Female Hormones, Weight and Auto-Immunity
December 29, 2011 in FAQ, Hormone Regulation, Sarah's Personal AI Struggles, Weight Loss/Gain
I write this post in the midst of a huge hormone adjustment. My youngest weaned just a couple of weeks ago and my body is still trying to figure it out. I was pregnant or lactating for over 5½ years (I got pregnant with my second daughter only few weeks after my oldest weaned), so I don’t expect this adjustment to be easy for my body. I feel more tired and emotional and find myself craving sugar (not good during the holidays when sugar is so easily found).
The hormones that regulate a woman’s menstrual cycle, pregnancy and lactation have a complicated interplay, some going up while others go down in a way that is specific to what is happening in your body. It is truly amazing to think of how many different jobs these hormones do. But there are also “side effects”, the most familiar of which is either weight gain or a resistance to weight loss. Women experience this while pregnant (and their bodies take over with hunger and food cravings so that they will gain weight), but also while lactating and while taking hormonal birth control. Many women experience increased hunger and food cravings slightly before and during menstruation, also attributable to these hormones. But, this frustrating hormone “side effect” is really an artifact of society and our own desires (for example, wanting to be thin instantly after having a baby). It makes prefect sense from a physiological and evolutionary perspective that our bodies should prioritize maintaining higher fat levels when pregnant or lactating (or when your body thinks it’s pregnant because you are taking hormonal birth control).
If you are a woman who is struggling to lose weight, hormones may be to blame. But be patient. If you are breastfeeding your child, you are giving them an amazing gift, so be patient. Your child will eventually wean and your hormones will stop making it so difficult to lose those last ten pregnancy pounds. If you take hormonal birth control or hormone replacement therapy, again, be patient. You have already weighed the benefits of this choice (like not getting pregnant before you are ready) and struggling with those last ten pounds is okay. There’s an important piece of information buried here: most women only struggle with the last 10-15 pounds. These hormones don’t really kick in to inhibit weight loss until that point. Many overweight women successfully lose most of their weight even while taking hormonal birth control or lactating. (If you need help, see my posts on paleolithic nutrition, paleolithic lifestyle and diet vs. lifestyle as a place to start.)
These hormones have another very important job while you are pregnant. They reduce your auto-immunity so that your body does not attack the baby growing inside of it. Auto-immunity is also reduced to a lesser extent while you are lactating or on hormonal birth control. Women with auto-immune conditions often find that their symptoms decrease while pregnant or even go into full remission. But too often, the payback is not fun. For many, the symptoms return with a vengeance after the hormones return to normal. This is something that I am struggling with right now. I suffered a form of psoriasis (called lichen planus) prior to getting pregnant with my first daughter. When my second daughter night weaned last summer, I started seeing a few patches again. This was actually the driving force for me to switch to paleolithic nutrition. Now that my daughter has completely weaned, I am experiencing a huge increase is psoriasis. This is the driving force behind my NewYear’s Resolutions, which are all focused on decreasing inflammation in my body.
Ekkk. I am trying to be patient. Really trying. My daughter is 13 months. Since having her I have gone paleo with the exception of coffee cream and hard cheese. My weight has fluctuated in that I have the last 10 pounds to lose and will lose 5 and regain it. I can have a good tight diet or a crappy diet with cheats and it doesn’t seem to change the weight loss.
. I find I have to have a snack before bed or I wake up to feed her in the night and am STARVING. However, I can also wake up STARVING even with a snack. I am eating lots throughout the day. I can chomp through a bucket and I mean bucket of lettuce with every meal.
. I can find little info on breastfeeding and paleo weightloss.
I don’t know if I need to tweak my Paleo harder or this is strictly horomonal and anything I do right now due to lack of sleep etc will be in vain?
I have a weakness for coconut oil and probably (ok most certainly overeat that
Any advice or insights you could offer would be greatly appreciated before I drown my sorrows in a box of chocolate (dark chocolate that is
I know it’s hard to be patient. My youngest weaned 4 months ago and my hormones are still not back to normal. I understand very well the frustration of wanting to be smaller than my body wants to be. Try and be patient because it’s quite possible that nothing will work until your hormones are back to normal (and there’s really nothing wrong with that!). If you are really determined to force your body to be happy lighter, here are a couple of things to try:
1. Get more sleep. Especially if you are up alot in the night still. Either try and grab a nap during the day or go to bed earlier.
2.If you have to have your bedtime snack, try and at least make it 2 hours before bed. If you wake up starving, try a tall glass of water.
3. Step away from the cheese (heavy cream in your coffee should be okay). It causes a spike in insulin which will make all the hormone issues you are dealing with worse and potentially increase cortisol, which is why you’re hungry in the evening.
4. How is your exercise? Going for long walks in the sunshine is probably the best choice. Make sure that whatever you are doing that you don’t push yourself too hard. If you’re not getting great sleep, intense exercise can increase cortisol and make it harder to lose weight.
Good luck!
[...] Sarah’s post on hormones, reflecting when she weaned her youngest [...]
Is there a book that you recommend that helps with these issues along with autoimmune issues that is of course “paleo?”
The current best resource for autoimmune issues is Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1936608758?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1936608758&linkCode=xm2&tag=wwwthepaleomo-20
The only book that really deals with female hormones within the paleo community is the e-book PCOS Unlocked by Stefanie Ruper http://pcosunlocked.com/?hop=sbpaleo
Hi! I think my hormone issue might be a bit different being that my kids are a little bit older, but now so am I.
What tips do you have for losing the last 5 or so pounds due to possible pre-menopausal hormone issues? And its all in one location…abs. I work out like crazy and eat an amazingly “clean” diet… So this is my self diagnosis. 
Hi Sarah! I love your site! i am dealing with postpartum hypothyroidism and possible autoimmune issues. We haven’t yet figured it all out yet and I was wondering if you could suggest which tests would be the most beneficial for me to understand what’s really my situation. I have ALOT of anti-bodies flying around but have no symptoms so far. I definitely feel a gluten issue and am trying to stay off…… Is it possible to email you offsite? Also will you international shipping for your book? I live in Israel. Thanks!!
I would suggest implementing the autoimmune protocol. Selenium test, iodine test, and vitamin D test are probably useful… then supplement to get your levels in the normal range (retest to check). Yes, the book will be shipping internationally.