Does Hormone Replacement Therapy Help You Lose Weight?

As we age, our hormones decline at an alarming rate. Our organs get to a point where they can no longer produce a particular hormone on their own. Eventually, that organ will drag the others down with it, leading to a cascade of poor health and unnecessary aging. Furthermore, without the right levels of hormones, many women, and men, find that they just can't lose weight, no matter how hard they try.

Prior to menopause the majority of most women have their body fat concentrated in the area of their hips and thighs giving them a pear-shaped body. This is good because such distribution gives women a lower risk of heart disease and diabetes. Following menopause, however, many women tend to undergo a redistribution of their body fat to the abdominal region, which increases their risk of heart disease and diabetes.

What factors influence weight gain in menopause?

During menopause, most of the sex hormones become deficient and can contribute to weight gain. First, estrogen deficiency seems to interfere with the normal action of leptin. Second, testosterone deficiency results in a loss of muscle tissue or lean body mass, and the result is lowering of the calorie burning on a daily basis. The worst deficiencies occur when the ovaries have been removed or compromised by surgery. Accordingly, many of these women experience significant weight problems. This appears to be related to the incurred deficiency of both testosterone and estrogen.

What's the role of Bioidentical Hormones in weight gain?

One solution to fight weight gain during menopause is Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT). In fact, it seems to help with the redistribution of fat as well. This is substantiated by the results of studies published in a number of respected medical journals. Basically, researchers have found that BHRT seems to have a positive effect on leptin, a hormone produced by fat tissue cells. Furthermore, BHRT users are leaner that non-users, and have less abdominal fat and a lower percentage of total body fat.

As always, exercise and diet play an important role in preventing weight gain and the maintenance of muscle tissue. Diet obviously affects weight and any intake of calories in excess of those burned results in weight gain. Exercise increases caloric expenditure and is a requirement for preserving muscle mass. However, regular exercise may be difficult for hormonally deprived women; therefore hormonal balance with BHRT is so important in weight control. In addition, many estrogen deficient women are chronically fatigued from sleep deprivation associated with frequent hot flushing episodes.

In summary, the results of a number of medical studies indicate that menopause is associated with a progressive increase in weight, and a redistribution of body fat to the abdominal region. A growing body of evidence suggests Bio identical hormones can improve hormonal balance and may help with weight gain.