(Akiit.com) Are you frustrated with extra fat and bloating around your waist and abdomen? You will be pleased to know that sometimes those extra pounds have little to do with how many crunches you’re doing or how little calories you’re eating and everything to do with a shift in hormones that happens with almost everyone over the age of thirty-five. Excess fat is often due to a hormonal imbalance called estrogen dominance, which can occur primarily in women but sometimes in men, also.
Estrogen dominance causes the body to store fat around the waist, hips and abdomen area. More specifically, in women, estrogen dominance causes fat to be stored around the stomach, waist, hips, and thighs, causing women to look round or pear-shaped once they get in their forties. For men, it causes them to have man boobs and belly fat that looks like a spare tire around their waist.
In my new book, Lose Weight Without Dieting or Working Out, I emphasize that if you don’t address estrogen dominance, your stubborn fat will likely be impossible to lose no matter how much you cut down on calories or work out.
Estrogen is one of the two main hormones produced in the ovaries. The other, progesterone, is produced primarily in the second half of a woman’s menstrual cycle. When women reach their thirties and forties, it is very common for the balance between the two hormones to shift heavily toward estrogen, causing the condition known as estrogen dominance, resulting in weight gain, night sweats, fatigue, anxiety, low sex drive, and dry skin and hair. Too much estrogen in the body also causes salt and water retention, which makes you look bloated, flabby, and soft. However, the estrogen and progesterone levels can be balanced to relieve these symptoms.
For a more detailed discussion of estrogen dominance, as well as 6 other hormonal imbalances (e.g., thyroid, cortisol, leptin) that can cause weight gain, visit my website at http://www.jjsmithonline.com/products/lose-weight.html .
Here are five tips to address excess fat caused by estrogen dominance:
1. Eliminate sugar and starch. Get sugar out of your diet if you want to lose body fat. This means cut out not only candy and sweets, but really any starchy, processed foods that cause insulin spikes resulting in excess fat in the body. Try to have no more than two servings of starchy carbohydrates – such as potatoes and corn – per day and avoid sugary sweets altogether.
2. Eat more fiber. Fiber from whole grains, fruits, and vegetables helps to move estrogen out of the body, which helps prevent it from building up and creating a hormonal burden on your system.
3. Maintain regular bowel movements (at least once a day) to eliminate excess estrogen from the body.
4. Avoid alcohol. It spurs the production of harmful estrogen. In fact, even one glass of alcohol a day can raise estrogen levels.
5. Eat more detoxifying foods. Add plenty of detoxifying foods to your diet to help rid the body of excess estrogen, including broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, beets, carrots, apples, ginger, onions, and celery. Eat at least five servings of fresh fruits and veggies per day. In particular, dark leafy green veggies, such as spinach, collards, and kale, are ideal. Regarding fruit, the brighter and deeper the color the better; great choices are oranges, blackberries, and apples. The Good News: The good news is that estrogen dominance can be treated, and once your hormones have been properly balanced, the stubborn fat will begin to melt away within a few months.
Written By JJ Smith