Hormones and Weight Loss

Hormones are powerful chemicals that influence body metabolism and hence body weight. It can be shocking to hear; but it is a fact that your hormones can make you fat. Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, insulin are some of the main hormones which play an important role in maintaining your weight. Imbalance of hormones often results in accumulation of fat and excess weight. Let us see how hormones and weight loss are interrelated.

How Hormones Influence Weight
Hormones activate bodily systems, groom the body for puberty, parenthood and menopause, control the reproductive cycle and regulate metabolism. They can stimulate or inhibit growth. Many women complain of weight gain during menopause. In fact, hormonal levels change every day, changing your mood, affecting the metabolism; influencing your energy levels. It should be kept in mind that changes in hormonal levels are largely dependent on your lifestyle. It has been proved by scientists that an increase or a decrease in a specific hormone is the consequence of the body adapting to the level of activity you choose to do.

When males become less active, a gradual decline in the testosterone hormone within the blood is noticed. One of the main functions of testosterone is to boost the metabolism and help lower fat levels. So a decline in testosterone levels may lead to fat gain in males. Thus, it is quite clear that a change in lifestyle can lead to low blood testosterone levels. Scarcity of some hormones (for example, thyroid hormones) can result in weight gain.

If you opt for a more active lifestyle, it creates a need for the body to adapt to the increased stress. Body cells receive the message to speed up the chemical reactions. This leads to a change in the body's hormones. Exercise triggers release of hormones and boosts the metabolism. Regular exercise helps maintain hormonal balance. It leads to breakdown of muscles and weight loss. A steady flow of hormones is essential for losing or maintaining weight.

Growth Hormones
The main function of the growth hormone is to stimulate protein synthesis (muscle tone/development). Growth hormones are responsible for the strength of your bones, tendons, ligaments and cartilage. Growth hormones play an important role in fat loss during exercise. These hormones decrease the use of glucose and increase the use of fat as a fuel during exercise. This results in reduction of body fat. This helps maintain normal blood glucose levels which in turn allow you to exercise for a longer period. Increasing the period of aerobic exercise or performing more intense exercises leads to release of more growth hormone from the pituitary gland.

Pregnancy Hormones
Injecting yourself with human pregnancy hormone is certainly not a good idea to lose weight fast. Some fad diets involve extreme calorie restrictions and taking injections of human chorionic gonadotrophic hormone. Studies have proved that this was a fraud.

Estrogen
High levels of estrogen are present in female blood. It enhances breakdown of fats from the body fat stores. It promotes the use of fat as a fuel. It increases basal metabolic rate (metabolism), and elevates your mood. It is also responsible for increased libido. It is observed that the ovaries begin to produce less estrogen as a woman approaches menopause. It is also observed that the amount of estrogen released by the ovaries increases with exercise. Blood estrogen levels often remain elevated for one to four hours after exercise.

Other Hormones
Similar relationship is noticed between other hormones and weight loss. For example, insulin, epinephrine, thyroxine and endorphins also promote weight loss. Hormones like leptin and grehlin control your appetite. Imbalance of these hormones results in eating disorders and obesity. Hormones released by adrenal glands determine your mental strength, mood and attitude. It has been observed that depression and weight gain often go hand in hand.

The amount of hormones released from the glands in the human body is proportional to the intensity and duration of exercise. Your hormones can help you achieve the goal of weight loss but for this, you need to encourage the glands to produce more 'metabolism boosting hormones'. Leading an active and healthy lifestyle helps maintain a steady flow of hormones.