Research has found that there is a complex relationship between hormones and weight. One vital link exists between insulin, metabolism and body fat. For years, many women followed the conventional low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet, with lots of processed foods (pasta, breads, most snacks, beer and wine, etc). Over time, this type of diet can create insulin resistance. Insulin resistance causes your body to convert every calorie it can into fat – even if you’re dieting. The result is that while you are gaining weight, your cells are actually starving!

A second basic link exists between stress and body fat. Stress hormones, like cortisol, block weight loss causing the so called “famine effect.” Despite adequate food intake, the body interprets prolonged stress as a famine and again the body stores calories as fat. Stress comes in many forms including emotional, physical, or even diet-related. Most of us are under tremendous amounts of stress. Prolonged periods of stress can lead to chronic inflammation and a metabolic disorder called “adrenal fatigue.”

Working together, all these factors create a major hormonal imbalance, which can ultimately result in weight gain. For women in perimenopause, weight gain results from widely fluctuating estrogen levels. For menopausal women, diminished levels of estrogen cause weight gain. As estrogen production of your ovaries decreases, your body uses secondary sources – including body fat, skin and other organs. As your body struggles to maintain its hormonal balance, body fat becomes more valuable. As your body balances estrogen loss while maintaining bone mass, it needs additional fat cells. So, if you’re stressed and on a low-fat diet, your body will struggle with the balancing act and refuse to let go of extra body fat.

What can you do to prevent or reverse weight gain? There’s no magic formula for avoiding weight gain as you get older. Maintaining a healthy weight relies on watching what you eat and making certain you keep moving! Learn how to make simple lifestyle changed that can result in huge benefits in fighting weight gain and achieve better health.

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