I’m sure you’ve heard, many times, that the only way to avoid gaining weight is to burn more calories than you consume. "Calories in - calories out" is the familiar refrain. Recent studies, however, have increasingly been revealing the effects that hormones play in controlling your metabolism, and ultimately your body’s ability to burn fat. Without having a good understanding of hormones, it might appear that all calories are the same and if you eat less, you will of course weigh less. But ultimately, the accumulation of fat is the product of a failing endocrine system and the glands and hormones of which this system is composed.
Hormones are chemical messages produced by the glands. These hormones are the primary driving forces controlling your metabolism, which in turn regulates the burning of fat. You have six fat-burning and three fat-making hormones, and each is triggered by different things.
Trigger #1: The Absence of Sugar
Of all the things that have an impact on your metabolism, the most important one is sugar. Sugar triggers the powerful fat-making, fat-storing hormone insulin. In fact, in the presence of insulin, not only will fat be blocked from being used as fuel BUT sugar will be converted to fat.
Trigger #2: Vegetables
Vegetables have several qualities that aid in healing. Eaten raw, vegetables are one of the most concentrated sources of vitamins, minerals, and plant chemicals. They are also high in fiber, which buffers the fat-making hormone insulin.
Trigger #3: Protein
Protein is a powerful trigger for fat-burning hormones. Protein stimulates two hormones: glucagon and growth hormone.
Trigger #4: Fats
Fats typically do not influence fat-making hormones; however, they do have the ability to stress the liver, which indirectly affects hormone flows through the liver. Fat has little effect on fat-storing hormones, though, and even though fats have the densest calories, they are neutral when it comes to making fat.
Trigger #5: Skipping Meals, Reducing Calories or Letting Yourself Get Hungry
When you skip meals, your blood sugars decrease, stimulating several hormones. The stress hormone cortisol increases, which turns your body tissues into sugar fuel. If this sugar is not completely burned up, it will be changed into fat and specifically deposited around your vital organs in the abdomen.
Trigger #6: Gland Destroyers
Alcohol - Not only does alcohol trigger insulin and cause weight gain but it also destroys the liver.
Caffeinated Products - Caffeine stimulates and weakens the adrenal glands and liver and also irritates the gallbladder. It increases cortisol, which can put fat into and around the abdominal organs.
Drugs - Recreational drugs and medications of all kinds have side effects on the glands, especially the liver.
Growth Hormones - The animals whose products we eat, including farm-raised fish, are fed growth hormones.
Endocrine Disruptors - Pesticides, insecticides, heavy metals, etc., all can mimic estrogen within your glands.
Food and Cosmetic Chemicals - Food preservatives, food dyes, synthetic sugars, and hydrogenated oils, all have a bad effect on our glands. Also, skin creams, makeup, shampoos, and perfumes can easily absorb through your skin and end up in your liver.
Trigger #7: Water Retainers
A huge hidden source of being overweight is water weight. Monosodium glutamate is the big culprit in causing water retention. Other causes of water retention are artificial sweeteners, sodium, refined sugars and carbohydrates, and alcohol.
Trigger #8: Exercise
A very interesting yet rarely understood fact about exercise is that the calories burned during exercise are very few. However, the delayed fat-burning effects from this exercise are quite significant. You experience most of the fat burning 14 to 48 hours after the exercise.
Trigger #9: Stress
Stress can severely affect your weight. Stress increases the hormone cortisol, which can lead to fat being deposited in and around the abdomen. This is because the adrenal hormone releases a good supply of stored sugar into the bloodstream, causing insulin to change it into fat.
Trigger #10: Sleep
The fat-burning growth hormone is active throughout the night while you sleep; however, it increases during the first two hours of deep sleep, especially between midnight and 4:00 a.m. Omitting this sleep can prevent the fat-burning effect.
Naturally, you need to trigger your fat-burning hormones, but even more importantly, you need to avoid the things that prevent fat burning and proper mineral balance in the first place.
Dr. Eric Berg, DC is the founder of the Berg Institute for Health and Wellness and the best-selling Amazon.com author of "The 7 Principles of Fat Burning." Dr. Berg’s intense research has led to the development of four basic body types, each with their own distinct characteristics and needs. To receive a free Body Type Guide and find your body type, take this short survey at http://www.findyourbodytype.com.