In order to understand leptin resistance, it’s important to start right at the very beginning with leptin. Interestingly, leptin earns its name from the word ‘leptos’, which is a Greek term that literally translates as “thin.” It’s a special hormone that your body naturally makes and one that generally helps you with weight management. In particular, it helps to suppress your appetite. Basically, when you’re feeling hungry or full, leptin will pass the message to your brain. In turn, this will help you adjust your eating patterns accordingly.
What is leptin resistance?
Leptin resistance occurs when your brain becomes insensitive or less sensitive to leptin. When this connection is faulty, your body can’t adequately suppress your appetite and you’ll eat despite not needing to eat. This can lead to overeating and obesity. Overall, scientists have pinned leptin resistance due to problems caused by gene mutation.
So how do I find out if I have leptin resistance? Well, according to San Diego personal trainers, some of the common symptoms of leptin resistance include:
- Constant hunger
- Unexplained weight gain
- Excessive cravings for fatty foods
- High levels of inflammation
However, the same personal trainers recommend medical testing including blood tests and imaging studies to effectively diagnose your condition.
How to fix leptin resistance
Now that we know what it is and how it occurs, let’s talk about the elephant in the room- how do you stop leptin resistance? The good news is that it’s completely reversible and it doesn’t have to involve extensive medical procedures.
Without further ado, here are a few fixes for leptin resistance that could work for you:
- Get enough sleep
How do you fix leptin resistance naturally? Well, getting enough shuteye is certainly one way to do it. Circadian rhythms get disrupted with insufficient sleep and this can further lead to leptin resistance. Additionally, sleep deprivation can increase ghrelin levels, which is an opposing hormone to leptin that increases your appetite.
Consequently, you need to start by cultivating healthy sleeping habits. That’s because, when you sleep, your body increases the production of leptin levels so that you feel full while reducing the levels of ghrelin.
That said, here are some tips to help you sleep better:
- Avoid caffeine before bedtime
- Be consistent with your sleeping times
- Make your bedroom calm and dark
- Don’t keep electronic gadgets in your bedroom
- Eat more soluble fiber
According to studies published in the NIH, there’s a correlation between soluble fiber and curing leptin resistance. In particular, for subjects with obesity, the study showed that this nutrient can help to balance leptin levels.
So what food is highest in soluble fiber? Well, we recommend avocado, tofu, and tempeh. In addition, passion fruit and flaxseeds are also a great source of soluble fiber. That being said, it’s also important that you generally prioritize a well-balanced diet, and not skip meals as this can also increase cravings for fatty foods which can worsen leptin resistance.
- Exercise more
Exercise is also a very effective way to naturally reverse leptin resistance. According to a 2023 review by Healthline, exercise may eventually make your brain more receptive to leptin. In turn, it can help stabilize both your hunger and leptin levels.
In particular, health experts recommend high-intensity intermittent exercises such as:
- Rower sprints
- Boxing
- Strength training
- Treadmill sprints
- Lose body weight
Your adipose or fat tissue secretes leptin and the more body fat you have, the less sensitive you are to leptin. We know it’s a catch-22 situation since leptin is basically sabotaging your weight loss in the first place.
However, if you become more strategic about your diet, exercise more often, or even embrace other effective and natural weight loss solutions suggested by the finest San Diego personal trainer, you can still lose weight despite being leptin-resistant. And when you shed enough body fat, your body may become more sensitive to leptin.
- Ginseng might help
Ginseng is a type of plant tuber with a world of benefits and it’s largely native to North America and Asia. Traditionally, Ginseng has been a huge help for:
- Relieving cancer symptoms
- Fighting chronic fatigue
- Improving male fertility
- Controlling blood sugar and so on.
However, Ginseng has another trick up its sleeve. According to an animal study published in the NIH, this tuber helped to improve leptin sensitivity for mice. It did this by encouraging the growth of certain brain neurons and improving their ability to pick up leptin signals.
While this research was largely animal-based, the empirical evidence suggests that ginseng could help you fight leptin resistance.
- Avoid high-fructose foods
Fructose is basically sugar, primarily found in fruits. While it’s generally good for you, excessive amounts of fructose can inhibit the functioning of leptin receptors. A few examples of foods you want to limit because of this include cookies, sodas, and some cereals, among other processed foods.
In their place, some personal training teams encourage you to eat whole foods which offer a more natural form of fructose that’s less likely to mess up your body’s leptin sensitivity. Omega-3 fatty acids and proteins can also help your cause as well.
- Talk to your doctor
Finally, before you do anything about your suspected leptin resistance, it’s important to talk it over with your physician. Some lab work may be in order to get a more accurate diagnosis of your condition and possible treatment avenues.
Additionally, a doctor may be able to recommend a proper diet to help you reverse your leptin resistance. They may be able to also formulate a treatment plan that matches your weight, age, and metabolism as well.
Contact Iron Orr Fitness for effective weight loss solutions
Did you know that 8 in 10 weight loss solutions are not successful? Leptin resistance is one of the potential reasons why many weight loss plans fail, but that’s just one possible source of the problem. It’s important to work with an experienced fitness trainer to identify exactly what’s holding you back and create a personalized weight loss plan that meets your unique needs. For more details about “personal trainer San Diego”, visit the Iron Orr Fitness website.