Hunger Hormones that Make You Gain Weight
We know food can make you gain weight, but what about hunger hormones that make you gain weight?
If you are eating the right foods most of the time and not losing weight, could hormones be to blame?
Science says, “yes.”
The body is reliant on innumerable processes to work smoothly. It’s like a car engine. If one little part is not firing correctly—it won’t run smoothly.
Hormones that impact metabolism, hunger and your mindset can all play a role in weight gain if something isn’t quite right.
So what are they?
Hormones that Make You Gain Weight
Glucagon, Ghrelin, Insulin and Leptin are your major hormones that influence metabolism and weight.
Glucagon triggers the release of glycogen and partners with adrenaline to use fat as a fuel for energy.
Ghrelin is secreted by the intestines and lets us know when we are hungry.
Insulin directs food use and fat storage.
Leptin tells us to stop eating and how much body fat to store.
As you can see, if one of these hormones is out of whack, your weight can certainly be affected.
Ghrelin, Insulin and Leptin
The three primary influencers that directly impact how you eat and if you store it are ghrelin, insulin and leptin. Ghrelin is secreted by the intestines into the stomach, as a result the stomach produces more stomach acid and you’re hungry. Your body doesn’t stop secreting ghrelin until your stomach actually stretches.
Then leptin enters the scene. Secreted by fat cells it tells our brain to let us know we are full and satisfied.
Studies show these two hormones are often out of whack in the obese.
Insulin has been pegged as a villain in weight gain, but you actually need it to survive.
In fact, insulin works in tandem with leptin. When insulin increases after your blood sugar spikes, it increases leptin levels –to tell your body to start preparing to stop eating.
As you can see, leptin and insulin both rise after eating. Insulin responds to blood sugar increases and leptin responds to food. It responds more rapidly to fatty foods. When we cause these hormones to spike repeatedly, we can develop a tolerance to them. We become less sensitive. In turn, we eat more food and store more fat.
More fat can cause an inflamed state in the body affecting a bunch of other important processes and hormones—and you’re stuck wondering why you can’t stop gaining weight.
Building a Tolerance to the Hunger Hormones
When we build a tolerance to, or develop a resistance to hunger hormones, our brain can no longer accurately communicate with the body to tell it when it’s hungry, when you’re full, what to do with the food, how much to use, and how much to store.
So you might be hungry when you shouldn’t be, you will eat more and not realize you’re full, your body can store all of your food as fat rather than using it for fuel and more.
And when you develop a resistance to leptin—you’ll develop a resistance to insulin since they work in tandem. And insulin resistance can lead to diabetes.
This is because your body no longer reacts to food or weight loss efforts normally. You can’t just drop a few calories and lose weight because the type of food matters. While your body is storing food as fat and telling you you’re hungrier and hungrier—it can’t tell you the type of food to eat.
You can probably connect the dots—most diabetics can’t have sugar or simple carbs. Are you seeing the relationship?
These foods damage our bodies, they damage our hormone response and health.
How to Overcome Resistance to Hunger Hormones
You can’t truly know if you’re resistant to hunger hormones until you see your doctor. If you are—the best advice to reverse the damage naturally is food choice.
A diet high in lean protein and veggies and fruits will fill you up and, if the damage isn’t too bad, restore your hormone response.
Protein, in particular, fills you up and can increase your leptin sensitivity. Once you’ve stopped consuming sugary foods and simple carbs, your body will eventually stop craving them. You’ll feel fuller and the weight will start falling off.
Finally, if you’re ready to combat weight gain—arm yourself with natural ingredients that are scientifically proven to work. CapsiLean burns calories, blocks carbs and burns fat. It slows carb absorption and can improve insulin sensitivity, too. Increase your odds of winning the battle of the bulge and get back into those jeans faster.
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You know so much its almost tough to argue with you (not that I really will need to…HaHa).
You certainly put a brand new spin on a subject that’s been written about for ages.
Great stuff, just great!