Why You're Gaining Weight Even Though You Exercise

Twice a month, Yahoo Health’s Hormone Whisperer Alisa Vitti, HHC, is answering the most common questions about hormones and how they relate to weight, sex, acne, bad moods, low energy, and everything in between. Read her introductory column to learn more about Alisa’s approach to stopping hormonal chaos and getting into hormonal flow.

THE QUESTION: I’m gaining weight no matter how much I exercise. What gives?

ALISA’S ANSWER: I LOVE this question! I myself used to weigh over 200 pounds due to a hormonal condition called polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS (hello, Whitney on My Big Fat Fabulous Life – call me, I can help!). I lost 60 pounds by balancing my hormones — so I love shedding light on the science of hormones and how they contribute to weight, because these hormones are in fact what’s running the show in booty town. In fact, I just gained 50 pounds during my first pregnancy and just lost 40 pounds in four months by eating in my pro-hormonal way (without dieting or exercise) which includes things like chocolate avocado pudding, organic chicken liver and apple pate, and oatmeal cranberry muffins.

Here’s the thing: Before I figured out how to use the science of my hormones to help my metabolism, I struggled with my weight for years!  Like you, I pushed myself at the gym and tried all the one-name diets out there — and after so much starvation and stress, there was no major change in the numbers on the scale. I decided to get to the bottom of how weight is created, maintained, and lost in the body. Since everything else I had tried failed, I wanted to hack into the fat-loss science once and for all — and I found that especially for women, it’s ALL hormonal. So I want to share with you my secrets for getting on top of the weight situation once and for all — yup, I’m about to blind you with science! (I really wish someone could just cue that music for me) The best news is, of course, that once you figure out how to tap into your hormonal groove, you do not have to deprive yourself, bust your butt at the gym, or do anything remotely unpleasurable to your fabulous body! Just eat right for your hormones, exercise right at the right times, and live your life!

Launching into a vigorous exercise routine to shed weight might seem like a good idea. But if you jump into it that way, you’re not taking into account your hormonal reality! If you’re dealing with stress, PMS, and/or other period problems, you’ve got a few hormones that are programming you to stay fat, no matter how much you exercise! In fact, working out without working with your hormones can make you gain weight!

Related: 2 Reasons Your Period Problems Are Preventing Weight Loss

I see this all the time at FLOLiving: Women decide to train for a marathon or triathlon, or they make a big New Year’s resolution and start doing long, 90-minute workouts at the gym or at home. Their intention is to get in shape and lose weight, but because they don’t understand how to work with their hormones, they end up gaining up to 20 pounds. (You can read more here about why your exercise plan may be your downfall.)

The FLO Science: Estrogen And Cortisol

Let’s start with cortisol: It’s a hormone that talks to fat cells, and it’s made in your adrenal glands. Stress and sugar put your adrenal glands in a compromised position. This will thwart your weight-loss efforts and do more damage to your adrenals and entire endocrine system.

When you exercise, after you burn through the glucose in your bloodstream — which takes about 30 minutes — you then start tapping into your adrenal reserve. You force the adrenals to pump out cortisol to get your fat cells to convert into sugar for the bloodstream.

This seems like a good thing; you want the fat to melt, right?

The problem is when cortisol meets up with your estrogen levels. Most women who struggle with PMS, PCOS, fibroids, endometriosis, perimenopause, infertility, and low libido — you know, all the hormonal mess we find ourselves in from time to time — have elevated levels of estrogen (not to mention exposure to all that synthetic estrogen found everywhere from our food to our beauty products). So, when you have estrogen overload due to unresolved period and fertility issues, the estrogen tells you to store any circulating sugar as fat. You end up with this vicious cycle of trying to burn stored fat with cortisol and then estrogen putting it right back on your butt — and this is assuming your adrenals are performing optimally!

As if that weren’t bad enough, there is an additional layer of complexity here: your stress levels and diet, and how those affect your adrenal health. When we have too much going on and when we consume too much sugar, caffeine, and alcohol, our adrenals are put in a  vulnerable state to underperform. You produce less cortisol throughout the day, and during your workouts, you can produce none at all! You know you have this adrenal fatigue going on if you find yourself dragging yourself out of bed in the morning and feeling totally drained after your workout (and needing a while to recover your energy).

In this scenario, your hormones are programming you to be an excellent storer of fat. And any time you work out too hard for too long, you reinforce that messaging.

Related: Wondering Why The Weight Still Won’t Come Off?

The FLO Fix: Adopt A Hormone-Specific Exercise Plan

If you’re ready to lose weight, the solution is not to pump up the jams and do a zillion jumping jacks — that will actually wear out your adrenal glands even more!

In fact, when you have an underlying hormonal issue — like period problems, infertility, or low libido — exercising for more than 30 minutes at a time can keep the weight on. And if you start this regime already in a state of adrenal fatigue, you’ll gain weight. (Instead, I recommend my clients skip hour-long gym classes and instead opt for 30-minute DVD workouts, walking, or 45-minute gentle yoga classes while they are trying to lose weight and heal their adrenals. Find out more here about how to exercise right for your hormones and lose weight faster.)

In addition, during the second half of your cycle, this all gets worse if you have any of the conditions I mentioned before, like PCOS, fibroids, and infertility. At this point — the luteal phase of your cycle — your estrogen is out of balance with progesterone, making you more fatigued and putting further strain on your adrenals.

Instead of setting yourself up for failure, ease back into a balanced exercise routine.

Try 20-minute sessions of cardio or weight training, and longer sessions of more gentle movement like Hatha yoga or walking. Do the right exercise for the phase of the cycle you’re in (see Chapter 5 of my book WomanCode for the exercise chart).

Tracking your body throughout the month is also really helpful. You’ll get to know how your body functions at different points in your cycle, which can help you choose the right kind of exercise for your hormonal phase.

For even more guidance on changing up your exercise routine with your hormones, read my advice on cycle-syncing your workouts for better results and easy exercises you can do at home for each phase.

Good things come in threes: I want to hear from you in the comments!

First, tell me what you’re going to try from my prescription above, and why.

Second, what are your top health questions for me, your trusty Hormone Whisperer? Your question could be featured in my column!

Third, everyone you know is hormonal: Spread a little good ovary karma and share this article with your friends on social media, and be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Need more Hormone Help? If you’re cranky and can’t lose weight, it’s time you started you looking into what’s going on with your hormones. I’ve designed a quiz to help you understand exactly what’s out of whack and how you can start getting back to optimal hormonal balance so that you can get the body you want. Sign up here to get your quiz!

ABOUT ALISA: Alisa Vitti, HHC, is an integrative nutritionist, best-selling author of WomanCode, creator of the WomanCode System, and the founder of FLOLiving.com, a virtual health center that supports women’s hormonal and reproductive health. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Alisa has been featured on The Dr. Oz Show, has a web series on Lifetime, and has been a regular contributor for CBS, Fox, Shape, Women’s Health, MindBodyGreen, and the Huffington Post. She’s also presented at TEDx, Talks@Google, Summit Series Outside, Hay House, WIE Symposium, and SHE Summit.