A key to sustained weight control is in knowing how to reset hypothalamus function preventing the body from trying to create fat reserves. Our body has the life saving ability to store food energy as fat, in history when times were good and food was plentiful this served as a useful purpose. Hunter-gathers often had times when there was little or no food and these reserves of fat meant survival rather than starvation.
Now most people have plenty of food available all of the time, so they no longer experience period of feast or famine. Therefore, we really don't need large fat reserves any more. However, the hypothalamus has not evolved to recognize this situation. So unless we can reset hypothalamus function with healthy eating that is carefully planned, we will get fatter thanks to our body's old survival strategies.
Shape
It is important to recognize that not only is the number of calories eaten important, but so is the form of those calories. Fats, carbohydrates, and proteins are all used in different ways by our bodies, and there are differences in how the excess calories from those sources are stored by the body. By carefully selecting the sources of our caloric intake, we can reset hypothalamus reactions to work in our favor instead of against us.
The hypothalamus gland is located within the brain. It performs various functions, one of which is regulating appetite. The hypothalamus creates signals that indicate when we are hungry and when we are satisfied. One problem that can occur is that the signal for being satisfied has a built-in delay. So it can take up to 20 minutes before the body realizes that enough food has been eaten. To try to compensate for this lag, you should concentrate on eating slowly so that you don't continue to eat after you are actually full.
Fat contains nine calories per gram, more than twice the four calories per gram found in proteins and carbohydrates. Therefore, while any healthy diet requires some fat consumption, you need to be very careful to limit the total amount of fats you eat. What fats you do consume should be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. Quality protein is always a good choice, because it deters hunger longer than carbohydrates, is needed for healing and tissue building, and is converted to fat very slowly.
Carefully choosing carbs is the most important factor in retraining your hypothalamus from storing up fat. Simple carbohydrates, such as those found in syrup, honey, and sugar, absorb into the body quickly. This results in a barrage of hormones being released as a signal to the hypothalamus to begin hoarding fat. Complex carbohydrates, such as those found in fruit, vegetables, and whole grain, take much longer to seep into the system. So they do not trigger the fat-storing process. Putting less stress on your hypothalamus will keep you from saving up fat.
The way to dodge the hypothalamus' instinct to store fat for lean times is to eat a healthy and balanced diet, geared toward maintaining your current weight. Such a diet includes whole grains, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, and proteins but limits the consumption of simple sugars.
Reset Hypothalamus To Stay In Shape
Unlike the primitive ages, now we have an assured regular food supply. Therefore, fat reserves have outlived their usefulness and we need to reset hypothalamus which sustained humans through lean times by ensuring build up of fat. Human body assimilates different foods differently, some of which have a natural tendency to accumulate as lipid reserves. Eating slowly helps the hypothalamus send the "stop" signal. Healthy eating, with the right mix of nutrients in the right quantities at the right time, supplies our body with ample energy to perform daily metabolic functions and eliminates the need for hypothalamus to conserve fat.
