Best Ways to Balance Your Hormones - PROVEN Solutions For Hormone Based Fatigue, Weight Gain, Low Mood and Low Libido!

Some health issues are easy to diagnose and fix. If you fall and break a bone, the treatment is fairly clear. The same is true for most infections. Even diseases such as cancer and diabetes can be discovered through symptoms and tests.

Hormones are a different story.

If your hormones are off, you might experience a multitude of symptoms that can be misdiagnosed. We don’t have a clear “hormone level” the way we have a safe blood sugar range.

There are symptoms and tests, but surprisingly many physicians don’t think to check.

So What are Hormones?

Hormones are chemicals in our bodies that enact changes.

They’re messengers, created in our endocrine glands, that travel through our bloodstream and send messages to other cells.

Those messages control many of our most basic functions. This includes hunger to our more intricate and delicate systems like reproduction, as well as our emotions and moods.

What are Symptoms of a Hormone Imbalance?

There are many different types of hormones and therefore many different ways for them to become imbalanced.

If you feel that something is off or not right, it’s a good idea to check if you’re experiencing symptoms of an imbalance.

Let’s look at a common hormone imbalance with the thyroid gland.

Thyroid Symptoms

The thyroid regulates metabolism, which is the process of your body breaking down food and converting it into energy.

Your thyroid controls the rate in which this process happens.

A slower metabolism means your body may not be able to break down all the food you eat in a day and convert it to energy – it stores it as fat instead.

Your thyroid can be under or over active. Here’s a few symptoms for each.

Hypothyroid (Underactive)

• Hair loss including outer 3rd of eyebrows
• Dry skin/hair
• Brittle fingernails
• Weight gain/difficulty losing weight
• Muscle/joint aches
• Fatigue
• High cholesterol
• Constipation Heavy periods
• Depression or moody

Hyperthyroid (Overactive) Weight Loss

• Fatigue
• Muscle weakness
• Hand tremors
• Mood swings
• Nervousness
• Anxiety
• Rapid heartbeat – tachycardia
• Diarrhoea
• Vision Changes
• Light periods or missed periods

Many people don’t realize just how much hormones affect the way we feel and how our bodies function. Hormones control so many functions! You’re probably heard of cortisol, the stress hormone. Hormones also control how quickly we burn calories, our libido, acne, hair loss, weight, moods, and much more.

A hormone imbalance can lead to symptoms that feel like depression (or is depression), iron or other deficiency, exhaustion, and poor health.

We need the right balance to function properly.

A loose analogy would be putting the wrong type of oil and gas into your vehicle. It might run, but poorly, so you might not realize what the problem is. Many people have heard that a thyroid imbalance can cause weight gain and other problems, so let’s go over two other imbalances that you may not be aware of.

Adrenal Imbalance

We have two adrenal glands. The adrenal cortex releases hormones that are necessary for us to live. The adrenal medulla releases hormones that aren’t essential, but they’re still important and affect our health.

Following are symptoms for both an insufficiency and excess of hormone.

If you find you have five or more of the symptoms on either list, it’s possible that your adrenal glands are not functioning as they should.

Adrenal Hormone Insufficiency

• Exhausted no matter how much sleep you get
• Burn Out
• You use stimulants to stay awake
• You feel negative most of the time
• You feel irrational
• You have bouts of crying over things you wouldn’t normally cry over
• You feel emotionally fragile
• Low blood pressure
• You feel dizzy if you stand up from lying down
• Frequent infections or illness
• Low blood sugar
• Crave salty foods
• Nausea
• Diarrhea, constipation or alternate between both
• Insomnia and have trouble staying asleep
• Awake in the early hours of the morning

Adrenal Hormone Excess

• Struggle to get to sleep even though you’re tired
• Crave sugar particularly after a meal
• Carry extra weight around your midsection/abdominal
• Feel bloated
• Eczema, thin skin or other skin conditions
• Feel like your heart is racing
• High blood pressure
• Shakiness between meals
• Reflux
• Pink or purple stretch marks on your belly or back
• Irregular menstrual cycles
• Often anxious
• Irritability or just don’t feel like yourself
• Have trouble falling pregnant
• Crave carbohydrates

As you can see, hormones can completely change how you feel!

Sex HormoneImbalance

“Sex” hormone might not be what you first think about.

The side effects of this kind of imbalance include acne persisting long after puberty, mood swings, facial hair and a swollen tummy!

The symptoms are more physical and visual with this imbalance, and they affect your fertility.

Symptoms of Estrogen Dominance are:

• Abdominal bloating<>
• Swollen and/or tender breasts
• Low libido
• Irregular menstrual periods
• Headaches
• Mood swings
• Fibrocystic breasts (lumpy breasts)
• Weight gain
• Hair loss
• Cold hands or feet
• Fatigue
• Trouble sleeping or insomnia
• Forgetful
• Anxiety or irritability
• Difficulty falling pregnant

If you find that you’re experiencing a number of these symptoms, it’s time to look closer.

Luckily, there are natural ways to control and manage your hormones so you feel healthy again.

A doctor can run a blood test to check your thyroid function, and there is medication to correct the problem.

However, there is also a natural way to correct the imbalance and feel good again, without being dependent on medication.

• You can do a few things to help your thyroid function properly, such as:
• Banish the sugar in your diet.
• Eat a thyroid friendly diet which is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins.
• Cut down on caffeine and drink more water.
• And lastly, check how much soy you’re consuming.
• Many people don’t realize that having too much soy in your diet can give you symptoms that mimic a thyroid problem, but it won’t show up on a test.
• Soy is in soy milk, but it’s also in many packaged foods. Read the labels of the food in your home and you might be surprised how much soy you’re ingesting without realizing it.
• Diet greatly affects our hormones, so we have a natural way to manage them.

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Best Weight Loss Hacks Helps You To Reduce Your Body Fat

Losing weight doesn’t have to feel like punishment. Try these hacks which helped Rachel Hosie get leaner and healthier — and stay that way.

Losing weight is simple, but it’s not easy. Ultimately, it comes down to being in an energy deficit (taking in less energy ie. fewer calories than you expend), but this needn’t be a painful experience.

If the process of losing weight feels like punishment, chances are you’ll end up regaining any weight you lose. The secret is to make small tweaks and develop a sustainable way of living that you can effortlessly transition into maintenance.

Two years ago, I began a six-month weight loss phase in which I lost 35 pounds by working on my overeating habits and my relationship with food. Prior to that, I’d tried all sorts of different unsustainable diets, and my weight had yo-yoed massively as a result.

Since losing the bulk of my weight, I’ve continued working on my healthy habits, and as a result have stayed the same size, going from around 30% body fat in December 2017 to around 17% at my last scan in September 2020. I’m very happy gaining a little weight by enjoying, say, the holiday period or a vacation, because I know how to slim back down afterward if I want to.

When it comes to losing weight, you’re almost definitely going to experience a little hunger, at least at the start as your body adjusts. But it needn’t be horrendous.

We’re all different, and what works for me may not be what works for you. But I’ve learned that there are certain hacks that make losing weight easier, which I employ when I want to shed a few pounds while still enjoying my life.

1. Focus on high-volume foods

Greek yogurt and a bagel thin is one of my favorite weight-loss breakfasts. Photo: Rachel Hosie

If you, like me, are someone who just really likes eating, the prospect of cutting your portion sizes down probably does not appeal. A great way to combat, this, however, is to focus on high-volume foods, and by that I mean foods that take up a lot of physical space but are low in calories.

Some of my favorites are fat-free Greek yogurt, low-calorie ice creams (around 320 for a whole tub), broccoli, and strawberries. There’s no need to eat these specific foods if you don’t enjoy them — I for one don’t much care for watermelon or celery, despite them being high volume.

There are lots of other foods that take up a lot of space on your plate or in your bowl, so you get to eat a lot and feel satiated without consuming lots of calories, as registered dietitian Shena Jaramillo explained to Livestrong.

2. Don’t drink water during a meal

I drink a lot of water around my meals, but not actually during, so I chew my food properly. Photo: Rachel Hosie

Eating slowly is generally considered good weight loss advice: You tend to eat more mindfully, thus savoring your food more, and feeling more satisfied as a result. It also gives your body time to realize it’s full.

For some people, sipping water between mouthfuls may make them slow down, but for me, it did the opposite: I wasn’t chewing my food properly, and was literally washing it down with water.

I drink more water than the average person over the course of the day (often when we think we’re hungry we’re actually dehydrated), and always drink a glass both before and after a meal, but no longer during.

Make sure you drink lots of water overall though, as this has been proven to help with weight loss.

3. Eat with alternating hands

Eggs, turkey bacon and avocado toast is a go-to meal. Photo: Rachel Hosie

This is another technique that forces you to eat more slowly. As a right-hander, doing anything with my left hand is hard. So I simply switch my fork from one hand to the other between mouthfuls.

There are some foods with which this doesn’t really work, and sure, if I were in a restaurant I probably wouldn’t do this as it looks a bit odd, but at home, it’s a useful tactic to, again, encourage me to eat slowly and mindfully.

4. Make barely noticeable food swaps

Turkey sausages are lower calorie than pork, and I genuinely enjoy them. Photo: Rachel Hosie

I do not believe in cutting any food out of your diet, and if you want your diet to be sustainable, it needs to include all the foods you love in moderation.

That said, there are some calorie-saving swaps I enjoy that are barely noticeable (unlike replacing spaghetti with zoodles).

For example, some calorie-saving foods I enjoy are bagel thins, powdered peanut butter, and turkey sausages. I genuinely love eating them but I do still enjoy the more energy-dense versions from time to time too.

5. Prioritize protein

Porridge is a great breakfast, but adding some protein powder will keep you fuller. Photo: Rachel Hosie

It’s important to keep your protein levels up for a variety of reasons: Firstly, it’ll help your muscles repair after exercising and help your body hold on to muscle while burning fat in a calorie deficit.

Secondly, protein keeps you full, and this is scientific fact. On days where I feel the need to snack endlessly, it’s often because I haven’t eaten enough protein. Fitness, nutrition, and fat loss professionals typically recommend aiming for 1.6–2.2g per pound of body weight.

It’s also true that protein, compared to fats and carbs, uses up more calories to digest (known as the thermic effect of food), but the effect of this isn’t huge.

6. Incorporate grown-up alcohol alternatives

You can get non-alcoholic Aperol spritz-style cocktails these days. Photo: Rachel Hosie

The sad truth is that alcohol is not the dieter’s friend. It’s high in calories, and tends to lead to eating more while drinking as well as the next day.

Much like with food though, if you enjoy a drink, you don’t have to cut alcohol out completely.

When I really want to focus on my health and fitness, I do limit my booze intake though, and I’ve found no-alcohol alternatives really helpful. I don’t mean sodas and soft drinks, but the new breed of “grown-up” botanical drinks, the best of which really do taste a lot like their boozy counterpart.

7. Note down your daily wins, not fails

Your success will be largely down to working on your mind as much as your body. Photo: Rachel Hosie

Making lasting change requires working on your mind as much as your body.

One strategy which has really helped me is, before going to bed every night, writing down at least three health “wins” from the day.

That could be surpassing my step goal, eating five portions of vegetables, or stopping eating when I’m full and putting the rest of the pizza in the fridge. This strategy was particularly useful on days where I felt like I’d failed and gone completely off-track.

You’re not striving for perfection — aim for 80% consistency. For your mental health if nothing else (and if you want to keep your social life), you need to be able to indulge and relax from time to time without it sending you into a spiral of despair, guilt, and wanting to give up.

8. Take progress photos

Before and after my main weight loss phase two years ago. Photo: Rachel Hosie

Progress photos (as well as key measurements like your waist circumference) are the best way to see how far you’ve come — and are really satisfying.

For many people, the scales are triggering, and the number shown can vary so much depending on where a woman is in her cycle, whether you ate a big and/or salty meal recently, the time of day, and more.

If you can truly detach any emotions from the scale and see the number purely as data, you can try weighing yourself every morning then taking an average every week (bearing in mind that even then there will be ups and downs). But if not, it’s better to check in monthly, taking progress photos and perhaps weighing yourself once a month to see the general trajectory.

Remember: You’re not looking for a quick fix. Commit to the long haul. It may take time, but if it leaves you happy and healthy with a lifestyle you enjoy, it’s worth it.

For more great stories, visit Insider’s homepage.

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Why Most Women Are Using Green Smoothies To Lose Weight, Boost Energy, And Look Years Younger

 

TOP 5 Reasons More Women Are Using Green Smoothies To Lose Weight, Boost Energy, And Look Years Younger

Written by Drew S., CHC, AADP, Certified Health Coach

It seems life just keeps moving faster and faster these days. As a woman, you juggle so many different tasks and responsibilities, it sometimes seems unending. You manage your family, work, errands, school, social responsibilities and so much more. When you are taking care of everyone else and on the go all the time, taking care of your body and maintaining a healthy diet often falls to the wayside.

You rush about to meet the demands of your life each day. Who has time to cook healthy, well-balanced meals every day when you are juggling all that? Unfortunately, the ‘quick and easy’ food choices are often the worst options for your body, but they are so convenient when you’re on the run. Couple that with all the stress, and extra weight shows up all too easily. What’s worse is that all the nutrition advice out there gets overwhelming and confusing, so most people have no idea how to eat healthy and lose weight.

The great news is that just about everyone who drinks green smoothies loses weight. In fact, most people who follow my Smoothie Diet Weight Loss Program report up to 3-8 pounds weight loss in their first week!

1. Green Smoothies for Weight Loss:

A major benefit of Green Smoothies is weight loss. Keep in mind, not all smoothies are created equal however. Some are very healthy while others, not so much. A proper green smoothie for weight loss includes lots of leafy greens and other vegetables, whole fruits such as a banana or apple, and water. Avoid adding dairy, such as milk or yogurt, as these add unnecessary fats and calories, and can irritate your digestive system.

One major weight loss guideline is to increase your intake of vegetables, healthy fiber and fruits. Green smoothies offer a quick and convenient method for this AND they are super quick and easy to make. Just throw everything in a blender for a few seconds, pour it in a travel cup and you are ready to go. The fiber helps you feel full, reducing the urge for unhealthy snacks between meals.

Mother Of 2 Loses Over 70 Lbs By Drinking Green Smoothies

Watch Her Video Here

Healthy Meal Replacement

If you make it right, your smoothie is a perfect meal replacement. To do this, you need to add healthy fats and plant based proteins, which helps you feel full and get the nutrients your body needs with fewer calories. Click here for some helpful guidelines and recipes for boosters to turn your green smoothie into a healthy meal replacement option that will help you shed those extra pounds.

Detox Your Body

The fruits and vegetables alkalinize your system, cleansing toxins from your organs and blood. As your body releases toxins, you not only feel better, but you’re your organs run at optimum level. Your body processes and digests more effectively. You absorb nutrients better, helping you feel more satisfied and reduce cravings.

Feel More Energized!

Adding the right nutrients into your body while releasing toxins will give you a serious energy booth. You feel better. More energy also boosts your metabolism so you burn more calories. With all the responsibilities you juggle every day, won’t it be great to have the energy to manage it all and still have some left over for fun? You can play with the kids, have some fun with your spouse, or add in some quality time for yourself.

Boost Your Self Confidence

What? How is a smoothie going to do that? Well, first, you are making a conscious choice to do something good for you. It is a decision you can feel good about. Instead of grabbing something quick that you know is bad for you and is going to make you feel icky, you can make a quick smoothy and drink it on the go, knowing you are nourishing yourself by putting healthy food into your body. Second, as your body releases all the toxins it’s been storing up, you feel better in your body. And, of course, as you drop excess weight, you will feel better about yourself and your body. It’s an all-around win-win.

2. Beautiful skin, hair and nails:

Antioxidants are natures magic pill for bringing out your natural beauty. Fresh fruits and vegetables are a powerhouse of nutrients and antioxidants. This, combined with the detoxification benefits of green smoothies leads to clear, glowing skin, stronger nails and lustrous, healthy hair. They help reduce or eliminate eczema and other skin conditions.

3. Anti-Aging:

You not only get clearer skin, but the nutrients in green smoothies also help boost production of collagen, creating firmer, younger looking skin. Apples, strawberries and oranges are great choices to add to your smoothie for this. Do you ever buy those super expensive anti-aging lotions with CoQ10? Try a green smoothie instead! It’s cheaper and you know exactly what is in it. Q10 is a naturally occurring coenzyme that helps your skin stay firm and smooth. As you age, the Q10 in your body decreases. Green smoothies are a great source of these anti-aging enzymes.

4. Chronic Disease Prevention:

You do all this running around for a reason. You love your family and you want to take care of them. More than anything, you want to be around to enjoy them as you get older.

Green smoothies not only provide the energy to manage all the responsibilities and stress, but also help prevent chronic disease. Proper nutrition and diet is one of the best measures for preventing heart disease, cancer, diabetes and many other health conditions. Green smoothies are a wonderful source of these life-saving antioxidants and nutrients. They also support the body’s natural cleansing and detoxification processes, helping you release toxins and decrease health risks.

5. Improved Digestion And Gut Health:

All that fiber is great for clearing out your digestive tract. This alone has wonderful health benefits as your health starts in your gut. A clear and healthy digestive tract brings less bloating, reduced weight, improved toxin elimination, stronger immune system, increased mental clarity, and more energy.

Ready To Get Healthy And Lose Some Serious Weight Fast?

Adding healthy green smoothies into your diet is a quick and easy, all-natural way for busy women to improve their health and lose weight. There are lots of delicious recipes that are quick and easy to make and won’t break the bank. Whether you are just trying to lose the last 5-10 lbs or you want to lose 30 lbs or more, I encourage you to watch this FREE video presentation and try my Smoothie Diet Program to see how effective detox smoothies for weight loss can be.

Click Here To Watch The Free Presentation

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