Why Can’t I Lose Weight? How Hormones Impact Your Body Shape

Has this question been on your mind for some time? You might think: It’s just the way it is. I just can’t lose weight, no matter what I do?  Don’t raise the white flag. You probably haven’t thought of this key reason yet: Your hormones. In this article, we want to look at how hormones impact your weight.

The power of hormones

To understand how hormones impact your weight, you have to understand their power – in other words: what they do in your body. 

Hormones are chemical messengers that are created and sent by organs in the body called endocrine glands. Hormones regulate the metabolism, the provision of energy to the body and therefore are intricately connected to the amount of fat you gain or lose. 

Hormones create the foundation needed for a healthy body to function. That’s why imbalanced hormone levels can be the cause for difficult weight loss or weight gain.

3 hormones to keep in mind

It is important to note, that all hormones impact your weight as they work together in a very complex system. Still, some hormones have kind of a “key role” when it comes to weight balance. 

Estrogen: The most common cause for weight gain in women is an estrogen excess. This leads to natural weight gain in the stomach, bottom and thigh areas. This weight gain can also be observed in women who start taking the birth control pill. Both too high and too low production of estrogen can lead to weight gain. 

Insulin: Insulin is produced in the pancreas whose main role is to regulate glucose (blood sugar) levels in your body and promote fat storage especially around the belly. Foods that promote the secretion of insulin include white refined flours and sugars.

Cortisol: Cortisol is the body’s main stress hormone. When you are stressed, cortisol is released to the bloodstream and your hunger increases (cravings for fat, sugar and salt), your metabolism slows down and you gain weight.  

Hormone cascade: 5 is the magical number

Keep in mind that the hormone system is complex! This means that not only the mentioned hormones affect your weight.

The Verisana Weight Hormone Check measures Estrogen, Cortisol, Progesterone, DHEA and Testosterone levels. Why is that important? Has Testosterone really an influence on your weight? And what about DHEA and Progesterone? Don’t be surprised if you haven’t heard of these connections yet. We are talking about indirect connections – let’s say detours that hormones take sometimes. 

The imagination of a cascade might help you to understand that better. Imagine…

  1. Progesterone at the top of the cascade (1st level), 
  2. further down DHEA  (2nd level) and
  3. at the bottom Cortisol, Testosterone and Estradiol (3rd level). 

You might know that some hormones are converted into other hormones. This conversion happens from top to bottom (to stay with this illustration). Progesterone is converted to DHEA. DHEA is converted to Testosterone and Estradiol. So, if your Estradiol levels are too high, it may be because your DHEA levels are too high – more DHEA is present, thus more DHEA is converted to Estradiol. Same test result: Your Estradiol levels are too high. But at the same time your DHEA levels are low or normal – thus, DHEA is not the reason. In this case too high Estradiol levels might be the result of too high Progesterone levels. 

The Verisana Weigth Hormone Check measures those 5 hormones and thus helps you to get meaningful information about your hormone status and its relation to your weight problem.

Take the test!

With the Verisana Weight Hormone Check  you can quickly and easily check your hormone levels. You collect the samples at home, send them back to us and we will provide you with your level of each hormone and whether your level falls within the reference ranges for your age. 

In addition to that, the results include graphs showing whether your are in the “green” (=normal/healthy) or “red” (=too high/low) area, making it easy to understand the results. You can then discuss the results with your doctor or health practitioner, who can give you further guidance and treatment recommendations. 

Balance your hormones to balance your weight

Balanced hormone levels are essential in order to effectively burn the pounds. Many people think that
hormone balance always requires pills, injections or creams, but it’s possible that all you need is a change in the way you
live. Food, lifestyle and stress management are of big importance. Although we do not offer therapy service ourselves,
we will gladly assist you in finding a suitable therapist in your area.