Leptin Level Question

bethbhansen
bethbhansen Posts: 11 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi, has anyone had any luck increasing their leptin level in order to burn fat? My leptin level is bordering the Low end of the normal range so I'm trying to figure out successful ways to boost it. Any tips from those with experience would be great. Thanks!

Replies

  • bethbhansen
    bethbhansen Posts: 11 Member
    Sorry, didn't explain that well. my leptin level is 4.3 and normal range for my BMI is 4.4 - 24.2.
  • dmariet116
    dmariet116 Posts: 530 Member
    Well leptin works hand in hand with insulin. First you must keep insulin levels under control and to do so you would need to eat lower carbs and moderate protein, both increase insulin but carbs more so than protein. add more foods with omega 3's and healthy fats and avoid omega 6 vegetable oils and seeds.. Having a carb refeed once a week will boost leptin levels. Its a balancing act. Google paleo leap -The appetite hormone. Good info.
  • bethbhansen
    bethbhansen Posts: 11 Member
    Thanks for the info. How many carbs should I shoot for on a carb reload day?
  • cajuntank
    cajuntank Posts: 924 Member
    edited June 2016
    So Lyle McDonald has a whole series talking about Leptin. I will link to part 5 (yes, I know the link says 6) as he does a little re-cap, but it would be worth some time going through the entire series.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-hormones-of-bodyweight-regulation-leptin-part-6.html/

    So personal take-aways from his article and podcasts he has done in discussing Leptin.

    Leptin is directly impacted by bodyfat % and/or caloric deficit.
    Leptin can be raised with adding bodyfat, which I'm sure is not the goal here and spending some time in maintenance (but never back to original levels unless again, you gain back the bodyfat you lost).
    Leptin sensitivity is increased due to exercise.
    Leptin can be raised some with carbohydrate feeding. Note...Lyle suggests that it would take more than one "cheat" meal or even high carb day for the body to uptick Leptin levels as the body adapts more slowly to that hormone and is not like Insulin which spikes every meal. Thus he recommends taking at least 2 days of high carb intake to up-regulate Leptin. Of course, this does not discount the increase of calories which will slow weight loss in the short term, but the systematic "breaks" might* offer better weightloss in the long term.

    *Lastly, and this is only my opinion on it, if you have a large amount of bodyfat to lose, then taking these "mini-breaks" are sub-optimal as you have enough bodyfat to better endure cycles of running a deficit for say 8-12 weeks, the maintenance for a couple of weeks, then deficit, then maintenance, rinse and repeat, etc... If you are already low bodyfat levels and trying to get even lower, then going the slower approach (deficit with planned carbohydrate refeeds of 2 days minimum) would be the more optimum approach as you already don't have much fat to lose and you need to be more conservative overall in your deficit.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    What @cajuntank, and Lyle, said.

    If you're in a deficit and you have fat to lose, you may be a bit hungry. It's not like you can never increase leptin again. It will increase once you move into maintenance, though not to the level it was while one was over-fat.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Eat maintenance for a week and it'll increase. What effect do you expect it to have ?
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    cajuntank wrote: »
    So Lyle McDonald has a whole series talking about Leptin. I will link to part 5 (yes, I know the link says 6) as he does a little re-cap, but it would be worth some time going through the entire series.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-hormones-of-bodyweight-regulation-leptin-part-6.html/

    So personal take-aways from his article and podcasts he has done in discussing Leptin.

    Leptin is directly impacted by bodyfat % and/or caloric deficit.
    Leptin can be raised with adding bodyfat, which I'm sure is not the goal here and spending some time in maintenance (but never back to original levels unless again, you gain back the bodyfat you lost).
    Leptin sensitivity is increased due to exercise.
    Leptin can be raised some with carbohydrate feeding. Note...Lyle suggests that it would take more than one "cheat" meal or even high carb day for the body to uptick Leptin levels as the body adapts more slowly to that hormone and is not like Insulin which spikes every meal. Thus he recommends taking at least 2 days of high carb intake to up-regulate Leptin. Of course, this does not discount the increase of calories which will slow weight loss in the short term, but the systematic "breaks" might* offer better weightloss in the long term.

    *Lastly, and this is only my opinion on it, if you have a large amount of bodyfat to lose, then taking these "mini-breaks" are sub-optimal as you have enough bodyfat to better endure cycles of running a deficit for say 8-12 weeks, the maintenance for a couple of weeks, then deficit, then maintenance, rinse and repeat, etc... If you are already low bodyfat levels and trying to get even lower, then going the slower approach (deficit with planned carbohydrate refeeds of 2 days minimum) would be the more optimum approach as you already don't have much fat to lose and you need to be more conservative overall in your deficit.

    I'd only add that refeeding can still be very beneficial in overweight people for adherence and lifestyle related reasons and so it might be merit to include that.
  • bethbhansen
    bethbhansen Posts: 11 Member
    Thank you so much for the responses. My body fat is 27% im 5'3" and hover under 130lbs. My weight has always stayed in that area but over the past year ive gained about 2 inches of fat around my abdomen. I have a thyroid disorder (hashimotos, which is always a struggle) and currently have mono. Before the mono, I would crosstrain 5-6 days a week for at least an hour and walk about 5 mikes a day minimum. Since mono, i hit the gym 5 days a week and dont really walk anymore. My thyroid numbers are perfect. Ive tried paleo, calorie deficits, weight watchers and other diets but nothing budges the fat. Just got the keptin results back so am hoping thats the culprit and am looking for a solution.
  • cajuntank
    cajuntank Posts: 924 Member
    edited June 2016
    SideSteel wrote: »
    cajuntank wrote: »
    So Lyle McDonald has a whole series talking about Leptin. I will link to part 5 (yes, I know the link says 6) as he does a little re-cap, but it would be worth some time going through the entire series.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-hormones-of-bodyweight-regulation-leptin-part-6.html/

    So personal take-aways from his article and podcasts he has done in discussing Leptin.

    Leptin is directly impacted by bodyfat % and/or caloric deficit.
    Leptin can be raised with adding bodyfat, which I'm sure is not the goal here and spending some time in maintenance (but never back to original levels unless again, you gain back the bodyfat you lost).
    Leptin sensitivity is increased due to exercise.
    Leptin can be raised some with carbohydrate feeding. Note...Lyle suggests that it would take more than one "cheat" meal or even high carb day for the body to uptick Leptin levels as the body adapts more slowly to that hormone and is not like Insulin which spikes every meal. Thus he recommends taking at least 2 days of high carb intake to up-regulate Leptin. Of course, this does not discount the increase of calories which will slow weight loss in the short term, but the systematic "breaks" might* offer better weightloss in the long term.

    *Lastly, and this is only my opinion on it, if you have a large amount of bodyfat to lose, then taking these "mini-breaks" are sub-optimal as you have enough bodyfat to better endure cycles of running a deficit for say 8-12 weeks, the maintenance for a couple of weeks, then deficit, then maintenance, rinse and repeat, etc... If you are already low bodyfat levels and trying to get even lower, then going the slower approach (deficit with planned carbohydrate refeeds of 2 days minimum) would be the more optimum approach as you already don't have much fat to lose and you need to be more conservative overall in your deficit.

    I'd only add that refeeding can still be very beneficial in overweight people for adherence and lifestyle related reasons and so it might be merit to include that.

    Agree. I was only speaking towards Leptin as the variable, but the psychology of those re-feeds and or "cheat meals" definitely has impact. Maybe even to the point of alleviating higher Cortisol levels due to diet and exercise, thus even having some weight-loss impact as well (that whoosh effect).

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