How To Fix Hormones Responsible For Weight Loss. There are several factors that determine the weight of a person. Among other things, hormones, genes, race, age, sex, diet, habits, and lifestyle can account for the weight of a person. If you have embarked on a weight loss program, you may want to fix certain hormones that affect body weight.
Though we have articles on physical activities and diets that speed up weight loss, we are focusing on how to control hormones that determine weight.
Instead of worrying about diet and some of your inevitable activities that tend to increase your body weight, why not understand how your hormones affect your appetite and the number of fats that your body can store at a time?
Check out 9 ways you can take control of the hormones that control your body weight.
1. Insulin
This is the hormone that is responsible for the storage of fat in the body. If you want to reduce the insulin level in your body, cut down on sugar, and refined carbs and do exercise to keep this hormone low.
This hormone is secreted in a very small quantity but multiplies as soon as you eat food. It is responsible for allowing the cells to store sugar in the blood for energy – insulin is produced by beta cells of the pancreas.
Depending on the insulin level, when it is high, it can cause some diseases to the body like obesity and metabolic syndrome. And the major reason why the level of insulin and blood sugar increases is when some cells become insulin resistant.
To reduce your sugar, and insulin level and avoid insulin resistance, avoid refined carbs, fast food, and sugar.
You can normalize your insulin level if you do the following
Minimize or avoid sugar: Too much sugar in the form of fructose or sucrose lead to insulin resistance.
Reduce or minimize carbohydrates: Low-carb diets translate to low sugar and this can instantly drop the insulin level.
Adequate intake of protein: For the short term, Protein increases the insulin level but it is very beneficial for the long term.
Drink green tea: Green tea reduces sugar levels and insulin in the blood.
Regular exercise: Exercise burns unhealthy fats and reduces the sugar level of the blood as well.
Healthy fats: Omega 3 fats found in fish are healthy and help to reduce the sugar level of the blood.
Magnesium: If you get to the point of being insulin resistant, then you are low in magnesium and should look for supplements.
2. Leptin And Weight Loss
Leptin is the hormone that is responsible for appetite. It gives the feeling of fullness or what is termed satiety.
There are supplements aimed at making people eat less, those supplements have leptin in them.
This hormone informs a part of the brain about the appetite – obese people, are resistant to the effect of this leptin because of their insatiable appetite. However, if they eat clean, sleep well, and exercise regularly, their leptin sensitivity is likely going to improve.
Research revealed that overweight people have higher levels of leptin in their blood systems.
Leptin tells the brain that there’s enough fat in storage and no more is needed, which helps prevent overeating.
However, obese people can be leptin resistant as it is given that leptin may not work as it should in them.
In the case where leptin signalling is impaired, the brain does not get the message that the body has taken enough energy, so these people continue to eat because their brain thinks they are starving.
As you lose weight, you reduce the leptin level in your blood but this is quite difficult if you are not determined and motivated.
Increased blood sugar or inflammation in parts of the brain are the likely causes of leptin resistance.
To improve leptin sensitivity, do the following:
Exercise regularly, eat anti-inflammatory foods like fatty fish, get enough rest and sleep, and then avoid anti-inflammatory foods. In some instances, you may take supplements too.
3. Ghrelin And Weight Loss
This is the hormone that is responsible for informing you that you are hungry. Ghrelin is released when the stomach is empty, this hormone messages the hypothalamus that you need to eat.
The level of this hormone increases when you are hungry and drastically reduces hours after you’ve eaten.
Nonetheless, ghrelin levels are mostly lower in overweight or obese people than those with a normal weight
For obese or overweight people, even after they eat, their brain hardly gets a strong message to inform them they are full because the ghrelin level decreases only marginally.
If you are looking to improve the function of ghrelin, then do the following:
If you want to experience weight loss, avoid sugar, and eat proteinous meals because it promotes satiety.
4. Cortisol
Cortisol is a hormone produced when the body is stressed, so it is also known as the stress hormone.
There are instances where people who are stressed experience a loss of appetite, but this is rare. If the cortisol level is elevated, it will likely cause weight gain because of overeating.
Women mostly suffer from the effect of increased cortisol. You find that they increase in weight around the middle.
While some sort of strict diet increases cortisol levels, women who take a low-calorie diet see their cortisol levels elevated to the highest level and have the tendency to feel more stressed than those who eat normally.
If you want to reduce your cortisol level, then do the following:
Eat a balanced diet, meditate day and night, listen to music and get enough rest/sleep.
5. Estrogen
This hormone accounts for the regulation of the reproductive system of females. This hormone is quite tricky because both high and low levels can lead to weight gain. However, age, health, and the actions of the other hormones go a long way to affecting the effect of this hormone.
One of the reasons why women gain weight during and after pregnancy is the fact that estrogen stimulates the storage of fat in the first half of pregnancy.
Women who are obese have higher estrogen levels probably because of environmental factors.
There’s a lifestyle that can be adopted to manage and maintain a good level of estrogen.
Eat food with plenty of fibre, eat cruciferous vegetables, exercise regularly, and take flax seeds as well.
6. Neuropeptide Y (NPY)
This hormone is responsible for stimulating the appetite for carbohydrates and it is produced optimally during fasting or starvation. It is produced by the nervous system and brain cells.
Neuropeptide Y like cortisol is also produced when the body is stressed, and this can lead to overeating and weight gain.
If you want to lower the production of Neuropeptide Y, Eat enough protein, fast for a reasonable period, and eat plenty of soluble fibre.
7. Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1)
This hormone helps to regular the sugar level of the blood and gives a feeling of fullness like insulin. GLP-1 is produced in the guts and sees a decrease in appetite, especially after weight loss surgery is carried out.
People who were given a solution containing this hormone were found to feel satisfied and ate fewer calories at lunch than those who didn’t take any. Therefore if you want to see your GLP-1 level surge, Eat plenty of protein, and eat anti-inflammatory foods, probiotics, and leafy green meals.
8. Cholecystokinin (CCK)
Like Insulin and GLP-1 hormones, CCK is also responsible for satiety and it is produced in the gut as well.
Elevated levels of CCK reduce the intake of food in both overweight and thin people.
If you are looking to increase the production of this hormone,
Eat more Protein, Exercise regularly, and eat healthy fat and fibre.
9. Peptide YY (PYY)
PYY is one of the other hormones produced in the gut but released by the colon and intestines.
This hormone reduces the risk of obesity and it functions to improve satiety, thereby reducing the intake of food.
If you want to improve satiety, take more lower-carb diets, more protein, and fibre.
Conclusion On Hormones and Weight Loss
There are hormones that can increase or decrease appetite and in turn affect the storage of fat in the body.
If you do not know how these hormones work, you are likely going to be suffering from too much weight loss or weight gain. Thankfully, lifestyle modification and diet can have an impact on these weight loss hormones.
