Insulin resistance hormones and weight loss
Many patients with PCOS, perimenopause, menopause, and men with low testosterone often complain about how difficult it is to lose weight and wonder about their metabolism. Patient’s describe putting weight on in their mid-section and despite being active and watching their diet, they still cannot lose weight. When the thyroid gland is not optimized and/or there is insulin resistance, losing weight can seem impossible. In lab work with insulin resistance, you often see high normal insulin levels (> 50), elevated cholesterol levels, inflammatory markers, and impaired liver function. If the thyroid is sluggish, TSH levels will be elevated and T3 and T4 levels will be low.
For women in perimenopause the lack of progesterone reduces the consumption of energy thus increasing the amount of adipose tissue deposited around the abdominal area. For menopausal women both the lack of estrogen and progesterone play a part in weight gain. This also occurs in men with low testosterone levels.
The first step to improving insulin resistance is a change in diet and exercise (45 mins of moderate to high intensity exercise 3 times per week). In conjunction with diet and exercise, hormone therapy, including thyroid optimization has been shown to improve insulin resistance and thus maintain weight or improve the ability to lose weight. However, when insulin levels are above 50 patients not only need hormone balancing, and thyroid optimization, but they often need a medication to help with insulin resistance. There are numerous medications used to help with insulin resistance such as the off-label use of Metformin and GLP-1 inhibitors namely Saxenda and Wegovy. There are also a number of herbs that can be helpful for insulin resistance and hormone imbalances.
If you would like more information on hormone balancing, thyroid optimization or insulin resistance, please call the clinic at 780-512-9329