Home Remedies for Hormone Imbalance Weight Gain

Symptoms of hormonal imbalance often include weight gain. Most people fail to recognize that their changing hormones might be responsible for a sudden and unexplained weight gain. Watching what you eat and exercising more are appropriate reactions to an extra few pounds, but there may be some home treatments that can help take off the weight.

Exercise

Hormonal imbalance leads to a change in your metabolic rate. Adding some additional exercise to your normal regimen may be able to combat the slowdown that you are experiencing with your metabolism. Add some extra time to your walk or run every day to increase the amount of calories that you burn.
For women, weight gain can affect the stomach area. Focus attention on exercises that will keep the stomach muscles toned. Exercise alone will not remove belly fat, but it will increase the amount of muscle in the area.
Start with just a few minutes added to your daily walk and work your way up. Your exercise should always be striving to reach a goal that is just above what you are currently able to accomplish. For instance, if you walk for 30 minutes every day, add 5 extra minutes to the walk and gradually work your way up to a 45 minute walk. The extra activity will help you deal with a hormone induced sluggish metabolism.
Lifting weights can help men with diminishing testosterone. The more muscle mass that you have in your body, the higher the production of testosterone.

Diet

Gaining weight because of a hormonal imbalance does not mean that you will have to cut an unreasonable amount of calories from your diet. It simply means that you should reevaluate the foods that you eat every day and make some better choices.
Fat in your diet has an impact on your hormone production. Decrease your intake of trans fats to encourage the production of hormones. Omega-3 essential fatty acids encourage the production of prostaglandins, which are hormones that will affect your metabolism. Choose oily fish such as tuna and salmon to increase your consumption of this healthy fat. Flaxseed and nuts are also good choices for this diet. Make a few exchanges of red meat for fish every week and you will simultaneously cut your saturated fat and increase your omega-3 fatty acids.

Natural Hormone Replacement

Plant sources of natural hormones should be included in your diet. Foods such as soy and flax seed are rich in phytoestrogens that can correct a hormone imbalance. Substitute one lean meat source of protein for tofu or soy a couple of times a week and you can help encourage hormone balance.
Men can use yohimbe and saw palmetto to help increase testosterone levels.
The FDA does not regulate herbal treatments. Always discuss your use of herbal remedies with your doctor before beginning a new treatment. Herbs may interfere with prescription medications that you may be taking for another condition.