As we all may know by now, “calories in/calories out” is the main premise of weight loss and weight gain. This is physics so there is no need to challenge it, right?
I just read The hormone factor, a book that gave me some new insights. It states that excess weight is caused by at least nine different imbalanced hormones.
I think the author confuses cause and effect. Obesity is the cause of disrupted hormones, instead of disrupted hormones being the cause of obesity.
Science time and time again proves that all it takes to lose weight is to eat less calories than you burn.
But that does not alter the fact that hormones are important and a very interesting topic, as they influence stress, sleep, muscle growth, libido and energy amongst many other things.
When overweight, the hormonal system is guaranteed to be disrupted and you find yourself in a vicious circle. And as we have seen before, almost 90% of adults has excess body fat.
Man boobs, dad bods and love handles are ubiquitous in today’s society, and unfortunately are even being normalised by the body positivity movement, while they are a sign of hormone imbalances that lead to issues for both men and women.
Obesity, alcohol, insulin resistance and xenoestrogens increase estrogen in both women and men.
Estrogen dominance is ubiquitous and leads to issues such as cancer, infertility and allergies for both sexes.
— Gijs Heerkens (@gijsheerkens) June 20, 2022
The most important hormones are:
- Insulin (generated by the pancreas)
- Regulates blood sugar levels
- Regulates fat deposition
- Regulates muscle growth
- Thyroid hormone (thyroid)
- Stimulates fat oxidation
- Releases energy
- Improves blood flow
- Accelerates metabolism
- Supports waste disposal
- Lowers cholesterol
- Relaxes muscles and joints
- Generates body heat
- Stimulates immune system
- Testosteron (testicles, ovaries, adrenal glands)
- Stimulates muscle growth
- Stimulates fat breakdown
- Empowers in stressful situations
- Increases libido
- Improves energy levels and mood
- Estrogen (ovaries, adrenal glands, adipose tissue)
- Counteracts osteoporose
- Prevents wrinkles
- Regulates menstruation
- Stimulates energy levels and improves mood
- Increases sexual desires in women
- Causes breast growth (in men, too)
- Stimulates fat storage
- Progesteron (ovaries, adrenal glands, testicles)
- Prevents moisture retention
- Regulates menstruation and pregnancy
- Relaxes the mind
- Improves sleep
- Growth hormone (pituitary)
- Strengthens muscles
- Regulates fat oxidation
- Regulates growth in young people
- Regulates energy levels and recovery
- DHEA (adrenal glands)
- Stimulates muscle growth
- Supports fat oxidation
- Supports immune system
- Cortisol (adrenal glands)
- Supplies fast energy in stressful situations
- Rises blood sugar levels
- Inhibits inflammation
- Stimulates activity and decisiveness
- Decreases allergies and fever
- Melatonine (pineal gland)
- Supports sleep
- Works like an antioxidant
- Supports immune system
Our bodies are ingenious, complex systems that are hard to fully understand.
But, luckily, we are able to autoregulate everything in a good way when we fix the basics, which comes down to sleep, nutrition and moving, like I said many times before.
A more extensive list of things to get in place for hormone and overall health is:
- Eat whole foods like nature intended.
- Focus on nutrient density by eating mainly animal foods.
- Eat low carb and no sugar.
- Eat plenty of animal fats and healthy oils.
- Prioritise protein.
- Take it easy on the gluten and dairy.
- No alcohol, or in moderation.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Find the foods that provoke inflammation in your body.
- Resistance training is mandatory, not optional.
- Move around 30 to 60 minutes a day, or more.
- Get a consistent sleeping schedule.
