Hi  – when weight loss becomes difficult or when weight gain starts to happen despite best dietary and exercise efforts, it’s usually due to hormonal imbalances, and thyroid dysfunction is almost always at play as a consequence. 

And given that you’re perimenopausal, I’m going to assume estrogen dominance might be at play too (this is when estrogen is relatively higher than progesterone because progesterone decreases at a faster rate than estrogen during perimenopausal years).

Where are you gaining most of your weight? Believe it or not, this can give us a clue about which hormones are out of balance. It’s not universal, but the following patterns are pretty common:
• Apple shape (gaining weight around the belly) usually points to insulin dominance
• Pear shape (gaining weight around the hips & buttocks) usually points to estrogen dominance. Does this resonate with you?
• Melon shape (gaining weight all over) usually points to stress/cortisol dominance

And each of the hormones, insulin, estrogen/progesterone and cortisol affect THYROID function!! Thyroid is responsible for all of our metabolic needs, including gaining/losing weight.

I just recently released the thyroid course and explain how each of these hormones affect thyroid function.

->If you feel higher insulin is at play, please watch this video.
->If you feel estrogen dominance is at play, please watch this video.
->If you feel cortisol/stress is at play, please watch this video.

One or all 3 of these hormones can be at play in your case, and that’s where testing can be helpful to help us narrow it down.

But I’ll leave it here for now so I don’t overwhelm you, and will wait to hear back from you regarding body shape and which hormones you feel might be at play in your case after watching the videos (~10 mins total) so we can explore testing options as the next step.

Let’s keep the conversation going…

 Ok, next step would be to start testing to confirm or rule out the possible hormonal factors.

Before ruling out estrogen dominance because it’s low on a blood test however, please note that you can still have relatively higher estrogen to progesterone ratio, IF:
 
• if progesterone is also low. Can you upload and share your tests with us here?
• if an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase is high allowing spent estrogen to go back into recirculation (this goes back to gut health and is measurable on a GI map test for example). Do you have gut-related symptoms like bloating, gas, acid reflux, belching, inconsistent bowel movements, loose stools or constipation that would warrant this test?
• if the sources of estrogen are coming from outside sources (aka Xenoestrogens from environmental factors like BPA, pthalates, triclosan, glyphosate chemicals, etc). Unfortunately, xenoestrogens are not measurable on a blood test but can still have hormonal estrogenic effect in the body because they mimic estrogen and can fit into the same receptor spaces as estrogen. So another question to you – are you aware of these sources and make an effort to reduce your exposure to them in personal care products, make-up, plastic bottles, etc? Here’s a viral post I did on Instagram with a visual representation of some common daily xenoestrogen sources.

In terms of figuring out if cortisol/insulin are at play, it also depends on your budget, but I can recommend the following tests:
• Blood sugar panel and full thyroid panel (blood tests). I can recommend Dr. Liliana Skorski at Health Bay who is a functional gynecologist who understands the importance of running the full panels and wouldn’t fight you on it.
• DUTCH adrenal to test adrenal/cortisol function. Here’s a sample report. The lab charges $309 USD plus $40 shipping, and results take 21 days.
• DUTCH Plus to get a comprehensive overview of ALL of your sex hormones, including adrenal/cortisol function, plus some organic acid markers that tell us the status of your B6, B12, oxidative stress and glutathione levels. Here’s a sample report. The lab charges $499 USD plus $40 shipping, and results take ~30 days.

FYI – we can arrange to give you access to these functional tests if you wish to pursue them. No doctor requisition needed – the lab will send the kits to you directly after purchase.
Please review the above videos/reports and reply to my questions above, and let me know what your intuition is telling you to do next. Awaiting your feedback.

Hi  – hope you enjoyed the holidays. Just wanted to follow-up to see if you got a chance to do any testing or if you have any questions about that.