There are two reasons why some people can eat all day but not put on any weight. Most of us have seen or know the people I'm talking about, they are lean and energetic but they also eat twice as much as you. The reason for this may be as simple as, hormones and metabolism.
Leptin Hormone
Every time you have something to eat or there is food on your stomach, your body produces the hormone leptin. Leptin tells the the brain that the body is full and satisfied so you don't keep eating. Keep in mind however that the brain does not register that it is full for at least 20 minutes after you have eaten.
The production of leptin hormone also tells the body to use up excess fuel for energy, it is a catalyst. Therefore, the more you eat (in moderation) the more leptin hormone you produce and the more fat broken down for energy.
In utilising this practise of keeping full, you must remember some important facts.
- You need to eat healthy small meals
- Do not snack on takeaway, fatty foods or chocolate, these are empty calories
- If you eat bad food you will continue to feel hungry because the body is not nutritionally satisfied.If
On the other end of the scale, if your body is not producing leptin, it will produce ghrelin in response to an empty stomach and being hungry. This tells the brain to eat and store what excess energy you have as fat so that the body can use it later on. This is a response we don't want when trying to lose weight.
Metabolism
Do you have a friend or family member that continually astounds you by the amount of food they eat and yet they remain thin? The reason they can eat so much is partly due to the leptin factor and partly due to their rate of metabolism. Your metabolism is controlled mainly by the thyroid gland.
Your thyroid gland produces amongst others, thyroxine which controls the rate our food is utilised. If we have a slow metabolism, our food is slowly utilised and there is a stronger tendency to store food in our fat cells. Those with a slow metabolism are generally heavier and is easier for them to put on weight. Those with a fast metabolism utilise their food faster so that less is stored as fat, these people are generally thin and don't put on much weight.
If you are desperately trying to lose weight, you need to consider the two reasons above as one can affect the other. For example, by eating small meals more often, you are not only stimulating the leptin hormone, you are also increasing your metabolism.
If you go hungry (as with some diets) your metabolism will slow down in a starvation response and the ghrelin hormone will cause the body to store fat.
