The Top 5 Hormones That Help With Weight Loss

Need to lose weight? You may be surprised to learn that the key isn’t just eating less and exercising more—it’s also about understanding how your hormones are involved in weight loss and how you can work with your body rather than against it when trying to shed those extra pounds. Here are the top five hormones that help with weight loss, and the foods and other lifestyle changes that can positively impact each one of them.

1) Serotonin: Helps you sleep better and longer

Getting a good night’s sleep is important for weight loss. When you don’t sleep, your body produces more of the stress hormone cortisol, which can lead to weight gain. Sleep also helps regulate ghrelin, the hormone that controls hunger. When you’re well-rested, you’re less likely to make poor food choices or eat impulsively. Research shows that people who get enough sleep have lower levels of ghrelin and higher levels of leptin. These hormones tell your brain when you’ve had enough to eat and what types of foods should be eaten. Ghrelin promotes appetite, while leptin inhibits it. Leptin triggers your body to burn fat, while ghrelin stimulates fat storage. Exercise also boosts these hormones by triggering chemical reactions in the brain. So if you exercise regularly, then these chemicals will help control appetite and encourage fat burning. But it doesn’t end there. It turns out that how much we eat has an effect on the production of these hormones as well. A high calorie diet combined with lack of exercise leads to a spike in ghrelin and low levels of leptin, which means we’ll feel hungry all the time and want to store fat instead of burn it off!

2) Ghrelin: Tells your body when it’s time to eat

The higher the level of leptin, the more quickly your body burns calories. This hormone is responsible for regulating your appetite and may contribute to weight loss. Healthy dieting, regular exercise, and mindful eating (selecting the right type of food at the right time) can lead to greater amounts of leptin, a chemical that makes it more likely for you to lose weight. Eating foods containing protein leaves you feeling more satisfied for a longer time than do carbohydrate-only foods. One way to get enough protein is to consume meat, eggs, beans, dairy products, and fish. In addition, it is helpful to maintain protein and get a little bit of sleep in order to stabilize blood sugar levels. Sleep deprivation means that your body won’t produce enough ghrelin, the hormone that signals that you should eat. Inhibition of ghrelin levels has been shown to be due to stress. A high intake of sugar can produce elevated levels of cortisol in the bloodstream, which may lead to reduced levels of ghrelin and increased hunger. Even while we’re asleep, our bodies produce ghrelin, and when we wake up, we’re always hungry.

3) Leptin: Appetite suppressant (gets you full faster)

It is well known that leptin can be important when it comes to weight loss. Leptin is a hormone that helps to control appetite and energy expenditure. In addition to feeling fuller faster and eating less, leptin plays an essential role in regulating your metabolism. Not only does it help reduce the amount of food you consume, but it can also increase your leptin levels. Exercise may also increase leptin levels. A second hormone to mention is ghrelin. Ghrelin is commonly known as the hunger hormone because its role is to tell your brain whether you are hungry or not. It spikes just before mealtime and right after waking up, so Ghrelin’s role is to remind us to eat breakfast by making us hungry.
Interestingly, there is evidence that ghrelin helps to reduce fat cells and increases muscle mass!
In conclusion, cortisol is one of the top five hormones necessary for weight loss. Cortisol, which is released during times of stress, increases blood sugar and lipids such as triglycerides. It also suppresses immune function, meaning that this hormone should be avoided if at all possible when trying to lose weight. Cortisol is released from the adrenal gland in response to stress; this means it should always be avoided if at all possible when dieting.

4) Cortisol: Glucose storage hormone

Cortisol is a hormone that helps your body store glucose for energy. When you exercise, your body releases cortisol to give you a boost of energy. But if you’re not careful, cortisol can also lead to weight gain. That’s why it’s important to balance exercise with a healthy diet. Don’t eat too much sugar or carbs in one sitting because they’ll be converted into fat and stored by the pancreas when you’re sleeping. Try to eat high-protein foods throughout the day to maintain a steady level of insulin and avoid fat storage during sleep. And make sure you get enough sleep every night so your body has time to recover from any damage done during the day–including the stress that leads to higher levels of cortisol . Getting more than eight hours of sleep a night is shown to help regulate appetite hormones like ghrelin and leptin, which work together to control hunger and fullness. They do this by helping reduce cravings for fatty and sugary foods, while promoting feelings of satiety after eating a meal. Exercise also regulates these hormones through increased production of endorphins (feel good chemicals) and decreased production of stress hormones like cortisol.

5) Thyroid hormone: regulates metabolism

The thyroid gland produces a hormone that regulates metabolism. A slow metabolism can lead to weight gain, while a fast metabolism can help with weight loss. Exercise and diet can both affect the thyroid hormone and therefore play a role in weight loss. For example, eating foods that are high in iodine can help to boost the thyroid hormone. Likewise, skipping meals may decrease production of the thyroid hormone.
Maintaining an active lifestyle is important for healthy hormones as well. Getting enough sleep and exercising regularly will also keep the hormones balanced.
Finally, serotonin: Serotonin is a neurotransmitter produced by neurons in your brain that helps regulate moods and appetite; it’s often called the happy chemical because it triggers feelings of happiness when released into your system. Low levels of serotonin can result in depression and anxiety, which may lead to overeating or decreased exercise. When you eat sugar or carbohydrates, serotonin levels rise which makes you feel good so you want more sugar or carbs!