Your weight and hormonal balance go hand in hand. A fluctuating diet and lifestyle causes an imbalance in your hormones and your hormonal balance in turn affects your weight. Balancing your hormones through nutrition, exercise and stress management can therefore help you lose weight and reduce (belly) fat. We ask Professor Liesbeth van Rossum of Erasmus MC, an internal medicine specialist and endocrinologist, how exactly it works.
Insulin
Insulin regulates the absorption of sugar into cells. When you consume a lot of fast sugars, your blood sugar level rises and your body produces extra insulin to absorb the blood sugar and send it to your body’s cells. If you consume more sugar than your body uses, this can lead to fat accumulation. By aiming for a balanced diet with less fast sugars, you prevent the accumulation of excess fat.
Cortisol
Cortisol is a hormone that regulates the metabolism of sugars, fats and bones on a daily basis. Plus, it’s also your “stress hormone,” because extra amounts of it are produced during stress. This hormone can also promote fat accumulation during chronic stress, especially around the abdomen.
Additionally, cortisol increases your appetite for food which can quickly provide you with lots of energy. No celery… «But specific high-calorie foods, preferably rich in sugars and fats, such as chocolate or donuts», explains Van Rossum.
There are many types of stress, both mental (for example if your work-life balance is not good) and physical, such as chronic pain or sleep deprivation. “Depending on the type of stress, it may be helpful to consider what works best to reduce stress,” advises the professor. Relaxation exercises (or meditation), seeking social pleasure (night of laughter with friends), increased physical activity or possibly private or professional help are all methods of lowering cortisol.
Estrogens and testosterone
Estrogen and testosterone also play their part in fat storage (or fat loss). “In women, a decrease in estrogen after menopause can lead to a greater amount of abdominal fat, while a decrease in testosterone in men with age also contributes to this phenomenon,” says Van Rossum.
“In both men and women, growth hormone production also slowly declines as we age. This decrease also contributes to muscle loss and increased abdominal fat.” Especially after the age of 40, according to Van Rossum, it is extremely important to do muscle exercises twice a week, as well as moderately intense physical activity such as walking. “This doesn’t necessarily have to happen in the gym, you can also do it with simple exercises at home.”
Leptin
Leptin is a hormone produced by fat cells. “It inhibits appetite and stimulates burning,” continues Van Rossum. “With obesity, this beneficial effect is disrupted, making it easier to gain weight.”
“Fat cells not only store fat, but also produce numerous hormones. Too much fat also disrupts hormonal balance,” says Van Rossum in his bestseller VET Important. This book shows how fat really works and how you can achieve and maintain a healthy weight intelligently and effectively.
A disruption of one hormone can also affect other hormones, thus resulting in a hormonal imbalance. For example, as your appetite is no longer adequately curbed, your chance of accumulating more fat increases.
How a hormonal imbalance can cause (extra) belly fat
“Belly fat is often thought of as just an energy reserve, but it’s actually an active organ that produces many hormones and other substances,” says Van Rossum. Belly fat “communicates” with the entire body through hormones and other signaling substances. Normally this communication goes smoothly, but too much abdominal fat can lead to diseased adipose tissue, a chronically mildly inflamed organ. This results in disrupted fat hormones and inflammatory substances traveling through the bloodstream to various organs and even the brain, such as the hypothalamus (which regulates appetite and metabolism) and the amygdala (responsible for mood and emotions ). This latter disruption can lead to depression and anxiety disorders.
If you have a lot of abdominal fat or obesity, the production of the hormone leptin is often disturbed. Van Rossum explains: “Leptin inhibits appetite and stimulates calorie burning. Due to inflammation of the abdominal fat, the fat hormone is no longer received properly in the brain. At the same time, if you are overweight, the satiety hormones in your gut no longer work properly. The consequences: reduced appetite inhibition, lower calorie consumption and therefore often further weight gain.”
If you want to lose weight, it is important that your hormones are balanced. The problem is that balancing these hormones can sometimes be a real challenge. “A healthy lifestyle with sufficient exercise, a healthy and varied diet, sufficient sleep and relaxation can help keep this hormonal orchestra in harmony,” emphasizes Van Rossum.
According to her, the following tips are important for achieving a healthier weight if you are overweight:
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At least 150-200 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity aerobic exercise per week, and spread these movements over several days (at least 30-60 minutes each time). “To maintain a healthy weight after losing weight, you need even more, that is, 200-300 minutes a week to avoid the yo-yo effect,” emphasizes Van Rossum in the new national guideline.
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Muscle and bone strengthening exercises twice a week.
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Don’t sit too much
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Sufficient relaxation and sleep
By consciously addressing your diet, stress, and other lifestyle habits, you can take control of these hormonal factors and make them work in your favor for a healthier, more balanced life.
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“Consult your doctor about additional options for achieving a healthier weight if the above does not have a sufficient effect on your excess weight,” advises Van Rossum.
New guidelines on overweight and obesity
There are several steps for the optimal treatment of overweight and obese adults. It is important, for example, to check with your doctor what the causes and factors behind overweight or obesity are, such as lifestyle, social and economic problems, psychological problems, medications, hormonal problems or genetic factors. More information on this can be found in the Overweight and obesity in adults guideline.
And remember: you are not alone. For example, the Combined Lifestyle Intervention (GLI) program for overweight and obese people is now reimbursed by the basic health insurance package. This GLI supports people in behavioral change to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Let’s be honest: it is very difficult to lose excess pounds. And it’s even harder not to gain it back after losing weight. Dietitian Wendy provides three tips for lasting weight loss. No, yo-yo:
Source: Healthline, Dietitian Practice Roots, Erasmus MC, VET Important
January 16, 2024
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2024-01-16 14:16:55
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