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How To Lose Weight Fast ? 4 Proven Ways to Fix The Hormones That Control Your Weight
Your weight is largely controlled by hormones.
Research shows that hormones influence your appetite and how much fat you store .
Here are 4 ways to �fix� the hormones that control your weight.
1.
Insulin
Insulin is a hormone produced by the beta cells of your pancreas.
It�s secreted in small amounts throughout the day and in larger amounts after meals.
Insulin allows your cells to take in blood sugar for energy or storage, depending on
what is needed at the time.
Insulin is also the main fat storage hormone in the body.
It tells fat cells to store fat, and prevents stored fat from being broken down.
When cells are insulin resistant (very common), both blood sugar and insulin levels go up
significantly.
Chronically elevated insulin levels (termed hyperinsulinemia) can lead to many health
problems, including obesity and metabolic syndrome.
Overeating � especially sugar, refined carbohydrates, and fast food � drives insulin resistance
and increases insulin levels .
Here are some tips to normalize insulin levels and improve insulin sensitivity:
Avoid or minimize sugar: High amounts of fructose and sucrose promote insulin resistance and
raise insulin levels.
Reduce carbohydrates: A low-carb diet can cause an immediate drop in insulin levels
. Fill up on protein: Protein actually raises
insulin in the short-term.
However, it should lead to long-term reductions in insulin resistance by helping you lose
belly fat . Include plenty of healthy fats: Omega-3 fats
found in fatty fish can help lower fasting insulin levels.
Exercise regularly: Overweight women who walked briskly or jogged had an improvement in insulin
sensitivity after 14 weeks in one study . Get enough magnesium: Insulin resistant people
are often low in magnesium, and magnesium supplements can improve insulin sensitivity
. Drink green tea: Green tea may lower blood
sugar and insulin levels .
2.
Leptin
Leptin is produced by your fat cells.
It�s considered a �satiety hormone� that reduces appetite and makes you feel full.
As a signaling hormone, its role is to communicate with the hypothalamus, the portion of your
brain that regulates appetite and food intake.
Leptin tells the brain that there�s enough fat in storage and no more is needed, which
helps prevent overeating.
People who are overweight or obese usually have very high levels of leptin in their blood.
In fact, one study found that leptin levels in obese people were 4 times higher than in
people of normal weight .
If leptin reduces appetite, then obese people with high levels of leptin should start eating
less and lose weight.
Unfortunately, in obesity the leptin system doesn�t work as it should.
This is referred to as leptin resistance.
When leptin signaling is impaired, the message to stop eating doesn�t get through to the
brain, so it doesn�t realize you have enough energy stored.
In essence, your brain thinks it is starving, so you�re driven to eat.
Leptin levels are also reduced when you lose weight, which is one of the main reasons it
is so hard to maintain weight loss in the long-term.
The brain thinks you are starving, and pushes you to eat more .
Two potential causes of leptin resistance are chronically elevated insulin levels and
inflammation in the hypothalamus.
Here are a few suggestions for improving leptin sensitivity:
Avoid inflammatory foods: Limit foods that cause inflammation, especially sugary drinks
and trans fats.
Eat certain foods: Eat more anti-inflammatory foods, such as fatty fish.
Exercise regularly: Moderate activity can improve leptin sensitivity.
Get enough sleep: Studies have shown that insufficient sleep leads to a drop in leptin
levels and increased appetite.
Supplements: In one study, women on a weight-loss diet who took alpha-lipoic acid and fish oil
lost more weight and had a smaller decrease in leptin than those in a control group.
3.
Ghrelin
Ghrelin is known as a �hunger hormone.�
When your stomach is empty, it releases ghrelin, which sends a message to the hypothalamus
telling you to eat .
Normally, ghrelin levels are highest before eating and lowest about an hour after you�ve
had a meal.
However, in overweight and obese people, fasting ghrelin levels are often lower than in people
of normal weight .
Studies have also shown that after obese people eat a meal, ghrelin only decreases slightly.
Because of this, the hypothalamus doesn�t receive as strong of a signal to stop eating,
which can lead to overeating .
Here are a few tips to improve the function of ghrelin:
Sugar: Avoid high-fructose corn syrup and sugar-sweetened drinks, which can impair ghrelin
response after meals.
Protein: Eating protein at every meal, especially breakfast, can reduce ghrelin levels and promote
satiety.
4.
Cortisol Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal
glands.
It�s known as a �stress hormone� because it�s released when your body senses stress.
Like other hormones, it�s vital to survival.
However, chronically elevated levels of cortisol can lead to overeating and weight gain .
It appears that women who carry excess weight around the middle respond to stress with a
greater increase in cortisol .
However, a strict diet can also raise cortisol.
In one study, women who consumed a low-calorie diet had higher cortisol levels and reported
feeling more stressed than women who ate a normal diet.
These strategies can reduce cortisol levels:
Balanced diet: Follow a balanced, real food-based diet.
Don�t cut calories to extremely low levels.
Meditate: Practicing meditation can significantly reduce cortisol production.
Listen to music:.
Researchers report that when soothing music is played during medical procedures, cortisol
doesn�t rise as much.
Sleep more: One study found that when pilots lost 15 hours of sleep over the course of
a week, their cortisol levels increased by 50-80% (66).