Struggling with Weight Gain and Fatigue? It Could Be Your Hormones

Does this sound familiar? You’re doing everything “right” – eating healthy. watching your calories, hitting the gym regularly – yet the scale keeps creeping up. Your energy levels have plummeted, and that afternoon slump has become an everyday battle. If you’re nodding along, an imbalance in your hormones might be the hidden culprit behind these frustrating symptoms. As a wellness practitioner for over a decade, I’ve seen countless clients struggling with this exact scenario of hormonal weight gain and fatigue. Sarah, a 42-year-old executive, came to me after gaining 25 pounds despite maintaining her usual healthy routine. She suffered from hormonal fatigue, was achy, had brain fog and was moody and irritable. “I don’t look or feel like myself anymore. I do everything right, yet nothing works and I am demoralized,” she confided during our first meeting.

Understanding Your Hormones

Our hormones are the body’s chemical messengers, orchestrating everything from metabolism and energy levels to mood and sleep patterns. Two common hormonal imbalances that often go undiagnosed are high cortisol and estrogen dominance.¹

High cortisol, often called “the stress hormone,” can lead to:

• Metabolic Syndrome²
  • Stubborn belly fat
  • Blood sugar imbalances
  • High blood pressure
  • High cholesterol
• Insomnia and disrupted sleep
• Anxiety and irritability
• Weakened immune system

Estrogen dominance symptoms include:

• Hormonal weight gain in hips and thighs
• Heavy or irregular periods
• Breast tenderness
• Anxiety and impatience
• Insomnia
• Growth or cysts of the breasts
• Low libido

Even if you don’t have a period, you can still be estrogen dominant. Estrogen can be high, normal or low. When it is dominant, it means there is not enough progesterone to balance it.

The Importance of Hormone Testing

Before beginning any hormone balancing protocol, comprehensive testing is crucial. These symptoms overlap with other conditions, and it is important to have a comprehensive approach. Hormones affect each other and should not be measured in isolation.

A common oversight is not measuring cortisol. Common hormone tests include:

• Cortisol is best done in saliva – 4 times in a day to get the cortisol curve
• Estradiol
• Progesterone
• Testosterone free and total
• TSH, free T3, free T4, thyroid antibodies, reverse T3

Most healthcare providers leave a lot out. Work with a healthcare provider to get comprehensive hormonal imbalance testing. Lifestyle is also a big factor. What you eat, drink, how much you sleep and exercise, the toxins you are exposed to and the stress or dis-stress your mind or body are under can all affect your hormones.

Functional medicine doctors that specialize in hormones can best interpret results and create a personalized hormonal imbalance treatment plan incorporating critical lifestyle modifications to keep you on track and treat you holistically. Testing helps identify specific imbalances and track progress over time.

The Transformation Journey

The good news? Many hormonal imbalances can be addressed through targeted lifestyle modifications. However, it depends on where you are at in your journey and your specific symptoms, test results and risk factors. Some people benefit greatly from using bioidentical hormone replacement therapy along with lifestyle modification. Sarah’s journey is a testament to this. In less than three months of implementing key changes and receiving hormone replacement therapy, she reported significantly improved energy levels and a return to her normal weight.

The Secret to Natural Hormone Balance

• Adequate sleep
• Nutrient dense diet with plenty of vegetables and lean protein³
• Avoid processed foods
• Add cruciferous vegetables and ground flax seed
• Daily bowel movements that look like snakes
• Avoiding estrogenic chemicals in plastics, personal care and cleaning products
• Moderate exercise – not too much, not too little

Remember, addressing a hormonal imbalance isn’t just about replacement or quick fixes – it’s about creating sustainable lifestyle changes that support your body’s natural rhythms. As Sarah discovered, understanding and addressing hormonal imbalances can be the key to reclaiming your energy, maintaining a healthy weight, and feeling like yourself again. If you are ready for a transformation apply for a no obligation clarity call to see if we are a good fit.

Note: Always consult healthcare professionals before making significant changes to your diet or exercise routine.

References:

1. High Estrogen: Causes, Symptoms, Dominance & Treatment. Cleveland Clinic. Accessed January 3, 2025. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22363-high-estrogen
2. Hewagalamulage SD, Lee TK, Clarke IJ, Henry BA. Stress, cortisol, and obesity: a role for cortisol responsiveness in identifying individuals prone to obesity. Domest Anim Endocrinol. 2016;56 Suppl:S112-120. doi:10.1016/j.domaniend.2016.03.004
3. Mazza E, Troiano E, Ferro Y, et al. Obesity, Dietary Patterns, and Hormonal Balance Modulation: Gender-Specific Impacts. Nutrients. 2024;16(11):1629. doi:10.3390/nu16111629