Does DIM Help with Weight Loss?

Does DIM help with weight loss? A DIM supplement can help you lose weight because it can stabilize estrogen levels and balance hormones. Hormones play a role in weight and your metabolism’s function, and DIM might also help with weight loss by increasing your body’s ability to burn fat. We discuss in more detail below what you should know about DIM and how it helps with weight loss.

Understanding Diindolylmethane (DIM)

DIM supplements are excellent for regulating hormones. DIM is a compound in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and brussels sprouts. It would take huge amounts of dietary cruciferous vegetables to get the full benefits of DIM, so many people opt to supplement with it.

DIM can help with conditions including mood swings, symptoms of menopause, PMS, and fibroids and may even have anticancer benefits and benefits for prostate health.

Some people use DIM as an estrogen blocker, but it works a little differently than that.

Your body produces estrogen even when taking DIM, but it converts bad estrogen into good forms.

DIM also blocks an enzyme responsible for the conversion of testosterone into estrogen.

Hormonal Weight Gain

Women often find that changing estrogen levels can affect their weight. This is why women entering menopause frequently gain weight, but it can happen any time their hormones aren’t balanced.

If your estrogen is high or low, it’s associated with weight gain.

There are three types of estrogen, one of which is estradiol. This goes down at menopause and plays a role in regulating body weight and metabolism, and high or low levels can contribute to weight gain.

If you have a hormonal imbalance, you may notice that you gain weight in particular areas, like your midsection, hips, and thighs.

Can DIM Help with Weight Loss?

When DIM helps balance your good estrogen levels and ensure everything is at the proper level, your metabolism can function better. Your metabolism goes more toward fat-burning when your hormone levels are well-balanced.

Having high levels of estrogen and especially bad estrogen, causes your body to get signals that it should hold onto body fat.

DIM supplements can also help prevent the formation of new fat cells.

If you pair a DIM supplement with diet and exercise, you will likely see faster weight loss and better results.

Can DIM Cause Weight Gain?

There’s no reason that DIM should cause weight gain. Instead, it should help with weight loss, especially if the underlying cause of weight gain or an inability to lose weight is due to estrogen or hormones.

Some people experience bloating when they first start taking a DIM supplement as their body detoxes excess estrogen. This side effect should go away as your body gets used to the supplement. Within a week or so, you should notice the side effects of a DIM supplement get better and then disappear altogether.

What Are the Other Benefits of DIM Supplements?

Along with helping with weight loss, DIM supplements can have a lot of other benefits.

DIM supplement benefits include:

• Anticancer effects, including helping prevent the growth and spread of breast cancer cells.
• Protection from prostate enlargement and prostate cancer.
• Helps with hormonal acne
• Reduced hot flashes and menopause symptoms
• Relief from PMS symptoms
• Correction of estrogen imbalances in men that lead to symptoms like breast growth and erectile dysfunction

How to Take a DIM Supplement for Weight Loss

If you want to lose weight by taking a DIM supplement, consider a dose of 100 to 200 mg daily. You might want to start with a lower amount as your body adjusts, and this can also reduce the risk of potential side effects.

Anything over 200 mg isn’t recommended because you are more likely to experience side effects like headaches and nausea.

DIM supplements don’t make you tired, nor are they stimulating, so you can take them any time of day that works for your schedule.

Take a DIM supplement with a full glass of water; if you have a sensitive stomach, you might want to have it with food.

You may notice results in as few as six weeks, but for many people, it takes about six months of consistent DIM use to see real benefits, including weight loss.

If you experience side effects when starting a DIM supplement like dark urine or headaches, it’s likely because the DIM works via your liver to neutralize harmful estrogen metabolites. As your body detoxes more of the bad estrogen, you’ll start to have fewer symptoms, and they will go away altogether.

DIM is pulling the excess estrogen from your cells and sending them into your bloodstream so they can be removed, which creates a detox reaction, thus those initial symptoms.

You can support your liver during this time to reduce some side effects. Drink plenty of water and add a supplement for liver health to your routine, like dandelion or artichoke. Milk thistle is also a great liver supporter.

Final Thoughts

A DIM supplement can help you lose weight in a few different ways. First, DIM supplements balance hormones and make sure you don’t have excess estrogen, especially the more potent and harmful type. Hormones are one of the fundamental factors playing a role in weight and metabolism. DIM supplements can also help indirectly with weight loss because they change how your body holds onto fat cells.