LEPTIN LOVE - AN OVERLOOKED AREA WHEN IT COMES TO WEIGHT LOSS
LET’S BEGIN WITH UNDERSTANDING WHAT LEPTIN IS.
Leptin is an important term to understand especially if you are on a journey to weight loss. Simply, leptin is a hormone and it is important because it helps regulate long term-hunger and food intake. However, its importance doesn’t stop there, as it also plays a major role in helping to regulate your energy, crossing our blood-brain barrier to communicate to us that we are either hungry or we are full.
let’s take a look at the following scenario:
You’ve just completed a mid-morning workout and it’s been 4 hours since a nourishing breakfast. During your workout, you have utilised a lot of energy and your tummy may start to rumble and you are feeling hungry. You know you won’t be able to focus until you have a nourishing lunch to replenish your energy. That’s what your leptin hormone is saying to you;
“Hey, I’m hungry, please feed me and make sure you do it in a way that you’re satiated until your next meal or light healthy snack”.
It’s a clever hormone because it works to also protect the body in times of nutritional deprivation. The leptin hormone will also signal to you when it’s time to stop eating and this is produced by fat cells. If your body has more fat cells then you will have more leptin and your hunger levels will decrease.
In the city of Okinawa, which is considered a ‘Blue Zone’ for longevity, they have a Japanese term “hara hachi bu” which means "eat until you’re 80% full”. This advice can be connected to their longevity and functioning leptin levels. Okinawan residents have the lowest rates of illness and have the innate understanding and ability to stop themselves from over-eating.
If you’re leptin resistant, the above scenario will not take place because your leptin signal is interrupted. Regardless of the amount of leptin an individual produces, the brain is not getting the message to stop eating and because the metabolism is malfunctioning, the individual believes they are still hungry. This results in uncontrollable cravings for food that are high in bad fats, poor quality carbohydrates, and sugars.
Weight levels will begin to rise as this master hormone isn’t working properly.
So, once your leptin hormone is malfunctioning, you begin to put on weight, however, there are natural ways to restore your leptin hormone.
This can take place through nutritional therapy and by including the following foods into your lifestyle:
Healthy fats
Cruciferous vegetables
Grass-fed, pasture-raised and wild protein
Fungi (mushrooms)
It can also take place by increasing your physical activity:
Walking daily (10000 steps per day)
Yoga
Deep breathing
Resistance training
Lightweights
HITT training
If you make no efforts to restore this malfunctioning hormone you won't experience satiety, your weight will rise and your gut-brain connection will also begin to communicate unwanted messages that ENDORSE overeating. As a result, your microbiome will be altered which means your bad bacteria will start to take over the good. This can lead to whole-body inflammation, dysbiosis, immune dysregulation, unhealthy bowel movements and joint pain.
If you need assistance with regulating your weight and rebalancing your health, you can book an appointment here.
“✌️, ❤️ & Leptin ❤️
In Health,”
