The Connection Between Testosterone And Weight Loss

In men, testosterone is made by the testes whenever certain regions of the brain – the hypothalamus and pituitary glands – receive signals from your body that more testosterone is needed. These glands then send a chemical message to your testes – which respond by ramping up production of testosterone.

However, obesity can throw a wrench in this whole process – and the wrench, in this case, is estrogen. In short, there is evidence that estrogen can lower testosterone production by triggering signals to your hypothalamus and pituitary glands that tell your brain you don’t need anymore testosterone.

And with drastically reduced testosterone levels, the motivation to hit the gym – and regularly get a good workout in – can diminish. Thus, in the words of one group of researchers, a “vicious circle” comes into play: obesity reduces testosterone through the conversion of testosterone to estrogen – and by estrogen’s signaling effects on your brain – and subsequently, the lack of motivation and energy to exercise further fuels obesity. This cycle can then repeat itself, over and over again – seriously jeopardizing your health and metabolic balance.

Suppose you are overweight or obese and have low T levels – as determined by the Everlywell Testosterone Total Test, for instance. What can you do to raise your T levels?

One solution: strive to lose some weight.

Weight loss, it turns out, boosts your testosterone levels. [3] In fact, if you’re overweight (or obese) and have low T levels, taking off some of those pounds is one of the best things you can do to get higher T levels. This makes sense, of course, given the direct effects obesity has on testosterone. When you lose fat tissue, you’re interrupting the aforementioned “vicious cycle” – and that’s why the more pounds you drop, the higher your testosterone levels will climb. Also, you’ll get that testosterone boost regardless of how you’re losing weight: dieting, regular exercise, and bariatric surgery can all elevate testosterone levels by eliminating testosterone-destroying fat.

(Generally speaking, resistance exercise – like weightlifting – is the best kind of exercise for increasing your hormone level when it comes to testosterone, but you need to keep it up for at least 6 months to see a significant difference.)

And with a higher, healthier level of testosterone in your body, you can experience many improvements in your well-being. For example, some men suffer from erectile dysfunction because of low testosterone levels – and in one study, men who lost 15% of their body weight were more likely to experience significantly improved erectile function compared to a control group. [4]

If weight loss can increase one's testosterone level, then is the opposite also true? In other words, does testosterone make you lose weight? Evidence suggests that this is indeed the case among men experiencing testosterone deficiency [5]: testosterone therapy among men with hypogonadism can lead to reduced fat mass, weight, waist circumference, and BMI.

You face an increased risk of low testosterone if you are overweight or obese. And under such circumstances, your body can be thrown into a destructive cycle where lower-than-normal T levels cause greater weight gain – which, in turn, drops your T levels even further (thus continuing the cycle).

Testosterone levels can be boosted in some cases, however, by lifestyle modifications involving weight loss – and in general, you’ll get higher T levels the more pounds you lose. So if you are overweight or obese – and a testosterone test reveals that you have low T – your healthcare provider may recommend a weight loss strategy as the ideal way to elevate your T levels.

In some cases, testosterone replacement therapy may also be recommended by a healthcare provider to address a serious hormone imbalance in the body related to testosterone.

Finally, keep in mind that if you are experiencing low testosterone symptoms, talking with your healthcare provider is a great step to take so you can learn what action steps they recommend for you.

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