways to manage your stress and decrease cortisol is to get into your body and immerse yourself into the present moment which can be done through movement, breathwork, eco-therapy, music, meditation, or stress supportive supplements such as Restore by Aeryon Wellness – to name a few.

When our stress is continually turned on our bodies never get a break. It’s up to us to set boundaries and schedule that very needed downtime for ourselves. As adults we tend to think that fun and play are no longer much of an option however these are essential for optimal health!

What can you do to introduce more joy, fun, and relaxation into your life?

And let’s not forget sleep! This is the time for repair and regeneration, especially important for women if they want to achieve hormonal balance and even promote fertility. Rest cannot be overlooked. Yet many of us skimp out on sleep in order to catch up on Netflix, TV, social media, or work.

Sleep should be on your list of priorities if you are serious about getting your hormones in check. Not only is lack of sleep associated with insulin resistance, diabetes, depression, inflammation, cortisol, and hormonal imbalances but also weight gain(5)(6).

It’s time to take your stress seriously!

Our thoughts are mighty powerful because they act as the catalyst to our actions and behaviors and they can also influence our emotional state.

Bringing awareness to our current state and to the present moment can start to shift our relationship with food and help to overcome emotional eating and cravings.

Practicing more mindfulness around meals can also make a big difference for your health and wellbeing.

We recommend checking in with yourself regularly and at times when you feel triggered to eat by asking yourself some simple questions:

• Am I really hungry? Or am I bored? Angry? Sad? Frustrated?
• Does this food nourish my body?
• How do I feel after eating this food?
• Do I have any guilt or shame attached to eating this?
• What’s my hunger scale from 1-10?
• Can I leave food on my plate if I don’t want it?

It will probably come as no surprise that nutrition plays a big role in hormones and weight loss.

Your diet can significantly impact your health by either promoting a state of disease and accelerated aging of the body or promoting a state of health and wellbeing. This is done through epigenetics, where food can actually alter the way your genes express themselves.

The good news? We can choose!

What you eat will impact all of your hormones, including cortisol, which can be managed by eating regular balanced meals containing healthy fats, protein, and complex carbohydrates rich in fiber.

Eating vitamin C-rich foods especially during the second half of your cycle can help to boost progesterone levels and leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables can help to detox excess estrogen.

Omega 3 fats are also great as they are particularly anti-inflammatory and help to support healthy hormone production. Sources of omega 3 fats include wild fatty fish, chia seeds, flaxseeds, and walnuts.

On the other hand, foods that deplete the body’s health and can inhibit your body’s ability to burn fat include processed foods, fried foods, refined sugars and flours, excess red meat, vegetable oils, and alcohol.

Avoiding caffeine, gluten, and dairy may also help to reduce inflammation and cortisol levels in the body.

Once you have addressed your diet and lifestyle, you can look into extra supplement support if needed.

Löse It Metabolism Support Supplement is an all-natural supplement that works by promoting estrogen metabolism and a healthy balance of estrogen in the body while supporting fat loss through increased thermogenesis and calorie burning. Unlike other fat burners that only boost thermogenesis, Löse It works to balance out the female hormonal system and unlock estrogen’s hold on your fat-burning potential.

At Aeryon Wellness, providing customers with scientifically backed products to improve overall health and well being is the main philosophy. This Löse It Metabolism Support Supplement contributes to your overall health by helping support weight management.

Indole-3-Carbinol: Indole-3-carbinol is a unique compound isolated from cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, and it has been shown to have a positive effect on estrogen metabolism, neutralizing harmful estrogen metabolites and balancing the ratio of estrogen in the body.

Red Pepper Extract: Red pepper extract is a non-pungent (non-spicy) cultivar of red pepper and contains compounds that can boost fat burning. Red pepper extract can enhance core body temperature, oxygen consumption, uncoupling proteins 1 and 2 (UCP1 and UCP2), and even gene transcription of UCP2 mRNA in fat tissue!

Caffeine: Caffeine stimulates the nervous system, this sends direct signals to the fat cells, telling them to break down fat. This is accomplished by increasing the hormone epinephrine in blood levels which signals you’re the fat tissues to break them down and release them into the blood. Additionally, caffeine can increase your resting metabolic rate and is also a powerful antioxidant.

L-Carnitine: L-Carnitine is a naturally occurring amino acid. It plays a crucial role in the transport of fatty acids into your cells’ mitochondria leading to the production of energy. An increase in the movement of fatty acids into cells to be burned for energy will lead to an improved ability to burn more calories.

Green Tea Extract Green tea extract has a two-fold effect when it comes to female fat burning. The active compound, EGCG, can help stimulate thermogenesis and norepinephrine release. Green tea extract can also help decrease the aromatization of “bad” estrogen. High levels of estrogen can block fat burning in the body, but green tea’s positive effects can help lower estrogen load and elevate fat burning.

Olive Leaf: Olive leaf helps upregulate thermogenesis and increases the body’s resting metabolic rate, in addition to reducing the amount of glucose absorbed by the body. This increase in metabolism results in weight loss. Olive leaf extracts called oleuropein also reduce the production of fat cells.

B12: Vitamin B12 has many roles in your body. It supports the normal function of your nerve cells and is needed for red blood cell formation and DNA synthesis.