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<p>The hormonal belly is a very unique type of belly and as a result, you may need to approach your nutrition in a completely different way than you may think.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>Other than having excess body fat on your frame, signs that you may have a hormonal belly include:&nbsp;</p>
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<p><strong>Waistline Increasing Despite Healthy Eating&nbsp;</strong></p>
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<p>The fact that you are eating right you are eating healthy you are eating modest calories and your waistline keeps getting bigger even though you are eating correctly.&nbsp;</p>
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<p><strong>Sugar Cravings&nbsp;</strong></p>
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<p>You have been craving a lot of sugar lately. It's an uncontrollable type of sugar craving, not the type of thing where it's like just that time of the month but it's above and beyond that—it may be <strong>insulin resistance</strong>. Insulin resistance is a condition where your body is not able to process carbohydrates because your cells are resistant to the insulin hormone. And your body has a hard time utilizing carbohydrates as a fuel source.&nbsp;</p>
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<p><strong>Leptin Resistance&nbsp;</strong></p>
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<p>However, insulin resistance can also lead to another condition called <strong>Leptin resistance</strong>. Leptin is a very tricky hormone. So, Leptin is the hormone that if you don't get enough Leptin. It's going to tell your body that you're starving and it's going to tell your body to hold on to body fat. But the other problem with leptin is if Leptin levels are too high and Leptin is produced by fat cells. If you begin to accumulate more and more and more fat, your body will release more and more and more Leptin. And when Leptin levels get too high on the other end of the spectrum, it never gives your body the signal to stop eating. Because our bodies have an internal mechanism that goes from our cells to our brain that says, ‘Yes, I am full, stop eating.’ However, hormonal dysfunction can cause that to stop and it comes from a condition called leptin resistance. </p>
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<p><strong>Mood Swings&nbsp;</strong></p>
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<p>The next thing that may be a sign that you have a hormonal belly is you are experiencing a lot of mood swings. Outside of the mood swings another one is if you are constantly stressed high levels of stress. As we know, it can increase the cortisol hormone levels. However, when cortisol hormone goes up what ends up happening is it sends the signal to your body to store even more fat. Yes, if you are stressed those hormones tell your body to store more fat. And last but not least you are exhausted all the time but cannot sleep. The hormonal belly shape is distinctly different.&nbsp;</p>
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<p><strong>Excessive Estrogen&nbsp;</strong></p>
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<p>You can get your hormones tested to actually confirm if you have a hormone imbalance. You're going to want to get your estrogen levels tested, specifically estradiol. You want to get your progesterone tested in order to facilitate the detox of excess estrogens. Because remember if you are not ovulating regularly meaning of an irregular period if you are in perimenopause or in menopause. If you're not ovulating, what happens is your body doesn't have the opportunity to detox the excess estrogens through your monthly cycle. So, you are left with high levels of estrogen that's going to cause you to store fat. Elevated insulin resistance elevated leptin resistance and it is a biochemical storm for causing fat gain. </p>
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<p>B<em>y Christine Hronec (https:// gaugelife.com), an award-winning chemist and three-time champion fitness competitor, nutrition, and exercise expert. Christine has received awards from the American Chemical Society and was published in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Christine was part of the team that created Time magazine’s “Invention of the Year” for her work in the biotech field.</em> <br><br>Exclusive content from CARE magazine<br><br></p>
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