It all comes down to your pesky hunger hormones.
But once you understand them, you can regulate how full you feel, which
helps you to avoid snacking and ultimately lose weight without feeling like
you’re starving yourself!
Understanding Hunger Hormones
Did you know that we have hunger hormones?
One is to increase our appetite and make us eat (you
would have heard it grumbling in your belly), while another hormone primarily
works to decrease our appetite. Would you like to be ‘ordering’ a few more of
those?
Our hunger hormones are Ghrelin and Leptin, and the
majority of us would have never even heard of these little ‘critters’.
The following will give you a better understanding
about your body’s hunger hormones and help you to better manage your weight.
Ghrelin
Ghrelin is a hormone that increases your appetite. Ghrelin is released in the stomach and has
the task of sending signals to your brain so that you can recognize you are
hungry.
The body produces more ghrelin if a person is not
eating enough. Therefore, skipping meals equals more ghrelin secretion.
However, ghrelin in normal circumstances is reduced
if the individual is eating too much.
According to a study conducted in Germany, ghrelin
may play a huge role in determining the length of time that “hunger” will be
felt by a person.
Normally, ghrelin levels dramatically increase when
a person is hungry and eventually subside after having a meal.
Researchers also reveal that the role of ghrelin is
not only limited to increasing appetite. The hormone ghrelin additionally has
the complex task of regulating an individual’s body weight.
Leptin functions as the appetite suppressor (i.e. the opposite of
Ghrelin). This hormone is also believed to play a major role in a person’s
energy balance. Some experts believe that leptin can also be responsible for
regulating ghrelin hormones.
It is leptin that sends signals to the brain to
recognize that the body has enough immediate energy stores, or simply put, has
eaten enough.
Unfortunately, studies have shown that people who
are obese have often become resistant to the signals of leptin, despite the
fact that they have high amounts of leptin in their body. Normally, the more
fats you have stored, the higher your leptin levels should be. However, some factors also need to be taken
into consideration such as the last time you ingested food, as well as your
sleeping patterns.
How Macronutrients Affect Our Hunger Hormones
A study led by David Cummings, M.D. from the University of Washington
revealed how macronutrients influence the ups and downs of one’s appetite. During
the said study, experts found that proteins have the highest influence with regard to suppressing a person’s
appetite.
Fats were also found to only have neutral
effects on an individual’s appetite.
Researchers discovered that although carbohydrates initially lower one’s
appetite, they will later increase an
individual’s appetite to levels higher than before the carbohydrates were
introduced into the body.
So if you want to lose weight, a very good start is to eat more proteins
and less carbs – especially sugar-rich, high-GI carbs!
Here are 3 steps to follow to regulate your hunger hormones and keep your
cravings at bay…
Step #1 – Keep Your Ghrelin Gremlin Levels Happy
The best way to keep your hunger at bay without
sabotaging your diet is to eat small, protein rich meals throughout the day. If
you are having something every 2 to 3 hours, you won’t have a chance to become
ravenous.
By keeping your body eating on a regular basis, the
ghrelin levels will not take over and make you want to eat copious amounts of
foods. Consuming some protein with every meal will enable you to stay fuller
for longer and greatly assist with weight control.
Step #2 – Regulate Your Leptin Levels
Since hormones are part of our endocrine system,
regulating your Leptin levels is an involved issue that will take more than
strict willpower and calorie restriction. Here’s how to get your Leptin levels
back into balance:
1. Eliminate
fructose, sugars, simple starches and refined foods from your diet.
2. Optimize
your sleep and go to bed by 10pm.
3. Eat
healthy fats and a large amount of protein for breakfast. A suggested option is
to have scrambled egg cooked in olive oil.
4. Get
some vitamin D and fresh air by getting outdoors for a period during the day.
5. Add
Omega-3 fatty acids into your diet or take supplements. Excellent sources
include chia seeds and fish.
6. Cut
down on your Omega-6 fatty acid consumption. This comes from conventional
meats, vegetable oils and grains. Reducing these can also help reduce
inflammatory responses in your body too.
7. Eat
meals more slowly. It takes the brain time to recognize and respond to the
leptin signals. Gorging means you will consume a lot before feeling full, but
will feel uncomfortably full afterwards.
Step #3 – Fight Hunger Hormones with Appetite Suppressing
Foods
Now we know it is actually our hunger hormones that
are responsible for our food cravings. However, hormones are the messengers of
the body and all play different roles. There are some that influence how fast
fat is stored in our body, what we want and others determine how we feel.
For example, the only way to satisfy the ghrelin
hormone is to keep your stomach full of healthy foods, which in turn,
suppresses your appetite.
Skipping meals is actually the worst thing you can do,
as it can cause your cravings to become unbearable, which usually results in a
bad-food binge. This is why crash diets and gimmicks often cause rebounding
weight gain.
If a person makes the correct food choices, they can
easily remain full and reduce their calorie intake by 500 calories a day. Over
a year, this would equate to 50 lbs. of weight loss! 500 calories is equivalent
to cutting out roughly one cheeseburger or 3 oz. of potato chips in one day.
Here are a few appetite suppressing foods to keep the
grumblings away and fight your hunger pangs.
Apples
An apple a
day truly can keep the doctor away. The pectin contained in the apple prevents
blood sugar spikes which lead to increased fat storage. This soluble fiber
helps people feel full while reducing the amount of calories and sugar that is
absorbed into the bloodstream after eating. These are just a couple of reasons
why apples can become a dieters’ best friend.
For those who wish to prevent Type 2 Diabetes, apples
are also a wise choice. Consuming an apple will help you to avoid the common
blood sugar crash that commonly leaves you craving more and more to eat.
Amazingly, apple pectin can keep you satisfied for 1 to 2 hours!
Some people find the best results by consuming an
apple prior to eating a meal or going out for supper, and others prefer to eat
one soon after their meal. Either way, apple pectin will help you fill up
longer and faster. It is an excellent snack choice between meals since it helps
to keep your blood sugar balanced. You can also add apple pectin powder to your
shakes, oatmeal and yogurt.
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Wheat bran
is an insoluble fiber that your body cannot digest. This actually means that it
contains zero calories. It is great for making you feel full and then passing
straight through you.
If you take 1 to 2 TBS of bran with a large glass of
water, you will be able to stop the release of the ghrelin hormone for
approximately an hour. The bran acts like a sponge in your stomach and absorbs
water.
Although, make sure you drink plenty of water or you
could easily become dehydrated.
If you have any sensitivity to wheat, you could use
rice bran instead.
Green Tea
Green tea is known for its weight loss benefits.
There is an exceptional phytonutrient called
epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG found in Green Tea. This substance increases
another hormone which is responsible for creating the feeling of fullness, so
your ghrelin is quietened.
If we feel full between meals it is a huge part of our
weight loss efforts and fighting potential weight gain.
Another benefit is that EGCG activates thermogenesis,
which stimulates your metabolism, so that your cells are burning fat and
energy.
Additional
Appetite Suppressing Foods
Other things you can incorporate into your diet to
help keep you feeling fuller longer include almonds and pine nuts, avocado,
oatmeal and green leafy vegetables.
Your Next Steps
Now you know how hunger hormones work, you can use
them to your advantage to keep yourself fuller for longer, so you can avoid bad
food binges and lose weight more easily.
However, this is only one of the several things you need to do to lose weight quickly.
Without these other elements in place, you’ll usually struggle to make any
noticeable progress.
If you’d like to speed up your weight loss by
following a scientifically-proven method, simply click the big button below…
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