Balancing Act: The Hidden Truth About Weight Gain

When your body's hormone levels get out of balance, you put on weight. A new book by endocrinologist Scott Isaacs explains why this happens . . .
and what you can do about it.

You've tried desperately to lose those 30 extra pounds. You've done every fad diet known to humankind. You've subsisted on carrot sticks and diet colas. You've done millions of sit-ups. Perhaps you've even succumbed to the dangerous lure of diet pills. None of them have worked. Oh sure, you may have lost a few pounds-but you quickly gained them back. Worse, the extreme measures you've taken to lose those pounds have kept you from having an enjoyable life. So what is the key to achieving a healthy weight?

According to endocrinologist Scott Isaacs, M.D., the answer can be summed up in one word. Hormones. His new book Hormonal Balance: Your Guide to a Healthier Metabolism and Weight (book info) provides a fascinating look at the complex dance of molecules that regulate everything from your appetite to your muscle-to-fat ratio to your emotions. While other diet books mention the role of hormones-primarily insulin-in weight gain, they fail to paint a complete picture.

Dr. Isaacs explains in easy-to-comprehend language how unbalanced levels of thyroid hormones, androgen, estrogen, cortisol, leptin and more can affect your appetite, metabolism and body weight. Food itself is portrayed as a powerful drug that triggers a vast array of hormonal, chemical and brain effects. The good news is that you're not hostage to your hormones: you can alter them and achieve hormonal balance.
Besides its very thorough and reader-friendly explanation of how hormones operate, the book includes a helpful section on what you should eat to keep yours in balance. Its Hormonal Health Diet-designed for anyone who wants to lose weight, achieve hormonal balance or both-offers easy-to-follow meal plans and a variety of nutritious and delicious recipes.

Below are some insights from Hormonal Balance:

• It is possible to chew your food too much.
  Back in the 1800s, many families followed the teachings of clergyman Sylvester Graham. (He invented an unsifted wheat flour that has taken his name, as has a cracker made from that flour.) He believed, probably rightly so, that Americans ate too fast. His answer, however, was that one should chew food at least 32 times (one chew for each tooth) before swallowing, and many more times if possible.
  Unfortunately, excessive chewing liquefies and almost completely digests the food in your mouth. The saliva contains an enzyme, amylase, which breaks down amylose, so we actually start to digest sugars and starches before we swallow. By the time the overchewed food hits the stomach and intestines, it's ready to be instantly absorbed into the bloodstream-causing a huge insulin surge. This causes energy to be converted into fat, instead of being burned as fuel.
• Nibble, don't gorge.
  If you nibble tiny portions of food throughout the day, you will provide a constant low-level source of glucose (energy) to your body, and your body will not respond with a huge insulin surge. The body becomes accustomed to receiving a constant supply of energy. On the other hand, if you starve the body by skipping meals, then gorge on a huge meal once or twice a day, the body freaks out. It thinks it's starving and does everything it can to store the food.
• Chocolate (in moderation) is good for you.
  Not only does it taste great, it's not the major bugaboo that some health authorities would have you believe. Chocolate was considered an aphrodisiac a few hundred years ago (and there are more than a few people who will tell you it's a worthwhile forerunner to sex today). It doesn't necessarily lead to weight gain, either: the French and the Swiss, who eat far more chocolate than Americans do, have less obesity than Americans. Chocolate is rich in a substance called phenolics, the same chemical in red wine, and may decrease the risk of heart disease as wine does. And chocolate cravings may not necessarily be a sign of weakness, but merely a result of acylethanolamines, chemicals that may have a similar effect on the brain as marijuana.
• The benefits of estrogen replacement therapy.
  Estrogen can improve vitality and insulin resistance, two key factors in battling the bulge. Estrogen can help you feel younger, helping you maintain a more active lifestyle-as well as muscle. Although estrogen does not have a major effect on your weight, it does on your body composition. Studies confirm that women who take estrogen have more muscle and less fat than those who do not. Keep that in mind: if you're overweight and start estrogen, you will lose fat and gain muscle, but our weight may not change.
• Glucocorticoid medications (steroids) can cause weight gain.
  What do glucocorticoids do? First of all, they're necessary for life. Without them, you would die. But in excessive amounts, glucocorticoids can have several negative effects as well:
  --Fat buildup. Glucocorticoids increase the amount of fat in your body and in a particular distribution. They cause fat buildup in the belly, chest and face like the apple shape-the worst type of 'metabolically evil' fat.
  --Increased appetite. Anyone who has ever taken a steroid medication can tell you they can never get enough to eat. The hypothalamus is the part of the brain responsible for appetite. Glucocorticoids tickle the hypothalamus, making you ravenous.
  --Muscle breakdown. Once the muscles break down, the next steps are muscle weakness, slowed metabolism and insulin resistance.
• Growth Hormone treatment can help you lose weight-and restore youth.
  If you suffer from growth hormone deficiency (GHD), your body will have several indications of obesity and related problems. GHD is associated with central obesity-fat around the belly. This is the metabolically evil type of fat that is associated with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease and strokes. Being overweight lowers your GH levels; having lower GH levels makes it easier for you to gain weight. And the problem gets worse as you get older. It's a vicious cycle.
  Restoring youthful levels of GH can improve your body composition. It can also improve skin tone, reverse hair graying and make your internal organs grow. It can actually make you look younger. And feel younger, too: GH can improve your sex life, and-in a twist that seems worthy of a science fiction novel, make a man's penis or a woman's clitoris larger. The changes can be so dramatic that it has been referred to as "hormonal plastic surgery."
• Overview of the Hormonal Health Diet.
  The Hormonal Health Diet provides for three meals and three snacks a day. It is important that you have all of these meals. Small frequent feedings keep hormones in balance and prevent excessive hunger. You should try to eat some protein at breakfast or your midmorning snack. This provides energy and quenches hunger later in the day. Lunch and the mid-afternoon snack should be light. Dinner is protein, starch and lots of vegetables. A snack at bedtime is important to keep fueling your metabolism throughout the night.
• The three fruits you should not overdo.
  The Hormonal Health Diet allows for unlimited fruits, with three exceptions: bananas, grapes and watermelon. These three fruits, although very healthy, have a higher glycemic index-meaning that they are broken down quickly during digestion and produce a high blood sugar response-and can be overeaten. Bananas, grapes and watermelon are not off limits. Just remember, these fruits should be eaten in moderation. Try to have no more than five servings total of these three fruits a day.

Although the above tips primarily deal with weight, Hormonal Balance was not written simply to help you look good in that new swimsuit. As Dr. Isaacs asserts throughout the book, achieving hormonal balance not only helps allows you to lose weight, but reduces your susceptibility to many serious and even deadly medical problems.

"Hormonal balance can save your life," asserts the author. "The eating principles in this book are not designed specifically for weight loss; they are to help you achieve hormonal balance. With hormonal balance, you will optimize your metabolism and you will lose weight. And by learning the principles of your body's hormones, you can tailor the optimal diet and vitamin/mineral/supplement program for yourself and your family members. This book explains how."

Book event at Emory University