LEPTIN- The weight-controller

1436436168681_wm So you have tried yoyo dieting and you keep getting back obese. Or you have tried shedding all the weight, but ‘no shaking’. Well the culprit could be this- LEPTIN Leptin is a hormone that controls energy intake and expenditure, including appetite, metabolism and hunger. Leptin is the hormone in your body that tells you when you are hungry and when you are full. it is called the ‘satiety’ hormone.  it is produced by the adipocytes (yes the fat cells in your body). The level of circulating leptin is directly proportional to the total amount of fat in your body. So this means the more the fat (the more weight), the more the leptin . Your leptin level is high when you are full and low when you are hungry. Now, how does this relate to weight loss/weight gain? When you loose weight quickly (as in crash dieting), your leptin levels drop very rapidly. Then you get hungrier, your metabolism slows down. Your body increases catabolic activities (break down) and increases your appetite making you gain all the weight back. On the other hand, when you are very obese, you have very high levels of leptin, so much that you develop resistance to leptin (leptin resistance).(negative feedback). Your brain has lost its sensitivity to leptin . This makes the body think you are starving, so makes you eat more. Leptin resistance is reversible. To loose weight and maintain it, give your body time to adjust to the new lowered leptin levels, so it can operate with this new level as normal. and you feel full even when you haven’t eaten much. We eat->  more body fat -> leptin levels increase -> brain tells our body we are full (even with small meals) ->  we eat less   ->we burn more We starve or Fast -> body fat goes low -> leptin levels go down -> body tells brain to eat more -> we keep eating more -> we burn less. *High fructose diets can induce leptin resistance (staying on fruit diet for a long period of time,you dont loose much weight, even if you loose weight, you usually most times gain all the weight back). How to correct leptin Resistance and loose weight effectively #Stop crash diets #Eat large amounts of proteins and healthy fats in the morning. #Exercise #Sleep for at least 6 hours at night #Space your meals at least  4 hours apart #stay off processed/refined sugars #Eat foods rich in omega 3 and omega 6 Fatty acids (fish, chia seeds, grains, vegetable oils). #try not to get stressed #have small portioned healthy meals. Avoid overeating #have a healthy cheat meal once a week (this meal is usually more portioned than your usual day’s portion). Sources: WebMd Emedicine Nutrition wonderland