Curious about leptin after weight loss?

AngeleyesJo

I read online leptin decreases through calorie restriction and weight loss, is this why you become hungrier when you've lost substantial weight? Should calories be upped?

Gallowmere1984

Leptin does decrease as intake and fat stores decrease, but that's not the only signal. There's a pretty complex relationship between leptin, insulin, ghrelin, some peptides, and likely a bunch of other hormones that haven't been discovered yet.

Here's a starting primer for you.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-hormones-of-bodyweight-regulation-leptin-part-1.html/

kommodevaran

I think it may be individual. I became less hungry when I lost weight. But I didn't eat much because of hunger anyway, I had terrible eating habits. I think it's people who restrict too much (quantity and(or quality) during weight loss, who will struggle afterwards.

AngeleyesJo

OK wonder if I did restrict too much I'm 5ft have a physical job aged 34, was trying for 1500 calories

Gallowmere1984

AngeleyesJo wrote: »

OK wonder if I did restrict too much I'm 5ft have a physical job aged 34, was trying for 1500 calories

That's not much information to go on, though I'd assume not, with what's provided. Read the series of articles that spawn off of the link above, and it may explain some things.

courtneyfabulous

When you reach your goal weight you can use reverse dieting to slowly ease back up to your maintenance calories. This should help your metabolism and hormones stabilize along with your calorie increase and prevent rebound weight gain.

Also eating too low carb or being in a caloric deficit for a while can crash your leptin- so if you're not done losing weight yet you can implement 1 or 2 refeed days a week where you increase carbs for just that day and eat at maintenance calories, then go back to eating in a deficit and/or low carb the rest of the week. This will help bring up leptin levels.

If you are feeling overly hungry or hungry often it may just be that your deficit is too big and your daily calorie goal is too low. You can increase your calories a bit but stay below maintenance calories so you still lose weight.

AngeleyesJo

I've heard of the idea of reverse dieting where you slowly increase your calories till you find maintenance or you put weight on then you find your personal calorie level to lose weight