Ghrelin, the Cause of Hunger

Ghrelin is a hormone that is created and released by the stomach. It is probably the reason why appetite suppressants are created in the first place.

It is called the hunger hormone because it is found to be the signal given to your brain that makes you want to eat.

If this hormone release is increased, you will feel hungrier. If it is decreased, you will not feel as hungry. Pretty simple.

So what are causes of its increase and decrease?

Believe it or not, it is sleep.

When sleep is decreased the amount of this hormone is increased. When you review my “Energy Balance” page, I explain how energy is intimately tied to weight loss. And how making your body more efficient at converting food to energy, it does not create fat and also burns fat for energy.

But in the case of this particular hormone, when energy is low, as in the case of reduced sleep, the nervous system is trying to create energy to make up for it. So it assists in creating the hunger hormone to get you to eat more to create more more energy.

Medical scientists from Stanford and other universities found that people who consistently slept five hours or less per night had on average about 15% more Ghrelin and 15% less leptin levels than those who slept 8-hour nights. They also demonstrated that the less you sleep, the more you weigh, the higher your BMI, which means the higher your likelihood of premature death from any cause.^[1]

At high levels of "The Hunger Hormone" you can eat and never feel satisfied. When I hear my clients talk about cravings for food, one of the first things I ask is how much sleep they get and it is always something like, “Sleep? What is this thing you speak of?”

I’ve noticed after a child is born, there is a reduction of sleep in most cases. I also see this is the time where cravings and binge eating occurs more than ever. But, I constantly hear clients blame their lack of willpower.

So if you are trying hard to eat right but find it very hard, because you experience bouts of voracious appetite, there’s nothing wrong with your willpower. In fact, I am anti-will power when it comes to weight loss. The cause is Ghrelin and the cause for the increase for Ghrelin is lack of sleep and infrequent eating.

Find a way to solve those two things and you will see a reduction in Ghrelin and a reduction in appetite.

A last note here is that this is one aspect of weight loss. To get the fastest and most permanent results I suggest not using only one thing to be successful with your natural weight loss. It is best if you have a comprehensive program that addresses your entire lifestyle. The many books and diets out there tell you what to eat and how to exercise but they do not address the hidden sources of sabotage.

Using the information here is best used as part of a comprehensive natural weight loss program. If you are interested in getting natural weight loss consulting that is tailored to you, you are welcome to get contact me for an initial consultation here: “Weight Loss Program”