Top 3 Weight influencing Hormones
The urge to lose weight, get in shape and stay slim is as old as time. You’ve probably fought weight gain every year but you’ve been unsuccessful. Weight issues are real and affect your self-esteem, confidence as well as your perception of beauty. For eons, you’ve heard and seen it in magazines, on runways and even experienced the same with your colleagues, slim is beautiful. Others will console you that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder but the struggles you go through make all the talk useless.

However, you might never lose all that weight and be a size 2 but having average weight is healthy for your body. Your internal organs as well as your skin will thank you. You might be breaking sweat at the gym and even eating healthy but you are not losing weight. The problem lies in your hormones. Hormones affect just about all processes in your body, eating habits, sleep, weight, even your body size.

1.The hormones include: Ghrelin
This is a hunger hormone produced in the stomach. Ghrelin levels are high in the morning after night’s fast and decrease when you eat. The high ghrelin levels make you want to eat everything in sight. You fail to lose weight as desired because you tend to stock up on carbohydrates and fatty foods. These are unhealthy options because carbs are burned up fast and you eventually eat more all through the day. Even when you are already overweight, with high ghrelin levels, you will keep eating and losing weight will be impossible.

Eating foods high in protein and fiber content is advisable because they take longer to digest and your hunger pangs reduce. Low ghrelin levels infer fewer intakes of junk and unhealthy drinks. Therefore, always eat healthy, and lose weight.

2. Leptin
Recent research has shown that leptin is possibly the weight loss hormone. It antagonizes the effects of ghrelin. It is stored in fat cells. High leptin levels increase metabolism and eventually weight loss. However in some cases, especially for women, this isn’t true. Most women face leptin resistance and have no effect on the breakdown of fat cells. The leptin resistance makes the levels of leptin to drop and you only gain extra pounds.

The Venus factor aims at increasing leptin sensitivity to raise metabolism and burn fat faster. You can also increase your leptin levels by getting enough sleep, fasting, exercising and by using leptin supplements. It has been shown that 12-hour fasts with zero calorie intakes can increase your cells’ sensitivity to leptin. You should also keep in mind that you can never lose weight without burning more than your calorie intake.

Derailing your body by decreasing your high calorie intake leads to drop in leptin levels but you end up having more cravings. Eventually, you gain more weight. However, you shouldn’t cut off carbs because you still need sugars for normal body functioning.

3. Cortisol
Also called the stress hormone; you tend to have more cortisol in your system when you are stressed. Cortisol generates a feedback mechanism whereby cells make more adipocytes. This leads to increased visceral fats causing the spare tire around the waist. Cortisol also increases cravings for sweet and fatty foods. Coffee has been shown to increase your cortisol levels despite sharpening your focus. You should therefore decrease your coffee levels or take decaffeinated coffee.

As you aim to cut a few pounds, it’s important for you to incorporate a balanced and healthy meal every day, have a meal plan (can be obtained by signing up for nutritional and dieting plans), do not skip meals, avoid stressful situations, work out and change your mind set. Having a depressed look amid weight issues only makes you ugly. Smile and be confident. Healthy living makes your body more responsive and toxins are flushed out; you’ll have a glowing and beautiful skin eventually.

Author Bio
Kris Simmons is a medical officer with a Doctorate in Endocrinology. She has been instrumental in explaining the Venus factor and researching on scientific ways to reverse leptin resistance. Learn more about her work and scientific weight management by subscribing to the Medical Journal.