Symptoms — weight gain
“Why am I gaining this weight?”
“Within a month and a half I lost 20 pounds, mainly around my waist. I went from not being able to do anything to feeling like I did 20 years ago!” — Sierra, Personal Program Member
We hear this question every day in our medical practice. And no wonder. Despite our best efforts, most women gain weight in perimenopause — especially around our waist and hips — even if we’re dieting!
Why is this happening to us? The answer lies in the remarkable links between hormonal balance and body fat.
Before we explore these links, set aside the basic myth behind most diets — that weight control is just a matter of calorie control. That's untrue and misleading, and has made a lot of women suffer unnecessarily.
Weight loss and hormonal balance
The first and most basic link is between insulin metabolism and body fat. Most of us eat the conventional low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet, with lots of processed foods (pasta, breads, most snacks, beer and wine, etc.). Over time this diet commonly creates a condition known as insulin resistance. When you are insulin resistant your body converts every calorie it can into fat — even if you’re dieting. And it won't let you burn fat when you exercise.
A second basic link is between stress and body fat. Stress hormones block weight loss. This is sometimes called the "famine effect": despite adequate food, the body interprets prolonged stress as a famine, and once again, the body thinks it should store every spare calorie as fat. Which it does very effectively. Most women are under tremendous amounts of stress — much of it prolonged and without let-up — which leads to adrenal fatigue and intractable weight gain.
These two links work together. Many of us combine a high-stress life with a low-fat, high-carb diet. This creates such a powerful hormonal imbalance that weight gain is almost inevitable. Yo-yo dieting — strict dieting followed by a rebound in weight — will only exacerbate the pattern because it stresses the body and damages your metabolism.
A third link is estrogen loss. As the estrogen production of your ovaries falls, your body turns to secondary production sites, including body fat, skin, and other organs. If your body is struggling to maintain its hormonal balance, body fat becomes more valuable. Of course, if you are stressed and on a low-fat diet, your body is struggling. This is a vicious circle.
A fourth link is the cravings created by high-carb diets. Because your body can’t readily maintain optimal blood sugar and serotonin levels, you are compelled to have snacks and caffeine to make yourself feel better. But they only exacerbate your insulin resistance and adrenal exhaustion — another vicious circle — while adding body fat.
Note that artificial sweeteners are not a solution; they’re part of the problem. They may lack calorie content, but they mimic sugar so well that the body produces insulin to metabolize them — contributing to insulin resistance. They actually lower your blood sugar level, which is why most contain caffeine to compensate.
By thinking only of calorie control, we actually starve our bodies of the nutrients we need to maintain health, while signaling our bodies to put on weight. Neither outcome is desirable! And you end up feeling defeated by the whole process — as though willpower had anything to do with it.
Our philosophy on weight control is based on what has worked in our practice over the last 25 years. We know that you have to get healthy before you can lose weight. You can’t lose weight to get healthy. But if you will heal your body and try to balance your life, you will then find you achieve and maintain your ideal weight.
We’ve been very successful in our Personal Program in helping women achieve and maintain their ideal weight.
The Personal Program is a great place to start
The Personal Program promotes natural hormonal balance with nutritional supplements, our exclusive endocrine support formula, dietary and lifestyle guidance, and optional phone consultations with our Nurse–Educators. It is a convenient, at-home version of what we recommend to all our patients at the clinic.
If you have questions, don’t hesitate to call us toll-free at 1-800-798-7902. We’re here to listen and help.
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Last Modified: 08/17/2009