Your Weight is controlled by 4 Important Hormones in the Body

Do you know that your weight is controlled by 4 important hormones in the body? These hormones directly affect the body’s fat storage (especially around your core area) and your appetite. So, do not always blame food to be the culprit behind weight/fat gain.

Why is it that many people, with regular exercises and controlled eating habits, complain of increase in body weight? You can be one of them.

There is nothing to worry; know about these 4 hormones and how you can control them.

Hormone #1: Ghrelin

This “hunger hormone” always tries to send message to your brain (hypothalamus) that you need to eat (even when you are full)!

Highest level of ghrelin is always seen before any meal; the lowest level is seen after any meal. In overweight people, this ‘lowest level’ never happens. This makes them to eat again and again even when they are full or feel full. As a result, these people end up “overeating”!

How to Control Ghrelin?

More protein needs to be eaten at breakfast (compared to any other meals you will have). Not only this, avoid high sugar products, energy drinks, sweet drinks—all these impair the ghrelin response. Also, you need to drink adequate amount of water.

Hormone #2: Leptin

Important and the single most fat-burning hormone in the body, leptin controls every other fat loss hormones in your end.

Leptin works exactly opposite to ghrelin—it sends message to your brain that there is enough fat stored in the body and any extra is not required. When leptin sends this message, you stop overeating.   

Overweight people, surprisingly, have more leptin than ghrelin in their body. Sadly, their leptin system does not work as it should for fat loss. Here, ghrelin tries to dominate leptin and takes over, making the overweight people to overeat.

Hence, the overweight people become ‘leptin resistant’—leptin’s signal does not reach the brain.

On the other hand, overweight people who finally manage to lose weight, end up eating more. In this case, their leptin gets so suppressed that ghrelin takes over and these people end up overeating.  

How to Control Leptin?

Regular exercise, low carb diet, no sugar/sweets/sugary drinks, adequate intake of water, proper sleep—all these do help.

Hormone #3: Insulin

Insulin is released by the body to keep a check on your blood sugar level. This vital hormone is “two-faced”—it increases the stored fat; on the other hand, it takes sugar out of your blood.

The work of insulin is to carry excess glucose (body produces) out of your blood to your either your liver, or your muscles or the fat cells for storage.

How to Control Insulin?

Low carb diet (also, no sugar or sweets) with eating more fat in the morning, regular exercise, adequate intake of water, and proper rest will help you control insulin. You need to know when to eat what—which part of the day to eat protein, which part of the day to eat carb, and which part of the day to eat fat. THIS IS CRUCIAL.

Hormone #4: Cortisol

Whenever your body is in some kind of stress/tension, it releases “cortisol”—popularly known as ‘stress hormone’. A vital hormone for the body, its continued elevated level results in overeating and gaining unnecessary body weight.

Like other hormones, it’s vital to survival. However, chronically elevated levels of cortisol can lead to overeating and weight gain (3).

How to Control Cortisol?

Follow low carb diet. Why low carb? Because high carb would lead to insulin spike and coupled with elevated levels of cortisol, your body would keep storing fat.

Conclusion

Now you know ‘it is not always food that is responsible for weight gain’. If the above 4 hormones are well in your control (you have to try your level best), you will lose extra fat, in a healthy way, in no time.