How important are female hormones ?

How female hormones influence our weight… and our weight our hormones !

Are you putting on weight without changing your lifestyle? Or, on the contrary, are you taking extra care and moving around more, but the figure on the scales remains stuck at the same level? What if it’s a question of hormones?

You’ve probably already noticed: your weight varies slightly according to the period of your cycle. This can also be seen in underweight or severely overweight people who see their periods disappear. This is due to the different actions of your female hormones, progesterone and estrogen, and their interactions with other hormones and organs in your body.

Let’s take a closer look.

A quick reminder about female hormones:

The 2 female hormones are estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen predominates in the early part of the cycle, particularly at ovulation, and at the very end, while progesterone increases progressively from ovulation, which occurs around mid-cycle. If the egg is not fertilized, the levels of these 2 hormones drop drastically just before menstruation. They are mainly secreted by the ovaries. Their role is to prepare the body for pregnancy.

In terms of weight, they act in opposite ways. For example, estrogen promotes water retention and fat storage in the buttocks, hips, thighs and breasts. They also influence the satiety hormone leptin. They also have a role to play in sleep: a good level of estrogen promotes sleep, while poor quality sleep can lead to cravings for sugary and/or fatty foods, and therefore to weight gain.

Progesterone, on the other hand, has a diuretic action; it therefore encourages the elimination of water by the kidneys. It will also have an effect on fat elimination and, to ensure that these reserves do not remain empty and are available in the event of pregnancy, will stimulate hunger. Finally, progesterone will also have a positive effect on your morale and well-being. And we all know how important morale is to our weight gain: the lower it is, the more we tend to eat (and generally not broccoli…) and therefore to put on weight.

• Hormonal imbalances, a major factor in weight gain

As we’ve just seen, estrogen and progesterone have antagonistic effects. They balance and self-regulate each other. So, over and above the levels of each of these hormones, it’s above all their proportion in relation to each other that is decisive. Too much estrogen in relation to progesterone and, to mention only the impact on weight, fat mass and water retention increase.

Many other hormones react to the progesterone/estrogen balance. These include insulin, cortisol, thyroid hormones and testosterone. And these different hormones have a significant impact on weight, since they influence blood sugar control, promote the storage of sugar in adipose tissue, speed up or slow down metabolism, or encourage the storage of fat in areas of the body where it is most harmful.

So when the delicate balance between our female hormones is upset, the whole hormonal balance is upset. This can lead to discomfort, weight gain or resistance to weight loss. This is the case, for example, in peri-menopause, premenstrual syndrome or certain pathologies such as PCOS or endometriosis.

• Weight also influences female hormone levels

As we’ve seen, depending on our estrogen-progesterone balance, a number of disturbances can occur which can influence our weight. But did you know that the reverse is also true?
In fact, fat tissue is capable of creating hormones. In particular, it produces estrogen. This means that too much fat, particularly on the stomach, can lead to estrogen dominance and weight gain. It’s a vicious circle.

It can also be beneficial! A few extra kilos at menopause, when the ovaries stop producing estrogen, will help maintain a minimum secretion of this hormone, which has important positive effects on, for example, bone health, the prevention of hot flushes and night sweats.

In addition to synthesizing estrogen via fatty tissue, overweight also has an impact on the microbiota. Overweight people have a lower quality, less diversified microbiota: certain categories of beneficial bacteria are absent or present in too low quantities, while others are over-represented. Yet the richness, balance and variety of the microbiota are key to good health, particularly hormonal health.

For example, a certain family of bacteria, called estrobolome, is able to recompose ‘used’ estrogens that the liver has metabolized and eliminate them via the intestines. These bacteria are sensitive to the balance around them and to their host’s diet. A change in the microbiota, for example as a result of overweight or a diet too rich in so-called fast sugars, alters the way they work: they reconjugate and recirculate estrogens destroyed by the liver, in a more active form than the normal one. This results in an overflow of this hormone, with all the discomforts and disorders that go with it.

How can you influence your hormonal balance to boost weight loss?

As you can see, the key is to re-establish a healthy balance between estrogen and progesterone, usually by containing the amount of estrogen in the body. And, of course, you need to continue to eat healthily and exercise every day!

• Hormonal detox

This is crucial to maintaining estrogen levels in proportion to progesterone levels. With the onset of menstruation, estrogen secretion ceases and the estrogen in circulation must be eliminated. Your liver is in charge of this task. So pamper it so that it performs this task as efficiently as possible, and to avoid estrogen overload and all the inconveniences that go with it. Don’t overload it with fats, sugars or alcohol, and warm it up with a hot water bottle, especially in the evening after dinner. Herbal and other products can also help.

• Managing stress

It’s also important to keep stress under control. Not only because it affects what we want to eat and our sugar storage, but also because the production of cortisol, its regulating hormone, competes with the production of progesterone. They share a common base, cholesterol. Under stress, cholesterol is used primarily to synthesize cortisol, to the detriment of progesterone. Progesterone levels will then be too low to counterbalance the effects of estrogen.

So breathe in, get rid of the excess by exercising or writing, get your mind off things and enjoy the present moment! You can also help yourself with nutrients and plants. One of our new Essentiels Sérénité products will help you manage stress and cravings.

• Adapting your diet

Watch the glycemic index of what you eat. The glycemic index is the measure of a food’s ability to raise blood sugar levels. The sweeter foods taste, and the more they are cooked, the higher their glycemic index. So, if your digestion permits, choose wholemeal or at least semi-wholemeal versions of bread, pasta and rice, and don’t cook them for too long. Avoid eating sweet products in isolation, but accompany them with healthy fats, fibre and/or protein. You can also swallow vinegar in water or lemon juice before a meal to limit the glycemic index. And watch out for beverages, too: some of them skyrocket blood sugar levels: fruit juices, certain alcohols (among the worst, cocktails and beer), and of course sodas and sweetened tea and coffee.

At the same time, we prefer organic and homemade products. We fill up on fruit and vegetables for their fiber, in season so they’re bursting with nutrients, and good fats (olive oil, walnut oil, rapeseed oil, sardines, mackerel, almonds, etc.). Add prebiotics (garlic, banana, asparagus, chicory, etc.) and probiotics (e.g. lacto-fermented vegetables) to your plate. Limit red meat, dairy products and processed, fried and sugary foods. It’s good for hormonal balance and for the scales!

So you see. Weight loss is not always as simple as subtracting calories in from calories out. Other factors come into play, such as the right balance of hormones. So take care of them. In addition to the benefits for your weight, you’ll feel better, both physically and mentally!