Hormonal belly: What is it and how are your hormones and abdominal fat connected?

A hormonal belly is weight gain in the abdominal area caused by a hormonal imbalance. Unlike regular weight gain, which causes your body to accumulate fat under the skin, it implies accumulating visceral fat around your organs. This kind of belly is usually large and firm, looking like your abdomen is pushed outward.

The most common causes of a hormonal belly in women include:

• Underactive thyroid
• High cortisol
• Leptin resistance
• PCOS
• Menopause

Seeing a doctor and testing the levels of essential hormones should help you detect the cause and explore effective treatment options. Additionally, implementing a healthier lifestyle with proper nutrition, exercise, hydration, and sleep can also help reduce a hormonal belly.

{{button}}

Every person has some fat stored in their belly area, regardless of their body composition. Its prominence can be affected by many factors, including diet, physical activity, sleep patterns, and genetics. However, sometimes, when there is no clear lifestyle or genetic cause, it might be a result of a hormonal imbalance.

A hormonal belly is not a distinct medical condition. It’s just hormone-induced changes in fat storage and distribution on the body, particularly seen in women due to natural hormonal fluctuations.

A hormonal belly is one of the many common belly types in women. Yet, noticing it can feel rather overwhelming. This article aims to define this phenomenon, help you understand its primary causes, and find effective management tactics.

What Is a Hormonal Belly?

A hormonal belly is a generalized term used to describe weight gain in the abdominal area caused by hormones. Although it’s not a medical condition on its own, it can be a sign of an underlying condition.

One important thing to understand about hormonal belly fat gain is that it works differently from general weight gain. Traditionally, weight gain occurs when a person consumes more calories than they expend. This leads to the accumulation of fat under the skin.

Hormonal belly fat, in turn, isn’t the regular fat under your skin. It’s visceral fat located deeper, around your internal organs. This difference  affects the appearance of your belly, as well as its response to logical lifestyle changes such as a healthy diet or intermittent fasting, and exercise.

What Does a Hormonal Belly Look Like?

A hormonal belly usually looks large and firm. It’s easy to mistake it for a bloated tummy.

Since the fat is stored deeply, around organs, a hormonal belly is also less soft and “pinchable” than a regular tummy gained because of excessive calorie consumption. Instead, it looks and feels more like your abdomen is pushed outward.

Common Hormonal Belly Symptoms

When you start noticing weight gain in your tummy, it can be hard to instantly tell whether it’s a hormonal belly or regular weight gain. However, there are some additional signs that can help you detect the problem.

The most common hormonal belly symptoms include:

• Weight gain, especially in the lower belly
• Digestive issues
• Bloating
• Insomnia
• Mood swings
• Fatigue

All these symptoms can be caused by changing hormonal levels. Additionally, some women can experience symptoms like headaches, acne, reduced libido, and menstrual irregularity.

There is one more peculiarity of a hormonal belly. Since it’s caused by visceral fat gain, this kind of belly is often more stubborn. That is, it doesn't respond well to diets and exercise and can be especially hard to lose.

Common Causes of Hormonal Belly Fat in Women

As you already know, this type of belly is caused by hormonal imbalances. However, there might be several hormones involved in this process.

The most common causes include:

Underactive Thyroid

The thyroid is a gland located in your neck. This gland is responsible for producing hormones that control your metabolic function, which is responsible for how your body uses the energy it receives from food.

An underactive thyroid, also known as hypothyroidism, is a medical condition in which the thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough hormones. When this happens, your natural metabolism slows down, often causing weight gain in the belly area.

If you’ve received a hormonal belly due to an underactive thyroid, starting treatment with thyroid medication should help restore thyroid hormone balance and lose weight.

High Cortisol

Cortisol is another hormone that can cause a hormonal belly. Produced in the adrenal glands, cortisol is known as our body’s stress hormone. It’s released when you feel under threat, when your body gets into the “fight, flight, or freeze” mode.

Although it’s not harmful in short bursts, prolonged stress periods can make cortisol build up in your body and affect different systems and processes in it. In particular, high cortisol can lead to:

• Weakened immune system
• Irregular menstruation
• Increased fat storage

Leptin Resistance

Leptin is a hormone produced in your fat cells. It plays a crucial role in regulating and maintaining your weight because this hormone is produced to signal the brain when you get full during a meal.

Leptin resistance is a condition in which signaling between leptin and the brain doesn’t work as it’s supposed to. This makes it harder for people to know when they have eaten enough. Also, it can create a sense of increased appetite. And, respectively, it can make you gain excess weight.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

PCOS is a hormonal condition that affects around 1 in 10 women in their reproductive years. Women with this condition have an imbalance in their essential health hormones – usually, their ovaries produce excessive androgens (male hormones), which affects menstrual regularity and causes a number of additional symptoms.

By affecting the levels of your key hormones, PCOS can change your metabolic rate and fat distribution. Also, women with this condition often have insulin resistance, which also affects their appetite and response to insulin. Together, these factors can make females with PCOS gain weight, especially in their bellies.

Menopause

Speaking about a hormonal belly in women, it’s impossible not to mention natural, age-related changes. When women enter menopause, their ovaries stop releasing eggs, their periods stop, and respectively, their reproductive function ceases. This transition is also accompanied by significant shifts in essential sex hormones, which can also affect changes in your body.

In particular, women in menopause are facing a rapid decrease in their estrogen levels. This hormonal drop can cause under-the-skin fat to convert to visceral fat. As a result, menopausal women also often deal with hormonal bellies.

Fluid Retention During Periods

Lastly, there is one condition that’s typical for women during their periods and that can be easy to confuse with a hormonal belly. Due to hormonal changes, many females face increased fluid retention and bloating right before and during their menstruation. This phenomenon can also make your belly look like it was pushed outward, resembling a hormonal belly.

Studies show that females can gain around 0.5 kilograms during menstruation because of fluid retention. So, if you are seeing a larger and firmer tummy at this time of your cycle, it may not require any specific actions to get rid of it.

How to Get Rid of Hormonal Belly

Fighting a hormonal belly can be rather challenging because visceral fat is generally more stubborn than that stored under the skin. Besides, it’s important to understand that this type of weight gain results from an underlying issue – a hormonal imbalance that needs to be addressed in order to solve the problem.

If you are wondering how to get rid of hormonal belly, the best strategy is to begin with a thorough medical check-up. Your healthcare provider will help you identify the main hormone blood tests you need to take and interpret the results. Depending on your levels of thyroid, estrogen, progesterone, androgen, and other levels, a professional will be able to detect the underlying cause and prescribe relevant therapy.

Depending on your medical condition, you may receive one of the following treatments:

• Hormone replacement therapy.
• Metformin for PCOS and insulin resistance.
• Thyroid medications like levothyroxine.
• Medicines to control cortisol, like ketoconazole, etc.

Apart from medical treatment, you can also use general lifestyle and nutrition strategies to help balance your hormones and stimulate weight loss. Some of the main tips generally recommended to women with a hormonal belly include:

• Focus on whole foods with a good balance of nutrients.
• Enrich your diet with anti-inflammatory foods like berries, leafy greens, fatty fish, seeds, and nuts.
• Support estrogen levels with phytoestrogens, such as soy, flaxseeds, and lentils.
• Cut down on processed foods and alcohol intake.
• Implement stress-management practices like meditation and yoga.
• Do regular strength exercises.
• Support proper hydration and gut health.
• Improve your sleep.

These simple tips can help you create and sustain a healthier lifestyle that will positively affect your overall health and, hopefully, will help you see the desired hormonal belly before and after results.

FAQ

What is a hormonal belly?

A hormonal belly is weight gain in the abdominal area that is caused by a hormonal imbalance. Unlike regular weight gain, a hormonal belly is associated with an increased storage of visceral fat that’s located around your internal organs.

What can cause hormonal belly fat?

The storage of visceral fat in women can be caused by a number of different hormones and conditions. Most often, a hormonal belly results from an underactive thyroid, high cortisol, leptin resistance, PCOS, and menopause. Sometimes, an enlarged, firm belly can also be a symptom of a period. Women tend to put up a bit of weight, retain more fluid, and experience bloating during menstruation, which can look like a hormonal belly.

How to get rid of hormonal belly?

First of all, it requires detecting the underlying cause of a hormonal belly. It’s recommended to see your healthcare provider and have a number of blood tests to assess your hormone levels. Based on the result, a doctor will help you understand what causes weight gain and find an effective treatment. Additionally, you can implement general wellness tips, such as a proper diet, good sleep, and regular exercise, to support weight loss.

Conclusion

A hormonal belly is often a signal of an underlying condition. Whether it’s high cortisol, PCOS, or a sign of menopausal transition, it’s important to detect the issue early and address it accordingly.

After reading this guide, you should have a better understanding of hormonal belly fat and its causes. Don’t hesitate to see a healthcare provider for personalized advice and implement the given lifestyle tips to support your overall health and maintain a healthy weight.

{{pink-banner}}