Spring is a season of renewal, weight loss and detox! In the coming weeks, we’ll be posting a lot of posts about weight loss and detoxification so you can feel great heading into summer.
Have you ever felt like your body can’t handle as much as it used too, or that the weight doesn’t come off quite as easily as before? It may have seemed like it was something that you couldn’t do anything about, but I am here to tell that this is not the case. There are some factors that can affect weight gain or metabolism.
Your Hormones
Different hormones play a part in weight. We’ll talk about three of them today.
Cortisol
The adrenal glands produce cortisol, a stress-related hormone. Cortisol levels can rise if you’re under prolonged stress. Cortisol elevation leads to an increase in the conversion of blood glucose to fat, which is stored for a long time. This is a trait that has been passed down through the generations. In a’stressful situation’, it was possible to not know when food would be available next. The ability to store fat was a great benefit back then! Now, the majority of stressful situations don’t lead to food shortages.
Cortisol, stress and emotional eating are also factors in weight gain. It’s a very common thing, and I confess that I have done it myself. It’s useful to consider the “after state” after you’ve eaten the food. Does it make you feel good or bad? After eating, will you feel any different 5-10 minutes later? Most likely not.
Cortisol is not out of balance over night. Stress can build up over months and years. In your teens and early 20s you may not notice any major imbalances. However, if you’ve been avoiding stress for years, it will eventually catch up to you. The 10 day diet that you started doesn’t work anymore.
Estrogen
Men can get moobs or man boobs if they have too much estrogen.
The rise in estrogen levels is caused by a variety of factors. Here are a few of them:
- It is eliminated by the lack of fiber
- Exposure to xenoestrogens (from household products, personal care products and BPA)
- Alcohol (even one drink can increase estrogen levels and the more you consume, the higher your estrogen levels will be.
Thyroid
Your thyroid controls your metabolism. Your basal metabolic rate will slow down when it is out of whack, especially in the hypothyroid zone.
There are many factors that can affect your thyroid, including nutrient deficiencies such as selenium, zinc, iron and vitamin D. Heavy metal toxicity, cortisol, and other hormones also play a role.
Your Liver
Your liver is the last, but not least. I like to imagine your liver as a large barrel. It’s easy to put things into an empty barrel. Over time, however, the barrel becomes more and more full. The barrel will eventually be overflowing, and adding more things won’t have the same effect. It’s the same with your liver. As time passes, too much alcohol, processed food, sugar, and certain medications, without adequate nutrients to support the liver, can make it sluggish.
This happens over time, so you won’t immediately notice. If your liver is overworked, it will not detoxify as well as before, which can cause you to gain weight.
