Can Hormone Replacement Therapy Help Me Lose Weight?

Weight loss is a tricky thing. There’s a reason it’s exploded into an industry worth billions of dollars. What works for one person might not work for another. That’s because all of our bomdies are different.

Specifically, each person’s obstacles to weight loss vary. One person might need to move more, while another might have a health condition that’s causing their body to hold onto fat. 

Our bodies change with time. As we age, we stop producing certain hormones that impact weight gain around the abdomen, fat retention, and other factors affecting our size. As a result, hormone replacement therapy might be a beneficial part of your weight loss journey. 

Because Ashok Kadambi, MD, FACE, specializes in both weight loss and hormone replacement, he can help you determine if this treatment is best for your unique body. Visit Dr. Kadambi and our team at Fort Wayne Endocrinology. 

The connection between your hormones and your weight

As people age, changing hormone levels can affect the number on the scale for both men and women. 

For women

For women, weight gain is fairly common during menopause, but the relationship here isn’t necessarily direct. 

Dropping levels of estrogen and progesterone don’t cause weight gain. They can alter how your body stores fat, though, and you might notice more around your midsection. 

Just as important, changing hormone levels impact your muscle mass. As muscle mass decreases, your metabolism goes down. If you always eat and exercise like you have before, you’ll probably put on some weight. 

On top of all of this, many women report fatigue as a symptom of premenopause and menopause. That fatigue can make it harder to motivate yourself to make good food choices. Most pressingly, with less energy, it’s harder to work out. 

For men

This issue also applies to men, whose testosterone levels drop with age, which can result in more fat retention paired with less energy to make progress on their weight goals. 

All in all, that means that changing hormone levels can have an impact on the number you see on the scale. If you’ve entered a season of life where your hormones aren’t balanced like they were before, losing weight can get particularly challenging. If that’s true for you, Dr. Kadambi might recommend bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.  

Fine-tuning your weight loss program

At Fort Wayne Endocrinology, Dr. Kadambi creates personalized weight loss programs. He may order lab work to check your hormone levels while also discussing your current diet and exercise routine. 

If he determines that hormone replacement therapy would help you, he tailors that to your unique body, too. Typically, you get either a cream or gel formulated to deliver the hormones that your body no longer produces naturally.

Hormone replacement alone doesn’t result in weight loss, though. Instead, it’s one piece of a larger puzzle that also includes a diet and physical activity. Dr. Kadambi and our team provide nutritional education and exercise guidance to support your weight loss goals. 

For your customized weight loss plan, book a visit online or call our office in Fort Wayne, Indiana, today.