The Belly Fat Blues
It’s one of the most common symptoms of hormonal shifts, perimenopause or menopausal symptoms and it’s a booger, for sure. Belly fat seems to start and then won’t stop no matter how many sit-ups or miles you run on the treadmill.
The problem is caused mainly by your estrogen levels.
Why is it happening?
As women, we’re ruled by the dozen of hormones who control all bodily functions. Estrogen is a big one, although most just think of it as a sex hormone (or fertility hormone). It is so much more. Estrogen not only directs a woman’s entire development from baby into old age, it also impacts, bone density, heart function, memory, salt balance, digestive enzymes and blood fats. Just to name a few.
So when estrogen levels get too low or too high, signals get crossed, messages mixed and all hell breaks loose.
Three kinds of estrogen.
Did you know there are three main forms of estrogen? Estradiol, estrone and estriol. This is important, especially because they can switch from one to the other. Keep reading.
Estriol is produced by the placenta during pregnancy, so is the least common and is more situational shall we say.
Estradiol on the other hand is the most prevalent type produced naturally in our system most of our lives. Basically it’s responsible for keeping us lean in our youth, giving us energy and stabilizing our mood. Our ovaries can produce it in seconds and send it all over our body. It’s what regulates our periods, gives us breasts, butts, hips, curves and smooth, soft skin.
Estrone is the third main form of estrogen and this, my friend, is produced in our fat cells and adrenal glands. And it is the debbie downer of estrogen for us as women, especially when we start hitting midlife. You see, in our younger years, our body easily converts estrone into estrogen, but then that blessed conversion wears off.
Enter belly fat.
When we hit perimenopause our estrodial has already been declining. By the time menopause is in full swing, estrone has take over as the dominant type of estrogen. It directs fat from your butt and hips directly into your belly. This is in part to your body’s attempt to hold on to as much estrogen as possible (remember it controls a lot in our system). Trouble is, we don’t want this one because guess what, the more estrone we have, the more fat we have. The more fat we have, the more our body produces estrone. NOOOOOOOOO! It’s a massively vicious cycle.
Don’t Indulge in sweets.
The hard cold truth can be depressing I know, but it’s definitely not time to emotionally eat your way to feeling good. There’s more to it. You see the hormone insulin also comes into play. Insulin is produced in the pancreas and is in charge of grabbing any sugar in your blood (which can be toxic) and trying to store it in the liver, your muscles or you guessed it, your fat cells. Insulin is responsible for circulating estrogen throughout your system, which now isn’t so great. If you indulge in any sweets or processed grains, insulin has to go on overdrive to cope with your over indulgence and that means it gets busy helping your body store even more fat.
What can you do about it?
The levels of our estrodial declining and estrone gearing up is part of the transition as a woman. There are ways to cope though and get rid of some of that belly fat.
Bio-identical hormone therapy. While this is not for everyone, it was exactly what I needed and I’m super happy to be on them. These plant based hormones are identical to what our body naturally produces, so the benefits are great with little to no side effects. Increasing your estrodial on a daily basis will help balance out between estrodial and estrone. This causes your body to put on less weight around the middle.
Low-carb eating. There are carbs in everything, yes, I get it, but they’re not all created equally. Processed grains like rice, pasta, crackers, chips and wheat all turn into glucose in the system, hence sugar and prompt our insulin production to kick up. By avoiding them or cutting them out completely, you keep insulin levels low which also keeps your fat storage lower.
Progesterone. Progesterone is another sex hormone that needs to be mentioned because it can help balance out estrogen in the body as well. Progesterone is actually the first hormone to start declining during perimenopause which can give us trouble sleeping. I know many women who’ve chosen to forgo HRT (hormone replacement therapy) and instead found a non-prescription progesterone creme which has helped them balance out estrogen and progesterone.
Break the booze. Alcohol is one of the easiest sugars to intentionally stay away from, but is harder to do that it sounds. I’ve given it full effort this year and proudly report my drinking is down 85% and I’m MUCH better for it. I still enjoy a glass of red wine. Still it is all sugar and it all causes more insulin to have to be pumped out. The amount of space for the insulin to store the sugar in our body gets used up fast which means fat storage is one of the only options. If we are constantly consuming things that our body must store in excess, it will never burn off the fat we already have. Feel me?
Xenoestrogens. These are hormonal disruptors in our environment. Basically man-made estrogens which can wreak havoc on our systems. Think plastics, pesticides, preservatives, cleaners, cosmetics and food additives to name a few. Over time the use or exposure to these can make our body estrogen dominant which contributes to belly fat as well as other symptoms.
Your best bet for getting belly fat under control is an all-life evaluation because it truly will be different for each woman. There are several factors that could be contributing as well. Maybe you need to be lifting weights and building muscle mass? Maybe your not eating enough protein or too much protein. Still the tips above will get your started in the right direction.
