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.

Can hormonal imbalance cause excess weight gain?

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.

High-carb diets also lead to cravings. 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 — a 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.

The impact of hormonal changes on weight gain

Another factor in stubborn weight gain is estrogen loss. As the estrogen production of your ovaries falls, your body turns to secondary production sites, one of which is body fat. 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 another vicious circle.

Thyroid imbalance is another common contributor. Thyroid hormones have an intimate relationship with the other hormones in your body, including estrogen and progesterone, and an imbalance in one is often associated with an imbalance in another. Because the thyroid plays a major role in orchestrating the body’s metabolism, an underactive thyroid almost always leads to weight gain, no matter how much you diet or exercise.

Heal yourself, and lose the weight

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.

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Last Modified: 08/16/2010