It’s now been a few days since the official Thanksgiving feast.  If you are lucky you are only one or two pounds up.  If you aren’t doing so well you are five or more pounds heavier.  Even worse, you have likely entered into an eating pattern where you are wanting more and more food, especially snacks and sweets – something you may have had under control before the holidays set in.  This is not a good situation to be in for the month of December.  This sneaky, somewhat compulsive desire to eat more food is a leptin problem raising its ugly head.  Since you already know what you are supposed to be doing - but aren’t – WHAT CAN YOU DO?

It’s now been a few days since the official Thanksgiving feast.  If you are lucky you are only one or two pounds up.  If you aren’t doing so well you are five or more pounds heavier.  Even worse, you have likely entered into an eating pattern where you are wanting more and more food, especially snacks and sweets – something you may have had under control before the holidays set in.  This is not a good situation to be in for the month of December.  This sneaky, somewhat compulsive desire to eat more food is a leptin problem raising its ugly head.  Since you already know what you are supposed to be doing - but aren’t – WHAT CAN YOU DO?

When I feel this way I do a 3-7 day protein and fiber fast.  This gets my metabolism back on track in a hurry, shrinks my stomach back to a normal size, and most importantly – IT GETS MY URGE TO EAT BACK UNDER CONTROL BEFORE REAL DAMAGE IS DONE.

The program I follow is very simple.  I have three protein drinks a day.  I use 1 ½ scoops of Daily Protein Plus and I mix in 1 heaping tablespoon of Fiber Helper.  I mix this in 2% milk, though you can use rice milk, almond milk, or 50% fruit juice and 50% water (stay away from soy milk as it slows down metabolism).  The extra fiber is really important otherwise bowels will slow down.

I have two pieces of fruit per day, but I always have them at meal times and never as a snack.  My wife likes to blend the fruit into her protein drinks; I mix mine with a spoon and eat the fruit.  I usually have a banana for breakfast and some other fruit at lunch or dinner.  I have a cup or two of coffee for breakfast and sometimes at lunch, with 1 tbl of cream added (real cream).  I never add sweetener to anything. 

I take a Daily Super Pack and Leptin Control Pack twice a day on this program, usually at breakfast and lunch.  I love the new Pine Nut Oil and take 2-3 in the afternoon.  It really keeps my head awake and appetite under control.

Once every three – four days I have an average size meal with no dessert.  Sometimes I do this program for three days, sometimes for seven, and sometimes for several weeks.  The program will typically remove any recent weight gain and always brings appetite and eating patterns back into balance.  Usually after two days any cravings are gone.  I keep doing it until I get off the number of pounds I want off.

During the holidays I know some people who eat this way Monday-Thursday and then go to all the various parties over the weekend.

It’s human nature to eat more food during the holiday season.  Certainly you should be able to enjoy holiday social gatherings without paying a price.  It’s all the extra eating during the day and not at parties that really causes the problems.  Don’t wait until January to do something about it.  If you manage leptin through the holidays and you can have more fun, indulge every now and then, and enter the New Year in relatively good shape.

A new study by researchers at the University of Michigan shows that children who get less than 9 ¾ hours sleep in the third grade are 40 percent more likely to be fat in the sixth grade (whether they were already fat or not in the third grade).  It was found that the longer the kids slept, the less the chance for obesity.

A new study by researchers at the University of Michigan shows that children who get less than 9 ¾ hours sleep in the third grade are 40 percent more likely to be fat in the sixth grade (whether they were already fat or not in the third grade).  It was found that the longer the kids slept, the less the chance for obesity.  It is already known that adults lacking sleep (less then 7 hours) are at increased risk for weight gain.  The researchers believe this problem is caused by disruption of healthy leptin function, as well as disruption of one of leptin’s companions, ghrelin (pronounced grel-an).

Leptin is involved in synchronizing hormone function in a variety of ways.  One example is leptin’s orchestration of insulin in response to a meal, wherein leptin produces a full signal and turns off insulin production by the pancreas.  This process malfunctions in a person with leptin resistance, in turn causing insulin resistance as well as a faulty full signal (a person has to eat too much to feel full). 

Another of leptin’s patterns is the 24 hour rhythm that synchronizes the timing of all hormone function during sleep (melatonin, growth hormone, thyroid hormone, testosterone, immune system repair activities, etc.).  In order to do this leptin levels are naturally highest around midnight, in terms of a 24-hour pattern.  When metabolism is working properly these higher levels of leptin not only naturally suppress appetite in the evening, they set the stage for a good night’s sleep and proper fat burning during sleep.  This process is disrupted by eating within three hours of bed.

When you go to sleep, assuming you haven’t eaten before bed, you are generally burning 60% of your calories from sugar and 40% from fatty acids.  About 6 – 7 hours following the completion of dinner, or about 2 – 3 hours into sleep, under the influence of leptin and glucagon, this ratio changes and you will now burn 40% of your calories from sugar and 60% from fatty acids – which continues until you wake up.  This process is orchestrated by your liver.  The longer you sleep the more fat you burn.  This means that sleep is a prime time for metabolic fat burning.

The reason children need to sleep longer than adults is because they are also growing their bodies, which requires additional time during sleep.  This new study is interesting as it shows that simply shorting sleep, in essence disrupting this leptin-controlled prime fat burning time, is sufficient to increase the risk for obesity.  This prime fat burning time is also disturbed by eating before bed, as the time in the 60% fat burning mode is either reduced or blocked entirely.

As a person gains weight around the midsection the liver also becomes clogged with fat.  This reduces the physical ability of the liver to burn fat properly during sleep.  This shows up as elevated blood sugar in the morning.  Morning fasting blood sugar should not be above 90, when it is it means the person could not get into fatty acid burning correctly during sleep and so the liver made sugar instead (or it means the person ate too much close to bed).  Of course, once the number rises too high a person is diabetic.  As a person eats according to the Five Rules of the Leptin Diet this problem of a clogged liver is gradually undone and the liver can potentially return to much more normal function, including nighttime fat burning.

The researchers also found that by disturbing leptin function, ghrelin levels were too high during the day.  Ghrelin is made in the stomach and acts as an appetite stimulant, especially for the intake of carbohydrates.  Healthy ghrelin function is absolutely vital for having a normal appetite as well as for the release of growth hormone.  However, when the hormone is too high during the day it leads to excess carbo ingestion, in turn fueling leptin resistance, insulin resistance, and weight gain.  This is easy to see – any time you short yourself on sleep you will notice you want more carbos the next day.

The moral of the story is do what you can to get a good night’s sleep and ensure your children are getting adequate sleep.  Children not only need sleep to maximize their genetic potential and growth, they need it to help maintain a healthy metabolism over the course of a lifetime.

A handful of individuals have a rare genetic mutation that causes them to make no leptin at all.  These individuals become morbidly obese because they never get a proper full signal.  By comparison, 99.99% of overweight people make too much leptin; however, the leptin does not get into the brain properly (leptin resistance), so they sort of behave like the person who makes no leptin at all. 

A handful of individuals have a rare genetic mutation that causes them to make no leptin at all.  These individuals become morbidly obese because they never get a proper full signal.  By comparison, 99.99% of overweight people make too much leptin; however, the leptin does not get into the brain properly (leptin resistance), so they sort of behave like the person who makes no leptin at all. 

When researchers give leptin to the rare person who makes none, the person quits eating all the time, gets a proper full signal, and loses weight.  When researchers give leptin to the other 99.99% of individuals, it simply makes blood levels of leptin rise even higher and leptin resistance worsens.  Researchers are trying to make nasal sprays that enter the brain directly, which has some possibility of working.  However, it is far easier to simply eat in harmony with the hormone as explained by the Leptin Diet, which reduces leptin resistance allowing leptin to enter the brain in the natural way and provide a normal full signal.  Individuals are often amazed at how following the Five Rules of the Leptin Diet stops their obsession and craving for food.

Fascinating new research on the rare person who makes no leptin is showing that leptin has a profound influence on numerous regions in the brain.  It is already well known that leptin communicates directly to the hypothalamus gland, controlling the subconscious core of appetite and energy-producing brain circuitry.  What is new about this study is that leptin is shown to activate numerous other areas in the brain, including the cerebral cortex executive centers of the brain that are involved with rational self control. 

In fact, leptin actually caused the cerebral cortex to grow, literally strengthening the structure and function of this area of the brain.  This is a dramatic discovery.  It means that leptin resistant overweight children are at risk of poor brain development and leptin resistant adults are at risk of accelerated brain aging based in part on atrophy of the cerebral cortex.  The cerebral cortex is vital for many cognitive tasks in addition to issues of food acquisition and appetite control.  In fact, this problem cuts to the core of any addictive tendency in any subject relating to a lack of self control.

The researchers also found that the cerebellum was activated by leptin.  The cerebellum is involved with the coordination of physical motion.  A weak cerebellum contributes to problems such as anxiety and learning disabilities such as dyslexia. 

It is well known that leptin acts as a primary antioxidant in the brain, a main way in which the brain buffers the stress of excitotoxins.  Excitotoxins are a primary cause of brain stress and at the center of developmental brain issues and age-related decline.  A combination of leptin deficiency in the brain and excitotoxin excess is linked to ADHD, Down syndrome, and Autism spectrum disorders, as well as age-related cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.  Common dietary excitotoxins include MSG, food coloring, aspartame, and flavoring systems used by fast food restaurants and packaged food producers to addict consumers to their brand.  Immunizations prime brain cells to become hyper-responsive and thereby magnify excitotoxic stress.

While there is much we do not know this new research demonstrates that proper leptin levels within the brain are vital for intelligence and the ability to make and follow through on healthy choices in one’s life. 

You are not alone if you think a sluggish thyroid is causing you to gain weight.  Contrary to this popular belief, in most cases it is just the other way around.  Gaining weight is actually causing the thyroid to become sluggish.  If your thyroid is struggling the problem tends to get worse the more times you go on a diet and lose some weight and then gain it all back again, typically with a few extra pounds for good measure.

You are not alone if you think a sluggish thyroid is causing you to gain weight.  Contrary to this popular belief, in most cases it is just the other way around.  Gaining weight is actually causing the thyroid to become sluggish.  If your thyroid is struggling the problem tends to get worse the more times you go on a diet and lose some weight and then gain it all back again, typically with a few extra pounds for good measure.  Once in motion thyroid and weight problems feed off each other like a chicken and egg, locking in a nasty metabolic catch 22 that is quite difficult to solve.

Leptin is the key hormone that governs body weight.  Leptin is produced in fat, travels through the blood and up to the brain, enters the brain and informs the subconscious brain how much fat is in reserves.  If there is an adequate amount of fat in storage leptin permits the thyroid system to set a faster basal metabolic rate.  Leptin is in control of thyroid, thyroid does not control leptin.  Think of thyroid hormone as the drummer in the band, setting the pace or tempo.  Think of leptin as the conductor of the band, determining what piece of music will be played.

This leptin and thyroid relationship is fundamental to survival.  During evolution there was often a scarcity of food.  This required that stored fat be broken down to use as fuel.  The stored fat now produces less leptin, which means to the brain it is time to slow down metabolism to conserve energy so as not to perish.  If a faster basal metabolic pace was allowed a person would die from malnutrition at a quicker rate.  Thus, leptin intentionally creates a hypothyroid state in order to survive.

Then, when more food is available, leptin commands that fat storage is replenished before thyroid is allowed to go faster.  This is a mode your body uses to recover from a period of famine, otherwise known as a diet.  This mechanism is the bane of any dieter, and the cause of the yo-yo dieting response.

The curse of prosperity is that we now have ready access to too much food.  Our bodies did not evolve with overeating as the primary issue.  Too much food really creates a lot of stress.  Extra pounds of fat crank out way too much leptin.  At the same time extra fat in the blood (triglycerides) blocks leptin from getting into the brain, inducing a problem called leptin resistance.  This makes your subconscious brain think you are starving even though you have plenty of extra fat on hand.  This is a false state of perceived starvation, with the undesirable side effect of slowing down thyroid function to set a slower metabolic pace (hypothyroid).

Now it is certainly possible to create a thyroid problem in some other way, such as chemical poisoning of the thyroid gland by exposure to fluoride or perchlorate.  This will slow down metabolism and make a person more likely to gain weight.  However, once the person starts gaining weight then the leptin problem makes the thyroid problem worse.

The problem isn’t too bad if a person can cut back on calories and increase exercise and lose the extra weight.  However, this leptin-thyroid conundrum is at the root of difficult weight loss and ongoing sluggish thyroid problems in overweight people.  Such people run out of energy and get in a really bad mood from cutting calories long before they reach their goal weight.  And they easily gain weight back eating even moderate amounts of food. 

The only way out of this trap is to understand leptin and to eat in harmony with the hormone.  By following the Five Rules of the Leptin Diet you can readily improve thyroid function.  This enables your metabolism to run faster while eating proper portions, permitting weight loss without inducing the thyroid-deteriorating starvation response that is invariably followed by weight gain.  Those who consistently follow the Five Rules for a number of months in a row have the best results.  Nutrients that support thyroid function and leptin function are also helpful tools, along with consistent exercise, to assist you in overcoming this thyroid and leptin rut.