Are willpower and self-control the real solution to low energy and high weight?

Nope.  There is so much more to the story!

Your (powerful) hormones play a vital role in helping your body optimally function.

Today, I’m talking about the hormones that directly affect your blood sugar, metabolism, and appetite.  These are the hormones that actually control your energy and weight.

Let’s go over a few of the critical links between your hormones and how they affect your energy and weight.  The links may be stronger than you think.

WHAT ARE HORMONES?

Having healthy, happy hormones is something you hear about all around the health news these days.  And it’s for good reason!  Your hormones are part of the master control system of your entire body.

Hormones are compounds made by one part of the body that are used to communicate with another part.  For example, insulin is made in the pancreas.  When your blood sugar gets too high, insulin is released into the bloodstream.  Then, it goes to your muscles and other cells to tell them to absorb the sugar out of the blood.  If there is still too much blood sugar, it signals to store the excess as fat.

Your hormones control not only your blood sugar, but also your metabolism and appetite, (plus a host of other things).  You probably know that having healthy blood sugar, metabolism and appetite is a foundation for your optimal energy and weight.

So, how can your hormones get out of whack to zap your energy and pile up the pounds?

Imbalances.

COMMON HORMONAL IMBALANCES

In optimal health, your hormones would work great, you’d have ample energy, and you’d be able to maintain a healthy weight.

However, there are often problems with this whole setup.  One common issue is that there may be too much or too little hormone released to have the desired effect.  This is known as “hypo-“ or “hyper-“ hormone (i.e. hypo- or hyperthyroidism).

Another common issue is that, even if the right amount of hormone is released, the cells they communicate with can start ignoring them. This is known as hormone “resistance” (i.e. insulin resistance).

As you can imagine, if your hormones have such critical jobs, including controlling blood sugar, metabolism and appetite, they can definitely cause issues with your energy and weight when there is an imbalance.

HORMONES AND ENERGY

Your metabolism is key for controlling your energy.  Metabolism itself is basically how much energy (calories) you burn.  One of the main players of this is…you guessed it!  Your thyroid hormones.

Your thyroid releases hormones that affect the metabolism of all the cells in your body.  If it’s too low and your metabolism goes down (hypothyroid), you may feel cold, hungry, and tired.  If it’s too high and your metabolism is too fast (hyperthyroid), you may feel hot, jittery, and lose weight.

What you actually want is an ideal metabolism, ideal energy use, ideal temperature, and an ideal weight.  Your thyroid hormones are the master controller here.

HORMONES AND WEIGHT

Your weight may be controlled by hormones more than you think.  Insulin controls your blood sugar, and whether or not that sugar is going to be stored as fat.  And when your blood sugar is too low, you may start craving sugar and carbs.

You also have hormones that control your appetite.  How hungry and how full you feel is controlled by the hormones ghrelin (signals hunger) & leptin (signals satiety).  When those get out of whack, you may find yourself wanting to eat because your body thinks you’re hungry and not satisfied…even if that’s not true.

Craving food (especially sugary ones) and not feeling full are going to be huge drivers for you to eat more.  Even if your body doesn’t truly need it, the hormonal signals tell your brain that you do.

Don’t forget that stress hormone, cortisol. When it’s too high for too long, it tells your body to store fat.  Not just any fat – belly fat!

SUMMARY AND WHAT YOU CAN DO

Your body is very complex and uses hormones to control a huge number of functions.  Hormones control your blood sugar, metabolism, and appetite, amongst other things.  These hormones directly affect how much energy you feel, how much you weigh, and even where your body fat is stored.

Here are a few “hormone stabilizing” tips that might help you with your energy and weight:

• Get regular exercise to use up excess blood sugar before your insulin has your body store it as fat
• Try stress-relieving activities like deep breathing, meditation or even coloring to reduce your (belly-fat inducing) cortisol
• Support your thyroid with iodine-containing sea vegetables, fish, legumes, or even an egg
• Balance your blood sugar with extra fiber from raspberries, avocados, or flax seeds
• Reduce blood sugar spikes by replacing your juice or soda with fruit-infused water
• If you need some support with your energy levels and/or weight, contact me for a FREE health coaching strategy session to see how I can help you.

 

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