Gain knowledge to lose weight
Ever
wondered why there are countless articles on ways to lose weight and yet it
remains as one of the most challenging daily lifestyle problems we deal with?
In my
opinion, that’s because, while we read, we don’t truly learn. Knowledge and
understanding of the human body, and how it works is a critical factor to
losing those inches and keeping them off! We’ve all heard great terms like
“low-carb, high protein” ,“Gluten free diets”, Low GI meals etc but what does
this really mean and how is one supposed to know what’s right for him / her?
Frankly,
while there’s just about enough information available at our finger tips, I
think it’s time we learnt a little more in-depth. So here’s what I found out …
have you heard of “Leptin” and “Ghrelin”? If you haven’t, don’t worry about it
… I’ll do my best to try and explain it as I understand it.
Simply put
“Leptin” is a hormone released by the adipose [fat] tissue inducing satiation
or an “I’m full” feeling.
While
“Ghrelin”, the counterpart of Leptin, is a hunger stimulating peptide which
causes us to feel the “urge” to eat.
So what does
this have to do with our gaining weight or losing it? Quite a bit if you
understand how they work. Let’s look at “Leptin”: Leptin makes our brains send
out a “stop” signal when its levels are elevated making us dis-engaged in the
eating process. Conversely, when the leptin levels are reduced, we have
cravings and feel hungry.
Simple isn’t
it? If the above, on its own were true, one would simply need to increase the
leptin levels in the body and reduce weight easily. Unfortunately, the human
body is far more complex. An overweight person, who has a higher level of
leptin [as this is produced in the adipose tissue], yet feels the urge to eat a
fairly large portion or several frequent meals. Why is that? That is because
the body gets adjusted to the higher leptin levels as “standard” thereby
allowing the individual to continue to eat more than normal in order to send
out the “stop” signal. With the bar of “leptin-standards” increasing, the body
keeps re-adjusting the amount of intake in order to start sending out the
signal. You can compare this to a swimmer. Let’s say the first 5 laps will be
difficult to start with initially. But as time passes, the feeling of tiredness
will creep in much later [say the 7th or 8th lap] as the
body is now able to [and used to] doing the 5 laps and with time would no
longer get tired after 5 laps. Similarly, if the body’s leptin levels are
already elevated with an overweight person, and he/she continues to overeat,
the high leptin level will be considered as “standard” by the body and will
keep increasing with time should the person continue to overeat. Sugar and high
fructose diets also induce leptin resistance i.e. the brain gets immune to
sending out the “stop” signal when the body gets overloaded with these foods.
Luckily this
is correctable with a person in general good health. Keep note that the leptin
levels tend to increase after we eat and during rest. So how does one lose
weight?
A possible
answer to that is gradual reduction in
the portion size. Just like with anything, leptin levels get readjusted slowly allowing the standard to fall
and thereby sending out the “stop” signal faster. This does not mean starve or
cut back on the yummies, it just means be patient and aware of how much and how
often you are eating. Once the leptin levels re-adjust, the body automatically
will consume lower calories and feel “full” faster.
Reducing
high sugar content will also help speed up the process of re-adjusting the
leptin “standard” level in the body, thus aiding weight loss and keeping it
off. Adding foods such as fish that are high in Omega 3 has also been linked to
naturally increasing leptin levels in the body.
Lastly sleep
well each night. The body automatically re-aligns the leptin levels during
periods of rest.
Ref:
nutritionworldland.com/understanding our bodies.
