Oestrogen's Dirty Secret

Did you know that too much oestrogen makes it harder to lose weight?

Didn’t think so. Hormones are complicated.

Thanks to increased media coverage of menopause, most people know that hormones start messing about in mid-life.

However, not many people understand that menopause weight gain can be driven by "oestrogen dominance."

Wait, what?

What? It's my hormones not the cake?!

Yup, too much oestrogen can be a bad thing for your waistline.

But doesn’t that go against the theory that our oestrogen levels decline as we journey through menopause and that’s why we put on fat?

If you're feeling confused, don't worry I was too till I did some research around it.

Let’s take a step back - One of oestrogen’s roles is to help cells store energy, they do this in the form of fat. Progesterone’s role is to metabolise that fat, burning it for energy.

So the problem is, as oestrogen falls in menopause, if its soul-mate, progesterone, doesn’t match oestrogen’s decline, our body gets stresse

d as there is now too much oestrogen in relation to the amount of progesterone.

Women's fat gain can be largely driven by hormones

So with oestrogen still high vs a lower amount of progesterone, fat cells grow as they suck up as much as they can. This is due to fat cells' obsession with oestrogen and less progesterone around to police it. They love it. So much so they even make their own small supply and they act as a storage place for excess oestrogen. Our fat cells have bits on them that attract oestrogen, think of it like a magnet. The fat cell attracts oestrogen which then bloats the fat cell.

The balance of oestrogen vs progesterone is disrupted as the liver isn’t clearing out excess hormones due to it being an older organ now and lifestyle factors affecting its efficiency. With barely any progesterone to rein it in, oestrogen starts to dominate and the body becomes bloated. With less progesterone around, it can’t limit the function of oestrogen receptors in some tissues so little is controlling oestrogen’s impact on those fat cells and they are free to spread.

If we have disproportionately high oestrogen vs the amount of progesterone in the body, it’s common for that excess fat to start being stored around the abdomen, diaph

ragm and within breast tissue. Yes, mostly round your waist line and this is why it looks and feels so visible.

But hang on, if oestrogen rates are falling overall, why do the fat cells continue to get bigger as they grab the last remnants of reproductive flags? Surely at some point the amount of oestrogen will run out?

Well, sadly, our modern life is a big cause as it gives our body a substitute - oestrogenic compounds - fake oestrogen to you and me. Put simply, chemicals that are really similar to oestrogen that are found in some foods, pesticides and medicines etc can be attracted to the fat cells and sucked in by the oestrogen receptors which thinks it is the real deal from the ovaries. This means our fat cells still get their oestrogen kick.

Stress and work/life balance can really throw your hormones out of balance. This affects your whole mind and body

Stress also triggers more oestro

gen to be produced, especially when cortisol levels spike due to sleep deprivation. But it’s a much bigger problem than that as not only does fat gain occur due to your changed metabolism and hormone levels, but an array of symptoms such as anxiety, breast tenderness, headaches, irregular bleeding and depression also happen when your balance of oestrogen and progesterone are out of whack due to the disproportionate decline of oestrogen vs progesterone.

To combat this, it is crucial to prioritise liver health because the liver acts as a cleaner for the body and can help clear excess oestrogen. Additionally, focusing on nutrition and engaging in the right type of exercise during menopause plays a significant role in weight (fat) loss and reducing oestrogen dominance.

It’s almost impossible to lose weight when you have oestrogen dominance or high cortisol (feeling stressed and not sleeping), so getting these imbalances in

order needs to be your first priority. This will make weight loss easier.

Start with looking to build healthier food habits, support your liver health and try to stress less and undertake a supportive exercise plan. Start off with these things and the fat loss comes more easily.

By understanding the complex interplay between hormones, fat cells, and our overall well-being, we can equip ourselves with the knowledge needed to navigate menopause confidently and successfully. If you decide to go down the HRT route, make sure you see a specialist GP. Ideally, you need to balance all of your hormones. You can do this through the lifestyle changes mentioned. Something low impact like pilates will get your body moving well and provide you with a feel good factor too to counter any emotional debt that hormonal imbalances introduce. This, with a healthy diet can then support your hormones to then outweigh their demands. This is a sustainable and healthier route to losing fat in midlife instead of fad diets or crazy exercise routines.

All women have options to help them feel better, find a good coach who you get on with and they can help you plan your way to successful health and fitness