Hormones and how they affect weight loss

[tommy2tone_1999]

Have you ever been on a quest to get in shape and you just can't get the results you want no matter how you exercise and how well you eat? It may not be your fault (I'm talking to the ones who really did try and gave it time). It may be that there is a hormonal imbalance. Go to see an endocrinologist, let them do tests to check all of your levels. Thyroid hormones, sex hormones, blood sugar, etc. If these are out of range, it can make it damn near impossible to get the results you desire.

[snorkelman]

In my experience, the people that would actually fall within the situation you described are far and few between. Often people use hormone imbalance or genetics as an excuse to avoid guilt of failure.

 

I noticed that you referred to "you just can't get the results you want no matter how you exercise and how well you eat." I also have found that many people falsely believe that there are magical foods out there that somehow make you lose weight. That is a faulty way of looking at it. Sure there are foods which are full of nutrients and are satiating which may be better choices than other nutrient-lacking options, which may have more calories and/or are less filling. My point is that the key is almost always about ingesting fewer calories than your body uses. Studies have shown that people tend to overestimate the calories they burn and underestimate the calories they ingest, and that is why the first thing a good trainer/dietician/nutritionist would tell you is to keep a long of everything you eat and drink and count your calories.

[tommy2tone_1999]

While counting calories is a major factor, it cannot be the only one. The calories in = Calories out mode of thinking is outdated. The body is not a simple furnace that burns calories. Different foods trigger different responses in the body based upon hormones. Sure you may lose pounds by starving yourself, but at what cost? Not only are you losing fat, but many times also losing muscle. My statement on "eating well" refers to eating clean, that is staying away from processed garbage. Quite the contrary of what you state, too many times people think that if they just cut their calories to a really low number they will get better or faster results. What ends up happening is that the body senses the drop in calories and triggers mechanisms to conserve energy for starvation. The body then slows down the metabolism, to conserve energy and even starts storing more fat. Overly simplistic approaches like simply cutting calories always backfire. The focus must not be on losing weight, but on getting healthy, and in doing so excess weight will be lost. The best way is to determine the amount of calories needed for bodily functions, daily activities, AND exercise, and only deduct about 500 calories. This way the body is still operating at a slight deficit, and does not go into starvation mode. Again, the focus should be on eating clean, and in the proper amounts to ensure a healthy metabolism. Even then though age can play a major role in hormone imbalance. It pays to have a few tests run to get the info needed to get back in balance.

[snorkelman]

Tommy, I think that you may benefit from some reading on pubmed. I think you may be talking about very low calorie diets (VLCD) and I am not advocating those. I think about a 10% deficit below maintenance is a solid deficit to create, to minimize muscle loss. Any possible muscle loss can be further minimized by making sure you have adequate protein intake and engage in resistance exercise (rather than just focusing on "cardio").

 

It is even possible to gain muscle on a calorie restricted diet – A decade ago a study came out which tested the effects of resistance training vs. aerobic (cardio) training when on a very low calorie diet (VLCD). This study involved unconditioned and overweight subjects consuming only 800 calories per day. This study concluded that the addition of an intensive, high volume resistance training program resulted in the preservation of lean body weight and resting metabolic rate. Over the 12-week test period, the subjects that did cardio only lost an average of 7.4% body fat, but also lost 4.1 % lean mass. Whereas those who did weight training lost 8.6% body fat, and only lost 0.8% lean mass. This demonstrates that resistance/strength training (rather than aerobic training – a.k.a. “cardio”) should comprise the bulk of the training in a severe caloric deficit. Effects of resistance vs. aerobic training combined with an 800 calorie liquid diet on lean body mass and resting metabolic rate. Bryner RW, Ullrich IH, Sauers J, Donley D, Hornsby G, Kolar M, Yeater R. J Am Coll Nutr. 1999 Apr;18(2):115-21. PMID: 10204826 http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/full/18/2/115

 

several studies have shown that even on VLCDs (400-800 kcal diets), the LBM:FM ratio of the lost mass is approximately 25:75, despite providing marginal amounts of protein, in some cases as little as 50g a day. Consider the fact that this data is largely based on a non-resistance training population. Finally, consider how LBM losses would be minimized or completely eliminated with sufficient protein + resistance training + a deficit that respects the realistic rates of loss based on current status

 

As for eating clean, you can eat as "clean" as you want (whatever that means) but if you fail to create a caloric deficit, you will not lose fat. It really is quite simple. As much as some of the fancy fad diets want to trick you, it is hard to deviate from the laws of thermodynamics.

[tommy2tone_1999]

I am familiar with the study you quote and I agree with much that you say, but the body is not a simple furnace, and therefore using the laws of thermodynamics only, while effective for weight loss only, does not help with overall health and nutrition. If I eat 800-1000 calories a day of nothing but junk food, I will lose weight, but my health will be pitiful. We are not simple furnaces, there is more to regulating the metabolism than just calories. Nutritive content must also be considered. If I ate 1000 calories of nothing but carbs (simple or complex makes not difference), and protein, my insulin levels would be through the roof. I would be sluggish, and any weight loss I was working toward would soon plateau and I may even actually start gaining weight. The content of our food determines how the body utilizes hormones that control our metabolism. What I meant by eating clean was avoiding foods that are overly processed with fillers and artificial ingredients. The things that cause us to either produce too much of any hormone, or that may inhibit the effectiveness of hormones.

[tommy2tone_1999]

I got to thinking more about this today and I read through the laws of thermodynamics, there are 4 laws of thermodynamics, please explain which law of thermodynamics you are referring to?

[harris.margaret9]

Hormonal imbalance is the only reason by which I am not able to get the desire effect though I am trying hard; I really don’t understand what exactly should I do?

[tommy2tone_1999]

Are you seeing an endocrinologist?