Progesterone is critical for a woman’s health and normal body functioning. It is a hormone that regulates timely menstruation and supports risk-free pregnancy. Unfortunately, low progesterone levels are a common concern in most females, leading to infertility, early miscarriages, and unusual weight gain.

Many factors can lower progesterone production, such as stress, PCOS, hypothyroidism, and abnormal body weight. Fortunately, science has discovered many ways to balance progesterone levels, including progesterone creams. 

Since progesterone makes up an essential part of our total body hormones, balancing and maintaining it can help you lose some extra fat. While there is no authentic research on the efficacy of progesterone creams, many people are trying them and reporting unbelievable results.

Let’s explore the effectiveness of progesterone creams and the right areas to apply them for weight loss.

Do Progesterone Creams Cause Weight Loss?

It’s important to first determine whether progesterone creams cause weight loss before moving on to their application. It’s a fact that hormones play a crucial role in our weight loss journey. 

You may see your friend slimming down with a healthy diet and no workout, while you don’t see any difference in your body even when practicing both. This is the hormonal game — one trick that works for one may not be effective for the other. 

For this reason, you must always get your hormone levels tested by a doctor before starting your weight loss journey. By simply focusing on the hormonal imbalance, you can easily cut down those extra pounds. The same applies to progesterone levels.

Progesterone cream is based on a lotion formula used as an alternative for hormone replacement therapy. It contains bio-identical progesterone that helps regulate your body’s hormone levels, helping you lose weight.

How Can Progesterone Creams Help with Weight Loss?

Here are some possible factors that can make progesterone creams powerful enough for weight loss:

Balance High Estrogen Levels

Sometimes, the estrogen levels start dominating the progesterone levels, leading to too much estrogen and very low progesterone. This imbalance between the two most crucial hormones results in many abnormalities, such as:

• Sudden weight gain
• Bloating
• Sleeping difficulties
• Breast swelling and tenderness
• Reduced libido or sex drive
• Irregular menstrual cycle
• Mood swings
• Headaches
• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Extreme hair loss

All these factors can account for a higher body weight. You may start noticing excess fat buildup near your waist and hips, the two most difficult areas to lose weight. 

Thus, increasing progesterone levels to balance the estrogen levels is essential for weight loss, and creams may help you do so.

Regulate Thyroid Functioning

The thyroid is a butterfly-like gland that produces hormones critical for managing weight, metabolism, and many other functions. Low progesterone levels can lower the production of these hormones, leading to unusual weight gain. 

Progesterone creams can help balance thyroid production and function. It’s beneficial if you have hypothyroidism or underactive thyroid and gain weight because of it. 

Manage Insulin Levels 

Living a sedentary lifestyle and adopting unhealthy habits for a long time can lead to irregular blood sugar levels and insulin resistance. This results in weight gain and even obesity. Estrogen dominance can further increase your insulin levels.

Fortunately, the progesterone hormone is a natural diuretic, a water pill that increases urine production. It efficiently stabilizes your blood sugar levels. Thus, enhancing the number of progesterone in your body will promote insulin stabilization and sensitivity, leading to weight loss.

Produce Anti-inflammatory Effects

When our immune system encounters foreign bacteria and infections, it instantly signals the body to get inflamed as a response against them. That’s normal in the case of mild inflammation. However, long-term inflammation can lead to various health issues, including weight gain.

A high estrogen level is also related to inflammation. This hormone protects the body by causing acute inflammation. When it’s too much in your body, it can cause severe inflammation. That’s when progesterone comes into play. 

By tackling estrogen dominance with progesterone creams, you can minimize the chances of inflammation and make your weight loss journey easier. 

Improve Sleep

Sleep deprivation results in stress, which leads to higher cortisol levels. This condition affects not only your mental health but also your physical appearance, causing sudden weight gain. Lack of sleep also interrupts your appetite hormone, leptin, inducing intense sugar or junk food cravings. All this leads to weight gain. 

This is why experts recommend completing the 7 to 8 hours of sleep cycle for people trying to lose weight. In fact, progesterone is a relaxing hormone that aids the brain in sleeping. On the other hand, estrogen dominance is associated with sleep-related issues.

So, all in all, progesterone creams can help in weight loss by regulating your body’s progesterone levels. 

Where Should You Apply Progesterone Cream for Weight Loss?

Progesterone creams are topical lotions that you can only use externally on your skin. However, our skin is pretty thick and may hinder the absorbance of the cream. So, you must know the right areas to apply your progesterone cream, particularly where you have thin skin. 

You can apply the cream to your:

• Stomach
• Thighs
• Inner arms 
• Behind the knees
• Breasts

Remember, many women have reported irritation in those areas where they have applied the progesterone cream repeatedly. So, always consult a doctor before using topicals on your body. 

How to Get a Quality Progesterone Cream?

The efficacy of a progesterone cream for weight loss usually depends on its quality. The better the quality, the more quickly you will get the results. Consider the below factors to get the best product for your needs:

• It should be made of natural ingredients.
• It must be a USP-grade progesterone cream.
• The cream must contain the appropriate dosage, ranging from 25 to 250 mg per dose. 
• The product must contain Vitamin E, as it’s associated with improving the luteal phase. 

Also, buy the cream from a reputed store and brand. You should also check its customer reviews online to be more confident about your decision. 

Progesterone Cream: Is It a Good Option for Weight Loss?

Progesterone creams can be an excellent option for weight loss for people who benefit from them. However, they may not work with everyone. If you’re one of such people, you can try other alternatives like progesterone oil and prescription supplements.

The oil has a higher absorption tendency and progesterone solubility. It also has a longer shelf life and is more potent than creams. If not this, you can talk to a doctor and ask for progesterone supplements. 

Nevertheless, you should first try improving your diet, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and practicing a balanced workout. These steps will indeed have a positive effect on your body weight, helping you look in shape naturally.

Sources:

Footnotes:

• Taraborrelli S. Physiology, production and action of progesterone. Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica. 2015;94:8-16.
• Pulkkinen MO, Jaakkola UM. Low serum progesterone levels and tubal dysfunction—a possible cause of ectopic pregnancy. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 1989;161(4):934-7.
• Glover EM, Jovanovic T, Mercer KB, Kerley K, Bradley B, Ressler KJ, Norrholm SD. Estrogen levels are associated with extinction deficits in women with posttraumatic stress disorder. Biological psychiatry. 2012;72(1):19-24.
• Leonetti HB, Wilson KJ, Anasti JN. Topical progesterone cream has an antiproliferative effect on estrogen-stimulated endometrium. Fertility and sterility. 2003;79(1):221-2.
• Silva JF, Ocarino NM, Serakides R. Thyroid hormones and female reproduction. Biology of reproduction. 2018;99(5):907-21.
• Selye H, Bassett L. Diuretic Effect of Progesterone. Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine. 1940;44(2):502-4.
• Straub RH. The complex role of estrogens in inflammation. Endocrine reviews. 2007;28(5):521-74.
• Dzugan S, Scipione A. Progesterone. Life Extension. 2006;pp. 49‐55. 
• Takasaki A, Tamura H, Taniguchi K, Asada H, Taketani T, Matsuoka A, Yamagata Y, Shimamura K, Morioka H, Sugino N. Luteal blood flow and luteal function. J Ovarian Res. 2009;2:1. 

References: 

• Where to Apply Progesterone Cream. Proov. Accessed 9/30/2023.
• Progesterone Cream for Weight Loss: Does It Work?. Dhea Clinic. Accessed 9/30/2023.
• Progesterone Cream Benefits, Risks, and Alternatives. Verywell Health. Accessed 9/30/2023.