Not all women with a hormonal imbalance have irregular periods, or crampy periods, or acne. But there is one sign that is a sure indicator that you have a hormonal imbalance and it’s actually unrelated to your cycle. If, despite your best efforts, you cannot lose weight and find yourself putting on the pounds when you even glance at a cake, then you are probably dealing with estrogen dominance.
Estrogen dominance feeds a vicious cycle of weight gain for women. Too much estrogen in your body that’s not being broken down and eliminated effectively by your liver actually programs your fat cells to store more fat. The more fat these cells store the more estrogen they then give out. This creates more estrogen in your body, which then, of course, programs your fat cells to store more fat. This leads to consistent and easy weight gain and makes it super hard to lose weight.
If you:
- Have been steadily gaining weight for a few months or years
- Cannot lose weight even when you cut back on food and eat healthily
- Find exercise seems to have little impact on the numbers on the scale
Then you likely have estrogen dominance, and your weight problems are a symptom of this hormonal imbalance.
Estrogen dominance is a metabolic condition which necessitates that you use a very different approach to weight loss. You need to manage your hormonal imbalance, bring your estrogen levels down and back in check, and eat in a way that will rev your metabolism and satisfy your appetite.
Many of my clients at FLO Living come to me with this issue – and these are women who see themselves as healthy living, conscientious about eating right, and who exercise regularly. But there’s a piece missing to their method. They are not tackling the estrogen dominance head on and it’s stalling their weight loss efforts (and sometimes even exacerbating the issue).
How to lose weight when you have a hormonal imbalance
- Cycle Sync how you exercise – instead of doing hardcore cardio all month long, change how you work out to match what your hormones are doing. This means choosing different kinds of exercise depending on if you’re in your follicular, ovulatory, luteal or menstrual phase. High intensity workouts during your luteal and menstrual phases can lead to estrogen dominance, because of the stress put on your adrenals.
- Stop seeing dieting as a calories in/calories out equation – counting calories doesn’t help a woman who’s is gaining weight because of estrogen dominance. Fasting, cutting calories, and dieting as deprivation will actually worsen estrogen dominance and cause you to put on more pounds. You need to feed your body the micronutrients it needs to process the excess estrogen and manage the xenoestrogens that contribute to the overload (xenoestrogens from the likes of nail polish, shampoos, household cleaning products). You need to support and bolster your liver and microbiome, these are your friends in combating the toxic soup of estrogen dominance. The best way to do this, longterm, is to Cycle Sync your diet, and eat the FLO Living way, choosing your meals based on where you are in your cycle. You can start simply with greens as these are absolutely vital for combating estrogen dominance.
- Supercharge your diet with supplements – once you are nourishing your body with the FLO Living foods, you can add in a layer of supplements that will supercharge your efforts and help you rev your metabolism and lose weight faster. But I’m talking truly effective, natural supplements, and not the sort of “miracle cures” you see in magazines and on TV. These will assist you in balancing your blood sugar, calming your adrenals and supporting your thyroid – targeting exactly what your body requires to lose weight.
Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this – the science of your body is on your side!
to your FLO,
Alisa
Good things come in threes:
I want to hear from you!
First, are you gaining weight?
Second, do you find it hard to lose weight?
Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social 😉
Is Your Period Healthy?
How do you know if your hormones are healthy? The answer is in your 5th vital sign – your period.
The color of your flow, frequency of your period, and symptoms you have each month can tell you a lot about your health. There are 5 different V-SIGN TYPES, and knowing which one you have will help you get healthy now and prevent disease in the future.
Hello
Does your program adapt for salicylate sensitivity? Often supplements and so called healthy foods cause angioedema and hives in me.
Thank you
Tracey
hello i don’t have an issue with weight gain however acne has been my daily reality since the age of 13. I’m 29 now and still can’t control my acne. i feel like I’ve tried everything under the sun topically with little results. could this be due to hormonal imbalance?
Yes, acne is commonly a result of hormone imbalance.
Alisa
Hello
I have been suffering with ovarian cyst since February 2017 I was wondering if your supplements would help and if it means I have estrogen dominance ?
Cybs
Since after my abortion my monthly flow became irregular and dark what should i do