So many times I have overweight patients tell me horror stories of encounters with health care professionals that end in anything from frustration to down right fear. Even leaving the doctor’s office in tears after hearing, “You are fat, you just need to eat less and exercise more”. I have heard so many patients tell me that they went to the doctor because they truly believed their hormones were out of whack and causing their weight gain because they had truly tried just that and it wasn’t working. I think I may have been guilty back in the day of actually buying in to the fact that maybe hormones have nothing to do with weight gain or loss and that it really is just “calories in – calories out”, but I’m living proof that nothing could be further from the truth. Two major metabolic hormonal hits, a late life baby and a hysterectomy, taught me first hand that that just isn’t true.
Hormones have everything to do with weight gain and weight loss!!! Thus began my journey after 80 extra pounds to understand just that.
Everyone suspects the thyroid and they are right. It usually is the major player. A lot of docs just don’t look at the big picture or look outside the thyroid “box”.
Nutrition is 70% of your health, exercise and lifestyle account for about 25%, and the hormones only for about 5%. However, when that 5% gets out of balance, the other 95% does not work well.
Maintaining proper weight is a challenge for people of all ages and the older you get; the more difficult it can be due to the likelihood that hormones in the system are more prone to become imbalanced. BALANCE is the key! It has been found that 90% of women experience weight gain between the ages of 35 and 55, not coincidentally, during peri-menopause and menopause, two huge hormonal imbalance prone times.
So what are hormones? Hormones are chemical messengers that tell the body what to do. By definition how can hormones not have everything to do with weight and metabolism? It’s crazy to think otherwise. Hormones are not just estrogen as we have been brainwashed by pharmaceutical marketing efforts.
Over fifty different hormones have been identified in the bodies of humans, and more are still being discovered. Hormones influence and regulate practically every cell, tissue, organ, and function of our bodies, including growth, development, metabolism, maintenance/balance of our internal environment ("homeostasis"), and sexual and reproductive function. Most hormones circulate through the blood and each hormone usually affects only a limited number of cells, which are called "target cells" for that hormone. A target cell responds to a hormone because it bears "receptors" for that hormone. Hormones, like all molecules, have a specific molecular shape, and thus will fit into certain receptors but not others like the blocks we played with as kids with different shapes that go in the big cube.
Since hormone balance is like an orchestra if one person is playing too loud or out of tune then all the music sounds bad. So let’s look at estrogen. It is common for estrogen levels to diminish during menopause causing cessation of ovulation. The decreased production of estrogen by the ovaries causes a woman's body to search for other sources of estrogen. Where do they find it? In the fat cells, so your body learns to convert more calories into fat, in order to increase estrogen production. This means weight gain. Then there’s progesterone. Progesterone's role in weight gain is more insidious as low levels of the hormone do not actually cause you to gain weight, but instead cause water retention or bloating. You may not be fatter but you feel fatter! Low testosterone in a women results in the inability to build and maintain muscle mass and stamina. These muscle cells work to burn calories in your body to help with a higher metabolism. Insulin is a hormone responsible for sugar storage. When it doesn’t work right you store every calorie you see instead of burning it. Cortisol is the main hormone of stress. High stress puts your body into panic mode. When our ancestors were under stress, fighting or fleeing, they were not eating. The body is amazing at adapting. The body begins to store food if it thinks it will not be eating again for a long time. These stored calories result in weight gain.
Leptin is a protein hormone that helps control the way that the body stores fat. Leptin helps by making you feel full so you eat less and increase the rate at which you burn calories. Are you starting to see a pattern here? Now do you see why it is crazy for a doctor to say, “Hormones have nothing to do with your weight problem”?
That brings me to one of my favorite hormones. Oxytocin. The “love” hormone. Called this because it is the main hormone produced when we snuggle or bond with loved ones. What does the love hormone have to do with your weight, you might ask. Well all hormones affect all functions and feedback and balance maintain the system.
Oxytocin is the yin to the yang of Cortisol and growing evidence suggests that oxytocin plays an important role in the regulation of energy balance. Oxytocin administration may induce weight loss in the obese through recent studies on rats that show supplemental use of oxytocin reduces food intake and body weight. With current press on leptin, the hormone of fullness, it is interesting also that effect of oxytocin to induce weight loss remained intact in rats who had problems with their leptin balance. Leptin can become resistant just like insulin becomes resistant and not work. In fact one of the biggest breakthroughs came when researchers discovered leptin. They thought, “Oh, cool! Lets just give every one leptin and our obesity problem will be solved”! Problem was leptin became resistant resulting in weight gain, NOT loss. NOT cool! Recent findings extend evidence suggesting that oxytocin circumvents leptin resistance and induces weight-loss in animals through a mechanism involving activation of specific neurons (nerves) and certain centers in the brain. This is an exciting proposal for the indication of weight loss in light of the most difficult weight to lose- leptin resistant obesity.
In my search for ways to supplement oxytocin, I found a website and I met an amazing man named Bryan Post who has a company that manufactures a supplement form of oxytocin, called Oxytocin Factor TM .
Since I found this resource, I have used this supplement form with many of my patients for stress and had great results but now I am thinking of the bigger picture with weight loss and wellness. So, Bryan and I talked about using the product in our Fabulous For Life Challenge and he graciously donated enough Oxytocin Factor TM to do a small scale clinical trial.
Over the next 45 days, half of the participants in the Fabulous For Life Challenge 2012, who choose to participate will receive Oxytocin Factor TM supplement and half will receive placebo to assess the effects on weight loss within the parameters of the Fit For Life Challenge 2012. Participants will use 6 drops of Oxytocin Factor TM or placebo under the tongue twice a day for 45 days and at the end of 45 days, group 1 will be compared to group 2 in terms of pounds lost and overall body fat percentage lost. Participants will self report observations about the use of the supplement in terms of mental stress relief and sense of wellbeing.
I have told my Fabulous For Life Challenge folks that they are my “test group” from the beginning. That they are the pioneers for many challenges to come. They have wonderfully accepted the challenge of changing their lives and growing to another level. They continue to amaze me. Each week I see them come in to the rallies changed just a little more. They are excited to be alive. I see them shedding pounds and becoming more confident and alive. Healthy glows warm our meetings every week. This is just one more experiment for them and when I told them about this the excitement was almost palpable in the room.
If you're not in the challenge you can order Oxytocin Factor TM on my website under the products section or go to www.oxytocinfactor.com to order and try it.
I’ll be excited to report the results and contribute to the science of hormones and weight loss.
I thank all my Fabulous For Life Challenge participants for their willingness to change their lives.
Keep it Fabulous!
Dr. Tammy
Hormones have everything to do with weight gain and weight loss!!! Thus began my journey after 80 extra pounds to understand just that.
Everyone suspects the thyroid and they are right. It usually is the major player. A lot of docs just don’t look at the big picture or look outside the thyroid “box”.
Nutrition is 70% of your health, exercise and lifestyle account for about 25%, and the hormones only for about 5%. However, when that 5% gets out of balance, the other 95% does not work well.
Maintaining proper weight is a challenge for people of all ages and the older you get; the more difficult it can be due to the likelihood that hormones in the system are more prone to become imbalanced. BALANCE is the key! It has been found that 90% of women experience weight gain between the ages of 35 and 55, not coincidentally, during peri-menopause and menopause, two huge hormonal imbalance prone times.
So what are hormones? Hormones are chemical messengers that tell the body what to do. By definition how can hormones not have everything to do with weight and metabolism? It’s crazy to think otherwise. Hormones are not just estrogen as we have been brainwashed by pharmaceutical marketing efforts.
Over fifty different hormones have been identified in the bodies of humans, and more are still being discovered. Hormones influence and regulate practically every cell, tissue, organ, and function of our bodies, including growth, development, metabolism, maintenance/balance of our internal environment ("homeostasis"), and sexual and reproductive function. Most hormones circulate through the blood and each hormone usually affects only a limited number of cells, which are called "target cells" for that hormone. A target cell responds to a hormone because it bears "receptors" for that hormone. Hormones, like all molecules, have a specific molecular shape, and thus will fit into certain receptors but not others like the blocks we played with as kids with different shapes that go in the big cube.
Since hormone balance is like an orchestra if one person is playing too loud or out of tune then all the music sounds bad. So let’s look at estrogen. It is common for estrogen levels to diminish during menopause causing cessation of ovulation. The decreased production of estrogen by the ovaries causes a woman's body to search for other sources of estrogen. Where do they find it? In the fat cells, so your body learns to convert more calories into fat, in order to increase estrogen production. This means weight gain. Then there’s progesterone. Progesterone's role in weight gain is more insidious as low levels of the hormone do not actually cause you to gain weight, but instead cause water retention or bloating. You may not be fatter but you feel fatter! Low testosterone in a women results in the inability to build and maintain muscle mass and stamina. These muscle cells work to burn calories in your body to help with a higher metabolism. Insulin is a hormone responsible for sugar storage. When it doesn’t work right you store every calorie you see instead of burning it. Cortisol is the main hormone of stress. High stress puts your body into panic mode. When our ancestors were under stress, fighting or fleeing, they were not eating. The body is amazing at adapting. The body begins to store food if it thinks it will not be eating again for a long time. These stored calories result in weight gain.
Leptin is a protein hormone that helps control the way that the body stores fat. Leptin helps by making you feel full so you eat less and increase the rate at which you burn calories. Are you starting to see a pattern here? Now do you see why it is crazy for a doctor to say, “Hormones have nothing to do with your weight problem”?
That brings me to one of my favorite hormones. Oxytocin. The “love” hormone. Called this because it is the main hormone produced when we snuggle or bond with loved ones. What does the love hormone have to do with your weight, you might ask. Well all hormones affect all functions and feedback and balance maintain the system.
Oxytocin is the yin to the yang of Cortisol and growing evidence suggests that oxytocin plays an important role in the regulation of energy balance. Oxytocin administration may induce weight loss in the obese through recent studies on rats that show supplemental use of oxytocin reduces food intake and body weight. With current press on leptin, the hormone of fullness, it is interesting also that effect of oxytocin to induce weight loss remained intact in rats who had problems with their leptin balance. Leptin can become resistant just like insulin becomes resistant and not work. In fact one of the biggest breakthroughs came when researchers discovered leptin. They thought, “Oh, cool! Lets just give every one leptin and our obesity problem will be solved”! Problem was leptin became resistant resulting in weight gain, NOT loss. NOT cool! Recent findings extend evidence suggesting that oxytocin circumvents leptin resistance and induces weight-loss in animals through a mechanism involving activation of specific neurons (nerves) and certain centers in the brain. This is an exciting proposal for the indication of weight loss in light of the most difficult weight to lose- leptin resistant obesity.
In my search for ways to supplement oxytocin, I found a website and I met an amazing man named Bryan Post who has a company that manufactures a supplement form of oxytocin, called Oxytocin Factor TM .
Since I found this resource, I have used this supplement form with many of my patients for stress and had great results but now I am thinking of the bigger picture with weight loss and wellness. So, Bryan and I talked about using the product in our Fabulous For Life Challenge and he graciously donated enough Oxytocin Factor TM to do a small scale clinical trial.
Over the next 45 days, half of the participants in the Fabulous For Life Challenge 2012, who choose to participate will receive Oxytocin Factor TM supplement and half will receive placebo to assess the effects on weight loss within the parameters of the Fit For Life Challenge 2012. Participants will use 6 drops of Oxytocin Factor TM or placebo under the tongue twice a day for 45 days and at the end of 45 days, group 1 will be compared to group 2 in terms of pounds lost and overall body fat percentage lost. Participants will self report observations about the use of the supplement in terms of mental stress relief and sense of wellbeing.
I have told my Fabulous For Life Challenge folks that they are my “test group” from the beginning. That they are the pioneers for many challenges to come. They have wonderfully accepted the challenge of changing their lives and growing to another level. They continue to amaze me. Each week I see them come in to the rallies changed just a little more. They are excited to be alive. I see them shedding pounds and becoming more confident and alive. Healthy glows warm our meetings every week. This is just one more experiment for them and when I told them about this the excitement was almost palpable in the room.
If you're not in the challenge you can order Oxytocin Factor TM on my website under the products section or go to www.oxytocinfactor.com to order and try it.
I’ll be excited to report the results and contribute to the science of hormones and weight loss.
I thank all my Fabulous For Life Challenge participants for their willingness to change their lives.
Keep it Fabulous!
Dr. Tammy
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