But if your liver isn't able to complete its tasks due to too many accumulated toxins, you'll suffer from symptoms of hormonal imbalance. This important — but little-known — connection between your liver and your hormones can lead to one of the most frustrating symptoms of hormonal imbalance: stubborn weight gain.
Cirrhosis
If people experience rapid weight gain and their abdomen looks enlarged, this may indicate cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is a condition in which scar tissue replaces healthy tissue in the liver, and it can cause fluid to build up in the abdominal cavity. This abnormal buildup of fluid is called ascites.
Most people who have a body mass index (BMI) over 27 have fatty liver disease. People who gain weight in the abdomen are at greater risk than those who gain weight around their hips or shoulders. This weight distribution in the abdomen is more common among men, putting them at slightly higher risk compared to women.
What we see as a little weight gain, gas, or constipation, could actually point toward more serious health conditions. Excess abdominal fat has frequently been associated with liver disease, which tends to have few or no symptoms.
“When your liver is unhealthy,” Christianson told me in a recent interview, “you tend to store fat, especially around your midsection, plus you have a much harder time tapping into the nutrients you need to burn that fat.” That means that no matter what diet you choose and no matter how much willpower you muster, ...
I'd say that breast cancer patients are the majority of patients who come to us for help with weight gain. Weight gain is also extremely common among patients with prostate cancer, as well as lymphoma, multiple myeloma and chronic leukemia.
Aerobic exercise can actually cut the amount of fat in your liver. A heavy workout may also lower inflammation. Resistance or strength training exercises, like weight lifting, can also improve fatty liver disease.
Chronic fatigue or weakness. Abdominal discomfort, such as cramping or nausea. Confusion or difficulty thinking. Bruising or bleeding easily, including nosebleeds.
Healthy kidneys remove excess fluid from the body when you eat or drink liquids. When kidneys do not work well, they do not make enough urine to remove the extra fluid from the body, causing fluid weight gain.
The defect may prevent some people's liver enzymes from burning fat effectively and may actually cause people to eat more in an effort to create enough energy for their bodies, according to researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, in Philadelphia.
Some causes may be related to stress, alcohol consumption, or medications. Other causes can be a result of health conditions like hypothyroidism or PCOS. Many causes of stomach swelling and weight gain can be treated with lifestyle changes and medications. However, others, such as ascites, can be serious.
If you eat too much and exercise too little, you're likely to carry excess weight — including belly fat. Also, your muscle mass might diminish slightly with age, while fat increases.
There are many reasons you can gain weight that have nothing to do with food. Sometimes weight gain is easy to figure out. If you've changed your eating habits, added more dessert or processed foods, or have been spending more time on the couch than usual, you can typically blame those reasons if you gain a few pounds.
Reducing or eliminating all animal protein, alcohol, sugar, wheat, corn, soy, tobacco, processed foods, caffeine, and nuts will give your liver a much-needed break to do some long-overdue house cleaning.
Cancer can sometimes cause swelling of the tummy (abdomen) due to a build up of fluid. The medical name for a build up of fluid in the abdomen is ascites (pronounced ay-site-eez). A swollen tummy can be very uncomfortable but a doctor can drain the fluid to make you more comfortable.
Bloating can also be a sign of other cancers, like breast, pancreatic, colon, and stomach cancer if cancer appears along the lining of the abdominal cavity, said Dr. Cobb.
How long it takes to reverse fatty liver disease may depend on the cause. If your fatty liver is because of alcohol, you may be able to reverse the effects in about 2 weeks. If you have NAFLD, it will depend on how quickly you lose weight. But remember, be careful not to lose weight too quickly.