What if you were told that calories or exercise have little or no effect when it comes to weight gain? What if the main cause was hormonal activity overload? Studies are yet to grasp this new perspective as very little work has been done on it. However, with the success that the iHEALTHe APEX31 Champions have attained by heeding this new-found truth, losing weight and a confidence boost assure me that it stands true for a large number of populations who wish to shed some pounds and are not able to. The concept of hormonal imbalance when it comes to specifically thyroid and insulin imbalances, and how they influence weight, is not a new concept. However, you may not be very familiar with the other underlying ones preventing you from achieving your body goals. Take a look at these other ways your weight gain may be tied to hormones.

Excessive Sugar Intake 

Leptin is that hormone that notifies your body when it has received enough food. Usually, the fatty cells in your body produce it and it is transported via your blood to your brain where it drops a message that you’ve had enough. But the function of leptin is sabotaged by intake of a type of sugar known as fructose. This type is what is contained in processed foods and fruit juices. There is a healthy, natural form of fructose that comes from fresh fruits. 

If you consume fructose in little quantity, no harm is done. But if your intake is in high quantities, in addition to the processed foods that have extra sugar, your liver won’t be able to process the fructose and won’t turn it into energy. As a result, the fructose is converted to fats and pushed into the blood as triglycerides which are dumped in your liver and other parts of your belly.

The more fructose that is being converted to fat, the higher your leptin levels become (fat is produced by leptin). Here is the problem: when this hormone is circulated in your body excessively, your body begins to grow resistant to its signal. Your brain is unable to code the signal that you’ve had enough. You keep eating and keep stacking those pounds.

Your Stress Levels Are Way Up

The hormone, cortisol, known as the stress-hormone, is capable of causing all sorts of issues for women and men who wish to lose weight. When there is an increase in cortisol levels, blood-sugar is converted to stored fat for long-term use. This action of saving fat was advantageous to our ancestors when they had to endure severe famines. However, in this time and age, it is not. It is clear that lowering your stress levels will keep this hormone in check. But another common fluid stands as a challenge; daily coffee. It drastically increases cortisol levels making your body store fat when you have no need for it whatsoever. A simple switch to green tea (despite having some caffeine is processed differently by the body), or an herbal tea, can dramatically improve this situation.  

Mostly for women, but men take notice…Your fat cells are getting larger because of your estrogen levels

Estrogen is typically called the female hormone. Testosterone is called the male hormone. This is an entirely accurate as both are present in everyone’s bodies. But women tend to have higher estrogen levels. As men get older testosterone levels decrease and estrogen levels increase. It is imperative in both Ben and women that these levels be kept in balance for many important functions.  When it’s at a normal level, estrogen enables you stay trim by managing insulin levels, the hormone that controls blood sugar. When estrogen levels shift abnormally, you begin to gain weight uncontrollably.

This is how it happens: Your blood sugar increases whenever you eat. Like a watchdog, insulin decreases it by sending glucose to three different parts of your body. When insulin levels are normal, a little quantity of glucose is distributed to your liver, your muscles get a larger quantity used for energy, and very little is stored as fat.

Assuming your health is in optimal condition, the perfect amount of insulin is produced by your pancreas to incite the soft increase and decrease of blood sugar. However, when there is an increase in your estrogen levels, the insulin-producing cells are stressed and your body may become resistant to insulin. It is at this point that less glucose is sent to the muscles and liver due to insulin allowing larger quantities of sugar in your blood thus causing it to be stored as fat. Fat tissues in your body can adapt by developing a larger capacity to accommodate glucose storage, as large as four times the normal size.

How exactly do estrogen levels go up? One of the primary causes is eating too much meat, especially when you do not counter this by increasing your fiber content. Seeing that fiber aids our metabolism as well as removing excess estrogen via our waste, less fiber intake will increase estrogen levels. The APEX31 Day Plan is specifically structured to balance this tug-of-war that occurs in your body.

Another challenge with poor quality meat is that most farm-raised animals are bombarded with antibiotics, steroids, and toxic substances contained in their feeds. Those substances are emptied into your body when you consume that meat. They act like estrogen; overloading your system. You will learn how to counter this on the APEX31 Day Plan through our specific quality, quantity, and timing in consumption of foods. 

Mostly men, but women pay close attention. Your metabolism is slowed by your decreased testosterone levels.

Every day, you face a surprising number of toxic substances such as herbicides, pesticides, genetically modified foods, and up to six different synthetic hormones in meat. There are toxins in your facial skin products, prescription drugs, lipstick, the fire-proof materials of your couch, processed foods, the coatings of tuna cans, and even the air you take in. We can go on and on…it’s an endless list!

A lot of these toxic substances such as industrial chemicals, pesticides, and plastics are foreign to the body and act like estrogen in your body. The medical community now believes that the more you are exposed to these toxic substances it accounts for the early onset of puberty and the development of feminine attributes like breasts in boys. These particular sets of estrogens that have been labelled Xeno-estrogens have been linked to higher predisposition to estrogen-related diseases such as ovarian and breast cancers, as well as endometriosis. 

The bulk of this fake estrogen overpowers the testosterone in your body, a key hormone that maintains overall hormonal balance. Muscle development is also influenced by testosterone, which aids the metabolism. As has been established earlier, excessive estrogen causes resistance to insulin. This combination makes you gain weight. 

And that was just one out of many kinds of toxins. You may not know this but you may be more predisposed to weight gain and disease from exposure to toxic substances. In a survey done by the CDC, 93% of the population has considerable levels of bisphenol A, or BPA (this is a chemical contained in store receipts and canned foods, which intercepts thyroid, androgen, and estrogen hormones). It has been shown that endocrine disruptors like BPA disrupt the production, transportation, and also breakdown of so many hormones.

Conclusion: Your hormonal imbalances need to addressed quickly

Now that you have been enlightened to the reason why your metabolism is in chaos, simply dieting or exercising will not address the root cause of your weight gain alone. The way your body deals with food is determined by your hormones. IHEALTHe's APEX31 Day Plan addresses your hormonal imbalances combined with strategies to decompress your nervous system (cortisol) and address your nutrient absorption all in just 31 Days. You’ll have a healthy, vibrant, and trim body without breaking a sweat.

By Ruben Lancia, Founder and CEO of iHEALTHe Wellness