Can hormone therapy help with weight loss? What women need to know
If you’ve been doing everything “right” but the scale won’t budge—or worse, keeps creeping up—it’s not just in your head. As women move through perimenopause and menopause, hormonal shifts can dramatically impact metabolism, appetite, fat storage, and energy levels. For many, this is when weight loss becomes frustratingly difficult.
That’s why so many women ask: Can hormone therapy actually help with weight loss? The short answer? Sometimes—but it depends on your unique hormone profile, health history, and the type of therapy used.
At Elle MD, we offer personalized hormone replacement therapy in Michigan as part of a comprehensive, functional medicine approach. In this guide, we’ll break down the connection between hormones and metabolism, explain when hormone therapy might be helpful, and how it fits into a sustainable plan to help you feel like yourself again.
We’re Dr. Erin Hendriks and Dr. Maricela Castillo MacKenzie, founders of Elle MD, a
functional medicine and weight loss clinic based in Royal Oak, Michigan. Our care combines Obesity Medicine and Functional Medicine to get to the root of what your body truly needs.
How hormones impact weight loss and metabolism
Your hormones are not just background messengers—they are the conductors of your metabolism. When they’re out of sync, everything can feel harder. Weight loss isn’t just about calories in and out; it’s about how your body responds to food, stress, sleep, and movement.
Estrogen, for example, plays a key role in regulating insulin sensitivity and fat storage—so when it drops during perimenopause or menopause, many women notice sudden weight gain, especially around the belly.
Progesterone, which supports calm and sleep, can also impact cravings and recovery when it’s too low. Add in cortisol spikes from chronic stress and insulin resistance from blood sugar swings, and your body starts to hold on to fat as a survival response.
Even subtle thyroid shifts can slow your metabolism without ever triggering an official diagnosis. At Elle MD, we don’t overlook these connections—we explore them. Because when your hormones are balanced, your body can finally start working with you again, not against you.
What is the hormone that helps you lose weight?
There isn’t just one. Your metabolism is deeply influenced by a network of hormones:
- Estrogen: Declines during perimenopause and menopause, often leading to fat redistribution (especially around the belly), insulin resistance, and changes in appetite.
- Progesterone: Helps balance estrogen and supports restful sleep. When low, it can lead to irritability, poor recovery, and increased cortisol.
- Thyroid hormones: Regulate your basal metabolic rate. Even subtle dysfunctions can result in fatigue, weight gain, and cold intolerance.
- Insulin: If you're insulin resistant, your body struggles to move sugar into your cells, which can lead to fat storage and energy crashes.
- Cortisol: Chronic stress leads to high cortisol, which tells your body to hold onto fat—especially around the midsection.
Important note: Insulin and cortisol aren’t part of hormone replacement therapy, but they have a significant impact on your metabolism and ability to lose weight.
This intricate hormonal dance affects everything from your hunger cues to your sleep cycles. Weight loss isn’t about willpower. It’s about chemistry. And the good news is: chemistry can be supported.
Can hormone therapy help you lose weight?
Hormone therapy (HRT) is often prescribed during perimenopause and menopause to reduce symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, and low libido. For some women, HRT also helps regulate metabolism by restoring estrogen levels that support insulin sensitivity and fat metabolism.
But will you lose weight from hormone therapy alone? Probably not.
What it can do is help you feel more like yourself. Improve your sleep. Stabilize your mood. Reduce bloating. Give you the foundation to make sustainable changes that lead to weight loss—without the uphill battle you’ve been fighting.
Hormone therapy isn’t a fat-burning shortcut. It doesn’t make the pounds melt off overnight. But what it can do is help create the internal environment your body has been begging for—a sense of safety, balance, and stability.
When your hormones are out of alignment, your body goes into survival mode. It clings to fat, disrupts sleep, spikes cravings, and makes even the most disciplined lifestyle feel ineffective. Hormone therapy, when done right, can help restore that inner safety. Your sleep becomes deeper. Your mood more stable. The cravings that used to hijack your afternoons start to fade. You stop feeling like you’re fighting your own biology.
Weight loss becomes possible—not because your body is being forced, but because it's no longer fighting to survive. You begin to rebuild trust with your body, one gentle step at a time.
Can hormone therapy help with that stubborn belly fat that won’t budge?
As estrogen levels decline during perimenopause and menopause, many women notice a frustrating shift in where their body stores fat—suddenly, it all seems to land around the midsection. This isn’t just cosmetic—it’s metabolic. That belly fat is often visceral fat, which is hormonally active and closely tied to insulin resistance, inflammation, and cortisol dysregulation.
Hormone therapy may help with this. By improving insulin sensitivity and calming the stress response, HRT can support your body’s natural ability to regulate fat storage. But it’s not guaranteed—and it’s not the full solution.
The real transformation happens when hormone therapy is part of a bigger plan: one that addresses blood sugar, movement, nervous system regulation, gut health, and emotional wellbeing. In that context, hormone therapy isn’t the hero—it’s the support that helps you show up for yourself more consistently, with less resistance and more ease.
Because when your body finally feels heard, it begins to let go—of weight, yes, but also of the fear and fatigue that’s been weighing you down.
Will testosterone actually help me lose weight—or just make things more complicated?
Testosterone plays a role in muscle mass and metabolic rate. Low levels may contribute to fatigue, low libido, and weight gain.
But here’s the truth: testosterone therapy is not a go-to treatment for weight loss and should only be considered with proper testing and medical oversight to ensure it’s the right fit for your body.
Who benefits most from hormone support for weight gain?
There is no universal answer. But we’ve seen the most benefit for women in:
- Perimenopause: When hormones fluctuate wildly, leading to irregular cycles, mood swings, weight gain, and brain fog.
- Menopause: When estrogen and progesterone have sharply declined, affecting sleep, metabolism, and energy.
- PCOS: Where insulin resistance and androgen imbalance lead to stubborn weight gain and irregular periods.
In these cases, hormone therapy may create a more stable internal environment, allowing your body to respond more effectively to weight loss interventions.
Functional medicine vs. HRT: what’s the difference?
Hormone therapy (HRT) is like refilling an empty tank—it gives your body back the estrogen, progesterone, or thyroid support it may be missing. And when prescribed thoughtfully, that can make a world of difference. You might sleep better. Think clearer. Feel like you again.
But sometimes, just refilling the tank isn’t enough—because no one’s asking why it ran dry in the first place.
That’s where functional medicine comes in. It doesn’t just ask “what’s missing?” It asks “what else isn’t working?” Why is your body struggling to keep up? Why are your hormones imbalanced in the first place? And what other systems—like your gut, your adrenals, your blood sugar, or your nervous system—might be making it harder for your body to heal?
Functional medicine doesn’t rush to silence your symptoms—it listens to them. It looks at:
- Blood sugar swings that lead to cravings and energy crashes
- A sluggish gut that can’t properly eliminate excess estrogen
- Cortisol levels that skyrocket under stress and block fat loss
- Inflammation that keeps your body stuck in survival mode
At Elle MD, we don’t choose between HRT or functional medicine—we combine both when needed. Maybe you do need estrogen support. But you also need to support your gut to detox it properly. Maybe your thyroid’s underperforming—but so is your sleep, your nutrition, your mindset.
We believe in treating your body like a complex, interconnected system—not a checklist of symptoms. Because when we care for the whole of you—not just the hormones—you don’t just lose weight. You start to feel
well. Like yourself. Maybe for the first time in years.
So… can hormone therapy help with weight loss?
Sometimes. But it’s not a magic bullet.. The right hormone therapy can:
- Improve how you feel day-to-day
- Make it easier to move, sleep, and regulate cravings
- Give you a better foundation to create healthy change
But real, lasting weight loss comes when your body is truly supported. That’s why at Elle MD, we use functional testing, deep listening, and root-cause care to guide your journey.
Whether or not you use hormone therapy, we’ll help you:
- Balance your metabolism
- Understand your cravings
- Build strength and resilience
And most of all? We help you feel like you again.
We don’t throw meds at your symptoms. We:
- Run hormone panels, thyroid labs, inflammation and nutrient tests
- Investigate the root causes of weight retention
- Personalize a plan that includes medication (if needed), supplements, nutrition, and mindset support
We combine science with soul. Because healing isn’t just clinical—it’s emotional too. The journey is personal, and so is the care we offer.
Ready to explore if hormone therapy is right for you?
If your body feels like it’s changing and nothing seems to work anymore—you’re not broken. You’re evolving. And you deserve care that evolves with you.
For women navigating perimenopause, menopause, or hormone-related weight gain, hormone therapy can be a supportive tool—but it’s most powerful when combined with a comprehensive, root-cause plan.
👉 Learn more about how we approach hormone replacement therapy in Michigan and whether it might be part of your path toward feeling strong, energized, and at home in your body again.
Explore our Weight Loss Program or book a consultation to get started.
Let’s finally give your hormones, your weight, and your story the care they deserve.
*AI Disclosure:
This content may contain sections generated with AI with the purpose of providing you with condensed helpful and relevant content, however all personal opinions are 100% human made as well as the blog post structure, outline and key takeaways.
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*Blog Disclaimer: Please note that reading our blog does not replace any health or medical advice consultation. Read our blog disclaimer here.
Meet the Drs.
Dr. Hendriks and Dr. Castillo MacKenzie are board-certified physicians, female, specialized, with over 10 years of experience.
Elle MD started after practicing in a traditional primary care setting together for over a decade. We grew frustrated with the current healthcare model, which places no emphasis on addressing the root cause of chronic disease. A lot of times, conventional care doesn’t even promote overall wellness!
We founded Elle MD in Royal Oak, MI, with a vision of providing this care in a compassionate and personalized way.
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