Grehlin & Leptin Hormones

Our body has evolved to use a very efficient pair of hormones which signal the brain when it`s time to eat, or when we’ve had enough food.

Leptin and ghrelin are the hormonal messengers responsible for our desire to eat, our craving for certain foods and whether we store excess calories as body fat or use it for energy. To prevent these hormones from becoming resistant and ineffective communicators, we need to follow a natural diet and lifestyle as our evolution prescribes.

Appetite Hormones Control Weight Regain After Dieting
The vast majority of children and adults alike eat and live in a manner which is much different than our Paleolithic ancestors. The large number of calories we consume from processed food sources causes metabolic disruption and impacts fat metabolism before and after weight loss.

The results of a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism shows the importance of leptin and ghrelin in the risk for weight regain in people who lose weight by dieting. Specifically, the study demonstrated that hormonal imbalance and leptin resistance were significant factors leading to weight regain.

Controlling Leptin and Ghrelin with Natural Diet and Lifestyle
After years of dietary abuse and poor lifestyle habits, our appetite hormones become resistant to the effects of excess food, and fail to properly transmit signals to the brain. While researchers are still working to unravel the precise mechanism behind leptin and ghrelin, they do know that supplementing in pill form has no effect on weight loss or blood levels of the hormones. You can master your appetite hormones by following a diet rich in foods found in their natural form and observing proper meal timing.

Stop Eating 3 Hours before Bed
Finish your last meal at least 3 hours before retiring for the night to allow digestion to complete. The body performs critical repair functions at night which can only occur on an empty stomach. Further, during the night hours your metabolism releases fat at the direction of your appetite hormones which only takes place when there are no readily available calories from a recent meal.

 

Eat 3 Properly Spaced Meals Each Day
Plan 3 well balanced meals a day and be sure to allow at least 5 to 6 hours in between. The timing between meals is important as it allow digestion to complete and blood sugar and lipid levels to return to normal. Avoid snacks of any type as this halts the release of stored fat and encourages weight gain.

Eat slowly
Plan nutritionally balanced meals of 400 to 500 calories each, depending on your activity level. Eat slowly and chew each bite for 30 seconds to allow leptin to send the satiety signal to your brain.

Eliminate Sugar and Processed Carbohydrates
Refined carbohydrates and sugar laden foods wreak havoc on your blood sugar causing wild spikes which lead to metabolic dysfunction. Eventually this also disrupts the normal function of leptin and ghrelin as the hormones become less responsive to food intake. This is the beginning of the process which results in fat storage and obesity. Try eliminating all sugar and processed junk food for 2 weeks and find out how much better you`ll feel as you restore normal appetite control.

Leptin and ghrelin have evolved as a highly effective mechanism to keep us from starving to death in times of famine. Poor diet and lifestyle lead to the ultimate failure of this delicate signaling system, making weight loss an impossible task. Master your appetite hormones by following a naturally evolved diet and observe proper meal timing to reap the benefits of restored health and permanent weight loss.

CARB - Enemy or Friend

A carb dominent diet is really only for the elite athletes, physical workers and growing children. They are an essential part of a healthy diet.  Carbs are not necessarily the enemy all the time. They can actually be your best fat burning friends – IF you use them strategically.

And, if you really want to control fat loss once and for all, it’s crucial for you to understand the pros and cons of carb intake. Trust me, it can be a love-hate relationship.

The Pros of Carbs

1.    Carbs are muscle sparing. In other words, they preserve and prevent the breakdown of lean metabolism-boosting muscle tissue.

2.    They provide energy to the brain and the body.

3.    They help spark our metabolism and keep it elevated to prevent metabolic slowdown and keep hormones in check.

4.    They stimulate insulin, which leads to a very anabolic/muscle building environment (this is kind of a catch 22 as you’ll read in a second).

The Cons of Carbs

1.    Carbs spike insulin levels and elevate blood sugar. It’s almost impossible to burn body fat in the presence of high insulin levels. (hence – the catch 22 above)

2.    Consuming too many carbs over lengthy periods of time can lead to a lot of fat spillover, which leads to excess fat storage. This can lean to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc.  Fat "spillover" means when liver and muscle glycogen stores are full, your body needs to store excess carbs as fat on the body.

3.    Carbs (especially processed carbs) are the most abused nutrient from both a health and fat loss perspective.

4.    Excess carb intake creates a lot of water retention, which leads to a soft look so it makes you look and feel bloated.

5.    Processed carbs hide nasty fillers and chemicals that can potentially lead to severe health challenges. We call these obesity additives.

6.    When if comes to grain-based carbs such as cereals, breads, pasta, etc, you also have the issue of "antinutrients" in grains.  Antinutrients are substances found in some of the highest concentrations in grain-based foods and prevent some mineral and vitamin absorption by the body, possibly causing deficiencies of nutrients if you have grains at too many meals.  Anti-nutrients and gluten in grains can also cause digestive system inflammation.

Now you can see why people think you can just cut out carbs and fat loss should be easy. But there's obviously a lot more to it because carbs when timed properly can also keep our metabolism happy and burning fat.

Additionally, extremely low-carb plans only work for 5 to 7 days at a time before your thyroid and leptin levels react negatively to slow metabolic rate and suppress fat burning hormones.

Now you can see the crux of carb intake. It can be a double-edged sword.

That’s why you gotta get “sneaky” and cycle your carb intake to maximize both your health and long term fat loss.  That’s where something called Carb "Macro Patterning" comes in handy.  This sounds complicated but the general rule of thumb is on your cardio days you have a very low carb diet and on your weight training days you have healthy low GI carbs (fruit & Veg)and finally the best bit, one day a week you have a cheat day, which is usually Saturday night. 

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