Ghrelin is an appetite-stimulating hormone that has been riding the waves of fame. If you know the expression ‘keep your enemies close’, then you know that it’s sensible to start getting familiar with the ins and outs of our dear 'food greedy' hormone.
# Does ghrelin increase your appetite after
weight loss?
Sadly a
review in Obesity 2010 thinks
so. You may have lost a few dress sizes,
but your gorgeous new figure and weight loss may lead to compensatory increase
in hunger, cravings and decreased ghrelin suppression that encourages weight
re-gain. UH OH.
# Am I doomed to stay fat?
Of course
not and there’s loads that you can do to overcome temptation island. Keep reading for the good news.
# Do you eat breakfast?
What a sensible
start to your day to prevent over-indulging later. ‘Break the overnight fast’ with petit dejeuner.
What you
may not know is that a study in Steroids
this year showed that ghrelin levels were suppressed almost by half after eating
breakfast. Include protein and carbs in
this meal and you’ll also enjoy significantly improved hunger and craving
scores.
Egg on
toast anyone? Sound good? Better still, you are more likely to continue
to lose weight if you eat carbs and protein, than just a low carb
breakfast due to increased satiety from protein. So ditch the low carb meal
and somebody please pass me the banana and
yoghurt!
# Are you coping with stress?
Research
suggests that ghrelin is drawn to stress like bee is to honey. It responds by increasing its levels with heightened
stress hormones.
Are you
stressing already? Stop panicking! Jump off that stress wagon and find ways of
coping with stress.
Schedule
in regular exercise, it could be as simple as walking 30 minutes a day. So before life stressors make you ditch your
diet plans, just follow these simple tips and you’ll help keep surging
levels of ghrelin at bay.
Regular
exercise is also of course a great way to help maintain your beautiful new
body. If you don’t believe me, one study
in Endocrine 2008 showed that exercise decreased ghrelin levels, leading to
smaller meals and lower body weight.
Time to get your walking shoes out?
Don’t
forget, losing weight is the easy part, maintaining this weight loss, is the
more challenging part.
# Are you sleeping enough?
Before you
trade in your beauty sleep for an extra hour on the books, thanks to the Journal of Sleep Research, we also know
that even a single deprived night of sleep could lead to increased hunger and
appetite as a result of higher ghrelin levels.
It’s the calorie-dense, sugary foods that you’ll most likely be after
too.
The Purple Impression
Eat
breakfast. Exercise and find ways to
cope with stress. But most importantly, think twice before burning the midnight
oil.
On that
note, I think I am going to get my beauty sleep.
What are
your thoughts on ghrelin? If you have
juicy new research at your finger tips, then please do share. I love hearing from you.
