Lime In The Coconut Specialty Compounding Pharmacy: Why It's Hard To Lose Weight

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

How Hormones Affect Weight Loss

For some people, weight loss is a relatively simplistic process. They watch what they eat in order to avoid consuming too many unnecessary calories, and they exercise regularly. Slowly but surely, the extra weight disappears. For other people, the process is not nearly so simple.

The truth is that there are multiple different factors that affect weight loss - the formula often extends far beyond the simple "calories in minus calories out."

At our Lake of the Ozarks compounding pharmacy, we dedicate a significant portion of our practice to helping our clients achieve their weight loss goals. A few weeks ago, we wrote about five different factors that frequently affect weight loss:

Stress
Inconsistent (or inadequate) sleep schedules
Dehydration
Genetics
Skipping meals

While it's true that these factors can (and do) affect your ability to lose weight, they don't tell the whole story. Keep reading to learn about another factor that has a significant impact on the body's ability to lose weight.

The Power Of Hormones

You probably guessed it - hormones are another factor that significantly influence the way our bodies gain and lose weight. Hormones are natural chemicals that regulate countless bodily functions, including sleep schedules, mood, metabolism, and weight loss/gain.

Women are often extremely aware of the powerful effects of hormones, as they experience the strong hormonal changes that accompany their cycles every month. Men may not be as acutely aware of the power of hormones on a day-to-day basis (although they may witness it in their female family members!) but they can be just as impacted by hormonal shifts in their bodies.

Three Hormones That Impact Weight Loss

Here is a quick look at some of the hormones that are commonly at play in weight loss challenges.

Cortisol
Commonly referred to as "the stress hormone," cortisol is the hormone our bodies release when we are under significant or extended stress. Cortisol triggers the body to convert sugars into fat so that it can be stored in the body for later use. Unfortunately, many of us don't get a chance to use this stored energy, so it continues to build up over time. It is worth noting that stress isn't the only thing that can cause the body to produce more cortisol - a daily cup of coffee can have a similar impact.

Estrogen

Estrogen is fairly well known as the hormone that is primarily responsible for making women, well, women. It plays a crucial role in regulating female body functions such as menstruation, menopause, and female development. However, it also plays a significant role in metabolism and weight loss. Rising estrogen levels are often correlated with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and weight gain. Estrogen levels can be thrown off balance by exposure to toxic substances, as well as consuming large amounts of meat or soy products.

Leptin

As the hormone that tells our brain when we are full (and consequently when we should stop eating), leptin plays an important role in weight management. Unfortunately, the copious amounts of sugar we consume on a regular basis makes it hard for leptin to do its job. The short explanation is that consuming large quantities of sugar (which is easy to do even if you avoid cookies, cakes, and other desserts) causes the body to produce excess leptin. While this may not sound like a bad thing at first, the truth is that when the body gets too much of a certain hormone circulating in its system, it begins to to ignore that hormone's message.

It Doesn't Stop There

While cortisol, estrogen, and leptin are commonly at play when the body starts to display weight loss challenges, they aren't the only hormones that can impact weight gain/loss. The endocrine system (or the "hormone system") is immensely complex. There are countless different factors that can influence how your body metabolizes sugars and manages fat storage.

If you are having trouble meeting your weight loss goals, it may be worth investigating how hormones might be impacting your situation. If you would like to learn more, we encourage you to reach out to the Lime in the Coconut Specialty Compounding Pharmacy. Our team will be more than happy to assist you however we can!

The Lime In The Coconut Specialty Compounding Pharmacy

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111 Crossings West, Suite 6

PO Box 2145

Lake Ozark, MO 65049

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Thursday, March 23, 2017

5 Things You Didn't Know Affect Weight Loss

Maintaining a healthy weight is a laudable goal - one that nearly every single person longs for. Countless resources are available to help people achieve their ideal weights, which (for most people) means shedding some extra pounds. At the Lime in the Coconut Pharmacy, we dedicate a significant portion of our practice to helping our clients achieve their weight loss goals.

The Truth Behind Weight Loss

Most people assume that weight gain or loss is the result of a simple formula:

calories in - calories out = weight gain/loss

In many cases, this formula is an accurate way to predict whether you will gain or lose weight. For example, if you eat 3,000 calories in a day but only burn 2,000, you're left with 1,000 calories stored as body fat to be used when needed. If the next day you were to eat 1,000 calories and burn 2,000, your body could use the 1,000 calories it had stored from the day before. The problem is that for most people who consume more calories than they burn, the pattern is a continuous one. The equation rarely gets an opportunity to tip in the other direction and balance itself out.

However, the problem with this equation is that it is extremely two-dimensional. The truth is that there are multiple factors that affect weight loss/gain; calories vs calories out is only part of the picture.

Other Factors That Affect Weight Loss

1. Stress

The relationship between stress and weight gain can be a vicious cycle. Stress hormones signal cravings for fatty, sugary, carbohydrate-rich snacks. These snacks trigger pleasure centers in the brain, which gives them an addictive quality. They also calm stress hormones, which can make you more likely to reach for them the next time you encounter a stressful event. Unfortunately, unhealthy snacks like this contain excessive, unhelpful calories that can make it harder to lose weight.

2. Sleep Schedules
Getting adequate sleep each night is an important step to losing weight. Losing sleep at night (potentially as little as 30 minutes) stimulates your body to produce more hormones that signal feelings of hunger, even when you're full. By ensuring 7-9 hours of sleep per night, you'll be less likely to crave food unnecessarily.

3. Dehydration
Experts recommend that you drink at least 64 ounces (eight 8-oz glasses) of water per day. If you aren't hitting this baseline, it's possible that you're consuming additional calories simply because your body is dehydrated. Experts recommend that you drink at least 8 ounces of water before every meal. By filling your stomach with water, you'll be less likely to consume extra calories at your meals. This is especially important before breakfast, since most people get dehydrated throughout the night.

4. Genetics
As much as we might like try to convince ourselves otherwise, the tendency towards obesity really is genetic. If you have a certain gene called the FTO gene, you will be more vulnerable to obesity and type 2 diabetes. It's important to recognize that having this gene does not automatically guarantee that you will be overweight, but most likely it will (unfortunately) make your weight loss journey more challenging.

5. Skipping Meals
If you're trying to lose weight, skipping meals may seem like an obvious strategy. While it's true that missing a few meals will lower your calorie intake, it likely won't help you reach your weight loss goals. If you wait several hours between meals, your body will likely lower your metabolism to conserve energy. While it may seem counter-intuitive, eating small meals every 2-3 hours is likely the better option.

The Lime In The Coconut Can Help You Meet Your Weight Loss Goals!

If you have been struggling to lose weight, consider our Lake of the Ozarks compounding pharmacy your go-to resource. We offer a variety of weight loss solutions, including the HCG diet and Metaid, our new exclusive high fat, low carb dietary lifestyle. For more information about our weight loss services in central Missouri, contact our pharmacy at 573-964-6786. We look forward to helping you!