Why do women over 30 gain weight?

We are often accustomed to blaming excess weight on poor nutrition. But what should women over 30 do if they lead a healthy lifestyle, carefully calculate the number of calories, exercise and still gain weight? Let's consider other reasons

Stress is the cause of excess weight

Scientific research proves that stress makes women gain extra kilos. Why and what can be done about it? Stress, as hormonal tests show, can provoke a hormonal imbalance, which can cause us a whole list of diseases.

Moreover, these negative changes occur much faster in women than in men. Especially in those women who have crossed the line of 35-40 years. Age does not affect men so much: hormonal changes in their bodies provoke excess weight much more slowly - it takes years.

What causes excess weight in women?

• Increased production of cortisol, the stress hormone
• Appetite changes caused by hormonal imbalances
• Drug abuse
• Genetic predisposition
• Slow metabolism
• Vitamin deficiency in the body
• Lack of calories in diets
• Stressful situations that are constantly repeated

The Seven Most Common Stressful Situations

We will introduce you to situations in which a woman under stress tends to gain excess weight.

Situation #1

We have a habit of eating stress. Thus, we violate our own diet, which provokes obesity. And how not to gain extra pounds when we run to the refrigerator at night?

When we eat a lot and irregularly, the body produces an abundance of the stress hormone cortisol and the substance insulin, which further aggravate fat deposits.

Situation #2

When we worry, we eat heavy food. These are potatoes, bread, pasta, noodles, sweet confectionery. Of course, during stress, we do not control the amount of food, and its excess is deposited as fat.

Situation #3

Low-carbohydrate and low-calorie diets. A woman, torturing herself with such a menu, does not receive enough useful substances in the form of fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, proteins. Then the body begins to think that hunger has come, and stores useful substances in the form of fat deposits.

In addition, in such a situation, the ovaries, which produce sex hormones, and the thyroid gland, which also produces hormones, begin to work much worse. Hormonal imbalance leads to obesity.

Situation #4

When we take tranquilizers or hormones without a doctor's recommendation, they can worsen the stress state and lead to excess fat in the body. In particular, the hormones DHEA (used for tone) or the substance melatonin, used to relieve symptoms of insomnia, can do a disservice.

Both drugs have the property of increasing the feeling of hunger and leading to excess weight.

Situation #5

Soy and soy supplements recommended for weight loss. In fact, these products, if consumed regularly, can cause obesity, irregular cycles, and inability to conceive and bear a child.

Herbal infusions that are advertised for weight loss can have the same effect. The isoflavone substances in soy and some herbal supplements inhibit the production of thyroid and ovarian hormones (estrogens), thereby causing obesity.

Situation #6

Hypodynamia, or lack of movement, can provoke obesity. In addition, lack of physical activity aggravates the effects of stress, which means it increases the level of cortisol in the body - the stress hormone. This hormone has the ability to inhibit the production of other hormones, provoking obesity.

Situation #7

The relaxation substances we use block the work of sex hormones – testosterone, estradiol, as well as thyroid hormones – T3 and T4. This means that they do not allow these hormones to do their job of activating metabolism. When metabolism slows down, we gain weight.

How does stress affect brain function?

What are stressors? These are circumstances that force a woman to react to them and adapt to them. What are stressors?

These are either external circumstances (you were treated rudely in a store) or internal (you are unhappy with your appearance). The brain perceives this information and gives commands to the body: what and how much to eat, how much fat to accumulate, whether to slow down or speed up metabolism.

Stress is considered very important for survival. No matter what kind of stress – positive (your daughter graduated with honors) or negative (you were fired from your job), the chains of reactions in the brain are the same.

Brain commands pass through special chains – neurological transmitters. These are receptors that help regulate weight. They influence how fast food passes through the gastrointestinal tract, what foods we want at that moment, which ones are unpleasant even to look at, how quickly this food is processed in the body and absorbed by it.

Whether we gain weight or lose weight depends on how quickly metabolic processes occur in our body.

If stress lasts for a long time

Stress can be different - for the body or for the soul. Doctors divide stress into psychological, physiological and spiritual. But you should know that with any of them, homeostasis - the hormonal balance of the body - is disrupted.

How does the body react to "fast" and sharp stress? The body begins to work in a very active, force majeure mode, the stress hormone adrenaline is actively released.

How does the body react to prolonged stress? The body produces an increased amount of the stress hormone cortisol, which inhibits the production of other hormones and causes obesity.

Both stress hormones, accumulating in the body, provoke the accumulation of fat deposits - instead of breaking down and removing fats, as happens with normal metabolism. Most fat deposits accumulate in the waist and abdomen.

How do we eat when we are stressed?

In stressful situations or in situations where stress lasts for a long time, the brain reacts to it instantly. It reacts by instantly regulating food intake: how much or how little we need to eat now and what exactly – the brain dictates to the body.

When we are under stress, whether momentary or long-term, the body produces a lot of the hormone cortisol (we know this). Cortisol can affect weight, causing it to increase, and other hormones help it, increasing our appetite and anxiety, which makes us eat even more.

Few people associate anxiety and increased worry with blood sugar levels. But it is. If blood glucose levels are lost, we may feel psychologically bad. Remember how when we are in a bad mood, we crave sweets? In this way, we try to replenish our blood sugar levels and thus improve our mood.

Symptoms of Acute Stress

1. A brutal appetite
2. A strong desire to eat sweets
3. Craving for alcohol
4. Increased anxiety, irritability
5. Sleep disorders
6. Heart failure
7. Increased fatigue, weakness, mood swings
8. Swelling
9. Allergies to foods or smells
10. Tendency to infections and colds
11. Fungal diseases
12. Decreased attraction to the opposite sex

If you have these symptoms, consult an endocrinologist for a hormonal analysis.

How does cortisol work in the body?

Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands. This hormone is produced during pre-stress conditions.

It has the property of regulating metabolism, slowing it down or activating it. Thus, weight increases or decreases. More often the first, of course.

Cortisol has a production time. It starts at 4 a.m. Most cortisol is produced starting at 8 a.m. This is done to tune the body to a working mood.

During the day, cortisol becomes less and less, and by evening its level drops to a minimum. This is so that the body, calming down, prepares for sleep. This is a normal regime. But when a person is stressed, the regime is disrupted, and then the production of cortisol is disrupted too.

That is, in the morning it may be produced less, and a person feels sluggish and exhausted, and at night more cortisol may be produced, and then a person suffers from insomnia.

Such fluctuations are especially typical for women after 35. Therefore, they especially need to monitor the hormonal balance in the body.

The Brain and Cortisol

Cortisol is produced under the control of two centers of the brain - the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus produces the hormone vasopressin, which stimulates the pituitary gland to produce the hormone ACTH. This hormone stimulates the adrenal glands to produce the hormone cortisol. This is the chain that results.

When cortisol is carried to the brain through the blood, its parts, the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, receive a signal about the production of cortisol and its amount.

Then the levels of other hormones can fall to the lowest values. During stress, the production of all these hormones increases, the rhythm of a person's life changes, and therefore, it is necessary to establish these processes with the help of an endocrinologist.

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What happens in the body when cortisol levels rise?

• The pressure increases or it jumps from low to high
• Bad cholesterol levels increase
• The level of glucose and insulin in the body increases
• Insulin resistance
• Vulnerability to infections
• Skin that is too dry
• Increased vulnerability of the skin (bruises and abrasions form quickly)
• Muscle weakness and muscle pain
• Bone fragility
• Heart failure
• Facial swelling

Doctors call these symptoms Cushing's syndrome.

This means that the body has much more cortisol than normal. Moreover, cortisol can be obtained naturally (that is, produced by the body) or from pharmaceutical drugs to combat arthritis, asthma, and allergies.

Elevated cortisol levels provoke the risk of increased fat deposits on the sides, waist, in the area of the mammary glands, and also the back (upper part).

What is the danger of long-term stress?

If the stress condition lasts for a long time – months or even years – the adrenal glands adapt and stop producing the necessary hormones. They no longer respond to the stress hormone cortisol, and doctors may diagnose kidney failure, or, in other words, renal exhaustion.

Symptoms of kidney failure

1. Reduced cortisol levels
2. Reduced sodium production
3. Very low sodium
4. Very high potassium levels

When kidney failure occurs not due to stress, but for other reasons, this condition is called Addison's disease. With this disease, a person can lose weight rapidly, have low blood pressure, increased fatigue, muscle weakness, muscle pain, hair loss.

If you have these symptoms, it is important to have your body tested for hormone levels so that your doctor can prescribe hormone replacement therapy and other treatments.