How your HORMONES affect your work out from weight gain to sore muscles
SO, you've been working out regularly and eating healthily...but your body isn't changing.
It's frustrating, but it probably isn't your fault.
Our hormones can affect the way in which we burn fat and build muscle in so many different ways.
Your menstrual cycle, oestrogen and testosterone levels, cortisol and adrenaline release, your approach towards the menopause - all of these have a massive impact on your body's shape and ability to respond to movement.
Hormones are key to our bodies running smoothly, and sometimes having a healthy diet and exercise regime might not be enough to fix hormonal issues.
We reveal six ways your hormones could be impacting on your goals - and how others are helping:
Too much oestrogen could be responsible for love handles and belly fat
Women who have high oestrogen levels throughout their cycle tend to hold their weight around their middles - so if you struggle to shift belly fat, it might be worth doing an estradiol test.
You can order a to do at home (£80), or get your GP to do one instead (a much cheaper option).
As well as making it harder to burn through adipose tissue (the stuff insulating your abs!), bloating and muscle aching, high oestrogen levels might also increase your risk of high blood pressure, endometriosis, depression, PMS, and breast, ovarian and uterine cancer.
To lower your levels, you might want to decrease how much soy you consume, and up how much cauliflower and broccoli you eat as studies have shown that cruciferous veg can help to lower oestrogen.
Ditching the booze might also help because oestrogen is metabolised in the liver and alcohol can interrupt that process.
We become more injury prone during ovulation
Oestrogen spikes have been linked to increased injury risk because our ability to repair collagen or the tissue that holds joints together is decreased.
There have been a number of studies that have suggested a link between knee injuries in particular and the preovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle - something some sports coaches moderate by putting players on the Pill.
But it's not just injury that can set us back around our periods.
In the first half of our cycle, when we're producing oestrogen, we're more insulin sensitive and that means that we can handle and process carbs more effectively - burning through them rather than spiking blood sugar levels.
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The second half, however, is where the discomfort sets in and we're more prone to muscle soreness, hunger and water.
Fat loss is also a lot harder after ovulation.
So if you want to keep track of your weight, you're best of weighing in on week two of your cycle every month (there's no real need to weigh yourself more frequently), and keep any complex moves or heavy lifts to the first part of your cycle.
Cortisol (stress) is stopping your body from releasing fat
We tend to have a high storage of fat around our middles if we're exposed to high and prolonged stress.
Stress comes in many different forms but their effect on our metabolisms is basically the same.
If you're disproportionately storing more fat around your lower belly, then you need to start thinking about reducing your stress levels and getting a good night's sleep.
Laurence Fountain, PT and founder of Salus London, told The Sun that "cortisol is going to interfere with different hormonal effects".
"Firstly, it’s going to interfere with your thyroid - meaning it’s going to be very hard to burn fat when your cortisol is high. In fact, you’re going to be more likely to burn muscle."
And secondly, "too much cortisol can also lead to an overstimulation of the brain during sleep causing an increase of ghrelin - the hunger hormone, which is going to make it impossible for you to control your appetite and stay away from simple sugars and high-fat foods."
If you're not producing enough happy hormone, you'll crave carbs and sugar
Stress can also disrupt how much serotonin you produce, and that's a hormone that plays a major role in controlling our appetite.
Fitness guru has said that "chronic (or long-term) stress can cause a massive decrease in serotonin levels, which can cause us to crave carbohydrates and sugary foods".
"This is because these foods can help encourage the body to increase serotonin production. While your body needs carbohydrates to function and sugary foods can be eaten in moderation, eating too much on a regular basis can lead to unwanted weight gain."
Elevated levels of testosterone and PCOS could be making you insulin resistant
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is where your hormones (especially your androgen or ‘male’ hormones) have become imbalanced, disrupting your normal menstrual cycle.
While there is definitely a genetic component to PCOS, environmental factors can turn on these genes – in a similar way to how cancer genes like melanoma are ‘turned on’.
Today, we’re surrounded by stress, sugar and low quality manufactured food that’s lacking in nutrients, antibiotics that contribute to poor gut health, hormonal birth control, plastics and other environmental toxins.
But the most common environmental factor in PCOS is insulin resistance or pre-Type 2 diabetes.
70-80 per cent of women with PCOS have insulin resistance (pre-Type 2 Diabetes), so sugar (and that includes natural sweeteners like dates and maple syrup) is only going to be exacerbating this.
And insulin resistance is going to mean that you're more likely to hold fat around your belly and generally find it harder to shift weight.
It's worth getting checked to see if you have PCOS if you have irregular periods and are experiencing weight gain, despite living a healthy lifestyle.
Low levels oestrogen (menopause) changes where we put on fat
As we get older, we tend to stop moving as much - and that's the main thing that causes women to put on weight as they approach the menopause.
But fluctuating hormone levels are also to blame.
Studies suggest that plummeting oestrogen levels might encourage menopausal women to eat more and exercise less, lowering the metabolic rate and increasing insulin resistance - making it much harder to metabolise sugar and carbs.
Oh, and that change also affects fat distribution.
Perimenopause weight gain is often associated with the laying down of fat around the abdomen and internal organs, as opposed to the hips and thighs - and that can lead to a heightened risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and various cancers.
Experts claim that all you have to do to modify that is to eat 200 fewer calories in your 50s than you did in your 30s and 40s, and stay as active as possible.
But it's not all doom and gloom.
Through exercise, we can actually prompt our bodies to start producing certain hormones that make us happier, healthier and - eventually - slimmer:
Irisin converts fat
Irisin is known as the exercise hormone and studies have shown that it helps us in two ways.
Firstly, it activates genes which turn "bad" white fat into "good" brown fat. It's also supposed to protect the brain from injury and ageing.
You can help your body to produce more of it by doing a combination of endurance and strength (weight) training.
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Human Growth Hormone (HGH) helps to lower body fat
HGH is highly important for muscle growth and bone strength. But more excitingly, it also helps our body to burn fat.
You produce more of it with HIIT workouts and heavy weights, rather than endurance.
So if you don't have a lot of time to exercise, you can still burn fat; just concentrate on explosive movements that leave you feeling out of breath.
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