Hahaha! Who doesn't love funny animal memes?! If you don't.. Then you are crazy! JK.
Anyways.. Time to recap more of my book, The Hungry Brain: Outsmarting the Instincts That Make Us Overeat BY: Stephan J. Guyenet, Ph.D
This recap is going to be similar to my past two. The things that it says makes sense, but then it doesn't. I am learning that that is the way science works a lot of the time. It seems to be very contradicting. But it is still a lot of good things to know about. And it is all quite interesting.
SO HERE WE GO!
-Leptin: Hormone produced by fat tissue, which acts in the brain to regulate appetite and adiposity (the studies/experiments are done on rodents)
-A lack of leptin can cause obesity in humans. Lacking leptin can cause one to ALWAYS think about food. Talk about food, dream about food, FOOD IS LITERALLY ALWAYS ON THEIR MIND.
-Starvation can also cause an obsession with food. When one is "starving" they begin to fantasize, dream, and talk about food. They look at recipes, cookbooks, and can even collect cooking utensils.
This is called SEMI-STARVATION NEUROSIS.
-Low leptin levels might be responsible for the human's response to starvation (hunger, obsession, reduced metabolic rate).
-During a diet phase, the brain reduces thyroid hormones, which slow metabolic rate. This can give people a cold and sluggish feeling after weightless or during a diet.
The brain reduces the number of calories burned which reduces the expenditure level. The brain and the body doesn't want to lose weight, they want to maintain homeostasis.
The brain will also ramp up appetite, trying to get back to homeostasis.
*HOMEOSTASIS: The ability of the body or cell to seek and maintain equilibrium or stability within its internal environment, when dealing with outside/external changes. HOMEO=unchanging, STASIS=standing.
PAUSE FOR A SECOND...
So I'm not sure how one would lack leptin. I think you would be born with that (which I think the book gets into a little). But I can see how when someone becomes hungry, they become obsessed with food. DUH! You want to eat to survive. It is just unfortunate that people these days abuse food, including me at times.
And I like to call homeostasis your body's happy place. This is what makes it so difficult to gain or lose weight. It is possible to change your "happy place" though. It just takes a lot of time and hard work. And assistance from a knowledgable coach. Plus the accountability of a coach helps a lot.
UNPAUSE!
-Substantial weight loss triggers starvation response, which will continue until the fat come back. WE DON'T WANT THE FAT TO COME BACK! Lol. That's just silly!
-Injecting leptin helped bring the tested patients "back to normal." They began to turn down food when they weren't actually hungry. They where no longer completely obsessed with ALL THINGS FOOD. They were also able to lose their excess fat.
So why don't we all inject leptin?!
1. That would require enormous doses (40x the body's natural/normal levels).
2. Variable responses from different people. This means that the leptin works for some, but not for everyone.
-More leptin = more fat (unless one has a defect or is deficient)
Now this confuses me.. It took me a second to understand. So leptin makes you not as hungry or obsessed with food. So the fatter someone is, the more leptin you have... Which causes you to not be hungry. Your body doesn't need food. It has enough fat to survive. I hope that made sense.
-Lean people have a low-adiposity set point, meaning they can't lose much body fat.
Obese people have a high-adiposity set point.
The brain is protecting the body from starvation and infertility, even though an obese person has excess fat (not going to starve). Having too much fat can cause infertility and even death (more likely to have health issues).
-Adiposity levels can change within an individual over the years (depending on ones lifestyle and choices.. even genetics at times).
-A bland diet/low reward can cause for a lower adiposity set point.
People eating a bland diet voluntarily reduced their calorie intake (unconsciously) and did not have a "starvation response," as they lost weight. They were also in good spirits of the diet.
People who were forced to eat smaller portions of their normal food, experienced cravings and were dreaming of food while they lost weight.
*DIET PALATABILITY influences the set point of the lipostat in humans.
*LIPOSTAT: The brain's "thermostat." Regulates feeding behavior and energy expenditure. Works to keep a person's bodyweight consistent.
-High reward food increases food intake and adiposity, while low reward food does the opposite.
The yummier the food, the more you are going to eat!
You don't ever see memes about vegetables.
-Eat a limited variety of foods
Most importantly, you want to create a "diet" that you can stick to. So basically... You don't want it to be a diet... You want it to be THE WAY THAT YOU EAT! That's the best way that you will be able to get to your goal and MAINTAIN IT!
-Physically fit people are better able to resist fat gain, in the face of over eating.
Exercise help keep lipostat at a lower set point.
Exercise depletes the body's fat reserves, increasing appetite. *Good for those who want to gain weight. Something to keep an eye on if you are trying to lose weight.
Exercise may lower adiposity set point among people who carry excess fat, reducing appetite.
-Amino Acids=Building blocks of protein
-Studies show that people who lose weight, eating a high protein diet experience less hunger.
This is why when I give a client macros, the protein will be the highest! Plus protein is more thermogenic in the body. The body has to work harder to process/breakdown protein.
Well this is going to end RECAP #3!
I hope you found the info interesting and helpful.
Just keep in mind that you are in control. Don't forget what your goals are!
DON'T GIVE UP WHAT YOU WANT MOST, FOR WHAT YOU WANT NOW!