So, we've all heard it: to lose weight you have to burn more than you eat. Or: Eat Less, Exercise More.
Phooey! We've been trying that for about 20 years and our population is more obese than ever! It simply doesn't work. I wholeheartedly endorse regular exercise, and I will go deeper into that in a later post. The numbers tell the story. From 1960 to today, adult obesity has soared from 13% to 66%! Eating less and exercising more simply does not work. In fact, eating less is often counterproductive. One of my patients was down to 800 calories per day, exercising one hour daily and still gaining weight.
What we are learning is that hormones have everything to do with total body weight and its distribution. We all know that thyroid is involved in weight gain, but it is often the secondary problem. The primary problems most often are cortisol and estrogen. These are complex areas of discussion and we will discuss them in more depth in the following weeks. But let's glance at them first.
Let's look at cortisol first. This is the main stress hormone and it gets you ready to run or fight. It decreases thyroid function and causes heart disease, anxiety, elevated estrogen, insulin resistance, osteoporosis, insomnia, accelerated aging, lowered immune system and increased abdominal fat. So, if you have a big belly, you probably have high cortisol levels.
High estrogen levels, called "Estrogen Dominance", effects both men and women. In fact, by age 55 the average male will have more estrogen in his body than his wife! High estrogen causes salt and fluid retention, low blood sugar, thyroid problems, exhaustion, irritability, mood swings, sweet cravings, breast pain and swelling throughout the month, sleep disturbances, headaches and weight gain especially to the buttocks. So, if you have a big butt and swollen, tender breasts, you probably are Estrogen Dominant.
Next week, in the second part of our three part series, we'll look at the effects and treatment of High Cortisol.
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