Among the many hormones that control the human body, there is only one that is directly responsible for the success or failure of weight loss. It is leptin. If after trying a lot of diets the patient is forced to state the fact that his weight remains unchanged and even grows, the key to possible success lies in the classic leptin diet. We emphasize again that there are different variations of this diet regime, but one must start in this case with the classics in order to subordinate the work of leptin to the weight loss goals set. Article about what it is and on what physiological regularities such a diet is built.
Leptin is an appetite and metabolism regulator. This combination is the basis of the whole system of weight correction with the help of this hormone. Leptin is produced by fat cells during food intake into the body. The function of the hormone is to warn the brain about the onset of satiety. Not so long ago the fat layer was considered to be a burdensome, harmless ballast, the HAB of the body’s energy reserves, which will be spent taking into account unforeseen circumstances. Today we know for sure that lipids are an independent endocrine-dependent organ, regulating appetite and metabolic processes, and thus body weight.
- Weight regulation.
- Leptin resistance .
- Leptin control in the loss of extra pounds.
- Correcting imbalances.
- Bad breakfast and good breakfast.
- Weight regulation.
The process of weight control is accomplished by leptin communicating with the brain through biochemical processes in the body. As soon as the amount of fat exceeds the body’s need for it, leptin sends a signal to the brain. If the hypothalamic nuclei responded by feedback and further growth of leptin provoked a decrease in appetite on the background of accelerated metabolism, obese people would simply not exist in nature. In fact, as leptin levels rise and automatically gain extra pounds, there is resistance to the signals from the hormone, that is, leptin resistance develops, similar to insulin resistance.
After all, type 2 diabetes is not the result of a lack of insulin, but of the body’s inability to utilize it fully. The same situation occurs with leptin resistance. Only changes in lifestyle and diet can help the body correct such hormone resistance and adjust to normal weight.
In general, leptin resistance is present in almost all obese people. As a rule, they synthesize enough leptin, but it is difficult to transport it to the brain.
This is influenced by at least two physiological factors:
- Insulin insensitivity, which is determined by blood glucose concentrations that warn of prediabetes, and a rounded belly.
- High levels of triglycerides in the bloodstream, the very fats that are produced from all the sweet things we eat, especially fructose-based ones.
Leptin control in the loss of extra pounds
In order to burn fat, optimal amounts of leptin alone are not enough; you need highly sensitive receptors that can participate in transmitting signals to the brain. It has been proven that whenever a person goes on a low-calorie diet, leptin concentrations drop. Automatically, the rate of fat burning also slows down.
Anecdotal research suggests that levels of the hormone are halved during a week on a low-calorie diet. But nature has programmed the synthesis of hormones, including leptin, to protect the body in extreme circumstances from the threat of starvation. As a result, a person on a diet faces a slowdown in metabolic processes. And this is a significant barrier to weight loss.
On the other hand, the transmission of signals from leptin to the brain is also inhibited. This is also a serious obstacle on the way to reaching the goal. Normally, the satiety signal is received within 20 minutes after the start of a meal, but the fuller a person is, the slower the operation goes, which leads to overeating. Already accumulated fat deposits combined with refined foods provoke resistance to the hormone leptin. This explains the constant hunger experienced by deprived fat cells, which provokes the desire to eat and eat, pushing the goal of weight loss to the back burner.
The correction is to normalize the communication between the lipocytes and the hunger center in the hypothalamus, roughly speaking. Scientists are struggling with this issue, because it is the key to the problem of obesity. There are several approaches to solving the problem of resistance.
The most successful consists of 5 rules that increase leptin efficiency:
- Do not eat at night and do not go to bed with a full stomach. There should be at least 11 or 12 hours between the first and last meal. This is the time that is considered sufficient for burning fat. However, there is a more obvious nuance to this rule. A full stomach supports the diaphragm, creates a feeling of heaviness, does not let you breathe freely and provokes insomnia or nighttime apnoea in combination with other triggering factors.
- Meals should consist of three meals and no more, with no snacks, lunches, or teas. The interval between meals is five hours. In this way, the body, without snacks, will use up energy reserves (liver glycogen), which will be transformed into fats and replenish abdominal reserves if they are not needed.
- Portions should be minimal, as overly large portions provoke insensitivity to both leptin and insulin.
- According to the composition of products, the diet must be hypoglycemic and low-carbohydrate. Those carbohydrates that have a high glycemic index are reduced. It is easy to control the amount of carbohydrates coming with food at home. You need to weigh yourself before going to bed and in the morning on an empty stomach. If the weight in the evening is at least one kilogram more than in the morning, you can talk about exceeding the allowable amount of carbohydrates.
- The main emphasis is on breakfast, and it should be protein. This will help stabilize normal blood glucose levels throughout the day and thus avoid overeating for lunch and dinner.
Bad breakfast and good breakfast
If leptin resistance is diagnosed, a carbohydrate-dominated breakfast a priori provokes overeating, and glucose levels drop after breakfast. The person wants to eat again and cannot stop in time, because the satiety signals from leptin are blocked. The more lipids accumulate in the body, the worse the brain hears the signals of the hormone. For comparison, a protein-dominated breakfast speeds up the metabolism and the rate of fat burning by 30%. This effect lasts for up to 12 hours.
A breakfast with a predominance of carbohydrates increases the metabolism by only 4%, and in the complete absence of protein products – even less. This is especially evident in patients who are overweight, those who like to snack frequently, and those over 40.
The conclusion is simple: it is wise to eat a high-carbohydrate breakfast only during the period of life, when the metabolism reaches the highest possible speeds. When the processes of food energy transformation slow down – and this simply cannot be avoided with age, and in the case of overweight – carbohydrate-rich breakfasts become a direct road to the accumulation of extra pounds and health problems.
Let’s pay attention to just a couple of signs that characterize a “bad” breakfast in terms of leptin resistance:
- The urge to snack occurs less than 5 hours between breakfast and lunch.
- The need for snacks increases in the evening and in the afternoon.
A leptin-correcting morning meal should combine about 25 g of protein and at least 6 g of fiber. This can provide foods: eggs, lean cottage cheese and meat (if you are not a vegetarian). Of carbohydrates, berries or fruits are possible, but not their juices. In a portion of complex carbohydrates – a slice of bread or half a cup of ready-made porridge. Sugar if possible is excluded, as dietary fiber recommend the reception of the powder from the shell of plantain seeds, diluted in a glass of water. The dose is the doctor’s prerogative. They also use tables of protein and fiber content in portions of products, their glycemic index.
An example of a proper meat-free breakfast would be:
- Unsweetened cottage cheese with berries, oatmeal, uncooked, instant, with chia seeds, berries, nuts, cinnamon.
- Scrambled eggs with vegetables and beans, baked in the oven.
- Whole-grain porridge with berries, fruits, nuts, cinnamon, Greek yogurt.
- Fruit and berry smoothies with Greek yogurt or protein (supplement).
- Whole-grain bread with almond paste, banana and chia pudding.
The satiety hormone plays a major role in regulating appetite and fat metabolism. Leptin corrects the type of diet and promotes better weight control. At the same time it can prevent the development of diabetes, endocrine and cardiac pathologies. The hormone helps get rid of an addiction to sweets and the desire for frequent snacking. From the point of view of thermodynamics, perhaps it is how leptin functions that holds the secret to getting more energy with the least effort. In other words, the maximum energy potential is obtained from less food.