Leptin Resistance and Fat Loss

Have you ever heard of a hormone called leptin?  Maybe not, but it is another big player in controlling your metabolism.  In our last blog we talked about insulin resistance and its role in metabolism (read it here if you missed it).  Insulin resistance and leptin resistance go hand and hand in controlling how we are able to burn fat and lose weight. These two conditions usually occur together and may explain why it is hard for someone who thinks they are doing all the right things and still has a hard time losing weight and keeping if off.  

Let’s talk about how leptin works in a normal metabolism.  Did you know that your fat tissue is an endocrine gland?  It secretes the hormone, leptin, in response to eating.  It’s called the satiety hormone.  Let’s say its lunchtime and your stomach starts to growl.  Growling is due to a hormone called ghrelin that is secreted by the digestive tract.  Ghrelin is called the hunger hormone.  As you eat your meal, “fuel” is absorbed into the bloodstream.  Remember that some fuel is used right away to make energy, some gets converted into glycogen for later use, and some gets stored in fat cells for longer term storage.

As fat starts to accumulate in the fat cells, leptin is released that sends a message to the brain and tells the brain that there is enough fuel on board that needs to be burned.  The brain sends a message to digestive tract to stop being hungry and suppresses appetite.  It sends a message to the thyroid through thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), which tells the thyroid to release thyroid hormone to burn up the extra energy.  The extra energy is burned up, the TSH is decreased so thyroid stops producing extra thyroid and no extra weight is gained.  This is why you see people that have been able to maintain their weight over years.  They have a normal functioning metabolism.

In a normal metabolism, there is this small, normal up and down production of hormones that acts like the thermostat in your home.  When it gets cold, the heat is triggered.  When that set temperature is reached, the heater shuts off.  The same thing happens to the thyroid.  You have slight adjustments throughout the day in thyroid hormone production that keeps the body at a certain weight set point.

When you start putting on fat, you release more leptin in an effort to stimulate an increase in metabolism.  But, if you continue to add fat to the body, then you produce more leptin.  But the brain begins to not “hear” the leptin signal.  It down regulates the receptors for leptin on the cells of the pituitary in the brain.  Signals to reduce hunger are not sent, so the person stays hungry and they eat more often and larger amounts.  The signal is not sent to the thyroid to increase thyroid hormone production, so that extra energy is not burned up.  More fat is gained and it gets harder and harder to lose fat or lose weight.  It’s a vicious cycle.

Leptin levels can be measured by requesting a fasting leptin blood test.  It would also be advised to get a fasting insulin blood test at the same time to see if you are struggling with both condition.  Your doctor needs to know how to interpret the lab values for leptin.  The more you weigh the more leptin you will have and your lab values might seem to be in the so called normal range for that weight but they are not optimal values needed for fat loss.  

According to Dr. Westin Childs, lab values over 10 ng/ml would indicate a degree of leptin resistance.

• Mild Leptin Resistance 10-19 ng/ml

  • These people are overweight by about 10-15 lbs and can’t seem to lose it

• Moderate Leptin Resistance 20-29 ng/ml

  • These people have about 20 lbs to lose and have gone up and down in weight most of their lives

• Severe Leptin Resistance > 30 ng/ml

  • These individuals  have been overweight their entire lives

How could you determine that you could be having a problem with leptin without getting blood work?  These are some of the biggest clues:

• Are you overweight?

• Do you have a hard time losing weight no matter what you do?

• Do you seem hungry all of the time and snack frequently?

As far as hypothyroidism/Hashimoto’s goes, both insulin resistance and leptin resistance can be problematic.  Your thyroid panel may come back in the normal range (assuming the doctor is measuring a complete thyroid panel), but you still have trouble losing the fat and losing the weight and keeping it off.  

Remember the normal metabolism and the thermostat example?  When someone is on thyroid medication (hopefully desiccated thyroid medication), then you are on a steady dose of hormone.  There is not that slight up and down in the release of thyroid hormone that occurs with a normal metabolism.  So it is very important to control your appetite which is hard to do if you have leptin resistance.  

A person that has a normal metabolism might eat a big meal like at Thanksgiving, and will not be hungry for a couple of days afterwards while their metabolism is raised and extra calories are burned off and appetite is suppressed so they naturally eat less.

If you have leptin resistance, you will not get the rise in metabolism and or suppression of appetite.  You tend to be hungry all of the time, even after a Thanksgiving meal.

What are some tips for fixing leptin resistance?

• We subscribe to a low carbohydrate diet and sometimes, very low.  

• Exercise is a MUST!!  But it must be the appropriate type of exercise that will not stress your adrenals but will kick human growth hormone and testosterone into action

• Don’t go back for seconds and don’t snack throughout the day

• Sit at the table and eat slowly to give leptin a chance to get to the brain

• Optimize sleep

• Reduce stress

• Reduce toxic load!!

• Reduce insulin!!!

Insulin resistance and leptin resistance didn’t happen overnight and they will not be resolved overnight but steady progress is the goal.

We can help you reset your metabolism!  Reach out if you have any questions about our whole body approach to health.  We are here for you!!