The Case:  Eliana is dealing with stubborn weight issues.  She’s also experiencing bloating and weight gain around her period. She worked with several dieticians and found that a calorie restricted diet did reduce her weight but it wasn’t sustainable and left her feeling tired.    The Investigation Eliana’s challenge is a common one. Many women find that despite eating right and being active, they struggle with unexplained weight gain or an inability to lose weight. There are a lot of things that can cause weight gain or make weight loss very difficult. To find out what was the root of Eliana’s weight loss mystery, we needed to explore the most common causes.  Esther Blum is an Integrative Dietitian and High-Performance Coach who has helped thousands of women permanently treat the root cause of their health struggles and find joy in their lives once again. Esther is the bestselling author of Cavewomen Don’t Get Fat as well as The Eat, Drink, and Be Gorgeous Project.   Doing Everything With No Weight Loss Millions of people looking to lose weight often find themselves frustrated. So many of them feel like they’re doing everything they can by eating clear, reducing calories, and exercising regularly but they can’t lose weight. In fact, despite their best efforts, some even gain weight. This is because weight loss is more complex than just calories in and calories out.  Esther Blum shares the most common 5 culprits when someone can’t lose weight.   Estrogen Dominance. Your hormones may be the reason you can’t lose weight, specifically estrogen dominance. Estrogen dominance can take place in your body during different times in your life. It happens when your progesterone bottoms out and the estrogen is chronically elevated. Aside from age-related hormone shifts, there are several other potential causes of estrogen dominance:  Stress Gut Inflammation Poor Detoxification Pathways Extra Weight Constipation Estrogen-based Birth Control (NuvaRing or the pill) Xenoestrogen Exposure (through some beauty products, cleaning products, perfumes, and plastics) Symptoms of Estrogen Dominance. Aside from the difficulty to lose weight, there are many symptoms to look for. In men, it might be ‘man boobs’. In women, it could be heavy, painful periods, ,longer cycles, water retention and headaches around the menstrual cycle.  Testing for Estrogen Dominance. The most common test for determining estrogen dominance is the DUTCH test. This is a urine test that shows hormone levels and can be used to track progress as you work toward getting out of estrogen dominance.  Supporting Estrogen Dominance. The key is to determine the root cause of the dominance and work on that. It might mean hormone replacement therapy, shifting diet and lifestyle, opening up detoxification pathways, and/or taking supplements like DIM (Diindolylmethane).    Adrenal Dysfunction. Adrenal dysfunction is often caused by chronically elevated cortisol levels. This can be brought on by chronic stress, poor sleep, low or high blood sugar, and/or environmental toxins.Symptoms of Adrenal Dysfunction: Exhaustion Insomnia or Poor Sleep Feeling Frazzled or Burnt Out Skipping or Doing Ineffective Workouts Supporting Adrenal Dysfunction. The main way to treat adrenal dysfunction and get the adrenals balanced again is through lifestyle changes and getting stress levels down with self-care and stress releasing practices. There are some supplements and adaptogenic herbs that may help, including:  Ashwagandha Holy Basil Tulsi Tea Phos Serine It’s also important to get to the root cause of the stress and address that.    Toxins / Low Thyroid. Exposure to certain toxins can cause the thyroid to underperform. When this happens, the metabolism slows down and it can be very difficult to lose weight. Common toxins that can contribute to this include: Molds Heavy Metals Goitrogenic Chemicals  Diagnosing and Treating Toxin Triggered Low Thyroid The best way to detect toxins in the syste