Perhaps you feel like you’re eating well already, but for some reason are still gaining weight or have gained weight recently. Alternatively, maybe you are a ‘yo-yo’er, who is down 10 lbs one month and back up two months later.  

When a coaching client comes to me to lose weight, one of the first questions I ask is, ‘Where have you put on weight?’ The location can be very telling of the root cause, so today, we’ll be chatting about what the location of your weight gain can mean, and what some steps are that you can take.

Before we get into it, I want to clarify that a fluctuatfion of a few pounds or so is nothing to worry about! It happens to all of us and can be as simple as hydration or time of the month. I’m talking about 8,9,10+ lbs of weight gain that you’re really having a hard time getting rid of. If you have put on weight significantly, chances are you also aren’t feeling your best as your energy and digestion might have been impacted to!

What the Location of Your Weight Gain Means

Gains Everywhere

Weight gain dispersed relatively evenly throughout the body (legs, arms and stomach) is the simplest explanation and tends to be simply just overeating. Have you slipped into a routine of skimping on protein or perhaps those cravings have got the best of you?

The second place I’d look here is your thyroid. A sluggish thyroid slows your metabolism and can easily translate into weight gain, especially if nothing major has changed with your diet.

Gains In The Belly Area

This is where men tend to gain weight first.  Male or female, I’d first look at your simple carbohydrate and sugar intake, not to mention alcohol. If those are in check, the next thing we would investigate is your cortisol (a stress hormone) levels.

If you feel that you’re already doing these dietary things, look at your cortisol levels. I chatted about that in last week’s post, and specifically, it can be incredibly useful to actually test your cortisol levels. If that’s something you’d like to do, get in touch with me here, at no charge.

Why does imbalanced cortisol cause belly fat? Studies  show that imbalanced cortisol can make you hold on to fat, specifically around your vital organs, in the abdominal region.

What You Can Do:

Stop for a second and take stock of your stress using a stress inventory.

1. Identify stressors in your life (work & home list)
2. Write down everything that irks you and stresses you out (unfinished business like an unwritten email, dishes not done, a tough conversation you have to have)
3. Leave the list and come back to it with fresh eyes 2-3 days later
4. Ask yourself what can you change?
5. Writes an action item on items you can change
6. Change them
7. Leave that list in an obvious place you will see it often so that you really make the changes

If high blood sugar and cortisol are the culprit, continuous glucose monitoring can also really help.

Gains In The Hips, Butt & Thigh Area

Ladies, I’m talkin’ to you for this one. Most of the time, this one is good ol’ estrogen related. While estrogen gives you your beautiful curves, boosts your mood and sex drive and keeps you on task, when in excess and out of balance with your progesterone, it can cause weight gain the hips, butt and thigh area.

Symptoms of excess estrogen can also include endometriosis, fibroids, terrible PMS or mood swings leading up to your period, terrible cramps and even heavy bleeding.

What You Can Do

From a dietary perspective, adding 1-2 TBSP freshly ground flaxseed into your diet is helpful. Watching your alcohol intake and making sure it’s not more than 2-3 drinks a week, along with upping your cruciferous veggie intake are both great tips too.

If you want to chat more about anything related to your health or would like to work with a nutritionist one-on-one, click here to book a time to chat with me, at no charge. And, if you felt this article was useful, please share with your family and friends!