Hormones in your brain, your fat cells, and your gut are in constant communication. They monitor your fat stores, how many calories you’ve eaten, and everything else. Their mission is to keep you alive.
Hormones that contribute to weight gain include leptin, insulin, ghrelin, and cortisol.
1. LEPTIN
Your fat cells make leptin and secrete it into the bloodstream. Leptin goes to your brain and tells it how much energy you have, via your fat stores, to support your metabolic processes. When you go on a starvation diet, you lose some fat and your fat cells produce less leptin. The leptin level in your blood goes below what is normal for you. Your brain senses starvation.
This triggers several metabolic processes to get your leptin levels back up to normal. The first is that the vagus nerve is stimulated. (The vagus nerve runs between your stomach and your brain.) This makes you hungry.
2. GHRELIN
Ghrelin is produced and released primarily by the stomach, although small amounts are also released by the brain, pancreas, and intestine. It circulates in the bloodstream and goes to the hypothalamus, an area of the brain in charge of appetite control. Ghrelin stimulates appetite and encourages fat storage.
Ghrelin is regulated primarily by food intake. Research shows ghrelin may cause those hunger pangs you experience right before meal times. Your diet also determines the levels of ghrelin in your blood. For instance, research shows that protein restricts the production and release of ghrelin. That’s one of the reasons protein is so filling.
And here’s another interesting thing about ghrelin: levels of this hormone increase after dieting. This partially explains why it’s so easy to regain weight after dieting. You’re more hungry after your diet than you were before it even began!
3. INSULIN
Insulin’s primary job is to move glucose into your cells for energy after it reaches your bloodstream. But insulin is also a fat storage hormone. It tells your body to stop burning fat and to store more fat.
When you routinely eat inSANE foods, such as starchy carbs and sugars, insulin is almost always circulating in your bloodstream. This keeps you in fat storage mode rather than fat burning mode. A SANE diet, vitamins and nutraceutical plan will take care of this.
4. CORTISOL
The stress hormone cortisol is another one that contributes to weight gain. Cortisol has an effect on other hormones. For instance, stress causes cortisol levels to rise. This can trigger higher insulin levels, which can cause a drop in your blood sugar levels. This leads you to crave sugary, fatty foods.
Studies show elevated levels of cortisol cause belly fat, which can contribute to many serious health conditions.
What it all Means
Your brain, gut, and hormones talk to one another to synchronize the activities that automatically maintain body fat at a specified level. This is your setpoint weight. Your body defends this weight at all costs. As previously mentioned, if you go on a crash diet, your hormones send signals to the brain that makes it think you’re starving.
The hypothalamus signals ghrelin to make you hungry. You’ll become cold, crave your favorite foods. If that isn’t enough to make you eat to restore your leptin levels, it slows your metabolism.
This is why a typical diet doesn’t work. Sure, everybody loses weight on most diets in the beginning. But then it slows down to almost nothing. Your body is fighting you every step of the way. When you finally go off the diet because you’re so frustrated at your lack of progress, you’ll probably eat more food than you did before the diet. This is because dieting itself increased your levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin. Overeating combined with a slower metabolism ensures you’ll gain back all the weight you lost. You’ll even gain an additional few pounds as added insurance against future starvation.
Thank goodness I had a lap band 8 years ago, I’m 68 now, I weighed 138kilos.Did it slowly,now 85.kilos.Old bones say Thankyou.Eating small amounts of food, lol now finally know what it feels like to be full.
Based on the scientific rationale for weight loss, how then does an obese person loose weight and keep it off?
I have tried so many weight loss diets and as you mentioned I do loose weight only to gain it back plus some.
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So how does one fight off all he defender of fat?
Thanks. Great information. Could you please explain how to lose weight effectively especially around the stomach?
I could have named those hormones, and good explanation was given but now what can I do to lose weight? I know diets don’t work. With most you can’t eat that way forever. I’ve tried pills, shakes , fasting and etc. but only to fail. With all of that said what is the ANSWER ?
I have tried everything I am in premenopausal and I gained 25 pounds I have high blood and thyroid removal my hair fell out I am bald tired all the time I see Endocronologist every three months and dermatologist for hair it’s been a year and nothing has helped this is the first time I ended up using traditional medicine because I always resulted to use in what I believed naturalpathics I am getting fatter I walk 3 days a week 3 miles can’t do more than that I am a mess dissatisfied with how I look can you help me I tried everything else to no help keto sleeve dieting starvation nothing has worked but sleeve I was 245 I lost 60 pounds gained back 45 and I am now 200 pounds fat ugly no hair hungry all the time want sweets can’t control it they gave me phentermine I hated it raced my heart couldn’t sleep. Please help I take amlodaphine 10 levothyroxine 125 citalopram to help with energy a multivitamin and zinc nothing is happening Drs don’t care!!!!
So what is the answer to this for someone who needs to lose weight especially abdominal fat? I notice now at almost 64 years old that I have a greater girth around my abdomen than 3 years ago at the same weight
What about hypothyroid and subclinical hypothyroidism?
Hi there! This blog post couldn’t be written any better! Looking through this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He continually kept talking about this. I will send this article to him. Fairly certain he will have a great read. Many thanks for sharing!