The Healthy Nest Philosophy
At Healthy Nest’s natural weight loss philosophy centers around finding “your best diet.” The goal is for our clients to lose one to two pounds per week. But, sometimes it doesn’t go according to plan, and weight stubbornly stays in place. Then what do we do? Well, we look to other factors such as stress and hormone imbalances. Sometimes, we find it’s the hormone leptin that’s the culprit.
Stubborn Weight Loss Because of Hormone Imbalance: Leptin Resistance
One of the biggie hormones in the weight loss world just came onto the scene in 1994 — leptin. Leptin is considered a master hormone, a puppeteer of sorts, for body fat regulation. It is in charge of how much fat we burn during the day as well as much fat we carry on our bodies. The main function of the hormone leptin is to signal to the brain how much fat to store in the fat cells. People carrying too much fat in their cells may have a problem with leptin signaling, which is called leptin resistance. Leptin resistance can result in excess hunger and reduced energy expenditure. Your body will store more fat instead of letting go of fat. Leptin resistance causes a situation where your body thinks it’s starving, even though it’s not, so it holds onto fat cells and won’t let go!
What to do About Leptin Resistance
The key to reducing leptin resistance is to reduce inflammation in the diet which is a diet and lifestyle issue — which we can control. Things you can start doing today to help with this issue are:
- Avoid processed food: It is well known that highly processed foods increase inflammation in the body.
- Count your veggies: Vegetables contain LOTS of fiber. Fiber keeps us full and happy, helps us lose and maintain weight, and helps us to NOT EAT other ‘crappy’ options. Fiber also improves digestive health.
- Up your movement: Physical movement may help to reverse leptin resistance. In my world, every kind of movement is a good thing. Doesn’t need to be BIG or extensive, but moving is good.
- Sleep:Poor sleep has been implicated in problems with leptin. Get your rest.
- Lower your triglycerides: The best way to lower triglycerides is to reduce carbohydrate intake, which is reducing the amount of sugar in your diet.
- Eat protein: Eating plenty of protein (plant and animal) can help with weight loss & leptin resistance. Choosing good proteins may help with leptin sensitivity.
Quick & Easy Suggestion for What to Eat (One of our Favorite Protein-Rich Breakfast Options)
Creamy Chocolate Shake
(modified from Practical Paleo)
6 eggs
½ cup coconut oil
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
¼ cup good quality maple syrup
1 lemon, juice and zest
½ cup almond flour
½ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the eggs, coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup, lemon juice and zest together in a large mixing bowl. Stir in almond flour, sea salt, baking soda until well combined. Gently fold in the blueberries. In a muffin tin, scoop ¼ cup off the batter into each lined muffin cup.
Bake 35-40 minutes.
Sources:
Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2002 Nov;26(11):1407-33. Leptin: a review of its peripheral actions and interactions. Margetic S1, Gazzola C, Pegg GG, Hill RA.
Serum immunoreactive-leptin concentrations in normal-weight and obese humans.
Considine RV1, Sinha MK, Heiman ML, Kriauciunas A, Stephens TW, Nyce MR, Ohannesian JP, Marco CC, McKee LJ, Bauer TL, et al. Author information
Ann Intern Med. 1999 Apr 20;130(8):671-80.
The role of leptin in human obesity and disease: a review of current evidence.
Mantzoros CS1. J Clin Invest. 2011 Jun 1; 121(6): 2087–2093. Published online 2011 Jun 1. doi: 10.1172/JCI45888
PMCID: PMC3104762. Sixteen years and counting: an update on leptin in energy balance
Laurent Gautron and Joel K. Elmquist J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Mar; 97(3): 745–755. Published online 2012 Jan 11. doi: 10.1210/jc.2011-2525
Clinical Review Regulation of Food Intake, Energy Balance, and Body Fat Mass: Implications for the Pathogenesis and Treatment of Obesity Stephan J. Guyenet and Michael W. Schwartz
Authority Nutrition
http://www.healthline.com/nutrition/leptin-101
Hi! I’m Robin, the founder of Healthy Nest Nutrition. I am a board-certified holistic nutritionist in Denver, Colorado. My passion is helping people find the right diet for their bodies and then showing them how to make healthy nutrition doable and delicious!
