How to Lose Weight

So many people in the world wonder How to Lose Weight. It is the subject of incredible research with scientists trying to unlock the code of how the brain works.

Scientists know the brain is center of our adiposity signals. Obesity and over weight are often genetically biased. If children are born of parents who have insulin resistance, they will probably have insulin resistance.

The satiety hormone leptin is crucial in giving our brain the signal that we have had enough to eat. The more fat a person has, the more difficult it is for the leptin signal to get through to our amygdala and centers of the brain that control our impulses.

Overweight people often have a high mark set on their brain’s monitor of fullness. Lean people have a lower mark and don’t usually suffer from feelings of starvation after a normal meal. Overweight people can get a new signal of starvation shortly after a reasonable meal.

Getting to the Secrets

A secret of losing weight is to not only eat less, but eat foods that don’t excite the brain. These foods are not calorie dense foods that deliver high reward. High reward foods are pastries, cake, chips, sodas, french fries, pizza, ice cream, cookies, candy and so on. You get the idea.

When you eat lower calorie dense foods like fruits, vegetables, beans, fish, lean meats, leafy greens, and low glycemic starches like sweet potatoes, the brain relaxes when you have adequate volume. The stomach sends a signal that the volume is sufficient to satisfy needs.

The mark in the brain that measures hunger starts dropping so that starvation signals and cravings disappear. We are no match for our brains impulses when it says we are starving regardless of whether it is true.

Adequate sleep is also a giant influence. When we have less than adequate sleep, our brain stimulates cortisol which stimulates the desire for all the wrong foods to make us feel better emotionally. We throw out all our long-term strategies for health and even financial prudence when overly tired.

Drinking at least half our body weight in water ounces is crucial to provide digestion with adequate hydration to process food. It also improves satiety. Hunger is often our body’s cry for water.

What About Exercise?

Exercise to the point of not creating greater hunger accelerates the process. Over exercising our capacity to the extent we rationalize eating what we want as a reward is detrimental. Exercise effort can be increased gradually to very high intensity without increasing our desire for food.

Stress is frequently an open door to emotional eating. We never want to be in a situation where we disregard our desire to lose weight for the rationalization we need a fix. Having relaxing periods during the day or evening to relieve stress can contribute to our weight loss goal.

Each of the above issues is monitored by the brain and decisions are made about whether we need to eat and how much. We want to turn off the brain’s desire for calorie rich convenient foods by eating the opposite. Having food available that has to be cooked can eliminate mindless snacking.

Planning meals is a good strategy. Know what you are going to eat and how you are going to prepare it. This is more constructive that impulsive selection at the point you have neglected eating and are starving. Carry healthy snacks to avoid arriving at the starvation point.

Eliminate the high calorie temptations from your home and office. If you only have carrots when you feel the desire for a snack, you are supporting your efforts and making the process easier. It takes will power, but more important is making the right food selections to reset your hunger levels.

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