3 Ways Your Hormones Are Sabotaging Your Slim-Down Plan

We've all come to trust the simple equation: eating less working out more = weight loss.

So why does that tried and tested formula fail so many women?

Are you the kind of woman who automatically counts calories at every meal? Do you turn down that second glass of wine and even a slice of your colleague's birthday cake? Do you have a standing appointment with your favorite spin class instructor?

… and somehow, you still cannot shift that final fifteen pounds (or more) towards your goal healthy, happy weight?

What's holding you up? It's probably the one thing you haven't factored in: your hormones. Specifically, it's your hormones not working in harmony to keep you feeling and looking great.

This might come as a surprise, but balanced hormones are the real secret to weight loss that you'll never hear about on a late-night infomercial. In fact, some of those so-called secrets you've tried before like deprivation dieting and intense workout regimes have only added to the hormonal havoc.

Here are three important ways your hormones are stopping you from staying slim:

1. Estrogen makes your fat toxic.

When your liver is working well, it turns fat-soluble toxins into water-soluble toxins to send them on out of the body. These toxins include hormones your body has already made use of and needs to move along.

So if your liver is overwhelmed by excess estrogen (and isn't working well, in other words) those toxins get deposited into your fat tissue, making it toxic fat tissue, which is the kind that the body really does not want to deal with. As a result, these toxins, and the fat, will stay.

2. Insulin imbalance grows for fat cells.

Your hormones play a key role in managing your blood sugar levels. Blood sugar that soars and crashes throughout the day as a result of eating too little or too much in the way of carbs (yes, it is possible to eat too little!) tells your body to store excess glucose as fat cells and to make more. This leads to weight gain and, moreover, makes it hard to lose the pounds.

What you need to eat and when depends on whether you're a "slow burner" or a "fast burner" of the glucose that is found in carbs. Keeping your blood sugar in the healthy range keeps you at a healthy weight.

3. Cortisol programs fat cells to stick around.

Out of whack hormones as a cause and consequence of poor liver function, a daily blood sugar roller-coaster, and imbalanced exercise, can lead to Adrenal Fatigue. The adrenal glands are vital in supplying the hormone that mobilizes and removes stored fats.

When adrenals are overtaxed, the concentration of cortisol programs the body to keep your fat cells from converting to useable energy for muscles so losing weight will be an uphill struggle for which you'll have little energy to undertake.

Now, let's change the equation, shall we?

Eating the right foods + working out according to your hormonal needs = balanced hormones + weight loss.

So how can you make your hormones happy and achieve that happy weight? Here are three things you can do right now to get results:

1. Eat more cabbage!

Vegetables from the brassica family, including broccoli and kale, are foundational to metabolize estrogen.

2. Drink cinnamon tea.

Do this throughout the day. Cinnamon stabilizes blood sugar!

3. Learn how to exercise in a way that's right for you.

Get to know the four phases of your cycle to protect yourself from adrenal fatigue!

Your body can work for you if you feed it the right foods in the right sequence. Stop suffering. Start feeling good all month long.

If you're ready to get to the bottom of your hormonal imbalances once and for all, let us help you.

Photo Credit: Stocksy

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