Control your Hormones, Control your Weight?

January 5, 2021

Kelly Carter, Certified Nutritionist and Owner of Kelly Carter Kitchen


Many of us are aware of how important hormone balancing can be in terms of weight gain/loss. Thyroid hormones have a large role in controlling your metabolism, the other hormones that affect weight gain and loss include insulin, glucagon, leptin, ghrelin, cortisol, adrenaline, and the sex hormones: estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.

3 HORMONES THAT YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO

Insulin

This hormone helps get glucose into the cells. These cells include your liver and muscle cells so that you have the energy to move around and exercise but also fat cells. If you store body fat everywhere, then insulin is your dominant hormone. Regulate your insulin levels by reducing starchy carbohydrates and eating smaller meals. Grains portions (rice/potato/quinoa) are replaced with vegetable portions (cauliflower/broccoli/carrots), wheat wraps are replaced with lettuce wraps, and cereal is replaced with a chia seed pudding. 

Estrogen

If you store body fat on your upper thighs and butt, then estrogen is your dominant hormone. The body is either not detoxifying estrogen as efficiently as it should, or too many carbs are causing more available estrogen to circulate around the body. The more fat cells available, the more estrogen in the body since fat secretes estrogen. The tip here is to eat a cup of cruciferous vegetables daily (broccoli, cauliflower, kale) since these vegetables contain a phytonutrient that helps to metabolize and clear estrogen from the body.

Cortisol

If you have belly fat, cortisol, the stress-coping hormone, is dominant. Something that would be very beneficial would be daily 20-minute meditation, as meditation helps to reset the body’s cortisol response. It is all about how you manage the stress in your life – not getting rid of it altogether.