What’s a hormonal belly and what can you do about it?

You’ve been eating cleaner, moving your body, doing what you can to ward off unwanted weight. And yet: you’re still seeing stubborn fat around your belly that seemingly refuses to budge.

Belly fat can be frustrating and confusing. And the problem doesn’t just lie with how tight your pants are feeling. Belly fat is actually worse for your health than fat in other places.

That’s because belly fat --- which accumulates only around the abdomen, leading to an “apple” shape in the body --- isn’t only limited to subcutaneous fat, or the fat layer that lives just under the skin. It also includes the deeper visceral fat that surrounds your internal organs.

Subcutaneous fat may be unwanted for cosmetic reasons, but visceral fat is linked with more serious health problems, including:

Belly fat is also often linked to hormonal imbalances within your body. You may have heard the term “hormonal belly” --- well, this is exactly what it’s referring to.

Hormones play a major role in so many essential functions of your body, including the ones that have a say in your weight and body fat --- like your hunger and fullness, your energy, and your metabolism. Your hormones are in constant communication with each other to keep these and other functions regulated. But when hormone levels get out of whack, your weight might be one of the first signs that something is off.

Sometimes a diagnosable condition is behind that belly fat increase. For instance, an underactive thyroid, menopause, or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Other times, more general hormone imbalances can be the culprit behind a hormonal belly. These types of imbalances can be caused by anything from exposure to environmental toxins to chronic stress to certain medications.

If you suspect you’re dealing with a hormonal belly, here are some signs to look for and actions to take:

You’re never full

If you find that you never quite feel as satiated as you used to feel after a meal, you might be surprised to hear that the body’s sex hormones, like estrogen and testoserone, have a major effect on the hormones that regulate your metabolism.

Lower than normal levels of estrogen in your body may be related to lower levels of leptin. Leptin is known as the “satiety hormone,” and is released when fat tissue signals to the brain that you’ve had enough food. The more leptin in your system, the more full and sated you’ll feel after eating.

Testosterone, the prominent sex hormone in men (which is also present in women’s bodies), has been shown to have an inverse effect on leptin concentration, meaning as testosterone levels increase, leptin levels decrease. Heightened levels of testosterone, which can be caused by PCOS, missing periods regularly, or chronic stress levels, can cause you to feel more hungry, leading to weight gain.

What to try:

1) Hormone testing

To keep tabs on your hormone levels, you could use Base to track testosterone, estrogen and more to ensure levels are steady.

2) Eating foods and supplements that help balance these hormones

If you’re struggling with a hormonal belly and have low estrogen, your doctor may encourage you to up your intake of cruciferous veggies like broccoli, kale, cauliflower and brussels sprouts, which contain DIM, a compound that helps your body break down estrogen. You may also want to try adding flaxseeds to your diet. Not only are flaxseeds full of heart-healthy fats, fiber, and various important vitamins and minerals, but they’re rich in phytoestrogens, compounds that mimic natural estrogen in the body. And flaxseeds, along with foods like soy, can also work to lower testosterone in your system.

You’re overstressed

Being under chronic stress can mess with our hormones in a variety of ways. For one thing, it causes our adrenal glands to produce cortisol, known as the “stress hormone.” A sudden surge of cortisol can help when your body needs to act quickly to avoid danger, But under chronic stress, your adrenal glands release more cortisol than your body needs --- which can lead to higher heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar. Plus, high cortisol levels are linked to more belly fat.

What to try:

1) Monitoring your stress hormones

Tracking your cortisol levels can give you valuable insight into how your body reacts to stress and how to more effectively manage it. You could do this at home with Base’s at-home testing, or get tested at your doctor’s office.

1) Taking steps to lower your stress levels\ Study after study has linked high stress levels to weight gain, so it’s no secret that taking steps to lower your stress can help you lose weight, particularly weight associated with a hormonal belly. There are plenty of practices that can help, particularly meditation. A regular practice has been shown to significantly lower cortisol levels in the blood, reducing stress and inflammation, while accelerating weight loss. Getting 7-9 hours of sleep a night, setting boundaries with work and technology, and focusing on your breath during a stressful moment are also useful strategies to lean on to decrease daily stress levels.

You’re really craving sugar

If you’re constantly craving desserts, candy, and sugary drinks, it might be a sign that your body is experiencing insulin resistance. Insulin resistance happens when your cells can’t properly absorb sugar from your bloodstream, leaving them starved for carbohydrates like sugar.

The ​​higher insulin levels that result from insulin resistance signal your body to store more fat. 

Another effect of insulin resistance: it can cause your body to secrete more leptin. Enough leptin helps you feel full, but elevated leptin levels have a different effect. Instead of making you feel full, consistently elevated levels of leptin can lead to decreased sensitivity to both insulin and leptin. Without that sensitivity, your body will continue to crave sugar, not detecting that you’re indeed full, resulting in increased hormonal belly weight gain over time.

What to try:

1) HIIT workouts. It might sound random, but high intensity interval training workouts have been shown to increase leptin sensitivity (which is how well your cells respond to leptin). HIIT workouts actually increase the number of leptin receptors on your body’s fat cells. Plus, they’re great for weight loss for other reasons --- namely, your body continues to burn calories after you’re done working out!

2) Keep up with your blood sugar levels and other dietary markers to ward off imbalances. You can get a custom diet improvement plan from Base and test regularly at home.

You’re always hungry

Nope, this isn’t the same as being never full. When we talk about hunger, we talk about ghrelin, or the “hunger hormone.” Ghrelin is responsible for giving your body signals that it’s time to eat and has a major impact on your appetite. When you go long periods of time without eating, like if you skip a few meals because you’re really busy or you’re intentionally fasting, ghrelin kicks in, telling your body it’s time to find some food. And when you’re having a big, carby meal, ghrelin is there telling your body you’re not hungry anymore. But with weight gain, ghrelin secretion can get dysregulated, throwing your hunger cues off, and leading to more weight gain.

What to try:

Getting good sleep

This  is key to making sure your body is properly secreting ghrelin. That’s because sleep deprivation can actually increase ghrelin, leading to a hungrier you. Getting the recommended 7 to 9 hours a night of quality sleep not only helps you reduce stress, but it can help you lower your caloric intake and carb cravings. Try creating a calming wind-down routine, in which you power down your electronics, dim the lights, sip a cup of hot tea, read a book, or do anything else that calms you and lets your body know it’s time to get ready for sleep.

You’re losing your hair

If you’re noticing belly weight gain at the same time as hair loss, your hormones might be to blame here too. This time, your thyroid might be the culprit.

Thyroid hormones help regulate your body weight as well as your hair growth. So if you’re experiencing an underactive thyroid, that could affect both. When your thyroid isn’t producing sufficient hormones, your metabolic rate slows, reducing the number of calories your body burns, and often leading to more belly fat.

The thyroid works together with many other hormones and chemicals in the body, so low thyroid hormone levels can lead to a number of effects, like fatigue, hair loss, constipation, and low sex drive.

What to try:

1) Make sure you get tested for hypothyroidism. Your doctor may want to do several tests to determine whether you have an underactive thyroid. Or, you could test at home for thyroid dysfunction, nutritional deficiencies, or adrenal fatigue with Base. If you’re concerned about more than just your thyroid, you could try Base Complete, Base’s most comprehensive testing bundle.

2) If you do indeed have a thyroid condition, making a few diet and lifestyle changes can also make a big difference if you’re looking to drop some unwanted weight, particularly belly weight. These tips can help:

Limit processed foods and sugar

Foods that have a high glycemic load (like refined/white grains, processed snacks, and sugary sodas and juices) can increase inflammation, so experts recommend replacing these high-glycemic foods with complex carbohydrates like legumes, whole grains and starchy vegetables.

Schedule time for regular exercise

Exercise can boost metabolism, improve heart health, strengthen bones, build muscle, and help you reduce stress.

Focus on lowering stress and getting good sleep

We covered this above, but these factors are huge for helping keep unwanted belly fat away.

Limit snacking and late-night eating

Late-night eating may increase your odds of metabolic syndrome and obesity.

You’re going through Menopause

Menopause puts your body through a whole host of changes, one of them commonly being weight gain. Why? For starters, your body produces lower levels of estrogen. This changes the fat distribution in your body, causing you to gain more in the belly as opposed to other areas.

Less estrogen can also limit the effectiveness of insulin, making it harder for your body to regulate blood sugar and leading to more hormonal belly fat.

What to try:

1) Lower your carbs. 

Between protein, fat and carbohydrates, carbs have the biggest impact on raising blood sugar and insulin levels. Try cutting back on high-carb foods like processed grains (bread, pasta, cookies, cakes, crackers) and filling up instead with foods rich in fiber, protein, and healthy fats, which can stimulate insulin and help you lose unwanted weight.

2) Cut down on calories, but don’t skimp on nutrition.

In menopause, experts recomment cutting daily calories by about 200, but you don’t have to deprive yourself of great food or nutrition in the process. Pass on processed snacks and make sure your meals are nutrient-dense. Load up on veggies, legumes, nuts, fish and low-fat dairy, while cutting back on red meat and other saturated fats.

If you suspect you’re experiencing hormonal weight gain, particularly in the belly area, get tested to make sure your hormones are working in harmony. And if they’re not, a host of lifestyle and diet changes can help get you feeling better again.