If you’ve been eating healthy and working out, you should be losing weight, right? So why is it that no matter what we do, we can’t seem to lose our extra belly fat?
What if we were to tell you that this is due to hormones? Hormones don’t only affect women going through menopause. They play a significant role for everyone from birth to death, and we have to learn how to live with them. If you can’t seem to lose weight (or you gain weight seemingly without cause), you might be suffering from a hormonal imbalance.
A big indicator that you have hormonal imbalance is belly fat. If you have extra belly fat, it could be due to low testosterone, low estrogen, high insulin, or high cortisol. If you don’t take care of it, you’re putting yourself at risk for diabetes and heart disease. Check out the symptoms below to see if you might have hormonal imbalance.
Insomnia and Low Libido
Lack of sleep causes your stress levels to go haywire and increases your cortisol levels. It’s really no surprise that lack of sleep can cause an imbalance in your hormonal levels too. Lack of sleep also causes low libido, which eventually causes sex hormones to diminish.
One of the ways to cure this is to ensure that you’re going to bed at a regular hour (and sleeping through the entire night). Try drinking some tea before bed (no caffeine!) and listening to meditation music. Lavender essential oils and diffusers are known to help you sleep, too.
Cravings and Fatigue
Have you ever wanted to down an entire chocolate cake and bottle of wine in one sitting? If you’re like me, you give into cravings and then regret it afterward. You sit back with a stomach ache and ask yourself why in the world you ate that much.
Eating too many sweet foods (along with wheat and dairy) causes your hormones to crave more. You really need to be careful, as these foods lead to weight gain (which is what you don’t want). Fatigue plays a big part in your hormonal imbalances, too. That extra cup of coffee you drank this morning? Did it help with the mid-day crash you had? No, it didn’t. Again, you have to stabilize your wheat and grain intake. If you eat too much, it will mess with your blood sugar and really harm your weight loss process.
What can we do to get back on track?
We’ve learned that hormonal imbalance is due to lack of sleep, fatigue, and cravings. So, how can we put what we’ve learned into action? To start, you need to identify what is causing your hormones to run amuck. Are you not getting enough sleep? Perhaps you could incorporate yoga and meditation into your daily routine. Do you stay caffeinated all day? This will leave you feeling sluggish and you’ll want more coffee. Perhaps you’re letting your cravings get the best of you. Eat something sweet, but eat in moderation. You don’t need to shove a huge piece of cake down your throat to feel good about yourself. Figure out the root of your problem and go from there.
Conclusion
Isn’t it shocking to know how much goes into your weight-loss regime? There are so many things that contribute to hormonal imbalance, it’s hard to keep track. If you’re unable to lose the extra weight, you’ll need to figure out the root of the problem. It could be the workout routine that you’re doing, or it could be from one of the above issues. Figure it out and you’ll solve the problem in no time! Remember, everyone is different! We all deal with hormonal imbalances in our own unique ways. Make sure you figure out what works for you.
Have you noticed any hormonal imbalances lately? What are you doing to get back on the right track? Let us know in the comments below. Be sure to share this with your friends and family, too!
