Hormones Stress and Weight Loss Diets

You’ve probably heard that if you sleep longer than other people, you will lose weight. You’ve probably also heard that people who suffer chronic stress because of the hormone “cortisol” are dealing with weight problems and most specifically belly fat around the waist. This is also due to another problem related to high cortisol and that is insulin resistance.

People with high cortisol levels and insulin resistance are those who wake up between 2 – 4:00 a.m. and can’t get back to sleep. It is all connected: stress, high cortisol levels, and insulin resisitance. This leads to weight gain especially around the waist. It happens to women in their early 40s and to men a little bit later.

What is going on at the same time is that for women, they are losing their hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and DHEA. This comes at the time in life known as menopause. For men, it is andropause, when they also lose progesterone, testosterone, DHEA and their estrogen becomes unbalanced. This menopause weight gain, or middle aged weight gain is totally related to stress and hormones.

You must first visit a doctor to have a hormone test to find out which of your hormones needs replacing and then you need your own personalized prescription for bioidentical hormones. Because until you balance your hormones you will not be able to lose weight, so this is the first step.

Next you have to find a diet that will assist in developing and maintaining opitimal health as you grow older and then you need something like a hormone diet which will give you the nutrition you need at this point in your life and help you balance your hormones.

You will find at this stage in your life that you cannot eat sugar, white refined carbohydrates anymore. If you do, it will mean instant weight gain and raising and then plummeting blood sugar levels. You do not want this to be happening. There are some diets out there that are specifically designed to help you lose weight at this point in your life. Suzanne Somers has a Somersizing, Dr. Oz has a menopause diet and another hormone diet has been designed by Dr. Natasha Turner.

These diets will help you regain your lost figure, lose the fat and gain energy and health. They also offer some pretty delicious food. You can buy these books online at Amazon or in your local book shop. The internet also offers some reviews of these diets so you can decide which one is best for you.

Lo Carb Diet Weight Loss

One of the most efficient ways to lose weight is not by counting your calories, but by counting carbs. The benefit of a low carbohydrate is faster weight loss because you are not consuming sugar or refined carbohydrates – food like flour, cookies, rice, and potatoes. If you are going to start on a low carb diet, the best advice I could give you is to throw out anything “white” in your cupboards and fridge. After you have done this, throw out all your processed junk food and any trans fats you may have hanging around.

There are many low carb diets for your to chose from. Your best bet is to read some diet reviews online or here at Another Lose Weight site. Let me first tell you about the best low carb diets out there on the market.

For those trying to lose weight when you have gained weight during menopause, a low carb or one of the hormone diets is the best way to go. Gaining weight when you approach menopause is unfortunately easy because your body metabolism slows down and your body turns sugar to fat. There are various hormone diets such as the Hormone Diet by Dr. Turner, the Dr. Oz diet and Suzanne Somers “Somersizing” diet – all good to follow if you are trying to lose menopause weight.

The South Beach Diet is an excellent diet to try. I managed to do it for the first two weeks because I followed it strictly. Towards the end of the second week, I was starting to feel extremely weak because of the lack of carbs and sugar, but I actually managed to lose 13 pounds. I could see the weight peel off my waistline which was very encouraging. What I liked about this diet was the fact that it was very easy to follow and easy to eat out with. The diet consists of eating three meals a day, each meal consisting of a protein with at least a cup of vegetables. The diet lists the lean meats, fish, low fat cheese and poultry you can eat and the permitted vegetables. You are allowed two snacks per day. Easy to follow, this diet is especially easy to follow when eating out. Just order a protein portion and a salad. For the first two weeks, there is no rice or other carb allowed. The diet works.

So when you are looking to lose weight, try a low carb diet. You can eat more on these diets, they are more satisfying and the results are more successful in that they are quicker.