5 Reasons Your Body Might Be Holding Onto Weight

If you’ve been eating better, moving your body, and “doing all the right things” but the scale isn’t budging … let me lovingly say this: It’s not you. It’s your biology.

Weight loss resistance isn’t a character flaw. It’s your body trying to communicate something — and it’s often tied to hidden imbalances under the surface. So instead of pushing harder, let’s pause and look deeper.

Here are 5 root reasons your body might be holding onto weight:

1. Your Thyroid Is Sluggish

Your thyroid is the master of your metabolism. It helps regulate your body temperature, energy, and how efficiently you burn calories. If your thyroid is running slow (hello, high TSH or low T3), your metabolism follows suit.

Common symptoms:

• Cold hands and feet

• Fatigue that sleep doesn’t fix

• Hair thinning or loss

• Weight gain or difficulty losing weight

Many women have subclinical thyroid issues that don’t get flagged on basic labs. This is where full thyroid panels — including TSH, Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3, and thyroid antibodies — matter.

➡️ Pro tip: Overuse of supplements like zinc, selenium, or iodine without testing can make things worse. Always test before you supplement!

2. Your Digestion Is Off

You are what you absorb — not just what you eat. If your gut isn’t breaking down food well, you're missing out on key nutrients that keep your metabolism healthy.

Signs of sluggish digestion:

• Bloating or fullness after meals

• Constipation

• Undigested food in stool

• Frequent burping or gas

When digestion is off, it can also drive inflammation, gut imbalances, and stress your detox systems — all of which can impact weight loss and hormone balance.

➡️ Pro tip: Gut issues can deplete B vitamins — all crucial for energy and fat burning.

3. Your Minerals Are Low

Minerals are the spark plugs of your metabolism. They’re essential for energy production, thyroid function, hormone balance, and even blood sugar regulation.

When key minerals like magnesium, potassium, and sodium are depleted (often shown on an HTMA hair test), your body can shift into survival mode — conserving energy and slowing weight loss.

Symptoms of low minerals:

• Low energy

• Cravings (especially for salt or sweet)

• Poor stress tolerance

• Dizziness or lightheadedness

➡️ Pro tip: Overuse of caffeine, sweating a lot, or drinking tons of plain water without replenishing electrolytes can all deplete your minerals.

4. Your Estrogen Is Too High

Estrogen dominance is when estrogen is high relative to progesterone. This can happen due to stress, poor detoxification, environmental toxins, or birth control use — and it can lead to fat storage, especially in the hips, thighs, and midsection.

Symptoms of high estrogen:

• PMS or heavy periods

• Mood swings

• Breast tenderness

• Stubborn lower body weight gain

Estrogen is meant to be detoxed by the liver and eliminated through the gut. So if either of those systems are sluggish (see point #2!), estrogen can pile up.

➡️ Pro tip: Watch out for synthetic fragrances, plastics, and hormone-disrupting ingredients in beauty and cleaning products — they can mimic estrogen in the body.

5. You’re Stuck in Fight-or-Flight

We can’t ignore this one: chronic stress is one of the biggest barriers to weight loss — especially belly fat.

When you're constantly in fight-or-flight mode, your cortisol stays elevated. Over time, this can lead to:

• Blood sugar issues

• Poor sleep

• Hormonal imbalance

• Slow digestion

• And yep, weight gain

Even if you’re eating “clean” and hitting your workouts, if your nervous system feels unsafe, your body will prioritize survival — not fat loss.

➡️ Pro tip: Gentle movement, slower mornings, sunlight, deep breaths, and even eating meals without distractions can all support nervous system regulation.