Many people assume that thyroid hormone deficiency or thyroid imbalance are to blame for weight loss failure, but there are some key factors to consider that might be affecting thyroid hormone function rather than focusing entirely on thyroid hormone levels.
Why Thyroid Testing Alone May Not Be Enough
For a woman who has recently gone on the contraceptive pill or HRT (or had her dose increased), it may be interfering with thyroid hormone availability, causing a hypo-metabolic state. Higher estrogen may also increase her tendency to eat carbohydrates — especially chocolate! The higher estrogen level will increase insulin production, lowering blood sugar and increasing carb cravings for energy.
Stress is another problem area — for whatever reason: work, relationship, health, mood, lack of sleep, or even lack of weight loss on a restrictive dietary regime. Stress will alter mood and make willpower disappear, and comfort eating will take over. Stress and high cortisol will drop blood sugar and create carb cravings too.
There are always a number of factors at play. It can really make a difference to look outside the obvious or expected hormone box. Our Thyroid Test Kit (with Specialist Doctor Report) measures TSH, Free T4, Free T3 and TPO antibodies — providing a comprehensive thyroid picture with full specialist interpretation to help identify whether thyroid dysfunction is contributing to your weight challenges.
Common Questions on Hormones, Diet and Weight Loss
What about gluten in the diet?
Most people can benefit from a gluten-free diet, especially if there’s an autoimmune issue such as Hashimoto’s, RA, MS or Ulcerative Colitis. Signs that someone might be sensitive to gluten include bloating and gas, fatigue or brain fog, and migraine. It’s worth suggesting an avoidance strategy for a week — the individual will be able to recognise for themselves whether there is any improvement in how the gut is feeling.
What supplements can help to reduce estrogens for men and women?
Dietary indoles are a group of phytonutrients that can be very supportive of improved estrogen metabolism:
- I3C (Indole-3-Carbinol) and DIM (Diindolylmethane) — naturally occurring phytonutrients found in cruciferous vegetables. This group assists in the elimination of toxins from the liver, promotes a healthy balance of estrogen metabolites and may help to maintain cellular health. Chemically, indole compounds help to shift estrogen balance in favour of 2-hydroxyestrone (a protective estrogen metabolite).
- Calcium d-Glucarate — a supplemental form of D-Glucaric acid, which supports the body’s ability to detoxify hormones and toxins through glucuronidation. This can really help to reduce estrogen burden for men or women by helping to excrete rather than metabolise excess estrogen.
To understand your current estrogen and progesterone balance before starting any supplementation, our Comprehensive Female Saliva Hormone Profile (LCMS) measures the free, bioavailable fraction of estradiol, progesterone, testosterone and DHEA using gold-standard LCMS analysis — the most clinically relevant method for identifying estrogen dominance and guiding targeted treatment.
What herbs or supplements help balance hormones naturally and relieve menopause symptoms like hot flushes and mood swings?
When it comes to menopause, the focus is often on estrogen. However, in my experience the menopause story has more than one protagonist.
Progesterone is so important during the menopause — it will help to potentiate a lower estrogen level. Unfortunately, many health professionals are confused by progesterone and think that its synthetic cousins will do the same job. They do not. Physiological dosing of natural progesterone can make a profound difference for most women going through the menopause. The best approach is to assess bioavailable hormone levels so that you know what you’re working with, and then provide a dosing regimen that will work with the estrogen available.
Caution: too much progesterone too quickly can provoke what I call an ‘estrogen kickback’ — where PMS-type symptoms can emerge: mood swings, tender breasts, bloating. It just means that estrogen has ‘woken up’ and it’s best to ease back on the progesterone.
What about sleep, mood and comfort eating during menopause?
Some major factors for women going through the menopause with issues of hot flushes and mood swings are often related to lack of sleep (in particular waking early) and stress. A great supplement that can positively support these problem areas is 5-HTP — a plant-based amino acid that forms a precursor to serotonin, which can significantly help to improve mood and reduce stress. If a woman has less ‘pressure’ on the sympathetic nervous system, her hot flushes will subside significantly.
The other benefit with 5-HTP is that if taken at night, the serotonin converts to melatonin, supporting deeper, longer and more restful sleep. 5-HTP can also support a weight loss regime because it can help the individual curb comfort eating — carbohydrates make serotonin in the gut, hence the comfort. By adding 5-HTP, the craving may be circumvented.
Where to Start: Testing Before Treating
Whether the issue is thyroid interference, estrogen dominance, cortisol-driven cravings or menopausal hormone shifts, the most effective approach is always to test, not guess. Our Female Weight Management Profile Test measures estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA, cortisol, thyroid and vitamin D — all the key hormones linked to weight gain and metabolic dysfunction — in a single at-home kit.
Originally by Dr. Alyssa Burns-Hill, ZRT Laboratory. Reproduced with permission. Last reviewed: May 2026.