In addition to insulin, there is another hormone that also affects the process of fat accumulation - leptin. Learn how to manage your fat burning process. Many people understand the importance of insulin in the fight against excess weight. But there is another hormone in the body that can nullify all your efforts - leptin. No wonder this substance is often called the obesity hormone. Today, most scientists are sure that the main problem of obesity is precisely leptin, or rather the imbalance of this hormone.
For this reason, many dietary nutrition programs and various nutritional supplements have now been created to neutralize the effects of leptin. But it's safe to say that you won't be able to achieve great results from manipulating leptin if you often overeat or lead a sedentary lifestyle.
To lose fat effectively, all you need is a lot of willpower and self-discipline. Prepare for the fact that you must constantly monitor your diet and go to the gym. However, it should be remembered that leptin is not capable of inhibiting or permitting fat loss. It can simplify your task or, on the contrary, complicate it.
Leptin - what is it?
Leptin is a hormone synthesized by adipose tissue. In the body, it performs a large number of tasks, for example, it regulates the metabolic rate, the feeling of hunger, sexual desire, the work of the body's defense mechanisms, etc. But all these tasks are mostly secondary, and the main role of leptin is in the regulation of body weight.
Simply put, leptin signals to the brain that the supply of energy in adipose tissues is sufficient, and it can be used at any time when such a need arises. As you know, energy from fats can be spent both during normal body functioning and in emergency situations, for example, during pregnancy or when gaining muscle mass. When a small amount of calories is consumed, the concentration of leptin decreases and the body realizes that energy reserves are limited, and it is necessary to spend it sparingly. Similar situations can occur with a decrease in basal metabolism, hunger or little physical activity.
If we talk about the mechanism of leptin work, then this scheme can be presented in the following form:
- When eating food, a certain amount of fat accumulates.
- This leads to an acceleration of the synthesis of leptin and a decrease in hunger.
- A person consumes less food and at a certain point the body begins to receive energy from adipose tissue.
- At the same time, leptin synthesis decreases and you again need to eat more food.
- As a result, the whole cycle is repeated again.
If a person does not have health problems, then leptin helps maintain the required level of fat. When there is a feeling of hunger, we consume food until the brain receives a signal that the body is full. During the day, energy is expended and fat is burned. As a result, the brain again receives a signal that energy reserves are depleted, and we again consume food.
What is leptin resistance?
Obese people have a high percentage of fat mass and have high levels of leptin in their bodies. But at the same time, their appetite does not decrease and they continue to eat a lot. This is due to the fact that the brain does not see the presence of leptin and does not turn off the feeling of hunger. This is due to leptin resistance or leptin resistance.
This condition is in many ways analogous to insulin resistance, when the body does not receive signals from the hormone leptin and as a result, bad things happen to the metabolism and appetite. Today, scientists have put forward several theories to explain leptin resistance. If we analyze them, the general essence will be as follows: the concentration of leptin is high, but the brain is sure that there is a deficit of energy in the body and activates the mechanism described above for storing fat.
Leptin resistance accelerates fat accumulation due to high food intake and little physical activity. Obesity can be compared to quicksand, which tightens and does not let go. However, this does not mean that there is no way out of this situation. The body's sensitivity to leptin is restored with a decrease in body weight.
Of course, fat people who decide to lose weight will have to struggle with high appetite for a longer time in comparison with other people, but as a result, everything will return to normal.
How to deal with leptin resistance?
In order not to have problems with being overweight, it is necessary to maintain a high sensitivity of the body to leptin. In this case, the body will qualitatively regulate your body weight. We have already said that today you can find a large number of different supplements, the manufacturers of which promise to normalize the concentration of leptin. Do not trust them, since they will not be effective.
To combat leptin resistance, you must lose weight. As long as your body contains a large amount of fat stores, you will not be able to reduce leptin resistance and, as a result, you will not lose weight.
You need to take full control of the intake of calories in the body, remove all unhealthy foods from your nutrition program, and also overcome bad habits. Losing fat is easy enough, you just need to remember what you need to do. And for this it is necessary to switch to a healthy lifestyle.
If you focus on your health, your body will restore the required sensitivity to leptin on its own. When using various dietary nutrition programs, good results can be observed during the first couple of months. Then the progress decreases and at some point it may stop.
To avoid this, you can use what is called "renewed nutrition". The essence of this method lies in the periodic consumption of large amounts of food. Of course, it should be useful and you shouldn't think about fast food. This will allow you to regulate your leptin concentration and, as a result, your body weight.
For more information on leptin and its role in the body, see this video:
