IH, do you know anything about controlling "ghrelin"?

I read this online yesterday and had never heard of the hormone "ghrelin" which is an appetite stimulating hormone. I often find when I increase my workouts I'm ravenous and my appetite increases causing me to eat more calories than I truly want to eat. Is there anything you know of food/drink/supplement wise that can control this response?

I'm going to give Berberine a try in the coming weeks although I'm not sure if that would deal with this response from my body.

I'm trying to decrease my caloric intake though to reap the total benefit of my workout program.

I remember when ephedra was legal that definitely shut my appetite down. That Xenadrine they used to sell with the ephedra in it was amazing. Really hate that was outlawed.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.


"When 35 overweight women and men started exercising, researchers found that some of them compensated for their workouts by eating as much as 270 extra calories a day—negating more than half of the calories they burned, according to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity. "Some research shows that exercising regularly can trigger the release of ghrelin, an appetite-stimulating hormone meant to protect the body from losing weight too quickly," says Bonci."

hadrion - While it hasn't been studied, I'm pretty certain that Xylitol helps inhibit Grehlin. Let's say if you find a drink that you like and sweeten it with Xylitol, it will take the edge off. It will take a few weeks to gradually reduce the gastrointestinal effects (very loose bowels), but it does have a rather convenient side-effect of ridding out potentially absorbed calories. In fact, on the bag of one Xylitol brand, it literally reads "Belly fat buster" on it.

Fructose corn syrup increases grehlin.

Regular exercise has only a marginal effect on weight maintenance for the exact reason you stated. The notable exception is high intensity interval training. While it also increases appetite, it will burn about 900% more fat than traditional cardio exercise.

Another thing to check into is cortisol. There are various ways to control it, one way that I like is to use Panax Ginseng, because it inhibits the enzyme 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1, which is responsible for the production of new fat.

The 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11HSD1) enzyme promotes the conversion of cortisone to cortisol, especially in the liver and in fat tissue. This pathway is believed to play a significant role in the pathophysiology of abdominal obesity.

Also, it's good for hair, so it's a win-win.

Thanks IH. I've already dropped a ton of weight through HIIT (that PACE ebook you sent me years ago really helped) and resistance training. My frustration is the minute I have a busy week and can't hit the gym like an animal and the second I let my diet slip a bit, my mid-section expands. It's not in my head. It's for real. I have to keep 2 different sizes of pants in my closet because depending on the week I'm a different size. It's bizarre. It always goes straight to my mid section.

I work out after 6pm most nights. When I come home I eat a normal dinner of fish, steamed brown rice and veggies. Sometimes I'll throw a sweet potato in for the brown rice. About an hour after that meal, I'm ravenous and I'm probably dropping another 300-500 calories into my body at around 10pm. That's usually nuts or almond butter.

While at the gym I usually burn anywhere from 800 to 1200 calories on the monitor I use that tracks my burn for the sessions I'm there. I go to the gym 6 days a week and on the off day I usually do yard work for a few hours for exercise.

It's not just a willpower thing. I'm seriously starving at night. During the day before my workout my hunger is easy to keep at bay. My body, while improved, is not functioning correctly. The up and down weight gain and the way my body is screaming out for more food is bizarre. I've cut sugar, artificial sweeteners and pretty much all processed food from my diet. I won't even chew gum with aspartame in it.

That's why I'm hoping the berberine helps a bit. I'm going to definitely give the Xylitol & Panax Ginseng a try and I'll let you know how it goes.

hadrion - So far, I think I'm liking this berberine. If I'm not imagining it, I think it has helped reduce my cravings for bad foods.

CausticSymmetry wrote:hadrion - So far, I think I'm liking this berberine. If I'm not imagining it, I think it has helped reduce my cravings for bad foods.

I'll let you know if I have a similar reaction. I ordered everything and should be up and running next week on it.

What dosage berberine are you taking? I've read some stuff that says to take after a meal rather than before.

hadrion - I would suggest taking with the meal (but not after). I'm only using 200 mg per meal, however it might possibly work better at higher levels just not sure.

Here's more info:

Dr. Guang Ning, of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in Shanghai and colleagues randomized 116 diabetes patients to receive one gram of berberine daily or placebo for 3 months. Average hemoglobin A1C -- a measure of long-term blood sugar control -- dropped from 7.5 percent to 6.6 percent in those taking berberine supplements. Patients taking berberine also showed significant reductions in total and "bad" LDL cholesterol. Blood pressure also fell in patients taking berberine. Patients on berberine lost 2.3 kilograms (5.1 pounds), on average, compared to 1.3 kilograms (2.9 pounds) for the placebo group. Patients taking berberine were more likely to have a side effect of constipation, and two patients in the berberine group had their dosage reduced for this reason. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, July 2008.

http://beta.rodpub.com/uploads/berberine_monograph.pdf

http://www.wellnessresources.com/studies/ghrelin_elevated_in_hypothyroid_problems/

Sluggish thyroid will drive appetite to compensate for perceived starvation.


Meaning high dose iodine, selenium, mag, c, etc....

LittleFighter wrote:http://www.wellnessresources.com/studies/ghrelin_elevated_in_hypothyroid_problems/

Sluggish thyroid will drive appetite to compensate for perceived starvation.


Meaning high dose iodine, selenium, mag, c, etc....

Thanks LF. I'm already on those but it's taking some time to knock out this issue for me I guess. I do think it's all related to how my body reacts to intense exercise. I'm not 1/4th as hungry pre-workout as I am after it. That's why I think dealing with this hormone response I mentioned in here is something that could help me theoretically.

Besides lowering your ghrelin levels, you can try to increase the adiponectin hormone as well. These foods help increase adiponectin in the body. Avocados, Olive oil, Macadamia nuts, Peanuts, Sesame Oil and lean beef from grass fed cows. Fish oil and exercise will help as well. In general the higher your adiponectin levels, the less fat you will carry