How Hormones Affect Weight Loss (And What You Can Do About It)?

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Though it has a simple logic, weight loss feels out of reach for many people due to genetic factors, poor habits and an unwillingness to change, unsuccessful yo-yo dieting, and lack of support.

However, one culprit that doesn’t get as much attention as it should is hormonal health.

Multiple hormones regulate your appetite, satiety, metabolic rate, and ability to burn fat, making these chemical messengers crucial for weight loss. 

So, let’s discuss what hormones play a role in weight loss and what you can do to improve your odds.

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Quick links

Insulin

Ghrelin

Leptin

Cortisol

Conclusion

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INSULIN

Insulin is arguably the most discussed hormone with the most significant impact on weight loss, so let’s begin with it. 

Your pancreas secretes insulin and releases it in the bloodstream in response to eating. Its primary role is to keep blood sugar levels in a healthy range by guiding glucose molecules to cells to be used for energy.

Insulin also signals the liver to store glucose for later use in a more complex form called glycogen. At least, that’s how things work under normal conditions. 
However, if a person has insulin resistance, their body’s cells become resistant to the hormone, leading to chronically elevated blood sugar levels. 

This also forces the pancreas to release more insulin, which, apart from increasing the risk of health issues like developing type 2 diabetes, makes the body less capable of burning fat, instead priming it to store fat for later use.

Some ways to reverse insulin resistance and improve your cells’ sensitivity to the hormone include:

• Exercise regularly––at least 150 minutes of moderately-intense activity weekly
• Reduce your processed junk food intake and instead consume more healthy fats (e.g., avocado) and complex carbs (e.g., whole grain products)
• Aim to get at least seven hours of quality sleep every night

GHRELIN

Ghrelin, also known as the hunger hormone, is secreted in the stomach in response to not eating. It sends signals to the hypothalamus (the part of the brain that serves as a control center for hunger and satiety), letting it know that the stomach is empty, which causes an increase in hunger.

This hormone’s levels increase before a meal and decrease in response to eating.

The problem is that some people may be more sensitive to ghrelin’s effects, which causes them to feel far hungrier and less able to feel full during and after a meal. 

As a result, their calorie intake is far higher, and they cannot maintain the necessary calorie deficit for weight loss.

Some potential tactics to decrease ghrelin sensitivity (and perhaps even decrease the amount your body produces) include:

• Get at least seven hours of sleep per night
• Eat regularly (aim for a meal every three to four hours)
• Avoid extended fasting periods
• Load up on high-fiber foods like leafy greens and fruits to fill up your stomach without ingesting as many calories

LEPTIN

Leptin is one of the most important hormones for weight loss because it heavily influences appetite and directly impacts metabolic rate and total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).

Your body’s adipose (fatty) tissue is the primary producer of leptin. The more body fat someone has, the more circulating leptin, which sends signals to the brain that the body is well-fed and doesn’t need much more food.

As a result, appetite decreases and energy expenditure increases, making further weight gain more difficult.

In contrast, as body fat goes down, so does circulating leptin, causing an increase in hunger and a decrease in energy expenditure. This makes weight gain easier.

As such, leptin serves as something of a thermostat, keeping you within a certain body fat range. 

However, some people experience leptin resistance, which means that even when levels of the hormone are high (such as in overweight or obese individuals), their metabolic rate doesn’t ramp up to burn off extra energy, and their appetite doesn’t decrease. 

As a result, they can continue to gain weight and reach a body mass index (BMI) of 30, 35, or even 40+.

As with the previous two hormones we discussed, getting a good night’s sleep appears to have a positive impact on leptin sensitivity, so start there. Additionally, some experts suggest that regular physical activity can also improve sensitivity.
Eating mostly nutrient-dense and minimally processed foods can also have a positive impact, as it would naturally lead to a reduction in calorie intake and make it easier to feel full without ingesting as much food.

CORTISOL

Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, is produced by the adrenal glands and is involved in numerous bodily processes.

Under normal circumstances, the hormone helps control inflammation (which is beneficial for long-term health), plays a role in nutrient metabolism (converting food to usable energy), and helps regulate your body’s sleep-wake cycle.

Levels of the hormone typically spike in the morning to help wake you up and gradually decline as the day goes by.

However, when cortisol is chronically elevated (such as during periods of intense stress), some bad things happen.

First, you experience symptoms that affect your quality of life: more persistent headaches, increased blood pressure, anxiety, irritability, and, sometimes, even depression.
Second, a cortisol elevation brings about changes and side effects that directly affect your ability to lose weight––namely, elevated blood glucose levels, heightened cravings for sugary foods, loss of motivation, and persistent fatigue.

As noted in the insulin section, elevated blood glucose levels are not good because they force the body to release more insulin, directly hindering fat-burning and instead promoting fat storage.

Additionally, heightened cravings make it more difficult to stick to a calorie-restricted diet, which is necessary for losing weight.
Then, we have the combination of loss of motivation and persistent fatigue, which ensures you move as little as possible and avoid structured exercise.

Here’s what you can do to avoid chronically elevated cortisol levels:

• Unsurprisingly, get at least seven hours of sleep
• Exercise consistently (but don’t overtrain)
• Practice deep breathing
• Consider meditation
• Go for walks in the park
• Get out of town occasionally
• Practice a hobby

Conclusion

The four hormones discussed above are intrinsically linked to weight loss and affect your outcomes, whether you feel it as happens or not.
So, while it’s good to focus on proven weight loss practices, you must also take care of your physiology and balance your hormone levels. Sleep appears to be the biggest game-changer, but stress management, regular exercise, and a healthy diet follow closely.

Fighting against these hormonal imbalances could be very difficult even with mentioned natural remedies. This may be like constantly pushing back agaist your body’s requests that arose from imbalanced hormonal inputs. In these cases, physicians consider prescribing hormone regulators and other medicines that have more recently been approved for people that are consistently overweight. These include, tirzepatide (Zepbound, Mounjaro), semaglutide (Ozempic, Rybelsus, Wegovy), liraglutide (Saxenda), and dulagtutide (Trulicity).

We will cover some of these in an upcoming article. Until next time, stay healthy!