The feeling of hunger is common for all human beings. A baby is born crying until her hunger is fulfilled with breast milk. There are two main appetite hormones in our body. The first one is leptin; its purpose is to decrease our hunger. Ghrelin is the second hormone, which increases our hunger. If people had a magic wand they would want to order leptin in buckets and would want to have ghrelin. Both of these appetite hormones are important for regulating hunger and eating. Learning how to control your hunger is important for losing weight and living healthy.
How Our Appetite Hormones Sabotage Us?
When we have not eaten for three to four hours, our ghrelin levels start rising. People’s appetite or hunger is unleashed. These hunger hormones, as they are sometimes referred, are turned on or off based on the type of food we eat. Our appetite hormones are affected by three things. Firstly, as we age our hormones changes. Secondly, when we eat food containing additives such as monosodium glutamate (MSG), processed sugar, and foods. Finally, weight changes also affect our appetite hormones.
Appetite Hormones: Leptin.
In an ideal situation when we eat a meal our body produces more leptin. Leptin should “tell” our brain that we are full and should stop eating. This does not happen due to leptin resistance or unnatural food cravings. Our bodies often miss the signal for feeling full and our appetite starts increasing bit by bit. There is no short cut to getting leptin to work properly. We need to work on it consistently.
Appetite Hormones: Ghrelin.
If you forget to eat or skip a meal, your body will produce more ghrelin. You will start to have the “I am starving” feeling. The goal is to keep your ghrelin levels low to manage your weight. Our ghrelin levels decrease for three to four hours and then rise again. Losing weight will be difficult if you cannot control these two appetite hormones.
Starving Does Not Help Your Appetite Hormones.
Many people try low-calorie diets. Eating less than 1000 calories a day will lead to high ghrelin levels and severe hunger. When people do not eat enough calories, ghrelin levels rise and they become more ‘hungrier’. Starving yourself is one of the worst ways to try to lose weight. Starving leads to the yo-yo effect in the dieting world. People lose weight through starving and gain it all back because they have messed up their ghrelin and leptin levels.
Balancing Your Appetite Hormones.
Eating Healthy.
Balancing leptin and ghrelin will help you lose weight, defeat sugar addictions, and make eating healthy a lifestyle. You will have better appetite control when these two hormones are balanced. It is possible to lose weight without starving yourself. When you are eating unprocessed fats, protein, and carbs, your body will learn to balance these hormones. The Keto Diet was the first time I lost weight without feeling food-deprived. I used to eat four meals at the beginning, however, decreased it to three wholesome meals after a couple of weeks. My hunger cravings become manageable.
Healthy fats, moderate protein, and vegetables will help you balance leptin and ghrelin. Avoiding processed sugars and foods will help you control your appetite and hunger. Once you win the battle of controlling your appetite, losing weight will be a walk in the park. A couple of advantages of eating healthy:
- Increasing omega 3 fat intake boost leptin, which decreases hunger
- Being in ketosis (body burning fat for fuel) suppress ghrelin levels
- Healthy fats and grass-fed meats help balance appetite hormones and we will fuller for longer.
Sleeping Well.
Sleep deprivation is also associated with an increase in ghrelin levels and appetite. A study on 12 men found that sleep deprivation (less than 8-9 hours) increased hunger, appetite, and ghrelin levels. Hitting that snooze button more often and get a good night’s rest may help. Getting enough sleep is important to control your appetite.
Controlling your appetite hormones is a vital habit to develop in your healthy journey. Balancing leptin and ghrelin will never be easy. Eating healthy and unprocessed fats, proteins and carbs will balance the two important appetite hormones. Making a habit of getting quality sleep every night will help you control your hormones. Some people can go with five to six hours of sleep, many of us will need anything up to 9 hours. Remember focus on making eating healthy a priority and the results will show sooner or later.