The hormone connection
For years this has been poo-poo'd and seen as a lazy persons excuse, and often it still is......
You can largely control your weight-loss hormones!
There are four important hormones which have major influence over your weight:
Read on for some seriously life-changing information.
INSULIN
INSULIN is produced by the Pancreas whenever sugar is eaten.
Refined sugar: lollies, cakes, chocolate, sweets, sugar in tea, starchy carbohydrates; bread, rice, pasta, white flour, potatoes (high GI carbohydrates).
Insulin’s job is to get sugar from food into the cells so that Mitochondria can turn this sugar into energy. This should be a finely tuned machine; a smooth operation.
When too much sugar is eaten too often
Insulin Tolerance increases!
Finely tuned machine gets out of whack!
Sugar rollercoaster goes at full speed!
Fat storage increases at an alarming rate!
If more sugar is eaten than is used, it is stored as fat.
LEPTIN
LEPTIN is produced by fat the cells.
It's job is to make us feel full; it decreases our appetite by sending a message to the brain saying we can "stop eating now - no more energy is required"
Higher levels are found in thinner people.
Overweight people can build a resistance to Leptin by:
Eating when not hungry
Not allowing body to dictate hunger
Leptin is our best friend - listen to your body and be guided by your Leptin levels!
GREHLIN
GREHLIN is produced in the gut.
It's job is to make us feel hungry, increasing the appetite by sending a message to brain saying "you're out of fuel - eat more now to keep going"
When stomach is empty Grehlin floods the blood stream and we become hungry.
The higher the Grehlin, the
hungrier you get!
Adding more protein to meals keeps us fuller for longer because protein reduces GREHLIN!
CORTISOL
CORTISOL is produced in adrenal glands (on tops of kidneys)
One of it's jobs is to regulate the energy needed for the body to function.
Cortisol is also released with stress.
High stress releases more Cortisol
More Cortisol sends energy regulation haywire.
Cortisol can take fat from other areas of the body and direct it into visceral (belly) storage units – AKA the belly!
Cortisol also helps fat cells to mature and expand!
relax
to lower your cortisol levels
MANAGING THESE
HORMONES
There are several ways we can influence the stabilisation of these hormones, and make them work in our favour for weight-loss and weight management:
Avoid refined and processed sugars wherever possible, remembering that this includes bread and starchy carbohydrates as well as sugary sweets.
Choose Real Food! My catch-phrase I know, but by avoiding highly processed and refined foods, and choosing fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, beans, lean animal proteins eg chicken, eggs, & fish, you keep nice even levels of these 4 hormones without even trying!
Stay consistent with meals and snacks to ensure that all four hormones stay even, not dipping and diving.
Get good sleep! Not enough sleep has shown to cause havoc with Leptin and Grehlin, putting these two very important hunger hormones out of balance– meaning that we can end up eating without actually knowing if we are hungry or not.
Reduce stress – sounds flippant I know, but by taking the odd moment to just breathe, relax for 1-2 minutes a few times throughout the day you’ll be practising ‘mindfulness’ - and this will help lower the Cortisol levels.
If you need help clarifying and focusing your weight-loss goal,
Get in touch for a chat about how one-to-one Weight-loss Coaching could help you feel like YOU again.
