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HOW LEPTIN AFFECTS THE PROPERLY BALANCED YOU

Leptin is a master Controller hormone produced by fat in adipose tissue making fat an essential part of the endocrine system which includes the thyroid gland, adrenal glands and sex glands. It also controls insulin and other hormones. Leptin’s primary function is to make a phone call to the brain, which controls eating behavior, to let it know if there is too much or too little leptin present in the fat cells. If too much leptin is present (indicating fat storage), the brain releases adrenaline to stimulate the fat cells to release energy to cause fat loss. The metabolism is triggered to work at full capacity to move fat out of storage and lower the appetite. This works perfectly for the normal weight person. When leptin works properly, high leptin tells you they are full and not to eat, so it’s natural not to be hungry after dinner or before bed. Leptin cycles frequently throughout the day, providing energy and alertness. Leptin levels are highest during the first few hours of sleep and fall to their lowest level in the morning.

HOW LEPTIN AFFECTS YOU IF YOU ARE OBESE

If you are obese, the phone call is blocked. The brain is not aware of how much fat is in the fat cells, so it continues to send the signal to manufacture leptin to fill the cells. The metabolism now thinks it is in starvation mode and slows down signaling the thyroid to slow as well.    At the same time, the appetite increases to stimulate weight gain. Leptin is responsible for addictive and compulsive eating behavior. The urge and craving to eat becomes uncontrollable. This process is referred to as leptin resistance. And since insulin production stimulates leptin production, insulin resistance and adrenaline resistance (caused by stress) are present as well. All of this can lead to adult onset diabetes.    If one is corrected, the others should correct as well. When leptin resistance occurs, the body thinks it is starving and the liver stops making active thyroid

Unfortunately, all you need do is think the word “diet,” and the body thinks it’s going into starvation mode, even if it is significantly overweight. So it slows down the metabolism as soon as calories are restricted. Discouragingly, sometimes you may be on a 1200 to 1500 calorie diet and the weight just won’t drop. And of course, no one believes you aren’t “cheating.”

Even if there is a weight loss, leptin is the main cause of weight gain after dieting. Once you start to eat more calories, leptin commands the calories toward weight gain. Those cells joyously want to be filled back up and even multiply so that more food can be stored as fat. This is why it is common for you to gain back all the weight lost plus even more. Food cravings become uncontrollable and nighttime eating increases. Only after all of the weight has been regained will the leptin signal the metabolism to work to full capacity again. Unfortunately, fat cells have a tendency to become larger and multiply faster as we age and leptin resistance becomes even more of an issue.

THE CANDIDA FACTOR

An overgrowth of Candida (yeast infection) directly relates to the tendency to become overweight. Candida craves sugar in order to survive. As sugar ferments, you can feel foggy, spacey, fatigued, depressed and have uncontrollable cravings for sugar. The desire to eat sugar is a signal of leptin imbalance. Too much sugar consumption fuels high leptin production which results in leptin resistance and insulin resistance. Eating sweets alters the perception of taste, causing leptin resistance on the tongue which impairs the taste response to normal sweetness and induces excess cravings for sugar, and sweets. The brain demands more sweets which cause the brain levels of leptin to stay too low and out of balance, resulting in fatigue and clogged thinking.

If your blood sugar is high when you go to bed, your thinking can become obsessive and you may have a hard time sleeping.

THE ALCOHOL FACTOR

Often people who have leptin resistance crave alcohol or even drugs. Leptin reinforces alcohol cravings because the brain thinks that alcohol is essential for survival, confusing the need for food with alcohol. Having alcoholic beverages at night can cause overeating, even in healthy individuals. Someone with leptin resistance may overeat even if only one glass of wine is consumed with dinner, but will most always overeat with two alcoholic drinks (and crave more alcohol besides.) The best thing to do is order a glass of water or Perrier with lemon (or a diet soda) along with a glass of wine when at a restaurant. Sip on the wine as you drink the water so that by the time dinner has arrived, most of the alcoholic beverage will still be left in your glass. You will find that cravings for another drink or more food will be diminished just by using this simple tool. Consumption of beer stops fat loss immediately.

Probably the single thing that stops weight loss and fat loss for most people in this wine-happy age is having more than one glass of wine. You may do everything right in regard to eating correctly, but that glass of wine could very well sabotage all weight-loss efforts by stopping fat loss.

CRAVING SUGAR FACTOR

A main indicator of leptin resistance is out of control eating after dinner. If the eating includes too much high glycemic foods, the leptin levels may increase 7 to 9 hours earlier. Eating too many sweets will cause leptin levels to rise at the wrong time so that fat goes into storage instead of burning for fuel. If you eat muffins, Danish, cereals or high sugar foods for breakfast, there will usually be a strong urge to eat after dinner. Compulsive sweet cravings are 100% reflective of leptin imbalance. They go away when leptin goes into balance. When a high sugar snack is eaten, insulin levels rise, fat burning is shut off and calories go back to storage.

A high sugar meal increases leptin secretion five times over normal. Foods made with white flour and white rice enter the bloodstream as sugar faster than eating table sugar does. That includes most breads that are “enriched,” including wheat breads (unless they are stone ground). It also includes all types of pasta, crackers, potato chips, pretzels and other familiar snack foods. Potatoes are extremely high in sugar. We don’t normally think of these foods as “sugar” foods, but they can be lethal to weight loss and maintaining the loss.

Any large dessert at the end of a meal creates leptin and insulin problems. If you are already overweight, even small desserts keep stimulating leptin resistance and shutting off fat burning. This is especially frustrating for individuals trying to lose weight and having an occasional “treat” which can knock out fat burning mode for 2-3 days. The more you start to overeat, the more you continue to overeat because the correct full signal does not get into the brain.

It is common that if you have leptin resistance, you will not feel satisfied on a normal amount of food. This poses a problem as you can feel quite irritable and think you won’t have any energy unless you eat more.   Eating slower is very important. Take smaller bites and have some conversation. Shoveling down food does not give time for the body to raise the leptin signal properly. A tremendous amount of excess food is easy to eat when you eat too fast. In the hypnosis CD’s for the Forever Slender Program, suggestions are given and reinforced so that you eat slow and eat moderate portions.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONTROLLING LEPTIN OVERPRODUCTION

Eat a high-protein breakfast

Reduce the amount of high glycemic carbs eaten

Don’t eat large meals. Be moderate

Never eat after dinner. Allow 11 to 12 hours between and breakfast.

Never go to bed on a full stomach. Finish eating dinner at least three hours before bed.

If you eat before bed, fat burning is shut off, period.

As you start to improve leptin resistance, you will notice you finally get the full signal even though it came 10-20 minutes after eating. When leptin resistance improves further, you will get a normal full signal as the meal is finished.

If you stop eating around 8:00 pm at night, leptin works correctly and you are not hungry. Leptin peaks around Midnight and fat burns at about 40% up until around 4:00 am. From 4:00 am to 8:00 am fat burns at 60% when the leptin levels are at a low. Natural weight loss occurs here. Quality sleep requires a steady supply of blood sugar. This allows the dip into fat reserves while sleeping to effect weight loss,

If you exercise before you eat breakfast you will increase and continue the strong burn rate for hours after. Sleep is a prime metabolic time when you can access the stores of fat you wish to lose. During the night, your body gradually begins to burn a higher portion of fat for fuel. Nine hours after finishing dinner, it is quite likely that the readily available fats have been used, and your body will dip into the fat reserves. 9 to 12 hours after dinner are prime fat burning hours to burn fat stores from the buttocks, thighs and stomach.

Keep in mind that if you are morbidly obese, you may still need to have a protein drink a bit later after dinner. All eating should be done by three hours before you go to bed. Waiting too long from dinner to breakfast can cause a dip in the insulin so that the fasting blood sugar is too low which can make you feel irritable and unwell when you awaken. This can also cause nightmares, sweating and headaches.    If you wake up with heartburn or nausea, Maalox or Tums can allow you to go back to sleep.

It’s a fine balance here. Judge it by how you feel. If you don’t feel good with 11 hours between dinner and breakfast, shorten the time to 9 hours, or whatever feels right to you.

If a hyperglycemic person has a small protein with a carb snack like cottage cheese and blueberries or an apple with peanut butter or a protein drink three hours before they go to bed, they will calm down and sleep easier.

MOVING YOUR BODY

Exercise can solve leptin problems. Exercise improves insulin resistance by enhancing the ability of insulin to transport glucose into muscles so the calories can be used for energy.

During the first 15-20 minutes of exercise, stored sugar in the muscles (glycogen) is the primary fuel used. The muscles demand more fuel to come out of storage to fuel them.

To accelerate fat burning during exercise, the following is recommended:

Do aerobics between meals or first thing in the morning before eating when fatty acids turn into fat burning mode (UCP3).   If carbs are eaten before exercising the UCP3 will only activate slightly, reducing the fat burning potential of exercise. Go longer, not faster. If heaviness or tiredness sets in the legs, fat burning mode has stopped. Slow down and maintain the activity so that the fat burning UCP3 can be increased up to seven times resting value by prolonged aerobic exercise. You should have a clear head and good energy feeling after exercising. Intense physical exercise can depress leptin due to the increased demand for fuel to perform exercise. This reaction is felt over a period of hours which means that a good workout in the afternoon or evening can help prevent the nighttime desire to overeat.

Don’t eat right after exercising unless you feel hungry. But if you are hungry it is essential to eat or an inflammatory response from exercise can cause weight gain. Activating UCP3 is a safe and effective way to lose weight. Coenzyme Q10 is required for the function of UCP3. B vitamins, antioxidants and magnesium are needed for energy production. 100-200 mg. of Q10 is recommended.

People who are fatigued and have adrenal wear and tear cannot exercise longer than 15-20 minutes without having unpleasant symptoms. The liver fitness must first be restored before longer periods of exercise can be done. After 40 minutes of exercise, fuel comes from a combination of stored liver glycogen and the breakdown of fatty acids from stored fat. The longer the exercise time, as long as the exercise is not stressful or physically exhausting, the more stored fat is broken down and burned. Exercise is necessary to repair fuel-regulation problems. As adrenal reserves and liver function improve, exercise will be possible for longer periods of time.

It may take some time for an individual to build up to this level of fitness; however, it is essential in order to achieve ideal body weight and to keep off the weight once it is lost.

When you have insulin resistance it is difficult to exercise for longer than 40 minutes or it will cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) which can cause a lack of energy, irritability, fatigue and food cravings.

Even 15 minutes of exercise begins to improve insulin resistance. As it gradually improves over time and the adrenals and liver get in better shape, the longer refreshing exercise becomes possible. The problems of insulin resistance and leptin resistance are significantly improved when you can exercise at a moderate pace for at least one hour, three times a week and feel good after the exercise, not fatigued.

Resistance training also lowers body fat and leptin which helps normalize insulin. Strength training increases muscle mass that increases body temperature.

Protein has a large effect on fluid retention. Adequate protein intake helps solve fluid retention.

However, high complex carbs are very important for muscle function. Without high complex carbs, muscles lose their water content and become dehydrated, weak and develop cramps.

A physically active person who uses their muscles frequently has a higher need for carbs and has an increased ability to metabolize carbs. For most people, there should be a higher protein intake relative to fat and carbs in order to lose weight.

*NUTRITION TO HELP LEPTIN/THYROID FUNCTION (See reference below)

A higher level of calcium intake improves thyroid function and metabolism. Body temperature is as important as light to help the body set biological rhythms. Proper body temperature is needed to activate certain parts of the brain that cause alertness during the day, and as bedtime approaches, heat signals other parts of the brain the promote sleep.

Melatonin is an important hormone that is released during sleep. It declines with age. Melatonin release at night is essential for proper leptin rhythm during the day. Melatonin prevents the accumulation of stomach fat and lowers leptin. It also improves diabetes in animal studies by eliminating insulin resistance. Melatonin also turns down excess NF kappaB to improve inflammation, and it helps with high blood pressure. A proper does of melatonin at night (.t mg) can improve leptin issues during the day to help leptin rhythm and reduce food cravings.

Growth hormones decline with age and overweight people have an impaired growth hormone function. This promotes weight gain around the abdomen. Solving leptin issues reduces inflammation and enhances growth hormone. Once leptin resistance shows up, excess leptin depresses growth hormone. Excess cortisol from stress makes more fat in the abdomen if growth hormone is low.

Acute inflammation can be improved by taking fish oil.

CLA (conjugated Linoleic acid) occurs naturally in dairy products. It is most powerful to stop leptin resistance by as much as 42 percent and it reduces inflammation. It also helps liver function. As it reduces leptin, it increases burning fat as fuel. It also helps growth hormone normalize so food cravings are reduced at night and weight loss happens more quickly. It is best to take CLA capsules with vitamin E to prevent oxidization in the blood. CLA is particularly important for pregnant women. Once weight loss occurs, leptin wants to replenish the supply of fat. This is the survival instinct that causes the weight gain we all hate. If you have frequently gained and lost a lot of weight, the body knows, and lowers the metabolic rate. CLA helps keep leptin under control. It also eliminate helps late night eating. CLA reduces the amount of leptin fat cells produce by as much as 42 percent and it increases fat burning as well. CLA 3-6 grams a day prevents gaining weight back.

Another nutrient ALC (Acetl-L-Carnitine) can stimulate the production of growth hormone while sleeping. It helps the brain sense the correct amount of leptin to overcome leptin resistance. ALC also helps improve cognition. And it can metabolize cholesterol out of brain cells and normalize glucose in the brain.

Thyroid is regulated by leptin and the liver. The thyroid does not cause leptin problems. A proper level of leptin signals the brain to stimulate thyroid hormone production. It is the combination of insulin resistance and high body fat that is the main factor associated with high leptin.

When leptin resistance occurs, the body thinks it is starving and the liver stops making active thyroid. The brain activates its own thyroid hormone independent of the liver so the brain can maintain metabolic function during times of starvation. Every cell in the brain can covert T4 to T3. Once leptin resistance is normalized, thyroid problems go away. An Infant’s thyroid function can be affected by cigarette smoke.

Toxins hide in fat and the body resists dropping fat and bringing the toxins out again, so a toxic person has even more difficulty losing weight because the body doesn’t want to toxins stored in fat to come out. The liver must be improved to process these toxins so weight loss can resume. Often the last 5 to 10 pounds are the most difficult to lose because of the locked-in toxins the body doesn’t want to let out.

The best nutrients to move calories into circulation are: pantethine (panathenic acid B vitamin) moves fat into action. Acetyl-l-Carnitine improves the ability of cells to burn fat for fuel and helps the brain sense leptin. Chromium and vanadium help calories enter cells to lower insulin resistance.

PS: These nutritional recommendations are from the book, "Mastering Leptin" by Bryon J. Richards and Mary Guignon Richards:

To help make UCP3 to get you into fat burning mode in the muscles: Coenzyme Q10, B vitamins, Magnesium, malic acid

To reduce inflammation: fish oils and GLA oil

To help with leptin resistance: Leptinal™: DHA, GLA, CL

Reference and recommended reading, Mastering Leptin by Byron J. Richards, CCN and Mary Guignon Richards.

Should you be interested in obtaining any of these nutritional products click on the link below to access website.

Health Topics Page

Wellness Resources

Thyroid Helper

Leptin Control Pack