The fear of gaining weight is one of the main reasons women are often hesitant to take estrogen in any form—whether it’s for contraception or at menopause.

So is the fear valid?

A recent report found that estrogen taken as the pill or as hormone replacement at menopause INCREASED metabolism—suggesting it may actually protect against weight gain.

I’m not suggesting women should take estrogen to lose weight, but information is power.

The better we understand these mechanisms, the more informed choices we can make.

Did You Know?

Your Mindset Can Affect Your Health

When Stanford psychologist, Carol Dweck, first started to research mindsets, she found that different mindsets translated into different performance in school.

She called these the Growth Mindset (believing you can learn and change) and Fixed Mindset (believing you are inherently smart or not).

These mindsets not only affect schoolwork but everything in life!

When we believe our bodies and brains can change, we are more motivated to better ourselves, whether that’s through what we eat, how we move, or choices we make.