You exercise a lot, but you still haven't reached your goal weight? You haven't changed your eating habits or activity level, but you feel like you're gaining weight? If you want to change your weight but it doesn't seem to be working, it might be worth taking a look at your hormones. This is because hormones, body weight, and yes, even your eating habits are strongly interdependent.

Which hormones affect weight?

There are a variety of hormones that play a role in weight development. These are either directly linked to satiety and hunger (e.g., ghrelin or leptin), involved in blood sugar regulation like insulin, or have an influence on energy metabolism.

Hormones that have an influence on body weight:

• Sex hormones: estradiol, progesterone, testosterone (e.g., also as a symptom of PCOS)
• Cortisol
• Insulin
• Ghrelin
• Leptin
• Dopamine
• Serotonin
• Melatonin
• Histamine
• Thyroid hormones T4 and T3

So, there are many areas where an imbalance can lead to unwanted weight gain despite diet and exercise.

In women*, who find it difficult to maintain their weight and tend to gain weight, without underlying diseases or other circumstances explaining the weight gain, there are especially 3 hormones to consider: progesterone, estrogen, cortisol. Imbalances in these hormones always affect the other hormones as well, especially, for example, insulin and thyroid hormones. And depending on age, stress levels, and living circumstances, an imbalance in these hormones is a common answer to the question “Why am I not losing weight?”

Why am I not losing weight? Maybe there's a hormonal imbalance behind it!

An unwanted weight gain, especially in women*, is not infrequently caused by a hormonal imbalance. The ratio of female sex hormones is a very sensitive construct that can be influenced by a variety of factors. And these are not exotic and rare circumstances that intrude into our hormonal balance, but everyday, sometimes minor, sometimes major issues that almost everyone encounters somewhere in their life.

Possible causes of a hormonal imbalance:

• Chronic stress
• Lack of energy
• Nutrient deficiency
• Chronic inflammation
• Disrupted day-night rhythm
• Endocrine disruptors
• Lack of exercise (or too much exercise)

In this article, we want to focus especially on the connection between stress, cortisol, progesterone deficiency, and estrogen dominance. 

Stress as a cause of weight gain

Are you often stressed, e.g., by your job, your studies, your children, an active, tightly scheduled life, many appointments, and responsibilities? Then that could be the reason why your weight development is not going the way you want it to.

Stress is a very relevant factor for weight gain, especially for women* and mothers. The living circumstances for women* have changed dramatically in recent decades. What is extremely welcome in many areas, as many women* can now live self-determined lives and are less and less reduced to their role as mothers, actually has an influence on women's health. Because—surprise—self-fulfillment is all well and good, but the children, the family, the household, and everything else are still supposed to fall within their area of responsibility.

On top of that, you're supposed to look good and well-groomed and always smile. Sure, we're exaggerating, but this is unfortunately how the reality of life still looks for many women, often even self-imposed. Stress is pre-programmed and opens up a nasty vicious circles. Because honestly, doesn't the question “Why am I not losing weight?” already cause you stress?

Are women* more stressed today?

A study of Swedish women aged 38-50 showed a massive increase in stress since the 1970s. By the time of the survey in 2005, the proportion of women who sometimes felt stressed had doubled from 29 to 59%. The proportion of women who felt constantly stressed had more than doubled from 6.0 to 15.6%. Most common stressors: workload and low pay [2].

Cortisol as a cause of excess weight

With chronic, ongoing stress, which nowadays is more of a rule than an exception for many people and therefore is not always perceived as stress, more cortisol is released.

Cortisol promotes the release of glucose from the liver and muscles and thus not only increases blood sugar levels, but also inhibits insulin function, slows down metabolism, and reduces fat burning. At the same time, persistently elevated cortisol levels lead to muscle breakdown, as the released amino acids are needed for energy supply—even more sugar or glucose in the blood. Less muscle mass means less room to store glucose.

In combination with possible insulin resistance due to persistently high blood sugar levels, this results in glucose being stored primarily in the form of belly fat [3, 4]. Therefore, increased weight gain in the abdominal area is also a good indicator that your weight gain is stress-related [1].

Cortisol is formed from progesterone. With a persistently high demand for cortisol, a progesterone deficiency can occur. This shifts the sensitive ratio of estrogens to progesterone and results in indirect estrogen dominance.

Progesterone and estrogen are antagonists in fat metabolism. Progesterone is an important hormone for fat burning, while estrogen promotes fat storage.

Chronic stress leads to a preference for high-calorie foods

Chronic stress also has an effect on your eating habits.

A study of students revealed an interesting connection between stress and its effects on eating habits: Although stress had no effect on appetite itself, female students consumed more energy with individual meals and throughout the day than during relaxed periods. No effect of stress on energy intake could be measured in male students. The stress periods led to an acute increase in cortisol, glucose, and insulin. In response, foods perceived as particularly pleasurable and appetizing are preferred, as they directly activate the reward system.

The problem: These particularly appetizing foods are often particularly energy-dense foods.

In addition to the increased consumption of energy-rich foods, chronic stress also promotes the formation of belly fat, and elevated cortisol levels favor weight gain [2, 5].

Adrenaline as a cause of excess weight

Not only cortisol becomes problematic with constant stress. Adrenaline, which is also released in the short term in acute and perceived threatening stress situations, can affect your weight. An acute stress response means a rapid need for energy. Sugar is released from all possible stores, breathing deepens, and for a flight response, unnecessary functions such as digestion are shut down.

Due to the rapid increase in blood sugar, a large amount of insulin is also released—so a sudden increase is followed by a rapid drop in blood sugar. If blood sugar falls below the required level, we instinctively reach for sugary snacks that provide quick energy but do not keep us full for long. They rather cause blood sugar to drop quickly again—a vicious circle that may be further reinforced by the emergency solution of coffee and caffeine.

It is also problematic that our bodies today react to other types of stress than they did at the time the stress response evolved. While humans back then had to flee from life-threatening danger and needed quick energy, today we are stressed by looking at the clock when a deadline is looming. Since we will not be running, but rather staying at our desks, it is very unlikely that we will burn off the excess energy.

The good news: Short-term, positive stress is unlikely to lead to increased food intake [2].

Progesterone and estrogen as a cause of overweight

If you are trying in vain to reduce your weight or notice that you are gaining weight even though you haven't changed your habits, it may be useful to have a hormonal imbalance in progesterone and estrogen and direct or indirect estrogen dominance checked.

In addition to chronic stress, there can be other causes:

• Taking oral contraceptives such as the birth control pill or recently stopping them
• early menopause, perimenopause
• existing overweight
• insulin resistance, diabetes
• elevated testosterone levels, e.g., due to PCOS
• exposure to endocrine disruptors

Whether estrogen dominance is indirect due to a progesterone deficiency (e.g., very common at the beginning of menopause) or direct, estrogen is the sex hormone that causes increased fat storage. If estrogen outweighs progesterone, which supports fat burning, weight gain is pre-programmed. Especially the increase in body fat around the hips, buttocks, and thighs points to an imbalance in estrogen levels [3,4]. Even regular exercise can hardly compete with that.

Estrogen dominance and progesterone deficiency in turn affect the function of thyroid hormones and can lead to underfunction. This can slow down metabolism, and excess calories are stored as fat. Overweight and obesity can develop even if you exercise regularly.

I'm not losing weight, what can I do? First aid!

Physical activity, moderate exercise, and a healthy diet, as well as sufficient sleep, are not only beneficial for your weight management. If you would like to lose weight and it's not really progressing, it will definitely help in the long term to change your diet so that you have good blood sugar management.

Therefore, base your healthy diet on complex carbohydrates in the form of vegetables, fresh fruit, whole grains, legumes, and nuts. These keep you full for a long time, usually have a high nutrient and/or low energy density, and also provide plenty of fiber that regulates the absorption of sugar molecules in the intestine. In addition, a sufficient supply of unsaturated fatty acids from nuts, seeds, seeds, avocado, olives, or plant oils such as linseed oil, walnut oil, or rapeseed oil is important. Add plant-based, high-protein foods such as beans, chickpeas, lentils, tofu, dark leafy greens, and potatoes to your menu. Especially the combination of potatoes, which have an excellent profile of essential amino acids, and legumes can further increase the nutritional value of the protein sources.

Some micronutrients have been particularly associated with body weight: B vitamins, Vit D, Vit C, Vit E, Zn, I, Mg, Se. If you make sure to eat plenty of nuts and also regular Brazil nuts, whole grains, and leafy greens, you don't need to worry too much about your supply of B vitamins, vitamin E, zinc, magnesium, and selenium. Vitamin C is usually not a problem in a plant-based diet rich in fruit and vegetables. Use iodized table salt and consider supplementing with vitamin D, and you will be very well supplied with nutrients.

Weight gain due to stress

If you would say that you suffer from a high stress level, effective stress management is essential so that your efforts to lose weight can be successful.

Various studies have shown that a high stress level and a rather poor mental state prevent weight loss in weight loss programs. Furthermore, the dropout rate was understandably higher than in balanced individuals. Losing weight under stress is therefore rather difficult. And who knows, maybe regular meditation, restful sleep, yoga, or anything else that helps you slow down will lead to an overall healthier lifestyle, and your weight will regulate itself even without a strict diet program.

Weight gain due to estrogen dominance

If you suspect that estrogen dominance is underlying your situation, it is advisable to find out the cause. In general, however, you can reduce the hormonal burden from xenoestrogens (endocrine disruptors) by paying attention to natural cosmetics, eco-friendly cleaning products, and organic foods, as well as avoiding plastics where possible or replacing them with glass.

Exercise and physical activity are very helpful for any type of hormonal imbalance. Here, pay attention to as relaxing sports as possible, such as yoga, running, hiking, or swimming. Strength training is also possible and useful, but please not daily and not excessively. Be sure to pay attention to your recovery phases so that exercise does not also become a stressor.

Regulate your weight with mindful, intuitive eating

Diets cause stress, and starving yourself causes stress—both physically and mentally. Instead of falling into the diet trap, we recommend exploring a more mindful approach to eating. Mindful and intuitive eating can not only transform your diet in a long-term, holistic way, but also help you feel more content with your body and positively influence many other areas of your life. In the article "Stopping the Pill, Weight—Will Your Weight Change?", we have summarized everything you need to know to get started with intuitive eating, including recommended reading. Check it out!