How Your Hormones Really Affect Weight Loss and Fat Storage

For the longest time, we’ve known one simple fact:
Exercise and proper nutrition help us lose weight and feel better about ourselves. The advice of eating less and moving more is quite popular, and fitness experts give it all the time.

But, the human body is an incredibly complicated piece of biological machinery, and things aren’t as simple as we may believe.

Hormones - What Are They And How Do They Work
 
In the simplest of terms, hormones are chemical messengers responsible for various processes within the body. Having normal levels of different hormones is vital for our health, energy levels, and much more.
 
Contrary to what some believe, weight loss is not just about diet and exercise - our hormones also play a significant role in the equation.
 
Let’s take a look at some of the most critical hormones regarding weight loss and fat storage:
 
Testosterone, Estrogen, And Fat Loss
 
Testosterone, the primary male sex hormone, is vital for good health and optimal development, particularly in men. The hormone is also essential for metabolic health and fat oxidation. More specifically, research suggests that optimal levels of testosterone contribute to weight loss in significant ways:
 

• It raises metabolic rate
• It improves fat release and oxidation
• It contributes to muscle gain

 
Testosterone is also crucial for overall leanness and helps prevent fat accumulation, especially around the midsection.
 
Cortisol And Fat Loss
 
Cortisol is primarily known as the stress hormone and appears to play an important role in our weight loss efforts. Specifically, some research suggests that cortisol could stimulate our appetite and lead to unwanted weight gain.
 
Chronically elevated cortisol also contributes to water retention, making us feel bloated and misleading us into believing that we’ve gained fat.
 
As a whole, stress is not great for optimal weight loss.
 
Leptin - How it Affects Fat Loss, Hunger, and Metabolism
 
Leptin is often referred to as the satiety hormone and is believed to play a vital role in metabolic health and body weight regulation. 
 
The hormone is produced by our fat cells and having more of it leads to greater satiety and a higher metabolic rate. Fat loss inevitably leads to lower leptin levels, which is one reason why we tend to get hungrier as we diet and why our metabolic rate goes down.
 
In a sense, leptin is like a thermostat that works to keep our body weight (and fat) within a specific range. If we go over or under that range, leptin helps us get back inside through various mechanisms.