Weight Loss Hormones
Weight loss hormones are extremely important to consider when you are trying to lose weight. They must be manipulated through proper diet and exercise protocols for maximum effect. Certain weight loss supplements have the ability to change these hormones as well. Tiny amounts of these hormones can cause significant changes in the way a person looks and feels. There are 3 main hormones and they are:
Insulin-is released by the pancreas in response to sugar. Carbohydrates are broken down into sugar and insulin shuttles the sugar into cells. The rate at which sugar enters the blood stream will affect the amount of insulin produced. The more sugar, the more insulin. Also the volume of food will affect the amount of insulin produced. When we are trying to lose weight we want to keep our insulin levels as low as possible. We do this by going on a low carb/high fat diet. Most people are insulin resistant and should take measures to increase insulin sensitivity, which the diet will do. Insulin resistance can be seen by fat in the “love handle” area and subscapular(back) fat. These people are at higher risk for diabetes.
Growth Hormone(GH)-is another potent weight loss hormone. Another important fact is that it is extremely anti aging. Our bodies own natural production starts to decline after the age of 30. What we want to do is try to maximize out bodies own natural output of GH. We do this by performing activities that produce alot of lactic acid. The lactic acid then causes the secretion of growth hormone. These types of activities will cause you to breathe heavy and you will feel the burn in you muscles! When people naturally raise their GH they report numerous benefits as in having more energy, feeling younger, and sleeping better to name a few.
Leptin- is a horm0ne that is produced in our bodies fat cells. The interesting thing is that low calorie diets decrease the production of this hormone. The main way to manipulate this hormone is that you want to have specifically planned cheat meals, which are high in carbohydrates and fat. This will ramp up leptin production which will lead to greater fat loss. The problem with this is that people abuse cheat meals and turn them into a cheat day. This is overboard for most people, especially when they are trying to lose weight. Once a person becomes lean their cheat meal becomes into a cheat day. Cheat meals are recommended once ever 5-7 days to help maintain optimal levels of this hormone.
When you are dealing with weight loss for kids, GH output is not a concern but you will want to look very closely at insulin levels and give them nutrition that regulates this key hormone.
