As a Woman Weight, Hormones, and Metabolism: What Women Need to Know | Nicole Basa, MD
Aug 12, 2025
Dr. Nicole Basa, a board-certified bariatric surgeon and founder of BNA Medical Center, shares invaluable insights on the connection between weight, hormones, and metabolism. She explains how insulin impacts weight gain and the hormonal changes women face during perimenopause. Listeners learn effective strategies for weight loss, including the importance of protein and resistance training. Dr. Basa also discusses medical options like GLP-1 medications and bariatric surgery, emphasizing the need to reset one's weight set point for long-term success.
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Metabolism Is A Multi-Hormone Engine
- Metabolic health is more than calories: it includes thyroid, sex hormones, insulin, and genetics.
- Resting metabolic rate testing (indirect calorimetry) reveals true calorie needs and explains many plateaus.
Starvation Can Stall Weight Loss
- Eating too few calories can stall weight loss because your body slows metabolism to match low intake.
- Sometimes you must eat more to provide fuel and escape a plateau.
Hunger Is Hormonal, Not Just Willpower
- Multiple gut and metabolic hormones regulate hunger: insulin, GLP-1, peptide YY, and ghrelin.
- Bariatric surgery changes anatomy and shifts these hormones, lowering ghrelin and raising GLP-1 to reduce hunger.
