It's a new year and time for a fresh start.

If that fresh start includes getting into shape and loosing weight, there are three things you need to know as you start your journey.

There are three hormones that are crucial to helping you in slimming down and understanding them and how they work is the key to your weight loss goal.

According to this Fox News report Ghrelin, Leptin and Cortisol are the hormones we need to pay close attention to when wanting to lose weight.

Ghrelin is the hunger hormone. It tells us when we're hungry. So if you skip a meal, which I'm guilty of doing, your ghrelin level raises and you are ravenous which makes it difficult to regulate your hunger. That's why skipping meals or not eating breakfast isn't good for you.

Leptin is the appetite suppressant. This tells you when your full. However, the older we get the less of it's produced so it's important to keep those levels up. The article suggest to eat a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids and boost your intake of foods that contain Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), which has been shown to stimulate the production of leptin. Fish like salmon is a good source.

Cortisol is the stress hormone. When your stressed your body signals for more production of cortisol to hold on to our fat basically. One way to counteract that is to find ways to lower your stress, cut down on caffeine and surround yourself with positive people.

Understanding how all these hormones affect each other and your weight loss will get you one step closer to your goal.

To read the article in full detail click here.

 

 

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