Ever sit back and wonder why you get hungry at the same time every day? I’m a 6-8 meals per day guy.. like clockwork a little before each of my numerous feedings I get this little Homer Simpson rumble in my tummy. This rumble tells me it’s time to eat, it tells me my hunger response systems are intact, it tells me ghrelin is in full stride.
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What Is Ghrelin
That word: ghrelin’s full stride causes those “I need to eat now” impulses, for ghrelin is the hunger hormone.
Mostly produced in the stomach, but also your brain, pancreas, and small intestine, ghrelin is an orexigenic hormone meaning it increases appetite and acts rather quickly in fact.
My kids seem to produce ghrelin every time we pass a McDonalds 🤦♂️.
Like leptin, ghrelin acts at the hypothalamus to send the “hey you should eat” signal. Unlike leptin, which long-term lets you know you’ve had enough to eat, ghrelin quickly rises, quickly falls, and isn’t produced by fat cells.
Still ghrelin’s not limited to sending you on a binge. It stimulates the highly anabolic growth hormone, affects your circadian rhythm, improves carb metabolism, and helps prevent muscle atrophy [6].
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What Causes Ghrelin To Be Released
So ghrelin acts with haste and dissipates just as fast, but what causes it to make frequent stops?
A few things, but first of the few is meal schedule.
If you’re consistent with when and roughly how many calories you consume day after day your body takes note and uses ghrelin as your internal alarm. Shortly before a meal you’ll get your alert and if you miss a meeting it’ll add a little extra fervor to let you know how serious it is about grub o’clock.
Note: when it pertains to intermittent fasting ghrelin will be less pronounced the further you go along and your body adapts to your new eating habits.
Then if you drastically cut calories? Ghrelin will be heard from.. partly why gradually trimming your calorie intake is more effective.
Ghrelin happens to be more circulatory in lean individuals with low body fat and less muscle mass.
The more free fat mass you possess the less ghrelin is in distribution [2].
Higher amounts of fat mass gives you less ghrelin propagation, but you become more sensitive to each impulse, explaining why hunger pangs still remain for elevated body fat individuals [1].
After an extended weight loss diet ghrelin is high, giving some evidence to why relapses occur. How often have you or someone you know lost a reputable amount of unwanted fat only for it to return?
It all goes into your body having a “happy” state of homeostasis.
Sometimes this is a healthy point, sometimes it’s a point it becomes accustomed to. This point can be adjusted, however. If you stick with the plan, reach your goal, and push through the urges long enough your body will throw in the towel and accept your new homeostasis. At this point regaining body fat would take a little more effort than before; your body doesn’t like change.
One of the less tangible reasons ghrelin may rise is chronic stress [5].
If you can harness and utilize positive stress management tactics you’ll help prevent those binges that accompany many depression spells.
Note: another reason to be lean is ghrelin’s reported positive effect on cardiac function and increased survival rate from myocardial infarctions [3].
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Why The Role Of Ghrelin Is Important To Note
The problem is energy balance. When you take in more calories than you burn - weight is gained.
You can have a great calorically-deficient day that’ll contribute to long-term fat loss. And in the evening the hormone ghrelin knocks on your metaphorical door..
If you answer you could throw that whole day away.
If you leave the door open, or in layman's terms, go on a binge.. you won’t kill your chances of success, but it would be an impediment you'd have to bounce back from over the next few days.
Water weight accumulation, and some eventual body fat depending on how vast of a calorie surplus you subject yourself to.
Part of reducing ghrelin isn’t reducing ghrelin at all.. it’s pushing through mentally. Using internal and external motivators to keep the greater good in mind.
But it isn’t all mental. There are real world practical steps you can take to block ghrelin and some of its undesirable effects.
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How To Decrease Ghrelin
Obesity is a leading issue and temptation or urges make losing or controlling your body fat higher on the difficulty scale. If you can push some of those prompts aside you’ll more likely experience success.
We’ve established how ghrelin relates to the timing and intensity of gut filling impulses. This is where we lay the guidelines for how to put handcuffs on the unflattering/villainous side of ghrelin.
You want to be hormonally functional, but you don’t want to be run by your hormones, ghrelin is no exception.
Ways to combat ghrelin causing extreme hunger:
Be full: if you reach for slower digesting foods you’ll be full longer and in turn hunger creeps in less often. That means quality protein, dietary fats, slow digesting carbs, and even water deserves a plug for fighting hunger.
Meal timing: have a consistent meal schedule. Ghrelin learns your habits, if you intentionally introduce them it’ll oblige.
Build muscle: remember more fat free mass means less ghrelin to deal with, so hit the weights and eat your protein.
Diet strategically: long stints of low calories hurt your chances of avoiding hunger. That extended day after day calorie deficit makes it tough. Try calorie cycling, it’s a deficit that puts ghrelin in its place more often.
Catch zs: getting your nightly rest seems to be the cure to everything, or at least making up for it with a supplemental nap, but proper stress levels is part of it along with a host of anabolic hormonal activities.
Manage stress: as mentioned earlier, more stress, more ghrelin. Check life’s stressors at the door.
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My Thoughts
Ghrelin matters for the building of muscle, for you need to eat to grow. If you’re short on appetite, force feeding becomes your task and a daunting task that is.
Ghrelin matters for fat loss, for if you can handle your appetite.. lowering calories is less of a daunting task. No calorie deficit, no fat loss.
Don’t look at ghrelin as good or bad. See ghrelin for what it is and plan your moves accordingly. It’s a hormone that tries to keep you alive by avoiding being calorie deficient.. even if that calorie deficit is to benefit your health long term your body sees it as anti-life so it does what it’s intended to do - survive.
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So, It’s About That Time
You want untamed proverbial hunger as in drive, but not in your belly. Ghrelin is the necessary hunger hormone, yet can be a nuisance so appropriately keep it under wraps. Stay full and binge free. With will you will. Put those muscles to use and Be Great.
Sources:
[1] pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15917842/
[2] pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16819531/
[3] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4049314/
[4] pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17212793/