Leptin the Fuel Meter for Fat Burning

When patients come into my office to begin the HCG Diet process we learn a lot about the physiological basics of fat storage and fat breakdown in the body.  Knowledge is power and learning all of this as you enter into the process of weight loss takes things to a whole new level!

In the previous blog posts, we have learned a lot about insulin and its impact on fat storage!   discussion of a hormone that acts exactly like the fuel gauge on your car’s instrument panel. Today, I want to talk about a hormone that is the “fuel gauge” of the body.  Leptin!

Leptin and Weight Loss

Imagine being on a road trip and you have a broken gas gauge in your car. You’d never know whether you were about to run out of gas. In fact, if you’re like me …  you would fill up at every station, just in case!

Leptin is a very important hormone that tells your brain that your body’s FULL.  Leptin looks at the “storage tanks”—the fat cells and relays to the brain if they are full or empty. When it’s working properly, leptin will monitor your food intake, let your brain know when you’ve had enough and keeps a careful eye on how much you’ve got in your “storage” (fat and glycogen).

In fact, leptin is actually released by the fat cells, in direct proportion to how full they are. When leptin is present in high levels, it sends a signal to our brain that we’re full and should stop eating. When leptin levels are low, the opposite happens — we will feel hungry and crave food.  Leptin is the body’s way of letting the brain know that there’s plenty of energy saved up for reserve and therefore, there’s no need to keep shoveling in the food. It’s an fantastic system, and when it works well.

Leptin Resistance and Weight Gain

When you are eating the standard American diet and you are a “sugar burner” this system does not work!  Sugar intake keeps the brain from getting leptin’s very important message that you are FULL and you keep eating even though your fat-storage tanks are bursting at the seams.  Now, the whole hormonal fat-burning symphony is playing horribly out of tune.

Leptin resistance means that your brain has become insensitive to leptin’s messages.  Obese people have lots of leptin floating around, the issue is that leptin isn’t getting into their brains to deliver the message “Stop eating! You are Full!”

Leptin resistance  happens when the brain has been exposed to high levels of leptin from year after year of eating a higher sugar/carb diet and storing fat.  The brain becomes resistant to the effects of leptin.  This kind of hormonal resistance is becoming very common. You’ll recall that the exact same thing happens in insulin resistance, except in that case it’s the muscle cells becoming “resistant” to the effects of insulin. Here it’s the brain cells becoming resistant to leptin.

I work closely with all of my leptin-resistant and insulin resistant patients through the HCG Diet process to help regulate the insulin and leptin response. It takes time and it takes some dedication but it is truly worth it!

Categories: Body Composition, Eating Well, Food Information, General Wellness, hCG Diet, HCG Diet Weight Loss, HCG Weight Loss, Weight Loss