Hormones play an important part in how our bodies respond to food and exercise.
Hi and welcome back!
A reminder about hormones...
Leptin is a circulating signal that reduces appetite, and is believed to increase physical activity and feelings of well being, but in general, obese people have an unusually high circulating concentration of leptin and are said to be resistant to the effects of leptin.
A study published recently suggests that the consumption of high amounts of fructose causes leptin resistance and elevated triglycerides in rats. The high fructose diet rats subsequently ate more and gained more weight than controls when fed a high fat, high calorie diet.
Insulin is a hormone that increases appetite, decreases physical activity and feelings of well being by supressing leptin, as well as promoting the chemical dopamine which makes a person want to eat to get the feel good dopamine “rush”. It is the high level of sugar and the low level of fibre that are now in our diets from processed, manufactured foods that promote insulin production.
So by lowering your intake of sugars and increasing your fibre intake over the last few weeks you are likely to have lowered your leptin resistance and your levels of insulin, and in turn are eating less, exercising more and feeling pretty darn good!!
Sue x
FAT-SCRAP MAY 2010 DAY TWENTY THREE
FAT-SCRAP MAY 2010 DAY TWENTY FIVE
3 comments:
Thank you Sue for reminding us all about how hormones affect our appetite and food intake. I can honestly say that I have never felt 'so darn good' in my whole life as I have following the Fat Scrap eating plan.
The only downside is all the bruises I have from kicking myself for not doing this sooner!!
I'd like to share with everyone a little about the Ayurvedic approach to food which rings true to our plan....
"Eat foods that are fresh, whole and organic. Favour fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Foods cooked fresh each day, and with love, produce the most 'ojas', which are the biochemical equivalent to bliss."
Now what is there possibly not to like about that!!!
Ayurveda originated in India several thousand years ago and translates literally as 'the science of life'. It is an ancient philosophy based upon a deep understanding of eternal truths about the human body, mind and spirit. It lays down a number of principles..such as what I have said above about food...to establish balance and harmony in the body, mind and spirit.
If you want to know more then there are loads of books you can read and websites about Ayurveda like http://www.alternativehealth.co.uk/ayurveda/index.htm
Also...for those of you who have an Iphone there is a great app called IVeda!!
Hope you all have a happy week xxxx
Hi Everyone
Well yesterday - I had chicken stirfry in the evening after sleeping for 3 hours!
Still really tired today and very low. Met Liza for a coffee and gave her one of my flapjacks so that really cheered me up - Thanks Liza.
So today I have had:
Bfast - yog, nuts seeds flapjack and fruit (blueberries and strawberries)
Then I had a bit of flapjack and coffee (with Liza)
Then missed lunch!
So had an apple and then Liza gave me a lift home.
When I got home I had nearly 2 hours sleep (should have been working!).
Now up and having a lovely dinner with Chicken carrotts and beans with new potatoes - lovely.
I'm also going to have a couple more of those 'I'm in Heaven' treats to round it off:)
I don't know if my hormones are playing me up at the moment or just tired but I do fluctuate badly.
Claire
Thank you Apple for your interesting post about Ayurveda. It is something I am frequently drawn to and I have also tried applying the Ayurvedic approach to my food choices. I must admit though that I have found it difficult to decide which dosha recommendations I should follow but I do like the principles of Ayurveda and will continue to explore them further. x
As with everything in life it is good to have an open mind, be curious and then if you feel inspired have a go. You may find something that works for you or you may find something that doesn't work for you - either way you will have learnt something!
Claire, thank you for your post. I am noticing that your food choices, although healthy, seem to be mainly leaning towards the sweet foods and I am wondering if this is related to your tiredness. It could be that your blood sugar is low when you are tired causing the sugary cravings. Looking at your fruit portion intake yesterday it could be that you actuially had around 3 to 4 portions! I would recommend that you limit your fruit portions to two a day and instead have some vegetable portions. there is a lot of fruit in the flapjack recipe so that counts too!! A good guide to a portion of fruit, especially things like berries is a handful.
Also you might like to have a think about how you can eat more vegetables at lunch time. Salads, veggies sticks and soups are some good choices or have a look at the FAT-SCRAP snack suggestions on the blog recipe page. Hope this helps! X
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