What Causes Adrenal Fatigue
Your adrenals are two walnut-shaped glands that weigh about 0.2 ounces or 5 grams each and sit on top of your kidneys. They produce hormones that have a range of functions in your body, but one of their most important jobs is to ramp up production of stress hormones when youre under duress.
A few weeks or months of stress are all it takes to start taxing your adrenals and ramp up signs of hormone imbalance. The trouble is your brain and body dont register the difference between a true health threat and a flip out over something in your day . It treats that argument with your partner, social anxiety at the dinner party and overwhelms you feel about your to do list the same as if your life was under threat from a pack of hungry wolves.
We Go Through Many Transitions During Life That Make Us Susceptible To Weight Gain Some Are Shared By Both Genders: Arriving At Adolescence Entering Our Elder Years Or Undergoing A Stressful Life Event Others Happen Only To Women: Having A Baby Then Having A Second Or Third Baby And Going Through Menopause
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We go through many transitions during life that make us susceptible to weight gain. Some are shared by both genders: arriving at adolescence, entering our elder years or undergoing a stressful life event. Others happen only to women: having a baby, then having a second or third baby, and going through menopause.
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data found that:
- 51.7 percent of women ages 20-39 were classified as “overweight” or “affected by obesity”
- 68.1 percent of women ages 40-59 were classified as “overweight” or “affected by obesity”
The 40-59 age range includes the time that most women are perimenopausal. As we age, we start losing our muscle mass, and fat storage tends to increase. This change in body composition puts us at higher risk for metabolic disease, such as heart disease and diabetes.
So, you may be thinking, I’m destined for failure! But this isn’t true. There are many things that go into weight gain during this phaseand many can be modified. Let’s look at how menopause and other contributing factors can affect your weight and what we CAN do to minimize the potential health threats.
- Urge to urinate more frequently
Oestrogen And Fat Distribution At Menopause
A change in hormone levels, mainly oestrogen, may influence body fat distribution.
Many women in perimenopause and early post menopause years gain fat mass as their oestrogen levels drop. Women of childbearing age tend to store fat in the lower body , while men and postmenopausal women store fat around the abdomen .
Animal studies have shown that a lack of oestrogen leads to unwanted abdominal fat, although the exact mechanisms are not yet understood.
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What Causes Crashing Fatigue In Menopause
If you think crashing fatigue in menopause has to do with hormones, youre 100% right. During perimenopause and menopause, the ovaries naturally respond less effectively to the pituitary glands signal to increase estrogen. This results in estrogen levels that are excessive on some days, and bottomed out on others.
Serious fluctuations in estrogen can also interrupt the delicate balance of stress hormones. Adrenaline sometimes floods the body, which can leave you even more fatigued afterward. If you are still menstruating, you may already be dealing with crashing fatigue right before your period.
But crashing fatigue also has a maddening side effect: you cant sleep even though you’re bone tired. Thats because as estrogen rises and falls unpredictably during perimenopause, the body experiences the fluctuation as a hormonal emergency. The brain triggers the release of cortisol and adrenaline, the adrenal fight-or-flight hormones that derail the normal sleep cycle.
The adrenal glands also help make estrogen with dehydroepiandrosterone, or DHEA, but chronic stress depletes DHEA. Without enough, its hard for your body to maintain hormone balance which makes you more prone to crashing fatigue in menopause.
Myth: Weight Gain Is Always A Symptom Of Menopause
By far the most common myth about menopause and weight is that weight gain is always a symptom of menopause. Its actually weight redistributionmeaning where body fat is storedthats an official menopause symptom, not weight gain, according to Shannon Brasil, MSN, RN, CNP. She specializes in menopause care, hormones and weight gain after 50, and leads the Womens Excellence Weight Management Program in the Metro Detroit area.
While hormonal changes during menopause may influence where weight is gained, they are not necessarily the reason behind weight gain itself.2 When considering the facts about menopause, its clear that other symptoms like fatigue, sleep problems, and muscle loss can contribute to weight gain. All of these things can impact metabolism, which in turn can cause the weight gain many menopausal women experience, Nurse Brasil says.
Weight redistribution is the reason so many women find themselves gaining weight around the midsection, even if theyve never carried weight in that area before. A mere five pounds of weight gain during menopause can feel like a lot more when its all in the middle, Nurse Brasil explains. It bothers women more because its right in the central region.
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Does Your Day Look Like This
Have the words Im so stressed and Im exhausted become daily mantras? Do you often feel teary and tense and think, I cant handle this pressure anymore? If stress calls the shots on your life, its highly likely youre suffering from adrenal burnout. Or youre well on the way there. Meanwhile, it will also cause symptoms of hormone imbalance.
Over time, as your adrenal fatigue worsens, it can totally compromise your natural hormone balance, which may lead you to experience enormous energy fluctuations that look something like this:
These constant slumps and dips are signs that your adrenals are really struggling. Adrenal fatigue is one of the biggest cause of hormonal imbalance in women.
Get Your Hormones Under Control
As I said at the beginning, the NUMBER ONE THING that has a huge bearing on fatigue and the menopause are your HORMONES.
If you want to start to feel more alive and energetic, this is the main area you need to focus on.
My friend Ange has created a high quality resource which shows you how to get your hormones back under control and increase your quality of life. You can find out more about it here.
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Mistake #: Doing Long Bouts Of Cardio
Yes, you should incorporate cardio if you want to lose weight and burn fat, but there’s a right way and a wrong way.
If you’ve been hitting the treadmill, elliptical, or spin bike, you already know it takes a lot of time and effort to see any results. And it also tends to spike your hunger hormones. So, you end up eating more calories than you burn off.
Not to mention, too much cardio can cause hormonal disruption
So, I want to share the most effective way to pump up your cardio routine that will get you insane results in half the time — without making you feel famished or causing unnecessary stress on your joints like a lot of long repetitive cardio workouts do.
Once you learn this simple tweak, the light bulb is going to go off the first time you try it. I can’t wait for you to see how awesome this works — you’ll never go back to regular cardio again!
I Cant Think Straight Im Foggy
Blame it on: High cortisol and its effect on the hippocampus.
Ever noticed how hard it is to keep your mind operating on all four cylinders when youre having a heavy-duty day? You sit at the computer but cant focus, go to the shops but forget what you need to buy, misplace your keys or wallet or both. This mental meltdown is a direct result of adrenal fatigue.
Stress induced brain drain is caused by the hippocampus, a little seahorse shaped organ in the brain involved in our short term memory. With too much cortisol in the brain, dendrites start to shrink and dont work as properly.
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My Face Legs Feet And Hands Are Often Puffy And I Get Lightheaded
Blame it on: Aldosterone
Some women complain that they can swell up with fluid within minutes of feeling stressed. This is not their imagination.
Or, their fluid retention may creep up after repeated stressful triggers over the course of the day. Heres why:
When your body flicks on the fight or flight reaction, it pumps out a chemical called aldosterone. This hormone has the important job of regulating levels water and electrolytes in your blood and your blood pressure.
But when youre under duress, aldosterone sends a message to your kidneys to retain salt, so your body retains as much fluid as possible.
This sodium retention is a survival strategy, just in case you need that fluid on board to face any emergency. This not only leads to puffy face, ankles and tummy, it can also lead to the appearance of cellulite in areas like the thighs, because the high levels of sodium there is pulling more water to those areas.
Frustratingly, this water retention can make you feel like youve gained weight, even though it is all fluid. Yet you may also find that you need to get up go to the toilet at night. This can happen because its the first time in the day when youre not rushing so your body feels safe enough to not have to retain as much fluid and starts to release some of it.
Since aldestrone also regulates your blood pressure, exhausted adrenals can also translate to getting light headed when getting up from a bed or chair.
Testing For Adrenal Fatigue It Can Be Tricky
If you go to a traditional doctor to see if your cortisol is skyrocketing or flat-lining, they will order a blood test. Unfortunately, this can give a very inaccurate or incomplete picture. It might show that your cortisol levels are fine in the morning, but wont show that your cortisol levels may be barely there by 3pm when you are having an energy crash. Also, blood tests only show the total value of cortisol and not the free value which is what your body utilizes.
Urine or saliva testing is a far more accurate way to check cortisol levels. Good tests will check your levels around four times over the course of the day.
Im also a fan of the DUTCH test.
Instead of collecting many samples, you need only one sample which involves placing urine on filter paper and letting it dry.
You can also check your adrenal function at home.
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I Get Chest Pain And Heart Palpitations
Blame it on: High adrenalin, cortisol and aldosterone
When youre feeling wired your stress hormones:
- Move blood out of some organs to others so your heart has to work harder to shift the blood around.
- Make your blood vessels constrict so that you dont bleed as readily should you suffer a wound. This too puts pressure on your heart.
The end result? You may suffer everything from chest pain to heart palpitations . You may also find it hard to get up the energy to exercise, because your heart is already working harder 24/7 just to get through the day.
Adrenal Fatigue And Weight Gain
Are you experiencing excessive fatigue, sleeping problems, trouble concentrating, and weight gain? Are you overwhelmed by stress? Many women with these complaints are told the cause is adrenal fatigue.
In this article, we will discuss adrenal fatigue and weight gain, including causes and treatment options.
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Meet Susan Ohtake Certified Personal Trainer
Hey there!
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I call this type of training High Intensity Resistance Interval Training !
Because Burn360 workouts use total body exercises that recruit multiple muscle groups at once, you dont need to spend a lot of time working out to get serious results!
What I love about these workouts is that you can do them practically anywhere. No gym required! Plus, every exercise and workout can be modified to match any fitness level!
If youre ready to turn up the burn with shorter, more effective workouts, join me for my 21-Day Metabolic Reset!
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Stop Middle Age Weight Gain
These are my 8 Tips to help you stop menopause weight gain. Estrogen deficiency, the state we find ourselves in once we are in menopause, is associated with insulin resistance and mid center weight gain. Even without changing our exercise routine or diet, women face an increased risk of weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease, just by going through the normal stages of aging. For us women, it can feel that we have lost all control of our bodies. It is my mission to inform all women on the tips and tricks so they can navigate the aging process in optimal health, without weight gain or disease.
The Risks Of Weight Gain After Menopause
Many of the risks of weight gain are well known: high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes, to name a few. Extra fat at your waistline raises these risks more. Unfortunately, a bigger waistline is more likely after menopause. If you now have a waist measurement of more than 35 inches, it’s time to take steps to reverse this trend.
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Does Menopause Cause Emotional Changes Too
Yes. Emotional symptoms can begin as early as the perimenopause time frame. Difficulty with memory , irritability, mood swings, increased anxiousness and depression are commonly experienced. These symptoms often cause significant distress and can negatively affect personal and professional relationships. Some patients say the emotional toll is the most distressing. A history of depression or anxiety disorder is a risk factor for recurrence or exacerbation of symptoms during the menopause transition. Lifestyle modifications such as exercise, relaxation techniques and dietary changes can help. For those experiencing severe symptoms, seeing a therapist and possibly taking medication like mood stabilizers or hormone replacement therapy can help.
Vitamins For Fatigue And The Menopause
There are a couple of recomended vitamins or supplements which can help with fatigue and then menopause.
Black Cohosh and Valerian are two supplements that may be able to help you with fatigue. COQ10 is also a good supplement for helping to boost energy.
Make sure you take to your Doctor before taking any supplements as they can interfere with other medications.
Hormones are the key to fixing Menopause Fatigue
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The Smallest Things Now Make My Anxious Or Make Me Want To Cry
Blame it on: High adrenalin and cortisol
When you have adrenal fatigue you are functioning with a chemical soup of high stress hormones constantly circulating in your system. This keeps your body on red alert so things that used to stress you a little bit can cause a stress response totally out of proportion to the trigger. Crying can then occur as a stress release.
Meanwhile, your body thinks it is in a state of emergency so it:
- Dumps calming minerals: These include magnesium and zinc after all your body doesnt want you to be calm and relaxed right now, it wants you to be ready for fight or flight. Unfortunately, without magnesium you will feel more anxious. And with less zinc, your immunity will drop.
- Retains more copper: This is due in part to the drop in zinc. And elevated copper levels cause excitability and agitation in your brain, worsening your adrenal exhaustion.
Tips To Help Fight Fatigue During Menopause
I want to get out of this black hole once and for all and step into the light. The fatigue is unbearable. Susie D
Tired, irritable, hot flushes, night sweats and weight gain are all common complaints for women entering the menopause.
Fatigue is one issue that slips below the radar.
Fatigue can be defined as an ongoing and persistent feeling of weakness, tiredness, and lowered energy levels as opposed to sleepiness.
Fatigue involves a lack of energy rather than sleepiness, hence having a nap during the day does nothing to alleviate any fatigue.
You may feel a lag in energy levels that lasts all day, or experience shorter bursts of fatigue intermittently.
Fatigue is particularly frustrating as it has a duel effect on both mind and body, making you feel despondent and frustrated.
The most likely cause of fatigue during the menopause phase of a woman’s life is the fluctuation of hormones that occurs naturally during this time.
Your hormones are responsible for controlling energy, thus, when levels of estrogen and progesterone decrease, so do energy levels.
Here are my four top tips to help you overcome fatigue and have more energy in your day.
1. Stop “dieting” and start enjoying your food.
As women enter the menopause, weight gain can be an issue. They then begin the diet trap and rather than lose weight, they lose energy and find themselves fighting fatigue.
A diet should not have a time limit on it, nor make you feel deprived.
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