By Connie Cook | Guest Columnist

Tingling sensations, rapid heartbeats, clammy skin, hot flashes and restless sleep: what seems reminiscent of a summer romance can actually be the start of a hormonal train wreck in your body. Balance is key and if your hormones are out of sync, then your body can become completely out of whack.

If your hormones are not balanced, your body will not function properly. However, finding out what’s going on inside your body can sometimes be tricky.

Consider a hormone as a chemical messenger, transporting a signal from one cell to another. Hormones are responsible for your body’s growth, development and energy. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter a cell’s chemical reaction, so if something is off in your body, an in-depth analysis of your hormone levels can reveal the imbalance.

The hormones most familiar to men and women are testosterone and estrogen. When our body’s regular dose decreases, we can see and feel the changes. However, our hormones do not decline because we age, but rather we age because our hormones decline. Decreasing muscle mass, lower metabolism, weight gain, decreased libido, osteoporosis, and changes in skin are associated with aging and lower levels of hormones.

When it comes to balancing hormones, Dr. Darren Farnesi is an expert and has studied anti-aging medicine and bio-identical hormone replacement therapy in San Diego for more than 10 years. He specializes in anti-aging and functional or regenerative medicine. Farnesi explained there is no “quick fix” for unbalanced hormones. “This is not about just getting a prescription for estrogen or testosterone when your libido isn’t what it used to be,” he said.

Farnesi uses an individualized approach and begins with laboratory tests of hormone levels. Then, he prescribes a dosage of bio-identical estrogens, progesterone or testosterone that is prepared at a registered compounding pharmacy. Each patient is then monitored carefully through regular follow-up visits to ensure they get symptom relief at the lowest possible dosage.

Wouldn’t it be nice if our minds aged and we became wiser, but our bodies didn’t age and we remained fit and trim? One of the reasons I find hormone balancing so important is if your hormones are not optimized, your body will not respond to exercise the way it did when you were younger. I’ve heard from so many over the years that they just can’t lose weight, no matter what they eat or how much they exercise. People also complained of constantly feeling sluggish, fatigued and not being able to sleep, which are all signs of hormone imbalances.

If you want optimal results in the gym and if you want to lose fat and build muscle, then you need optimal nutrition, sleep, stress reduction, exercise and hormones. It’s crucial that you work with someone who knows how to balance all your hormones together. That’s why Farnesi is Fit’s official doctor for all our members’ hormonal questions and issues.

If you’ve downgraded your definition of a good night’s sleep to four hours, if you claim “the devil made you do it” when you break out in a hot flash and shout obscenities at the top of your lungs or if you feel like doom and gloom have become your new best friends, then you should consider getting your hormones checked out so you can truly be in tune with life.

—Connie Cook’s has over 20 years experience in the health and fitness industry. After extensive work in the top fitness and athletic clubs in Houston, Texas, she moved to San Diego to become the fitness and marketing director of Fit Athletic. She is instructs all formats of fitness classes and is certified in multiple national group fitness courses. E-mail her at [email protected] to join in.