Hormone changes and weight gain
Mustang_Susie
Posts: 7,045 Member
In his groundbreaking book, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause, Dr. John Lee, MD., a pioneer in the field of bio-identical hormone replacement, coined the term "estrogen dominance."
According to Dr. Lee, estrogen dominance occurs in perimenopause when estrogen is unopposed by dropping and/or fluctuating progesterone levels. Furthermore, according to Dr. Lee, estrogen dominance is the culprit for many of the nasty symptoms women complain about during perimenopause, weight gain and belly fat included.
Estrogen Dominance Turns Your Body into a "Fat Magnet"
In his book, From Belly Fat to Belly Flat: How Your Hormones are Adding Inches to Your Waistline and Subtracting Years from Your Life, Dr. C.W. Randolph, MD, makes an excellent case for estrogen dominance, fluctuating hormones, and weight gain.
According to Dr. Randolph, too much estrogen circulating in the body produces body fat. In turn, fat tissue produces and stores more estrogen, in addition to containing an enzyme which converts adrenal steroids to even more estrogen.
When there is too much estrogen present, your body's ability to adequately metabolize fat is compromised, which means more estrogen is produced, which means, you've got it - more fat. This cycle then continues to repeat itself over and over again, literally turning your body into a self-perpetuating fat magnet.
What to Do?
Given the fat-producing-estrogen-producing cycle that occurs when hormones are imbalanced, fighting perimenopause weight gain and belly fat may sound like a losing proposition, but, it really isn't. In fact, both Doctors Lee and Randolph believe that a simple understanding of the role of foods and exercise in balancing your hormones is one the easiest and first things that women should do.
Unfortunately, Western culture is a fast-food, processed food, get-it-done-quick society. We are so busy burning the candle at both ends that we've lost the connection between wholesome food, good sleep, exercise, drinking enough water, and how we feel.
Compound this with the fact that we are inundated with health and wellness knowledge and most of us have simply become desensitized to the fact that simple changes can have a huge impact on our health. Yet, the truth is, food, exercise and sleep are three of the most powerful things a woman can do to help balance her hormones and get weight gain under control.
Finally, also according to Doctors Lee and Randolph, introducing a bio-identical progesterone will help offset estrogen dominance as well. While no one will promise that you will get your twenty-year old body back, if you are willing to implement serious changes in your diet, incorporating more exercise into your daily routine, and getting enough sleep, you will stand a fighting chance in winning the middle-age battle of the bulge.
According to Dr. Lee, estrogen dominance occurs in perimenopause when estrogen is unopposed by dropping and/or fluctuating progesterone levels. Furthermore, according to Dr. Lee, estrogen dominance is the culprit for many of the nasty symptoms women complain about during perimenopause, weight gain and belly fat included.
Estrogen Dominance Turns Your Body into a "Fat Magnet"
In his book, From Belly Fat to Belly Flat: How Your Hormones are Adding Inches to Your Waistline and Subtracting Years from Your Life, Dr. C.W. Randolph, MD, makes an excellent case for estrogen dominance, fluctuating hormones, and weight gain.
According to Dr. Randolph, too much estrogen circulating in the body produces body fat. In turn, fat tissue produces and stores more estrogen, in addition to containing an enzyme which converts adrenal steroids to even more estrogen.
When there is too much estrogen present, your body's ability to adequately metabolize fat is compromised, which means more estrogen is produced, which means, you've got it - more fat. This cycle then continues to repeat itself over and over again, literally turning your body into a self-perpetuating fat magnet.
What to Do?
Given the fat-producing-estrogen-producing cycle that occurs when hormones are imbalanced, fighting perimenopause weight gain and belly fat may sound like a losing proposition, but, it really isn't. In fact, both Doctors Lee and Randolph believe that a simple understanding of the role of foods and exercise in balancing your hormones is one the easiest and first things that women should do.
Unfortunately, Western culture is a fast-food, processed food, get-it-done-quick society. We are so busy burning the candle at both ends that we've lost the connection between wholesome food, good sleep, exercise, drinking enough water, and how we feel.
Compound this with the fact that we are inundated with health and wellness knowledge and most of us have simply become desensitized to the fact that simple changes can have a huge impact on our health. Yet, the truth is, food, exercise and sleep are three of the most powerful things a woman can do to help balance her hormones and get weight gain under control.
Finally, also according to Doctors Lee and Randolph, introducing a bio-identical progesterone will help offset estrogen dominance as well. While no one will promise that you will get your twenty-year old body back, if you are willing to implement serious changes in your diet, incorporating more exercise into your daily routine, and getting enough sleep, you will stand a fighting chance in winning the middle-age battle of the bulge.
0
Replies
-
What is a bio-identical progesterone?0
-
What is a bio-identical progesterone?
Progesterone that is identical in molecular structure to the progesterone women make in their bodies.
It is not made in nature but synthesized from plant chemical extracted from yams and soy.
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/What-are-bioidentical-hormones.htm0 -
Trying Wild Yam Gel. Many of my friends said it works great for them, hope so! :-)0
-
Try finding something labeled progesterone cream. I am now using a compounded one (from the pharmacy) but was previously using one from Emerita.Trying Wild Yam Gel. Many of my friends said it works great for them, hope so! :-)
http://www.amazon.com/Emerita-Pro-Gest-Natural-Progesterone-Paraben-Free/dp/B000IMQE5U0 -
**Frantically jots notes...."wild yam gel"....."progesterone cream"....."bio-identical progesterone".....**
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!
I am sick to death of the weight gain & growing belly!! I watch what I eat, exercise and get plenty of sleep yet still it just keeps piling on. SO frustrating.
Thank you for the suggestions and I WILL be checking out these items!0 -
Thank you so much for this post. Since I found it I've been reading reviews on Amazon for Emerita. I might give it a try!0
-
I'm glad ladies are finding this helpful.
I get frustrated on the forums when a 20-something meathead tells you to just eat at a deficit and lift heavy.
A lot of people really don't understand the realities of being a peri/menopausal woman.
Be gone belly fat!0 -
You're right. One of my first posts on this group was about the "it's just math" crowd and their insistence that if I just followed MFP i'd be dropping pounds like crazy.I'm glad ladies are finding this helpful.
I get frustrated on the forums when a 20-something meathead tells you to just eat at a deficit and lift heavy.
A lot of people really don't understand the realities of being a peri/menopausal woman.
Be gone belly fat!
Meanwhile, 1.5 years later, I've gained 2LBS. lol.0 -
I get frustrated on the forums when a 20-something meathead tells you to just eat at a deficit and lift heavy.
YES! THIS ^0 -
I get frustrated on the forums when a 20-something meathead tells you to just eat at a deficit and lift heavy.
YES! THIS ^
It's apples and oranges
But they won't listen...0 -
interesting0
-
KANGOOJUMPS: Your profile pic is fun!0
-
Thanks for having this group!!! Looking forward to learning more!0
-
Yes!!! Thank you for this group! I am not allowed to take any hormones, Doctor's orders but he said the Wild Jam is okay. Will keep you posted. Felt so much nicer lately , lol0
-
BUMP, I need to write this down when I get home. I am sooooo frustrated. All I can find is "eat less, exercise more"! If I follow that mantra, it means surviving on broth only, and pitching a tent in the middle of the gym!0
-
BUMP, I need to write this down when I get home. I am sooooo frustrated. All I can find is "eat less, exercise more"! If I follow that mantra, it means surviving on broth only, and pitching a tent in the middle of the gym!
Right? :grumble: :laugh:0 -
BUMP, I need to write this down when I get home. I am sooooo frustrated. All I can find is "eat less, exercise more"! If I follow that mantra, it means surviving on broth only, and pitching a tent in the middle of the gym!
EXACTLY! My husband knows how frustrated I am so he very lovingly tries to help by making suggestions. "Honey, I talked to my Aunt & she's selling this weight loss product & all you do is drink this stuff for breakfast & lunch & take these pills & so all you eat is once a day; dinner. She says it really works." Uhm, yeah I guess so b/c she's basically NOT EATING! :noway:0 -
Trying Wild Yam Gel. Many of my friends said it works great for them, hope so! :-)
Where can we get this?0 -
I've been using natural progesterone cream on and off for about a year (after I read Dr Lees book) and before that natural progesterone prescribed by the doctor, I use serenity from wellsprings (it's imported from the USA), I was hoping for a miracle after reading some of the endorsements (lots of people reported that their headaches had disappeared), I thought it would make a radical difference because all the symptoms and issues reported in the book seemed to be describing me. The effects do seem to be cumulative over a few months. The benefits I have seen have been radically reduced bleeding I went from a very heavy period lasting 10 days to very light irregular spotting, my night sweats disappeared and anxiety were much reduced.
I hadn't noticed any difference with my weight when using it
I stopped taking it a few months back and some but not all the symptoms returned so I reordered a new supply and started again a couple of weeks ago
Each jar costs about £12 but it last about 3 months0 -
I've taken a bioidentical progesterone for a little over a year now due to estrogen dominance. It's made a huge difference in how I feel physically & emotionally. I can definitely tell when it's about time to start poppin' it as about day 12ish the estrogen symptoms start creeping in!0
-
issypops and KariD1114: thanks for the feedback.
I used the progesterone cream back in my early 30s for pms mood swings and noticed a bit of a difference.
I'm glad that these treatments have worked for you.0 -
Thanks for this information. I joined MFP about two weeks ago and am still learning my way around. The wealth of information is overwhelming, so I'm trying to focus on posts and groups that address my specific concerns and interests. I'm pretty sure I've been perimenopausal for at least a year, based on what seem like the typical symptoms - night sweats, difficulty sleeping, memory and concentration problems, slightly erratic periods. I also think I started having mild hot flashes about a month ago. However, I suspect my symptoms are masked or alleviated somewhat by my taking birth control pills and Estroven. Like the rest of you, I've also seen a substantial increase in belly size, despite following a pretty healthy eating plan (South Beach phases 2/3) and being regularly active. It's nice to find others who can relate and understand that for us, it's not a matter of just eating fewer calories than we burn off. I was already eating only between 1200-1400 calories a day and that was without trying! I realized this when I started tracking my foods with MFP. I can't go much lower without running the risk of a slowing metabolism. But I'll look into the remedies suggested here and see what happens. 0
-
Welcome pepperpat. :flowerforyou:
There is ALOT of info on the forums and much of it is confusing and sometimes just wrong.
Hopefully we can help you figure out what works for you 0 -
bump0
-
Having come out the "other side" I have discovered quite a few things over the last three to four years with the help of my Nurse Practitioner and lots of trials and errors. Early on my NP gave me an estrogen ring that really helped with my symptoms. I used it for about 4 or 5 months and then stopped. When my symptoms returned, went to a specialist to get "natural compounded" meds - estrogen and progesterone. Loved the progesterone and eventually stopped the estrogen cream and just did the PG for about six months. Then stopped. When the symptoms returned, with a few new ones, returned to my NP and have been working with her since.
I don't like the compounded creams. They don't work well for me. So, she now has me on the patch and progesterone pills (this is after two kinds of cream and another ring).
My point: Menopause is a journey. The interventions you use today are not forever. You can use them until they work and then stop. And go for months without problems. Same with the worries over "bio-identical" or not. Unless you have a history of breast cancer or other, they are safe to use for reasonable periods of time. And BTW, my Mom has been taking estrogen for 37 years. Yep, 37. And still does at 87. But that is a WHOLE other story!
Unfortunately, they don't address as well as I would like them to, the weight gain issue or the belly fat. No magic bullet there. BUT, I think they are critical in conjunction with diet and exercise.
I also know the things I did pre-menopause to lose weight are simply no longer effective and I really need to mix it up to make things happen. And it is harder. But not impossible.0 -
As Jayrudq said, it is harder, but not impossible. It's taken me a year to lose 70 pounds, at (now) 4 years post meno. That's painfully slow for the amount of work I've put into it - and light years slower than I've lost in the past - but it has happened.
Keep on keepin' on ladies.0 -
Very well said - informative - but depressing ! I'm off to see if the Wild Yam Gel is worth trying.... I've been at this for over 8 weeks now ... and only 11 pounds down - tomorrow is weigh in day - I keep putting it off - Truth is I have slipped a bit but if I ate this well 30 years ago the weight would be dripping off....0
-
Oh I hear ya! Thirty years ago, I could eat a horse, and weighed in at 110 soaking wet!!! Grrrr....0
-
Very well said - informative - but depressing ! I'm off to see if the Wild Yam Gel is worth trying.... I've been at this for over 8 weeks now ... and only 11 pounds down - tomorrow is weigh in day - I keep putting it off - Truth is I have slipped a bit but if I ate this well 30 years ago the weight would be dripping off....
I hear ya, MK. I think 11 lbs in 8 weeks sounds great!
I have finally came to peace with the "new me" and am solidly working on looking forward. I find that mixing it up constantly has helped somewhat. Intermittent Fasting, Carb cycling, Up, Down, lifting and running! I have been doing it all! Sounds a bit manic, and it probably is...my point being, we need to outsmart our menopausal selves and get on with it! It can happen. And it will.0 -
Sleep.... not so easy with some of the other unpleasant side effects of perimenopause / menopause.0
