Are willpower and self-control the real solution to tanked energy + stubborn weight?

Maybe not…

It might actually be your hormones, which are super powerful.

And I’m not just talking about sex hormones here; I’m talking about the hormones that directly affect your blood sugar, metabolism + appetite too. Things that ultimately affect and control your energy and weight.

Let’s go over a few of the critical links between your hormones, and how they affect your energy and weight. The links may be stronger than you think.

What are hormones?

Having “healthy, happy hormones” is all the rage these days. Think low T clinics and functional med practices that go straight to HRT (hormone replacement therapy).

There is a good reason! Your hormones are part of the master control system of your entire body.

Like I said, we often think of hormones as sex hormones only, testosterone and estrogen, but actually these are downstream, and the topic of hormones encompasses so much more before these hormones are affected.

Hormones are compounds made by one part of the body that are used to communicate with another part. For example, insulin is made in the pancreas. When your blood sugar gets too high, insulin is released into the bloodstream. It then goes to your muscles and other cells to tell them to absorb that sugar out of the blood (and if there is still too much blood sugar, it signals your fat cells to store it).

Your hormones control not only your sexual characteristics but also your blood sugar, metabolism, appetite, and a whole host of other things. And you should know that having healthy blood sugar, metabolism and appetite is a foundation for your sex hormone balance, optimal energy and balanced weight.

So, how can your hormones get out of whack to zap your energy and pile up the pounds?

Common hormonal imbalances

In optimal health, your hormones would work great, and you’d have ample energy and be a good healthy weight.

But often there are problems with this whole setup. One common issue is that there may be too much or too little hormone released to have the desired effect. This is known as a hypo- (low) or hyper- (high) hormone (i.e. hypo- or hyperthyroidism).

Another common issue is that, even if the right amount of hormone is released, the cells they communicate with can start ignoring them. This is known as hormone “resistance” (i.e. insulin resistance).

For resistance, visualize your kid knocking on the door when you just want some quiet time. The first time you think it’s important and you might answer it. Then you realize they didn’t need anything important; they just wanted your attention. And again the 2nd, 3rd and 4th time. But by the 20th time you’ve just locked the door and put your earbuds in hoping they’ll go to the other parent! That’s resistance. Your cells ignore the signal because they’ve seen it So. Many. Times.

As you can imagine, if your hormones have such critical jobs, including controlling blood sugar, metabolism and appetite, they can definitely cause issues with your energy and weight.

Hormones + energy

Your metabolism is key for controlling your energy. Metabolism itself is basically the conversion of your food and drink (calories) into energy for use. One of the main hormonal players here is... yep, you may have guessed it! Your thyroid hormones.

Your thyroid releases hormones that affect the metabolism of all the cells in your body. If it’s too low and your metabolism decreases (hypothyroid), you may feel cold, hungry and tired + hang on to stubborn weight. If it’s too high and your metabolism is too fast (hyperthyroid), you may feel hot, jittery and lose weight.

What you actually want is an ideal metabolism, ideal energy use, ideal temperature, and an ideal weight. Your thyroid hormones are the master controller here and they should be in an ideal range. But this is actually true of all your hormones.

Hormones + weight

Your weight may be controlled by hormones more than you think. Insulin controls your blood sugar, and whether that sugar is going to be stored as fat or not. And when your blood sugar is too low, you may start craving sugar and carbs to bring it back up.

You also have hormones that control your appetite. How hungry and how full you feel are controlled by the hormones, ghrelin (I feel hungry) + leptin (I feel full). When they are out of whack due to poor diet, lifestyle, stress management and lack of sleep, you may find yourself wanting to eat because your body thinks you’re hungry and not satisfied... even if that’s not reality.

Craving food, especially sugary stuff, and not feeling full is going to be a huge driver for you to eat more. Even if your body doesn’t truly need it, the hormonal signals tell you that you do. It’s not too hard to see how over time this may result in excess weight.

And don’t forget that stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol, a hormone produced mainly by the adrenal glands (fight or flight response) is released during stress and is a blood sugar raising hormone. When it’s too high for too long, like under situations of chronic stress, it signals your body to store fat. And not just any fat - belly fat!

Digestive health + hormone function

Did you know that digestive health and hormonal function are deeply intertwined and have a significant impact on each other.

One key way that digestive health influences hormonal function is through the absorption and metabolism of nutrients. The digestive system is responsible for breaking down food into its basic components and absorbing those nutrients into the bloodstream. Without proper digestion and absorption, the body may not receive the necessary building blocks to produce and regulate hormones effectively.

For example, the digestive system plays a crucial role in absorbing amino acids, fatty acids, and various vitamins and minerals that are required for hormone synthesis. So, any disruptions or imbalances in the digestive system can naturally lead to hormonal imbalances.

In addition to nutrient absorption, the gut microbiome, which refers to the trillions of bacteria that reside in your digestive system, also plays a crucial role in hormonal function. These bacteria help to break down and ferment food, produce certain vitamins, and regulate the production of certain hormones. Research has shown that an imbalance in the gut microbiome, known as dysbiosis, can contribute to the development of hormonal disorders such as PCOS, insulin resistance, and thyroid dysfunction.

It is for this reason that I often assess digestive function before I address hormone function. If you supplement hormones without getting to the root cause issue, there will be no resolution. Poor digestion is very commonly a cause for poor hormone function.

Precursor hormones + reproductive hormones

So how does this all tie in with the hormones we more commonly know, the sex hormones?

All the hormones mentioned previously can affect reproductive hormones:

Leptin influences the secretion of reproductive hormones like gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which play important roles in the female menstrual cycle and more. Alterations in leptin levels can mess with the menstrual cycle and may lead to irregularities or infertility.
High insulin levels can interfere with the production and balance of reproductive hormones in both males and females.
Thyroid hormones also influence the synthesis and secretion of reproductive hormones. Imbalances can disrupt menstrual cycles in females, affect sperm production in males, and lead to fertility problems.
Chronic stress and elevated cortisol levels can negatively affect reproductive hormone production and balance. High levels of cortisol can suppress the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, thereby reducing the secretion of reproductive hormones.

Precursor hormones, also known as prohormones, are substances that are converted into active hormones in the body. They are made from cholesterol, are converted into active sex hormones like androgens and estrogens and stress hormones such as cortisol with the help of specific enzymes. They play important roles in the regulation of sex hormones in the body.

The building block for all sex hormones, including precursor hormones, is cholesterol. It is essential for the production of prohormones and hormones, since it is the building block for their synthesis. In the adrenal glands, these precursor hormones, such as pregnenolone, are created from cholesterol, then converted into DHEA, a sex hormone precursor. DHEA is then converted into the reproductive hormones, testosterone, or estrogen.

But DHEA is also used to make cortisol. If you are under chronic stress, the precursor hormones can be used primarily to fuel the stress response, rather than reproductive function.

It is for this reason that I assess the impact of stress on the body and cortisol levels before I address reproductive hormone function. If you supplement sex hormones without addressing the stress response, there will be no actual resolution. Sometimes, supplementing sex hormones can even further drive the stress hormone dysfunction.

What you can do

Your body is very complex and uses hormones to control a huge number of functions. Obviously, this is just a very high-level overview, and we could talk about each hormone so much more. But remember your hormones control far more than sexual expression and reproductive function, they also control your blood sugar, metabolism, appetite, and more. And these directly affect how much energy you feel, how much you weigh, and even where your body fat is stored.

Here are a few “hormone stabilizing” tips that might help you boost your energy + ditch stubborn weight:

Balance your macros, eat meals and snacks with good quality and quantity protein, healthy fats and slow carbs
Load up on nutrient dense foods such as pastured meats, wild caught seafood, vegetables and fruits, and properly prepared legumes
Support your thyroid with iodine-containing sea vegetables, fish, legumes, and eggs
Balance your blood sugar with extra fiber from raspberries, avocados, or flax seeds
Eat meals regularly throughout the day at similar times to train ghrelin and leptin
Reduce blood sugar spikes by replacing your juice or soda with fruit-infused water
Get regular exercise to use up excess blood sugar before insulin has your body store it as fat, and it does not have to be hard exercise, walking is super effective
Try stress-relieving activities like deep breathing, meditation or even coloring to reduce your belly-fat inducing cortisol
Get good sleep to regulate ghrelin, leptin and cortisol

If you have tried all these things and feel like you might need some extra support for your low energy levels, brain fog and/or stubborn weight, connect with me for a free discovery call so we can discuss your digestive and adrenal function for good hormone regulation.