Hormone Resistance, Obesity + Weight Loss
Hormone resistance, obesity and loosing weight better explained:
1. What is insulin resistance:
When we eat insulin levels rise. when we eat excess sugar/carbs, we produce excess insulin (especially if combined with a sedentary lifestyle). This in turn causes us to turn off some of our insulin receptors (as they are getting pinged too much due to the excess levels of insulin). Next time we eat, because we have less receptors, we need to produce more insulin to get the same result. this is known as insulin resistance.
Why is this an issue? because insulin inhibits the use of fat for energy, and so with more swimming around, we literally cannot burn fat. The fat does get released from the cells but has nowhere to go, so swims around the body, collecting around our internal organs, and around our bellies. This fat behaves differently to other fat. It is very inflamed, and actually produces hormones like oestrogen which we do not need or want more of. This creates a vicious cycle of hormone resistance and increased systemic inflammation - both of which are risk factors for almost every chronic disease. I’ve spoken a lot before about blood sugar regulation so take a look here if you think this might be you.
2. After we eat, Ghrelin (hormone that makes us hungry) is suppressed.
In obese people it doesn’t get suppressed as much, so once they loose weight, they are more hungry than the rest of us, this is why they often put weight back on. High protein meals with moderate carb intake better suppress Ghrelin.
3. Leptin (hormone that suppresses our appetite) levels are higher the more fat you have (to stop you eating more).
But if you are overweight, the inflammation in your body weakens the leptin signals = leptin resistance = abdominal weight gain, thigh and hip weight gain in women, sleep problems, heart disease etc. This increased abdominal fat also then further adds to leptin resistance… the cycle continues.
How to increase leptin sensitivity: go gluten free, decrease sugar consumption, increase probiotic and prebiotic consumption, decrease inflammation (anti inflammatory diet, decreasing grains/processed foods and increasing antioxidants, omega3). Do regular exercise and increase sleep.
4. 8-10% of the population (more so women) have subclinical hypothyroidism (a sluggish thyroid gland),
Symptoms include: – low energy/appetite, weight gain, feeling cold/ cold hands/feet, dry skin, thinning hair, constipation, irregular periods, depression. If this is you getting this checked might be a good idea.
This can be caused by:
nutrient deficiencies (iodine, selenium, zinc, vitD),
excessive intake of fluoride/mercury (which displaces iodine which the thyroid needs and blocks thyroids ability to make hormones),
exposure to endocrine disruptors (BPA - found in the plastic in takeaway coffee cup lids and receipts),
or lastly from an autoimmune condition (called Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, can be the result of leaky gut).
