Exercise Makes You Tired and Hungry. February 16, 2012.

Dieting :

• Calorie restriction makes your body worse at burning fat. Leptin plummets, the metabolism regulating thyroid hormones T3 and T4 go down, the appetite stimulating hormone gherelin goes up, the abdominal fat boosting stress hormone gradually increases, 24 hour energy expenditure and metabolic rate decreases.

• Insulin is the adjustable regulator. Increase or decrease the circulating levels of insulin, and weight, hunger, and energy expenditure increase or decrease accordingly.

•  It is not so much that fat fills us up as that carbohydrates prevent satiety, and so we remain hungry.

• Metabolic flexibility allows us to burn carbohydrates (glucose) when they’re present in the diet, and fatty acids when they’re not. And it’s the cells of the adipose tissue that function as the ultimate control mechanism of this fuel supply.

Why Diets Fail:

• All diets fail because of calorie restriction. When you try to eat fewer calories than your body demands you get hungry.

• When you try to restrict something other than the foods that make us fat (protein & fat which are required for energy and tissue repair) you essentially starve the entire body of nutrients and energy rather than targeting the fat tissue specifically.

There is no such thing as an “essential” carbohydrate.