Leptin: The Fat Loss Hormone You Never Heard Of(until now)
Feb, 11, 2012
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After taking some time to do some research on the topic of fat loss, I came across an article that absolutely blew my mind.It has to do with a little known hormone called leptin.
Leptin is a hormone that is produced by fat cells. Leptin’s main function is to control hunger and regulate your metabolism. When you eat, your fat cells fill with triglycerides, which pump leptin into your bloodstream. Then, leptin receptors are activated, telling your brain that you are full. If you over-eat, more and more leptin is released. This can totally throw your body for a loop, which leads to your metabolism basically shutting down.
So let’s take someone who has been eating like crap for a while over the holidays. Constant over-eating leads to a huge amount of leptin to be released. This leads to a new “set point” for leptin levels. In a matter of a few weeks, the body becomes leptin resistant, A.K.A. immune to the release of leptin. It’s kind of like when a drug user has to continually increase dosages to get high.
Come January 1, said person decides it’s time to diet down. He decides to drastically cut back on calories. Yet because his leptin receptors are shut down, he loses some weight at first, but then his body goes into starvation mode because his leptin receptors are telling the brain that there is not enough food being consumed. He gets pissed at his trainer and quits.
So, what can you do to ensure this scenario doesn’t happen to you? Here are some tips I found from the guys at T-Nation.com:
1. Cheat Meals- One day of “cheating” helps prevent your body from going into starvation mode. When dieting, it is imperative that you throw in a cheat meal/day once a week to prevent your metabolism from shutting down. This also decreases the possibility of leptin resistance.
2. Decrease Inflammation- Fat cells release leptin, but they also carry cells that increase inflammation. Reducing inflammation decreases leptin sensitivity, which will help keep your metabolism churning. This supplement can help a lot.
3. Sleep- Regular sleep decreases leptin levels, as well as inflammation. Try and get 7+ hours/night.
4. Take the supplement Taurine- Taurine reduces leptin sensitivity. It has also been known to help with other metabolic issues such as obesity and insulin resistance.
So that is my best way of describing leptin and how it can help you. I hope it wan’t too nerdy. If you need more information, check out this article.
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