Consuming junk food regularly, being physically inactive, and body fat are some of the things that usually come to mind when you think of weight gain. Rarely do you think that a hormone present in your body can affect your body weight?
In fact, most people don’t know how different hormones affect the human body. It’s one of the reasons why many people ask “can testosterone boosters cause weight gain”. The testosterone hormone can impact your body weight and it can also result in weight gain.
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Testosterone Role in Men and Women
Other than producing spermatozoa, the testosterone (T) hormone helps with fat distribution, bone mass, increasing muscle size, improving strength, growing body hair, regulating sex drive, and producing red blood cells.
On the other hand, the same hormone along with estrogen in women supports the growth and maintenance of several female tissues. Primarily, women produce both these hormones in their ovaries. However, the fat tissues of the female body also produce estrogen.
Testosterone and Body Weight
The high levels of testosterone hormone can cause many health problems and it can also impact your muscle mass and body weight. Additionally, several reasons including testosterone boosters can lead to high levels of this hormone.
It’s important to note that testosterone boosters come with several benefits such as increasing your muscle mass, boosting strength, enhancing bone density, and improving your libido and sex drive. That’s why it becomes difficult for individuals to decide whether they should take testosterone boosters or not.
Impact on Men
When it comes to men, higher levels of testosterone don’t cause weight gain. In fact, it can cause weight loss. This hormone helps male bodies to burn fat, which means not having enough of this hormone can lead to weight gain. The connection of weight and level of testosterone also goes the other way around.
It means people who lose weight experience a high level of testosterone, according to the European Journal of Endocrinology. Another scientific study published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information says that low testosterone levels in males cause obesity, irrespective of their age.
One reason why it happens is that low levels of testosterone are associated with reduced SHBG (Sex Hormone Binding Globulin), because of the insulin resistance associated with obesity.
People who are experiencing obesity because of low levels of this hormone can lose weight by improving its production. Health experts recommend obese people start exercising and dieting before opting for any other means to control weight like taking testosterone boosters.
So, you should not start taking testosterone boosters or any other medicine without consulting a licensed healthcare specialist. If natural ways don’t work, the doctor will then recommend you opt for other measures.
Related: Can testosterone boosters cause insomnia?
Impact On Women
If you’re carefully monitoring your calories intake and exercising as well but still can lose weight, the problem might be related to your hormone levels. Women produce less testosterone than men and if the levels of this hormone increase abnormally, it can result in weight gain in females. If that is the case with you, you’ll continue gaining weight regardless of the duration and intensity of your workout.
Women in these scenarios should focus on balancing their hormone levels instead of following a strict keto or calorie deficit diet. Again, it’s not advisable to start taking testosterone supplements immediately. Consult with an experienced and licensed doctor and follow the instructions.
Related: Do testosterone boosters help with energy?
Balancing Testosterone Levels
There are many methods that a person can use to balance testosterone levels to achieve ideal body weight and the following list contains some of the most popular ones.
Testosterone Boosters
Taking testosterone boosters can also balance your hormone levels. However, if you’re already experiencing high levels of this hormone, using these boosters is not recommended. The following are some of the best supplements you can use.
DAA (D-Aspartic Acid)
DDA is an amino acid that produces and releases several hormones including testosterone in your body. It works on the hypothalamus part of your body to release more GnRH (Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone). This hormone regulates the pituitary gland to release more luteinizing hormone that further produces testosterone. In simple words, it improves the production of testosterone in your body. This is an important ingredient in the best testosterone boosters.
DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone)
It’s a steroid hormone that adrenal glands produce. Being a precursor hormone that is converted into estrogen and testosterone in your body. It’s one of the most popular ingredients used in testosterone boosters because of the health benefits it brings to the table.
TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy)
TRT or testosterone replacement therapy refers to the practice of artificially replacing sex hormones in the human body. It’s believed that TRT can restore the ideal balance of hormones. It can be administered using different methods such as injections, tablets (absorbed through gums), skin patches, and gel depending upon the patient’s condition and doctor’s recommendations.
It’s important to note that TRT can cause several side effects like increased red blood cell, prostate and breast enlargement, and acne. Regardless of these side effects, the latest research suggests that TRT can offer some added benefits such as:
Normalizes testosterone levels
Helps individuals with anemia by improving hemoglobin levels
Improves bone strength and bone mineral density
Caution
Although taking testosterone is one remedy for low T levels, it is not always the ideal one for you. In many circumstances, unless a person’s testosterone levels are so low that it’s significantly affecting their quality of health and life, medication of this kind is not necessary.
That’s because it has many potential negative effects. For example, a significant drop in the amount of sperm produced by your body, overly oily skin, and more. In the worst cases, it can also lead to prostate cancer and kidney failure.
If you want a safer approach to enhance testosterone without risking negative side effects, supplements with essential nutrients such as vitamin D can be a better option.
Other Medications
If your body’s hormone levels are not balanced, the doctor might also recommend you use different medications to stabilize them. There are medicines that people can use to increase their T level and others can also discourage the hormone’s production. Just like any other medical treatment, you must not buy these medicines off the counter to start taking them without medical supervision.
Eliminating Steroid Use
If you’re using steroids and gaining weight, it probably means your testosterone levels are not balanced. In such a case you should immediately stop using these drugs. Your body will stabilize the T levels on its own and you’ll stop gaining weight if you stop using steroids timely. Otherwise, you’ll need medical supervision to treat your imbalanced hormone levels.
Testosterone Boosters and Muscle Mass
As men age, they usually lose more strength and muscle mass as compared to women because of decreased T levels. It means that men with low T levels lose more muscle mass, especially in the arms and legs. It means improving your T levels can improve your muscles by delaying frailty.
The best way to improve your T levels is to follow a healthier lifestyle and weight lifting can also help in such situations.
Keep in mind that as your muscle mass increases, you’ll gain more weight. So, in this way, testosterone boosters can cause weight gain. However, it’s entirely a different process as compared to the situation when you gain weight because of low T levels. It’s not due to the excess amount of fat present in your body.
So, What’s the Connection Between Testosterone and Weight Gain?
According to all the information shared in the above section, there is a strong connection between testosterone booster and your body weight. But it’s important to note that it’s not in the way most people think.
Gaining weight is not simply the result of higher levels of testosterone caused by boosters. In fact, it happens because your hormone levels are not properly balanced. The right T levels that your body needs depend upon multiple factors such as your gender and age.
But usually, when men have low testosterone levels, they tend to gain weight and vice versa. On the other hand, females start to gain weight when their T levels are way too high.
So, the key is to maintain the right balance of this hormone and it can be done using testosterone supplements. It also implies that testosterone boosters don’t cause weight gain if you’re taking them under medical supervision and by following the prescribed dosage plan.
Bottom Line
The T hormone has effects that go beyond assisting with sperm generation in males and tissue healing in females. It has an effect on the weight of both genders. When T levels are extremely high in females, this hormone induces weight gain. Weight gain in males, on the other hand, happens when T levels are low. Fortunately, there are several advised strategies for balancing these hormone levels in order to minimize weight gain.
They include taking testosterone boosters, discontinuing steroid usage, undergoing testosterone replacement treatment, and using medicines. Only your doctor can identify the appropriate course of action based on your T levels and the underlying reasons.