How your hormones are connected to your waistline

With my 1-2-1 clients, getting to the root cause of weight gain is typically the top priority. Weight gain can be a complex little critter (especially with PCOS), so let’s look at some common drivers that I see in my clinic:⁣⁣

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Insulin resistance. Riding the blood sugar roller coaster? Then you’ll know this is the one roller coaster that you don’t want a fast pass to! If we continue to spike our glucose levels through diet and lifestyle, our insulin is not able to store glucose in the muscles, storing it instead in our fat cells. Hello, weight gain 👀

Thyroid. Looking into your thyroid function via a blood panel can be very useful, and it can shine a light on what is potentially driving weight gain e.g. an under active thyroid. Why? Well, our thyroid hormones keep our metabolism in check, so looking into TSH, Free T4, Free T3, and thyroid antibodies can be key!⁣⁣

Oestrogen. If your levels of oestrogen are elevated, we often see resistance to weight loss. Some things to look out for are PMS, high emotional state, sore boobs before a period, and weight gain around the booty. On the opposite end of the spectrum, when these levels drop alongside progesterone as we age (peri & menopause), so does our energy expenditure. This can also lead to weight gain, as we need less fuel in the tank to get the same job done.

Stress. Our stress hormone, cortisol, is imperative to our existence, but if it is overstimulated and we are in a state of stress or ‘fight or flight’ mode, we can hold onto excess weight around the middle. Stress can also interfere with how our cells talk to one another when it comes to moving glucose out of the blood and into the cells via insulin.

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The priority should never be placed on fad diets and calorie counting, it must always be on your wellbeing and wellness. That’s why I created The Positive Method Club. It’s entirely possible to make your journey to a happier and healthier you without counting calories, and learning what you need to do and why is what will help you to really make a long-term positive change.