4 Key Indicators That Your Hormones May Be Off!

May 2, 2022

 by Andrew Costa

There's no question that hormones play a significant role in overall health and wellbeing. But sometimes, it can be challenging to determine if your hormones are off, especially if you don't know what to look for. Here are four key indicators that your hormones may be out of balance. Keep an eye on these signs, and if they persist, it may be time to talk to your doctor about getting your hormone levels checked!

Hormone indicators, whether they're physical, mental, emotional, and the four key ones you need to look for yourself and your health. So I hop on calls weekly with people who are always eager to tell me all their symptoms and all the stuff that I have experienced, like, well, I'm sneezing here, there, my joints are hurting. There's this going on? And it's like, okay, first of all, those symptoms have a cause. And those causes gave you early warning signs before that happened. So I want you to know there is a difference between an indicator and a symptom. So let's start with an indicator. First, an indicator is a gauge, a sign, or a recent. So, if you think about this, this would be something that the body is extending to you in an attempt to tell you, Hey, something is going wrong here. There's an issue. So please think of it as a notification system from your alarm at home. So let's say something passes a motion detector, and you get an email or a notification. And that notification is like, Hey, check this out. Or, you know, if it's an indicator that's more serious, let's say a window breaks. Well, then the full-blown alarm signal goes off. You get a proactive notification, and you can do something about it before an issue occurs. Now, a simple. It's different. So symptoms are the after of those signals that have been left unchecked for too long.

So they end up being the result of that temporary fix that your body tries to do to compensate for what has happened.  So why don't we go back to that window? So a window breaks in your house, the alarm goes off, and you're like, okay, it's nothing. I'm just going to ignore that alarm. I'm going to start sweeping up the glass. Maybe you temporarily throw some plywood up to cover your hole. All right. The pilot's a crappy fix, but it works like the rain can't get in; nobody could walk right into your home. You don't have this huge gaping hole. So for all intents and purposes, that indicator doesn't need to go off anymore. It doesn't send you any more signals to that, except the fact is, well, they're still in. Now your house isn't going to stay warm and bugs, keep getting inside from that hole. So if you don't want to repair that hole, even though you don't have an indicator, you will have temperature issues, maybe a bug infestation. And that's the difference indicator that early warning signs and symptoms happen if you don't address them. So there is a difference.

In my experience, I find that people often struggle to respond to their body's indicators because they don't know what to look for. They have no idea what's in their hands. So when I'm chatting with friends and clients, I find a couple of things. They don't know their hunger and fullness cues. That's a good indicator. They don't recognize how stressed they are day today. They don't have suitable coping mechanisms for that stressor in their lifestyle. And they can't tell the difference between fake energy and actual. That's why everybody now drinks a bucket of coffee days. And all these things are tied directly into those indicators. And here are the main four. Yeah. Could you take the focus on this? We'll go through all of them individually. Number one is your hunger level. Number two is your stress level. Number three is your energy level. And number four is your tolerance level. So now you're probably thinking to yourself, what do you mean? How can these four areas tell me there might be an issue because I get random hunger things? I get random energy things all the time. Like, how is that an indicator for me? Well, Let's go through them individually. And maybe you're going to start to see the connection lining up with each one.

So starting with hunger, hunger is the signal and indicator that your body requires nutrients or is short on energy. So it's managed by a hormone. You make cold grill it. So the idea is this. If you're full, the signal should be off. No hunger, no hungry, simple, but what if you ate it? Isn't. What if you eat three meals a day and eat until you're stuffed, but you're still getting cravings for sugar and salt throughout the day. Now, cravings and weird patches of hunger. Especially during specific periods of the day, say late evening or one to 2:00 PM constantly. That is a significant indicator that the body asks for particular nutrients to combat something. So occasional hunger is OK. Maybe your schedule some changed, but daily is crazy. Or a hunger that never goes away, even though you eat plenty, is a clear sign that something is draining and taking away that energy, that's not normal.

And the long term, it will lead to the body becoming dependent on always asking you to intake more energy on the spot. So when it comes to that intake on the site, that is one of the. Most challenging things that people get the moment their body asks for energy. They're like; I have to feed it right now; the body becomes accustomed to that. So what ends up happening is that every time you're feeling that body repeatedly, the body says, whenever I'm having this issue, I'm just going to be presented.  And make an early signal for this person to eat or consume food anyways. So what ends up happening is people can have a sign that they have weird hunger pains, or people can have this issue where they start getting hungry at random periods of the time, or people can get to a point where maybe they overeat, even though there's something that's telling them, Hey, I'm full, or I'm feeling.  So from a hunger perspective, that's important because if someone is always getting to a point where they're like, I'm hungry, regardless of what I do, that is a big challenge. And that's an issue that starts with that early indicator, the indicator where it's like. Hey, you're asking for more energy over time. You're asking for more food all the time. Something needs to be done because I'm burning more fuel than eating.

So start taking a look at that early indicator of hunger and fullness. Now let's talk about stress. I'll openly tell you everybody's got a level of stress that they manage during the day, being realistic in saying that the Hey, you're going to be, you know, stress-free. It, you you're never going to be stressful. And the 24-hour world that we live in, it's not possible, at least in my opinion, to live a stress-free life. However, we can manage that level of stress. And that is important because it's the stress management part that we're going to be looking at. So we have a hormone called cortisol. That's responsible for the management of that stress. No stress. It comes in all forms, physical, mental, and emotional, and our body only make up so much cortisol to manage it each day. So if we make more than we use, that's a good thing. That means that we have some cortisol saved up. But if we use more than we make, that will be an issue. Long-term, so that's what we want to be looking at. Because that is not normal, it's not something that's indicated. Okay. So let's talk about that.

What if we are always using more than women? The body is forced to make some hormones on the spot. That's because they no longer have the energy from the cortisol to deal with those situations. So this long-term can even lead to severe conditions such as adrenal fatigue or slowed metabolism down because the body has to take energy from something to deal with that stress. So usually, what the body does is it starts shorting the. That's what it does. It says, well, if you're not giving it each time, now, what I'm going to do is I'm going to make some for me, and it's going to come at this experience of other things. So if you're forced to make hormones on the spot, that leads to a cortisol low at that moment. You get feelings of mental fatigue and irritability, and ultimately, you start to experience anxiety levels. So we want to make sure that it's going to that place where it constantly has that signal. Your cortisol is not just your stressor hormone. It's also responsible for managing your daily energy levels. So the idea of cortisol is you start with the highest amount of cortisol during the day. And then, as you go through the day through stressful situations, cortisol begins to wind it down through movement activity. And as long as you're keeping that energy nice, slow, and steady, you're going to get fatigued. And then you rest, but if you're getting those huge spikes of stressful situations, then what's going to happen is as the body gets to a point where it says, Hey, you have to start looking at your energy intake and your energy usage because I can't deal with this anymore.

There's an issue that you'll need to deal with at that moment. So that leads into kind of our next piece, which is energy. This indicator is probably the most ignored. Um, It's one of the first questions I asked in my discovery call. What is your current energy level during the day on a scale of one to 10, with ten being stellar? And it's crazy because I get low fours and threes, but then it's right followed up with uh, by using coffee to bring. Well, what do you mean? What happens if you don't have the coffee? Well, then I drag through the day. Okay. Your energy isn't consistent with you if you have to rely on stimulants. So you have to rely on other things to bring that energy up. That's an issue that is an early indicator that your body is having problems with something. So when the body is low on energy, it's low on point for two reasons. Number one, you're not making enough, or you're not intaking enough energy. Okay. You got to eat like you're shorting yourself on calories. I see this pretty commonly through people on regular diets or that energy is being used up for something else in the body. And that. That is an indicator as well, too. So if you're eating plenty of nutrients and wholesome food, you're finding like I'm always just dragging myself. And if I don't have stimulants, coffee, Red bulls, those tiny hour shots, or energy drinks, whatever it is. I, personally, wouldn't say I like that stuff. Then if you have to rely on that, the body gives you a clear indicator. I'm not making enough. It's not normal to feel chronic fatigue, nor is it normal to need three or four plus cups of coffee a day to be at a functional level; we should never feel functional. We should feel freaking incredible. So if you're eating those regular meals on a balanced diet, you find your energy is way off its mark. It would help if you found out what your body is—driving that energy towards.

Where is this energy? And my over-exercising and my under recovering, do I have a high physical job? Is there something that that energy is being driven towards? Am I always thinking about this particular specific thing? Are there always work tasks? All of those things go and use energy. So is it moving it towards stress management, metabolism, management, sleep, deprivation, and lack of muscle recovery?  Where's it going? You need to know; you need to know because energy is probably the most overlooked because it's something that we can get temporary power from other sources. It's easy to pick up extra cups of coffee. It's straightforward to be at a point where you're like, ah, I'm just going to take a quick espresso or a shot here. Let me take a couple of drinks in the evening, and the Buzzle will carry me through. It does temporarily, but understand that the body will become accustomed. It's going to become dependent on that energy. It's going to start asking you for it. This is why people have, you know, crazy caffeine kicks whenever they try to reduce, or they get huge massive headaches. Yes. A part of it's the hydration part. But the other part of it is because the body is used to that energy, and you're no longer. You are giving it that energy. So energy level is fundamental. And our final indicator for this episode is tolerance. Now, when I say the word patience, what comes to mind?  Right. I think my wife is just kidding when she takes me off. Um, Or, you know, maybe like a colleague asking to be set on fire. There are many different things that you can be like, I have no tolerance for this right now, but the tolerance that I'm speaking about is your metabolic tolerance. So. Metabolic Torrance is basically what are the indicators that your metabolism is moving correctly? So changes in the speed of your bowel movements, like most people think that going only once a day is typical. It's not; that's slow. That indicates that your digestion and your metabolism is a very, very slow. It would help if you were going twice a day minimum. Even three times a day is preferred. And it's essential to look at the speed of those bowel movements also change the consistency. Are you always bound up, or is your stool passing through smooth? Right?

I bet you didn't think you were going to do a poop talk today, but this is a, we won't go into full poop talk. Changes in the speed of your bowel movements are massive for metabolism. Changes in your body and the temperature of your thyroid are like a thermostat. And if you're running cold, then you're running slow. So if you always have cold hands and feet and can't stand a little bit of cold, or it's, you know, you're the kind of person that has to have hot on everything and your circulation is poor. That is an indicator that you have low tolerance, low metabolic tolerance. Okay. That is big, even like the blueness of fingertips or thinning of hair and nails. Right? Another thing is feeling incredibly tired, so if you feel fatigued after you do a workout or wake up. Like activities are supposed to give you energy. They're supposed to release hormones that allow you to feel more incredible energy. If you're working out and you're feeling worse, then that's something you need to take a look at because that is an indicator that your metabolism is having. All of these things are not normal. When your metabolism is shorted, it's going to slow down. It's going to turn that thermostat and cool you down to operate slower so you can conserve energy. That's what happens with the metabolism short; it will burn less fat. It will burn less energy because it needs to save that energy for whatever the issue is. So it's essential to take a look at how long.

These things have been in your life for, and when these things are happening. So when do I feel the most fatigue? How long have I only been passing a stool once a day or, you know, crazy? I had a conversation with a woman who said I pass stool once a week. What, that's insane. Like that's a huge indicator that your metabolism is being shorted. So you need to look at when and for how long these things happen. So these are the leading four indicators. Okay. I'll go over them again, your hunger level. So understanding your hunger and fullness, the body's need and ask for energy at that moment, your stress level. So your ability to tolerate what you were doing through the day, whether it's physical, mental, or emotional. So this is basically how long your body can last before it says to itself. Hey, I need energy at this moment and, finally, your tolerance level. So what is your metabolism performing at right now? Now notice that these indicators are very early signs and are not symptoms. Symptoms are what you feel. Suppose a hand has been left for far too. And there are a ton of symptoms. I mean, you, you see them almost on those medical commercials. Like if you're experiencing a DEMA water retention or chronic fatigue muscle wasting. I mean, all of those things, yes. Are very important. It's essential to look at the symptoms, but if you're not addressing those indicator lights if we only treat the simple. And we don't treat the cause or the indicator; what happens is, is the symptoms come back.

So many people reach out to me, and they're frustrated, especially from a hormone perspective, as they seem to be doing all the right things. They're eating better food. They're trying to work out even more than they have been, but they're not addressing everyday stressors. They're not adjusting. Digestion. They're not managing their metabolism slows, and they put themselves in a worse replace because they're stressing out their body. These indicators coincide with a specific hormone, your hunger low. Coinciding with the hormone ghrelin, your stress and energy levels coincide with cortisol and tolerance. Salvo, your metabolism is run by your thyroid. So all three of these things are things you need to look at. And these four areas, the hunger, the stress, the energy, and the tolerance, for you to be in a place where finally you can start seeing progress, start feeling those symptoms go away, and then those indicators don't turn on anymore.  So start paying attention to these to determine if you have an issue with your hormones or metabolism.

We hope you found this post helpful in identifying some key signs that your hormones may be off-balance. If you have any concerns, please consult with your health care provider. Balance is essential to optimal health, and we wish you the best on your journey back to hormonal harmony!

Listen to Hormone Helper Podcast's Episode 1: 4 Key Indicators That Your Hormones May Be Off!