It is clear from the research that to lose weight or fat, our bodies must sustain a net caloric deficit over the duration of our weight loss program. Although that is true, our hormones do play a role in supporting us on a lower-calorie diet. We have hormones in place to regulate metabolism, appetite, sleep patterns, stress, muscle growth or muscle retention, and water weight. There are also specific hormones that must be regulated depending on if you are a man or a woman. In this article, we will discuss 7 hormones that you must manage if you want to achieve your long-term fat loss goals.
1. Insulin
The number one hormone to manage on your weight loss program and arguably the most well-known hormone in the human body would be Insulin. It is a hormone produced by the pancreas and is your main storage hormone. The main role of Insulin is to regulate your body’s blood sugar levels and to release glucose from food into the muscles, liver, and fat cells for later use.
How to Manage Insulin on a Weight Loss Program
The absolute best way to manage Insulin on a weight loss program is to adopt an intermittent fasting plan. When you skip your morning breakfast and fast for a certain number of hours into the day, you are depleting your body of access glucose or sugar. This results in lower Insulin levels, which allows your body to get into your fat storage and burn fat as a fuel source. Eating constantly through out the day especially high carbohydrate meals never gives your Insulin levels a chance to come down. Metabolizing body fat as fuel raises your metabolic rate and allows your body to burn energy more efficiently. Another way of managing your Insulin levels is by minimizing processed carbohydrate foods in your diet and eating more complex carbohydrates.
2. Leptin
Leptin is 1 of 2 hunger hormones that regulates your appetite and metabolism as your body endures an energy deficit. It is your body’s main satiety hormone. Leptin is produced by the fat cells and sends a signal to your brain indicating that your stomach is full after consuming a meal. Individuals who are overweight or carry access fat naturally have higher levels of Leptin. Therefore, their bodies can physiologically endure large energy deficits with very minimal hunger issues. They can lose fat at a rapid rate without having to worry about losing lean body mass. High Leptin levels along with high body fat percentages indicate that you have a fast metabolism so there would be no significant decline in your metabolic rate when you reduce your caloric intake.
How to Manage Leptin on a Weight Loss Program
Leptin is one of those hormones you want to keep elevated while on a lower calorie diet. It is essentially your best friend hormone on a weight loss plan. There are several ways you can manage Leptin. First, you want to make sure your caloric deficit is not too large and is something you can sustain everyday until you reach your goal body weight. Second, you want to make sure you are eating sufficient protein. Out of all 3 macro nutrients, protein is your most satiating one. Its going to do the best job at promoting Leptin while on a calorie reduced diet. Second, you want to get a balance of fats and carbohydrates. They are also important for satiety and achieving Leptin. Lastly, you want to make sure your diet stresses in healthy minimally processed foods. You can still fit in about 20% junk food on daily basis if your heart desires. If you are in a deficit each day, fitting in some junk food every day is completely fine. However, there is something to say about majority of your calories coming from healthy foods. These foods do a better job at keeping you full on low calories and keeping your Leptin levels high. Healthy foods digest slower and carry more micro nutrition.
3. Ghrelin
Ghrelin is another one of your hunger hormones. It is your body’s main appetite inducing hormone and acts as an antagonist to Leptin. Ghrelin is produced by cells in the stomach that sends a single to your brain indicating that you are hungry. Individuals who are relatively lean or underweight will naturally have higher levels of Ghrelin. Physiologically, there bodies can not handle large food energy deficits for prolonged periods. If these individuals start to go too low in calories, they will eventually burn off some lean body mass. They would also have a lot more hunger issues. Why is this the case? Well, the less fat you carry on your body, the less efficient your body will be at burning fat as fuel. The human body has a survival mechanism and what the body thinks when fat storage gets too low is that you are essentially starving to death. Therefore, people in this camp would have to lose fat at a slow pace through means of a small to moderate caloric deficit paired with a sufficient intake of protein. Strength training should also be apart of the program.
How to Manage Ghrelin on a Weight Loss Program
Ghrelin is the hunger hormone you want to keep low on your fat loss plan. While Leptin is your best friend hormone, Ghrelin can be you’re your worst enemy. If you don’t keep your appetite under control, you can induce a large caloric surplus which can lead to fat or weight gain. There are a few ways you can keep your Ghrelin levels under control. First, you want to adopt an intermittent fasting plan. Fasting is actually very good for appetite regulation. It teaches you how to differentiate false hunger from true hunger. Second, you want to avoid foods that you can’t eat in a discipline manner and focus on foods that satisfies you for not many calories. It doesn’t matter if the food is healthy or not. All that matters is that the food fills you up on a caloric restriction. For example, there is never a point where you’re snacking on tortilla chips with dip and your satisfied. You can easily binge eat 1200 calories of a snack like that. It doesn’t do much for suppressing Ghrelin. You are better off eating a high-quality organic chocolate bar, which can satiate you for 300-500 calories. Lastly, you want to avoid too many simple or refined carbohydrate foods. They digest quickly and don’t effectively suppress Ghrelin.
4. Human Growth Hormone
Human Growth Hormone or HGH is a hormone produced by the Pituitary Gland. Its main function is to promote your growth from childhood to adulthood. Even in our adult years, HGH is still important for our overall health. In the context of body re-composition, HGH is known as your “fitness” hormone. This is the hormone that will help you build or retain muscle and burn fat as you restrict your caloric intake.
How to Manage Human Growth Hormone on a Weight Loss Program
You want to keep growth hormone elevated on a fitness plan. There are effective ways to go about this. The absolute best way would be through intermittent fasting. HGH levels are increased exponentially when you are fasting for 16+ hours a day. Insulin levels decline during a fast and you experience more HGH secretion. More HGH secretion leads to an increase in metabolic rate. Therefore, your body is burning more fat through elevated levels of growth hormone. Second, you want to do intense strength training in the gym with an emphasis on compound exercises. Studies have shown that heavy resistance training increases Human Growth Hormone significantly, especially if you perform it in a fasted state. Lastly, you want to get sufficient sleep. Adults should be getting about 7-9 hours of sleep per night, but ideally 8 hours of sleep. Majority of HGH is released through your sleep. If you have too many nights of poor sleep, your body will not secrete much growth hormone
5. Cortisol
Cortisol is a hormone that our bodies produce in response to stress. It is known as our “fight or flight” hormone. We deal with situations in our everyday lives that are naturally stressful. Some examples of stress would be getting out of bed in the morning, doing heavy resistance training, trying to meet project deadlines at work, and so much more. You may have a situation where you find yourself running from a wild animal. In that case, your cortisol levels would be extremely high. Chronically high levels of Cortisol can impact your fat loss efforts if not managed properly. Cortisol has more of a psychological impact on your weight loss efforts than a physiological impact. When we are dealing with stressful things in our personal or professional lives, we tend to get more cravings for junk foods. When we have multiple nights of sleep deprivation, our appetite increases along with our cravings for high fat or high sugar foods. This can lead to an over consumption of calories, which can lead to weight gain.
How to Manage Cortisol on a Weight Loss Program
Cortisol can be a good thing in some situations, but too much of it can impact your body weight. There are a couple of essential measures you can take to reduce your body’s Cortisol levels. The first and most important thing you should do is get sufficient sleep. Research has shown that the less you sleep, the higher your stress levels are. This leads to an increase in appetite and cravings for sugar or highly processed foods. When we are stressed out because of lack of sleep, we tend to turn to food as comfort and invite the possibility of overeating. Also, lack of sleep can suppress Human Growth Hormone, which is essential for fat loss and muscle building. Lastly, you want to do physical activity for 30-60 minutes a day that you find enjoyable. This is a separate thing from your strength training program. These can be things like walking out in the sun, playing leisure sports, or dancing. These activities have been shown to drastically reduce Cortisol levels.
6. Testosterone
Testosterone is a hormone commonly associated with men, but women do produce this hormone as well. Testosterone is responsible for the development of male bone density, fat distribution, muscle mass, facial and body hair, sex drive, and more. If Testosterone levels in men are too low, it can comprise lean body mass development.
How to Manage Testosterone on a Weight Loss Program
Testosterone is a hormone that men defiantly want to keep at a high level. Testosterone levels tend to decline in males after the age of 30. There are some essential practices you should implement to maintain high Testosterone levels on a fat loss plan such as intermittent fasting, strength training, getting good sleep at night, and not being in too big of caloric deficit.
7. Estrogen
Estrogen is a sex hormone mainly responsible for women’s physiological development. Men do carry this hormone as well, but it is primarily associated with females. Estrogen levels increase as girls enter adult hood. It is responsible for the development of female body parts and the maintenance of women’s reproductive health. Women’s Estrogen levels tend to decline during periods of menopause which can lead to a decline in metabolic rate. The decline in metabolism can lead to weight gain.
How to Manage Estrogen on a Weight Loss Program
Women should keep their Estrogen levels at a moderate level, not too high or too low. There are several ways that can be achieved. First, is not being in too big of calorie deficit. Women can take the biggest hormonal hit if their energy deficits are too large. Second, would be to practice intermittent fasting. It is a good way to control appetite on a diet. Lastly, would be to cut back on cardio and focus more on strength training. Research has shown that too much cardio is very bad for women’s fat loss efforts because it increases their appetite.
Eat Stop Eat: Brad Pilon’s perspective on Intermittent Fasting
Eat Stop Eat is a method of Intermittent Fasting that was popularized by diet author Brad Pilon. It involves having 1 to 2 days out of the week where you are fasting for a full 24-hour period. For the other 5 to 6 days, you would eat normally on the condition that you are not consuming more than your bodies energy needs. This style of fasting is great because it allows for more cellular repair and fat metabolizing in the body. If you want to learn more about the Eat Stop Eat Program by Brad Pilon, click here.
Conclusion
Our hormones are important for our long-term fat loss goals. They cheer us on as we sustain caloric deficits for long periods of time or until we reach our ideal body weight. We do have hormones that can work against our fitness goals, but they can be easily controlled through proper measures. We also have gender specific hormones that impact our metabolism differently, but they too can be easily controlled.
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