Find out how diet can positively or negatively affect a woman's body and how a woman's hormonal balance can change. If you decide to lose weight, then it is very important to do it right. Now you can find a large number of dietary nutrition programs that can be harmful to the body. First of all, we are talking about the effect of diet on female hormones. If an inadequate nutritional program is used, then even in one week, the hormonal system can be disrupted. This will entail disruptions in metabolic processes, as well as an irregularity in the menstrual cycle.
On average, the duration of the cycle is 28 days and the concentration of the main female hormones (progesterone and estrogen) during this time period fluctuates over a wide range. It is quite obvious that such changes affect both the general condition of the woman, as well as her athletic performance.
In this case, it is necessary to remember about the possibility of increasing the duration of the menstrual cycle (oligomenorrhea) and about its termination (amenorrhea). In addition, some women experience polycystic ovary syndrome or subclinical hyperandrogenism. In these conditions, the female body has a high concentration of the male hormone in comparison with normal values.
And finally, let's talk about various contraceptives that also affect the work of the endocrine system. Today, every contraceptive drug uses exogenous estrogens and progesterone, or a combination of both. All this suggests that the effect of diet on female hormones can be quite significant, and you should be aware of this.
How do diets affect hormones in the female body?
Most often, scientists investigate the impact of low-carb nutrition programs on the body of people who are obese or have serious enough problems with being overweight. In such a situation, it is extremely difficult to transfer research results to a person of normal weight.
Sports indicators are no less controversial. The presence of a negative effect is quite often noted, and the only exception here is low-intensity cardio exercise. Now we can safely say that negative aspects are not found only in gymnastics, however, in this sports discipline, it is not strength, but skill that is of primary importance.
The physiology of the female body is a subtle enough mechanism to learn about the effect of diet on female hormones. Otherwise, serious problems are possible. Throughout the menstrual cycle, tissue sensitivity to insulin changes. Besides, a certain contribution to the "common cause" is made by the sources of carbohydrates and the woman's age.
It is these parameters that largely determine which female hormone will be dominant at a particular point in time. Let's say insulin resistance increases during the luteal phase. You should be aware that low-carb nutrition programs are most effective in this situation. Under the influence of physical exertion, the female body consumes less carbohydrates in comparison with the male. This suggests that girls need to more actively reduce the amount of carbohydrates in their nutrition program.
There is also another benefit of low-carb dietary nutrition programs that needs to be said, despite the fact that it is rather indirect. The point is that a woman can reduce the amount of fats and protein compounds in her diet to a minimum, consuming mainly carbohydrates. In addition, athletes often refuse even dairy products and red meat.
Taken together, this can cause a "perfect storm" in the body. Deficiency of protein compounds can be the main reason for changes in body composition, because in such a situation, muscle tissue will be actively destroyed. If you exclude meat and milk products from the diet, then iron and calcium deficiency may occur, respectively. Since fats are necessary for the synthesis of sex hormones, the exclusion of this nutrient from the diet can lead to menstrual irregularities.
Many people have probably wondered, how do women manage to get reasonably good results when using low-calorie nutrition programs? The fact is that when using such a nutrition program, you involuntarily manage to avoid the most common mistakes associated with organizing the diet.
You are forced to consume a lot of protein compounds and a sufficient amount of fat. Moreover, carbohydrates are also present in the diet in acceptable quantities. As you should remember, a low-carb dietary program is about a quarter or even 50 percent more protein than a carbohydrate-based diet. By the way, it is this fact that often introduces a lot of confusion when comparing the results of experiments with low- and high-carbohydrate nutrition programs.
If you exclude almost all carbohydrates from your diet, then you have no choice but to consume more protein compounds and partly fats. As we already said, during the luteal phase of the cycle, the amount of carbohydrates must be reduced, but at the follicular stage, on the contrary, it must be increased.
Recovery from physical activity in women
It is generally accepted that the female body is better able to cope with high-intensity training, and recovery processes after completion are faster than men. This suggests that there should be shorter rest breaks in the women's training program.
We can agree with this statement, and the main reason here is the lower indicators of strength and power. As a result, the female body does not tire as much as the male. In addition, other factors have a certain influence, for example, the magnitude of the load.
If a woman uses moderate loads, then her body will recover faster, not only during one workout, but in terms of the entire training cycle. If we talk about powerful loads, then according to the research results, there is no difference. At the moment we are talking about performing 20 sets with one repetition and working with the maximum one-repetition weight of the weights.
The Chinese women's weightlifting team can be another proof of all of the above. Chinese women train harder and more often than national teams from other countries. However, in this sport, all movements are performed with submaximal working weights.
It should also be considered that these movements are explosive and women can use the higher flexibility of their lower body. In bodybuilding or powerlifting, exercises must be performed at a slow pace and for this reason there is no difference between training programs for men and women.
How can hormones affect body weight?
About three dozen different hormones are synthesized in the human body. At the same time, for the normal operation of all systems, it is extremely important to maintain a balance between them. Although today we talked about the effect of diet on female hormones, it is necessary to consider the inverse relationship. If the excess weight gain is not associated with nutrition, but is the result of a malfunction of the hormonal system, then the use of various diets and sports will not be able to solve the problem.
Some hormones have a significantly greater effect on body constitution than others. It is about them that we will now briefly talk about. Leptin is one of the main regulators of energy processes. Scientists first discovered it while studying obese children. Leptin is synthesized by the cellular structures of adipose tissues and is intended to suppress appetite.
You may have noticed that in older people, appetite decreases. This is precisely due to the presence in their body of a larger number of adipose tissues, and, consequently, a high concentration of leptin. However, not everyone understands why obese people often have a strong appetite, although the level of leptin in their bodies should also be high. It's all about leptin resistance. Simply put, the brain cannot adequately respond to an increase in hormone levels, since it does not feel it. This is due to the same fat, and as soon as a person begins to lose weight, the brain can see leptin again, which leads to a decrease in appetite.
The second important hormone on which the constitution of the body depends is ghrelin. The substance, as it were, supplements leptin, and it is synthesized by the cellular structures of the stomach. When there is no food in it, then active production of ghrelin begins, and we begin to feel hungry.
If the stomach stretches, then special receptors are activated and the production of ghrelin stops. That is why nutritionists recommend drinking a glass of water while losing weight if you feel hungry, and the time for your next meal has not yet come. As you can see, the mechanism for regulating ghrelin production is mechanical and now you know how you can influence your appetite.
Insulin also affects appetite, the main function of which is to utilize and deliver glucose to the cellular structures of tissues. If you ate a sweet food, the body will respond to this with a sharp release of insulin. As a result, the concentration of glucose at first rises sharply, and then it also drops rapidly. All these processes lead to a strong appetite. These are the three main hormones that can influence the constitution of our body.
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