Fat loss for females is viewed upon as quite a struggle and sometimes it’s not just your diet that’s playing a role.  Hormones play a huge part in females losing fat. Sometimes it comes down to females and an imbalance in their estrogen hormone.

What is Estrogen?

While Estrogen is primarily the female sex hormone that helps regulate a woman’s cycle, it is actually prevalent in both males and females. There are different types of estrogens: estradiol – the most powerful, estrone – mostly seen in menopausal women, and estriol – produced during pregnancy. Estrogens are essential for normal bodily functions, such as bone formation/breakdown, and influence muscle mass/ fat loss for females.

Estrogen and Body Fat

If your estrogen levels become out of balance you will most likely be estrogen dominant. Here are some symptoms of estrogen imbalance, including estrogen dominance:

• Fat Storage around the legs, mainly the thighs
• Decreased Libido
• Mood swings
• PMS
• Bloating (water retention)
• Fatigue
• Sleep troubles

Maintaining Healthy Estrogen Levels

It is important to maintain healthy estrogen levels to avoid a hormonal imbalance. You can do this by:

Eating Cruciferous Vegetables

Here are some great cruciferous vegetable options for you

Broccoli, kale, spinach, celery, cauliflower, Swiss chard are great choices that will help keep your estrogen levels in check. So, eat your veggies!

Avoiding excessive exercise (for low estrogen levels)

Extremely active people (athlete levels amounts of training) often experience a sudden drop in estrogen levels which can result in the loss of female menstrual periods, known as Ameorrhea.

Increase Vitamins and Minerals

B Vitamins, zinc, magnesium and Vitamin E are usually quite low when there is an estrogen dominance. Try to increase the amount of these vitamins and minerals through the use of magnesium tablets and multi-vitamins.

Avoid Xenoestrogens

Xenoestrogens are xenohormones that imitates the estrogen hormone. They are found in everyday items such as plastic Tupperware, makeup and industrial products (cleaners, etc). Xenoestrogens can play havoc on the endocrine system and throw your hormones out of balance, therefore it is important to avoid them as much as possible. You can do this by:

• Reducing your use of plastics
• Don’t refill plastic bottles
• Choosing organic, locally grown foods
• Purchasing hormone free meats
• Using chemical free cleaning products
• Using chemical free soaps and toothpaste

Reduce Your Stress

Stress, I always talk about it, and it plays a massive role in the ability to lose fat. Having a stressful lifestyle can affect your bodies ability to produce progesterone, a hormone essential in the second half of the menstrual cycle as it helps secrete special proteins to aid in maintaining and preparing your body for pregnancy.

Signs and symptoms of stress for females could include:

• Sugary food cravings
• Lack of sleep
• Lack of energy
• Increase of body fat mainly around the waist
• Food intolerances

You can aim to reduce your stress levels by:

• Identifying any food intolerances
• Reducing alcohol intake
• Reducing technology intake before bed
• Adding carbs to your last meal of the day
• Meditating

 

Of course, the estrogen hormone may not be the cause of you struggling to lose fat but it is good to know that it could be a factor contributing to your struggles. All you need to do is to make small changes that can aid in maintaining your estrogen hormone balance. Remember, be consistent!