Good Morning All!

We’re on to #2 of the Mastering Your Metabolism series .

The second hormone we’re going to talk about is Grhelin, one of the key hormones in hunger regulation.

Ghrelin: It’s produced mainly in the stomach and stimulates appetite when your body is hungry and promotes the accumulation of fat in the abdominal area, which can be the most harmful.  Ghrelin is released right before meal time when your body needs food and energy. Ghrelin levels increase when the calories you consume are less than what your body is used to. Often times this can make it very challenging to stick to a decreased caloric intake because you will constantly feel hungry.

Here’s a few ways to suppress Ghrelin:
•    Eat protein with every meal
•    Eat 3-4 times a day…Some are satisfied with eating three 500 – 700 calorie meals and others do better with 4 smaller meals.  Do what works best for you.
•    Drink 6-8oz of water before every meal
•    Get a good night’s sleep (7 hours is best)
•    Lower your stress level or make sure you have a stress release. Allowing your stress levels to stay high for an extended period of time with no release, can increase your Ghrelin levels.