Nutrition, Diet and Health Tips

Hormones act as tiny messengers that signal your body to Eat, Stop Eating, Sleep/Wake-up and many other functions.

In weight, we are primarily concerned about how a shift in Hormonal Imbalances causes Weight gain and unwanted fat storage.

In this article, we are going to talk about the role of the four Primary Hormones that affect Weight and they are;

1. Cortisol – Commonly known as the Stress Hormone that is  released when the body is exposed to a stressful situation to help it adjust and deal with the situation by increasing blood glucose for extra energy supply. The problem comes with Over- production and release of Cortisol due to continued or Chronic Stress.

The body on depletion of the stored energy reserves in the liver ( Glycogen) will adjust further through the hypothalamus and prompt production and release of hunger Hormones ( Ghrelin) to promote appetite, cravings and additional intake. But remember, the body’s metabolic rate has not yet changed, if anything it slows down to ‘reserve‘ stores to deal with anticipated stress. What happens is that, with an increase in food intake, there will be overproduction of Insulin to try and regulate the blood sugar and this prompts storage in form of fat if the supply exceeds demand…

With continuous stress, Insulin production exceeds Utilization capacity and this brings us to a situation we call insulin Insensitivity which causes Insulin Resistance a predominant characteristic of Obese and Overweight people.

2. Leptin – in a healthy individual food intake matches output and metabolic function. This is controlled by two major hormones and one of those is Leptin. It is commonly referred to as the “Satiety hormone” because it’s primary role is to tell your body you’ve had enough and you need to stop eating. In a normal circadian rhythm, Leptin production slows down with onset on sunlight (sunrise) to signify the start of food intake window period and production increases with Sunset to Stop or slow down Intake.

Unfortunately in the Modern world where people are trying so much to maximize on time for income, people are awake at night more than ever with constant lights interrupting the ‘normal’ shift. This has been associated with alot of weight problems because the inbuilt controls are not as effective as before and this has led to Overconsumption of calories and energy leading to Obesity and Overweight.

Leptin insensitivity is one of the leading causes of unwanted weight gain.

3. Insulin – The blood sugar Control Hormone. It’s more common in Diabetic or people with issues with blood sugar control but insulin is also a key hormone in weight management. It influences fat storage in the body which causes weight gain. For one to effectively control and manage weight, they must effectively adjust to strategies aimed at improving insulin sensitivity.

4. Ghrelin- Hunger Hormone – it works in synergy with the Leptin Hormone. In a Normal Healthy person, Ghrelin production is most in the morning when we wake up for us to break the fasts and production slows down with sunset. Leptin Insensitive people don’t have the ability to stop eating so they just eat eat eat in a gluttonous way because their Ghrelin is too active and this brings about weight gain.

Other Hormones of concern is the Growth factor hormones which influences fat burning and storage as well and the sex hormones which affects the endocrine system – Thyroid and such and this also influences Weight.

Let me know about your struggles with Weight Management in the comment section and remember to check out my YouTube channel; https://youtu.be/g2wmxBCKt-c?si=e9YmdlVSnujbOdj6 to get more tips on Weight Management. Follow me for more Nutrition and Health tips 💯.

As always,
Signed with love 💗
Lilian Mumina
Your favourite Dietitian
Mumina Wellness Solutions.