Let me start this week’s article with a simple fat loss equation:
CHRONIC LOW CALORIE DIET + LOW FAT DIET + LOW CARB DIET + LOTS OF CARDIO = METABOLIC BURNOUT
- Metabolic Burnout - It's not a game!
Are you following or have you ever followed a ‘regime’ that is described by the above equation when looking for fat loss? Have you ever been frustrated at piling back on the weight you have lost, or annoyed at how your results have been cut short? If so, read on.......
After a couple of weeks of seriously low calorie eating and lower quality food choices you will have less hunger suppressing hormones circulating and more hunger promoting hormones circulating. This imbalance in hormones will beat your willpower hands down. How often have you crashed after seriously restricting the amount of food you eat?
After a couple of weeks of seriously low calorie eating and lower quality food choices you will have less hunger suppressing hormones circulating and more hunger promoting hormones circulating. This imbalance in hormones will beat your willpower hands down. How often have you crashed after seriously restricting the amount of food you eat?
Ultimately by following a lifestyle which is shown in the equation above you can expect a catastrophic crash. And a catastrophic crash will all but end your fat loss efforts for a while.
- A crash that is plain to see - it is far more obvious than a crash in your metabolism.
The same effect is seen after a year when following crash diets. You will still feel hungry and not satiated, and possibly more moody too. Again, how many people have you seen who have lost a great deal of weight over a year, to only then put the weight back on and some more? Sure they may have hit their fat loss goals for a short while, but look at where they are at now!
See, your hormones are more powerful than you can imagine. They can make you look/feel great if you eat right, exercise right and recover/relax well. But they can make you look/feel terrible if they are not in balance through poor nutrition and exercise choices and not enough recovery/relaxation.
- She looks about as happy as her hormones are.
Hormones
Hormones are powerful, as I said above already. Hormones carry out many functions. One function in particular that hormones control is our perception of appetite and hunger as well as our eating habits. Willpower will only take you so far, when you have low blood sugar/when your hormones are out of sync/in an environment where healthy eating isn’t supported i.e. in an office which ‘feeds’ you biscuits and doughnuts.
With regards to weight loss, we are concerned with a few specific hormones:
• CKK – a hormone that is released when fats and proteins are consumed. CCK receptors are found in the gut and the brain. High levels of circulating CCK will depress hunger.
• GLP-1 – this hormone slows down the emptying of you stomach, thus making you feel fuller for longer. High sugar foods increase insulin, and when insulin is high GLP-1 will be suppressed. Have you ever felt hungry after eating sugary junk food?
• Leptin – a hormone which is released from stored fat to make you feel full and prevent overeating. Poor nutrition, all day grazing or constantly overeating can negate the effects of leptin and prevent that feeling of satiety, causing you to overeat.
• Ghrelin – a hormone produced in the stomach which acts on the brain. If Ghrelin levels are high, you can expect to feel hunger.
Hormones are powerful, as I said above already. Hormones carry out many functions. One function in particular that hormones control is our perception of appetite and hunger as well as our eating habits. Willpower will only take you so far, when you have low blood sugar/when your hormones are out of sync/in an environment where healthy eating isn’t supported i.e. in an office which ‘feeds’ you biscuits and doughnuts.
With regards to weight loss, we are concerned with a few specific hormones:
• CKK – a hormone that is released when fats and proteins are consumed. CCK receptors are found in the gut and the brain. High levels of circulating CCK will depress hunger.
• GLP-1 – this hormone slows down the emptying of you stomach, thus making you feel fuller for longer. High sugar foods increase insulin, and when insulin is high GLP-1 will be suppressed. Have you ever felt hungry after eating sugary junk food?
• Leptin – a hormone which is released from stored fat to make you feel full and prevent overeating. Poor nutrition, all day grazing or constantly overeating can negate the effects of leptin and prevent that feeling of satiety, causing you to overeat.
• Ghrelin – a hormone produced in the stomach which acts on the brain. If Ghrelin levels are high, you can expect to feel hunger.
That's all for this week, check back to read the second part some time next week.
Our new site for Personal Training Wimbledon, Sutton and other areas is:
www.revolutionpersonaltraining.co.uk
info@revolutionpersonaltraining.co.uk
