Millions of people make a new year resolution to become fit or lose that extra pounds. When they make a resolution, they are very determined and motivated. They are all prepared to cut down calories, go on diet and start exercising but not all become successful. Some will give up by end of January while some more will give up by valentine’s day. Very few will reach their goal and some people who lose weight will gain it back after they end the dieting. The cycle will repeat every year. Does anyone wonder that why dieting fails for the majority of people?

In this article which is an excerpt from my upcoming book “Twelve steps to optimal wellbeing”, I will give you some facts supported by research done by the National Institute of Health(NIH) and I hope it will give you the answer to the commonly asked question “Why my dieting does not work?”

Before we go into the details, I want you to keep some major hormones in mind. Leptin, Ghrelin, Insulin, Thyroid hormones, and HGH (Human Growth Hormone) There is a lot of research being done on Leptin and Ghrelin as they both play an important role in obesity and fat storage. Leptin is produced by your fat cells and its role is to tell the hypothalamus in your brain that you have enough fat stored in the body, hence you do not need to eat. It regulates how many calories you eat and store, as well as regulating energy intake and expenditure. High levels of leptin tell your brain that you have enough fat stored, and it does not need to store more fat. Low levels of leptin tell your brain that you need to eat and store fat. In short, leptin is your satiety hormone. Now, looking at this math, you might think that people who are obese would have high levels of leptin because it is produced by fat cells. The more fat, the more leptin. So, it should be easy for them to eat less and spend more, but sometimes this is not true. Even when there are high leptin levels in the body, the brain does not get signals to eat fewer calories and spend more calories, because of a condition called leptin resistance. Leptin resistance is a condition where your brain does not get the signal to recognize the presence of leptin, so it does not feel full. Leptin resistance can cause people to take in more calories and spend fewer.

Now the question is what is the cause of leptin resistance? A diet filled with sugar, processed food, junk food, stress, chronic inflammation, lack of sleep, visceral belly fat, and unhealthy lifestyle habits are the cause of leptin resistance. Also, there are fad diets that promote leptin supplements, but research has yet to prove the effectiveness of leptin supplements. At the same time, some supplements, like fiber, conjugated linoleic acid, alpha-lipoic acid, green tea extract (like ECGC), and fish oil may help you reduce leptin resistance when used in addition to lifestyle changes, like getting a good night’s sleep consuming a healthy diet (filled with lean protein, fiber, whole grains, leafy greens), and incorporating exercise into your daily routine. Leptin is one more reason why diet plans do not always work for the long term. Diet plans may help you lose fat, but, at the same time, this results in the reduction of leptin, which results in increased appetite and low motivation to exercise. Very soon, your body starts storing fat, because your brain thinks you are starving, and this results in changed behavior, like reduced basal metabolic rate, low motivation, and increased hunger.

Let’s also understand the role of Ghrelin in obesity. It is produced in your gut, is also called the hunger hormone. It travels to the brain through the bloodstream, and it signals to your brain to increase your appetite and consume food. This is one more reason long-term diet plans do not work. Research shows that most dieters regain weight and fat because the levels of ghrelin increase in their bodies when they are on diet, and it becomes hard for them to continue on their diet journey. These results in yo-yo diet patterns. Also, consumption of sugar, processed food, fast food, junk food, stress, lack of sleep, visceral belly fat, and unhealthy lifestyle habits will increase ghrelin levels in your body. You can reduce ghrelin levels by incorporating whole grains, fiber, protein, and healthy fat in your diet, along with working toward reducing stress and increasing muscle mass by exercising.

There are three more hormones that are very important for you to understand if you want to meet your fitness goals next year. Thyroid hormones (T3 & T4), HGH, and Insulin.

The thyroid gland uses iodine from your food and produces thyroid hormones T3 and T4, which play a major role in regulating the metabolism of every cell in your body. They also regulate the rate at which your body burns calories, regulate body temperature and heart rate, and several other metabolic functions.

Human growth hormones are responsible for growth, boosting muscle and bone growth, body composition, regulation of body fluids, regulation of fat metabolism, boosting exercise performance, and improving recovery from injuries. Optimal levels of HGH are important in weight loss, and also improve exercise performance and recovery from injuries. Research says that living a healthy lifestyle, like eliminating sugar and junk food from your diet, managing stress well, getting enough sleep, intermittent fasting, not eating before bedtime, and exercising at high intensity, can improve your HGH levels.

Insulin is a hormone released by the pancreas, which regulates blood sugar levels. Insulin, along with amylin, helps to reduce post-meal glucose levels by stimulating your muscle tissue and fat cells to absorb glucose from the bloodstream, where it is converted to fat and stored for future purposes. Thus, these two hormones play a vital role in maintaining blood sugar levels and also reducing the amount of glucose dumped into your liver. At the same time, you have to keep in mind that excess sugar will be converted to fat and stored for future use. When insulin is around, glucose is stored as fat in the fat cells, but, at the same time, it stops the release of fat from fat cells in the form of energy. In short, the more glucose in the bloodstream, the more insulin is released, more fat is stored in the fat cells. This results in highly sensitive insulin receptors.

When insulin receptors are sensitive, they pull more glucose into fat cells, which will be stored as fat. This will result in an increased size of fat cells. Though we are not going into minute detail about glucose metabolism, it is important to understand that a sugar- and carb-rich diet can lead to obesity, diabetes, an increase in visceral belly fat, and fatty liver syndrome.

Now the question is how to attain optimal levels of these hormones to achieve wellbeing as the new year’s resolution should be to achieve wellbeing and weight loss is the by-product. Well-being cannot be achieved by dieting as it can only be achieved by making changes in your lifestyle. Dieting cannot last for life but making changes in the lifestyle to live a healthier life will last forever because the results are highly rewarding. If you are sick and tired of fad diets and want to achieve optimal wellbeing then my upcoming book “Twelve steps to optimal wellbeing” is for you. I also teach the course on “Twelve steps to optimal wellbeing” To learn more about it visit www.krutithakore.com and download the brochure or schedule your free discovery call.