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Hormones can make one go all silly as they facilitate every bodily process, to name a few: - metabolism, growth, development inclusive of sexual function, and providing increased or decreased appetite. Therefore, hormones play the role of being the influential elements when talking about one’s body gaining or losing weight simultaneously. Weight gaining or losing aspects are directly proportional to hormones, so to understand how this process functions, Nitesh Kasma, Co-founder of Gummy Lounge, gives below some understandings that one needs to keep in mind, to control the entire process of gaining or losing weight.
Sometimes, you may experience sudden weight gain around your belly. No amount of exercise or diet restriction may help you get rid of this extra bulge. This may leave you puzzled and demotivated. But what if this weight gain is because of some medical problem? You must have heard of the term 'hormonal belly'. Well, as the name suggests, this is nothing but accumulation of excess fat around your belly because of hormonal imbalance. A deficiency in any hormone can lead to a hormonal belly. And, both men and ,women are susceptible to it.
The are many things that can contribute to hormonal belly. Some of the common causes are -
For men, the causes may differ:
For women, there are a few other factors:
Here are some symptoms which can help you understand if the culprit behind your bulging belly are hormones or something else.
Low levels of estrogen in the body might make you feel hungry even after having a meal. This is because of the impact of estrogen. Excess leptin in your body can be problematic.
Stress causes our adrenal glands to release cortisol to help our body respond suitably. But when we are stressed all the time, our adrenal gland will keep on producing cortisol which is much more than our body needs. High levels of cortisol in our body raises the heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar. Hence, it increases abdominal fat.
Excessive exercise, issues with your eating patterns or even problems with pituitary glands can be the underlying causes of low estrogen. When the levels of estrogen drop, there's a high chance that you gain more weight in the belly, rather than hips, thighs and buttocks.
There is a high chance that your body is struggling with insulin resistance if you are craving for sugar all the time. This will eventually add to your hormonal belly fat!
If increased abdominal weight gain is coinciding with an accelerated rate of hair loss, then hormones might be to blame.
Yes, it is possible to flatten hormonal belly. Follow the routine set up by a medical practitioner. Every person has specific requirements, no everybody needs the same set of rules to follow. However, some basic things must be kept in mind when you are looking forward to flattening a hormonal belly.
Hormones regulate various bodily functions including metabolism, stress, hunger and sex drive. Hormonal imbalance is the major reason behind it. If there is fluctuation in hormones, then it can result in various health conditions including underactive thyroid, PCOS and even menopause. Hormonal imbalance can also be a result of obesity, environmental triggers, excessive stress and even some medications.
Hormonal belly can occur in teens or anytime later, whenever there is disruption in hormones in body. But in women, there are more chances of getting hormonal belly around the menopausal age. Women tend to gain fat around their abdomen. It can lead to changes in body shape along with hot flashes, mood changes, irregular periods, trouble sleeping and more.
(This article is authored y Dr. Rita Bakshi, Founder, RISAA IVF)