[Liliann]

On the channel 2 news segment on hormones hinders of the weight war. I did not see the part, but heard while on did some housechores. What I had heard, for many folks struggling with weight, its a hormanal disorder. That our brain wants us fat either if we diet,eat right, fitness, 6 cells in the brain is holding our mindset and making tough on winning this battle..

For many years, seen an endo doctors and a few of them advice to lose weight and my hormones issues will be stable. I deal with facial hair, been told by doctors that I have pcos, and with that triple hard on weight loss.

Any thoughts on this if hormones is the cause?? Thanks for any input..

[IanG]

I just posted on this in another thread.

I think hormones matter a lot on where you store the weight but not, so much at least, if you can lose it.

For guys (or post-menopausal women perhaps) we carry most of our weight around our belly.

For ladies, I think the norm is around the arse and thighs.

So losing fat in these areas is harder.

I am close to goal, and my body is tight as a button. But I still have a belly.

Sex hormones. So the belly will be the last to go.

[Violette_R]

I've read that losing weight can increase the levels of ghrelin in your body - the hormone that makes you hungry. It's surmised this is a partial culprit in the low rate of weight loss maintenance.

I fear that reading this has helped make it a self-fulfilling prophecy for me. "Om nom nom binge - of course I'm hungry, it's that gosh-darned ghrelin!!"

[giselley]

Insulin is a major hormone, and yes, it has a lot to do with the use of energy from cells. ATP is what releases the fat from a person's cells. The whole "holding on/releasing" fat is very prominent in weight loss problems.


I do not know if you correctly heard the bit about brain hormones, but gherelin and the opposite hormone leptin are produced in the intestinal tract (gherelin to tell the brain the stomach hungry, and leptin to tell the brain it the stomach is full.) This triggers the "reward" hormone, which is dopamine.

[kaplods]

For me, there's a HUGE hormonal component. Birth control actually helped me stop gaining. Now that I'm in menopause and not on birth control or hormone replacement, I'm having to work a lot harder just to keep from gaining.

I'm VERY hungry all the time. I'd love to go back on birth control hormones, but my doctor says the risk is too high.

Still, whether on hormones or not, the solution is pretty much the same for me. Cut most carbs and fill up on low-cal, low-carb foods.

High volume (lots of low-carb veggies/fruit), low(ish) carb or paleo seems to work best, but I find it the hardest to stick to.

Knowing or suspecting where my obstacles are gives me more inspiration to fight them. When I blamed only my willpower, I gave up more easily, because I thought I was just weak and stupid.

Now that I understand why weight loss is so hard, I've stopped expecting it to be easy. I also give myself a lot more credit when I succeed.

[Eatingmyfeelings]

I totally agree about hormonal imbalance challenging/hindering weight loss/maintenance. In my childhood I had my pituitary gland removed due to a brain tumor, and that gland certainly controls a lot of hormones and since then I have (compared to the rest of my family) always had weight problems. The problem is that it's such a complex system that you don't know where to start (sex hormones, thyroid, cortisol etc...they all play a part), and the endocrinologist won't bother investigate if you're not morbidly obese. I've also come to the understanding that it will be much harder for me to loose the weight I need to get rid off (25-30 kg). And recently I also realized that I probably (psychologically) have used all the above also as an excuse to not try my best or really stick to it....and that isn't fun to realize at all. Even if I will have to eat less and exercise much more than some other 33 year old with the same weight, to get the same results - I can do it. At least I will give it a honest try.