Ten Tips To Balance Your Hormones For Easier Fat Loss

Hormones influence every aspect of your daily life from making you feel unstoppable in the weight room to that exercise high you get after a great workout.

They also play a key role in allowing you to lose fat and keep it off. Developing habits that promote optimal hormone levels is one of the best ways to get a body you enjoy. Here are ten powerful ways for making it happen.

#1: Lift Weights & Do Sprints

Anaerobic training, such as weight training and sprinting produces the release of a cascade of hormones that keeps your metabolism crankin’ and you feeling great. Not only does this type of exercise lead to the release of growth hormone and testosterone for a better body composition but it also improves estrogen metabolism and increases insulin receptor sites so you can enjoy more carbs.

#2: Eat To Avoid Cravings & Hunger

Eating resets your entire hormonal cascade and improves the body’s biological circadian rhythm. Most people who are trying to establish healthy eating habits will benefit from 5 to 6 meals a day for more stable blood sugar management and improved insulin sensitivity. If you’ve got your nutrition dialed in and don’t get crazy hungry from a low meal frequency, fewer meals may work well for you—the key point is to eat in a way that allows you to avoid cravings and hunger.

#3: Replace Refined Carbs With Veggies & Fruit

Sugar and refined carbs wreak havoc on hormone levels. They cause blood sugar spikes, which reduces insulin sensitivity over time and lead to excessive release of cortisol. Vegetables and certain fruits, on the other hand, are healthy carbs that contain phytonutrients that lower inflammation and can improve hormone balance. For example, broccoli and cauliflower help the body metabolize estrogen, whereas tart cherries raise levels of the sleep hormone melatonin.

#4: Plan Meals Around Protein

Protein foods are very satisfying and planning meals around them improves blood sugar and lowers insulin. Protein foods also provide essential nutrients that promote hormone balance. For example, fish and grass-fed meat provide bioavailable zinc, selenium, and copper support healthy testosterone levels.

#5: Add Healthy Fats To Every Meal

Healthy fats are essential because they provide the building blocks for the body to manufacture hormones. Fat is also used to make the outside lipid layer of cells. Healthy fats, such as the omega-3s in fish or the monounsaturated fat in avocados, will improve cellular signaling, making cells more receptive to insulin. The result is better hormone balance and better health.

#6: Get Enough Sleep

Lack of sleep leads the body to release extra cortisol and other stimulating hormones to keep you alert. This causes a cascade of negative changes including an increase in hunger hormones and a decrease in androgens. Glycemic control is also reduced, making your body less able to handle carbs.

#7: Optimize Your Circadian Rhythm

Your circadian rhythm is your biological clock and it is influenced by many factors including your genes, hormones, and eating patterns, among others. A few simple ways you can improve your circadian rhythm are to have a set bedtime, eat at the same time every day (avoid late night eating), and expose yourself to bright light in the morning but avoid it at night.

#8: Avoid Hormone Disruptors

Chemicals such as BPA, growth hormones in meat, and parabens will negatively affect the androgens and insulin. These chemicals mimic the action of estrogen in the body and cause inflammation. Avoid exposure by using glass instead of plastic bottles, eating organic meat and dairy, and staying away from chemical scents from air fresheners, lotion, and perfume.

#9: Prevent Nutrient Deficiencies

Minerals such as magnesium, vitamin D, and zinc are extremely important for hormone balance. If your levels of these nutrients are topped off, they cease to be a concern, but if you’re deficient, they become a top priority. Get your levels tested by your doctor and supplement when necessary.

#10: Meditate

Meditation has been found to balance cortisol with hormones involved in body composition such as testosterone, DHEA, and growth hormone. It also enhances release of the hormone melatonin and can improve sleep.