Both losing weight and gaining weight are the most difficult tasks to do. Some try their ass off to gain mass by consuming balanced diet and spending hours looking for the best mass gainer supplement or mass gainer protein. Others give up on their favourite foods, literally try everything just to get rid of the extra fat.
In this article, I will help you to understand why gaining weights sometimes is not just a case of overeating, it could be more than that. Genes, age, poor lifestyle choices and stress can cause a hormonal imbalance resulting in weight gain.
Read on to know the 5 hormones that not only cause the imbalance in the body but also result in obesity and how you can control these hormones.
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Estrogen
Estrogen plays an essential role in the development and growth of female characteristics. High estrogen levels in the body increase the blood glucose level and lead to weight gain. And when the estrogen level decreases, the body converts all available energy sources to fat in order to replenish the levels of glucose. This also leads to obesity.
You can avoid it by exercising regularly, consuming whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and avoiding alcohol and processed meat.
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Melatonin
Melatonin hormone controls wakefulness and sleep. When we sleep the hormones that support body healing, build lean muscle and improve body composition are released. But an improper or disturbed sleep impact the healing process, causing stress and ultimately leading to obesity.
This can be avoided by keeping a few things in mind such as avoid eating before going to bed, get sufficient sleep, switch off all gadgets before sleeping and sleep in a cold and dark room.
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Leptin
Leptin is a hormone produced by the body’s fat cells. This hormone is very effective at keeping us from overeating or starving. But when you consume food rich in sugar content, the extra supply of fructose gets converted into fats and then gets deposited in the belly, liver and other regions of the body. And fat cells release leptin. As more and more leptin get released, the body gets less sensitive to it, which causes the brain to stop receiving the signals to avoid overeating.
In order to control this, all you need to do is, avoid food high in sugar content, eat dark green leafy vegetables, avoid processed food, get enough sleep of 7-8 hours a day and keep yourself hydrated.
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Insulin
Insulin is a hormone released by the pancreas that allows the body to use glucose for energy or to store it as a fat for future use. This hormone keeps your blood sugar from getting too low or too high. Overconsumption of unhealthy snacks, artificial sweetened drinks or alcohol and processed foods develop a resistance to insulin, causing glucose to remain in the bloodstream and increase in the blood sugar levels which leads to obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
So, make sure you consume fresh and seasonal fruits and vegetables, take nuts, flaxseeds, fatty fish to improve omega-3-fatty acids, drink at least 3-4 litres of water a day, work out at least 4 hours a week, and avoid late night snacks, alcohol and artificially sweetened drinks.
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Thyroid hormones
Thyroid gland is located in the front of the neck. It produces hormones calcitonin, T3 and T4 that are responsible for maintaining the metabolism of the body. Underproduction of these hormones in the thyroid glands leads to hypothyroidism, which accumulates water in the body and makes a person look fat.
Keep track of what you put in your stomach. To avoid this hormonal imbalance consume iodised salt, well-cooked food, food that are high in zinc like pumpkin seeds and oysters and take vitamin D supplements.