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"Leptin is essential for survival.
It has a regulating effect on other hormones, not in a passive way but
as a prime controlling signal. Leptin tells thyroid hormones, adrenal
hormones, pancreatic hormones, and sex hormones how to perform. Leptin
can function without any help from those other hormones, but the other
hormones cannot function properly without leptin.
"The significance of this new information
reveals that leptin is the single most important hormone known to man.
Interestingly, it was not discovered until 1994, and it has not been
written about in its comprehensive role for broad public knowledge."
They further state:
"Leptin is responsible for bizarre
and erratic behaviour and cravings related to food, including the inability
to attain and maintain a healthy body weight. Leptin is essential for
survival; without it, the human race would have perished from starvation
long ago. However, in the land of food on every corner, it is also the
hormone that fuels addictive and compulsive behaviour. It is the reason
why individuals will 'start their diet tomorrow'."
The evidence is clear
- control leptin, and you control your weight and improve general health.
Most people's leptin levels are out
of control, causing them to overeat and to store fat rather than burn
it.
Byron and Mary Richards have made an
in-depth study of all the leptin research (approximately 9000 studies
thus far), and this combined with experience with clients, they have
developed the Five Rules.
The aim of these Rules is to restore
the body's sensitivity to leptin, which will re-establish the body's
ability to efficiently produce energy from food, and will lead to weight
loss.
These Five Rules are not a 'weight
loss diet' - they're Rules to live by. Happily, compared to virtually
every 'weight loss diet' on the market, once you're in the swing, it's
probably the simplest and easiest way to go so far.
The Five Rules
Rule 1:
Never Eat After Dinner. Allow 11-12
hours between dinner and breakfast. Never go to bed on a full stomach.
Finish eating dinner at least three hours before bed. This rule is explained
in chapter 15 of the book.
Rule 2:
Eat 3 Meals a Day. Allow 5-6 hours
between meals. Do Not Snack. This Rule is explained in chapter 17 of
the book.
Rule 3:
Do Not Eat Large Meals. If overweight,
always try to finish a meal when slightly less than full; the full signal
will usually catch up in 10-20 minutes. Eating slowly is important.
This rule is explained in chapter 18 of the book.
Rule 4:
Eat a high-protein breakfast. This
rule is explained in chapter 19.
Rule 5:
Reduce the amount of carbohydrates
eaten. This rule is explained in chapter 20.
The Author, Byron Richards, states
that "Some individuals do not have the physical ability to follow the
Five Rules. This does not mean the rules are wrong; it simply means
the individual needs to get in better shape. . . . There are ways to
vary the Five Rules and still maintain healthy metabolism. Elite athletes
may need to eat more often simply to get the number of calories they
need. Diabetics have nonfunctioning "hormone switches" and end up using
food to compensate for a "broken metabolism". There are a variety of
special circumstances that require tailoring the Five Rules. . . . Individuals
need to understand why a rule is a rule so they can think intelligently
with the information and apply it to their life."
It's particularly important that people
with diabetes understand the information contained in the book, and
work in conjunction with their primary diabetes advisor.
There is science and good sense behind
each rule.
Rule 1: Never eat after
dinner. Finish eating 3 hours before bedtime. Never go to bed on a full
stomach. Allow 11-12 hours between dinner and breakfast. For approximately
the first 6-8 hours after eating our evening meal, the body is burning
up the calories from that day. The most effective fat burning time (i.e.
stored fat in our thighs, bums and tums) is between approximately 8
and 12 hours after eating. If we have a little snack before bedtime,
or have our evening meal too late, the leptin tells the brain that no
energy is required, and no fat burning will occur in the latter part
of the night. So that little snack, however healthy it may have been,
puts paid to any fat-burning that night.
Rule 2: Eat 3 meals per day.
Allow 5-6 hours between meals. Do Not Snack. During the first
three hours after a meal, insulin is in charge of storing the calories
from the food we have eaten. During this time we are not in 'fat-burning
mode'. Even low-calorie snacks stimulate insulin release.
If you find it too difficult to wait
5 hours before eating, then you can start this plan by eating four meals
per day, instead of three. In time, with regular exercise added, you
will more and more often be able to leave 5 hours between meals. The
most important time is the night-time 11-12 hour fat-burning interval.
Children and teenagers of normal weight,
athletes and bodybuilders will probably need to eat more often than
three times per day. However, try to avoid unhealthy snacks or fizzy
drinks.
Rule 3: Do not eat large meals.
The idea behind this is to not give the body more fuel than
it can use. Regular large meals leads to leptin and insulin resistance.
One of the best techniques for reducing the size of meals is to eat
slowly and chew really well. It takes the brain ten minutes to realise
you are full. If you really can't slow down, then put down your knife
and fork for 5 minutes when you've eaten about half your food. Don't
feel you have to 'clean your plate' if you have had enough - you becoming
overweight and unhealthy doesn't help anyone.
Rule 4: Eat a high-protein
breakfast. This keeps the body in a calorie-burning mode.
Eating a protein breakfast supports blood sugar levels so that late
afternoon energy crashes are minimised. These energy crashes are often
the result of eating a breakfast with too many carbohydrates and very
little protein. If you eat a high carbohydrate breakfast, and are leptin
resistant, you are more likely to overeat generally, but particularly
at night.
Rule 5: Reduce the amount
of carbohydrate eaten. This does NOT mean cutting out all,
or virtually all, carbohydrates. We do need carbohydrates to maintain
health.
However, eating too many carbohydrates
at lunchtime may cause you to be ravenously hungry before dinner, tempting
you to break rule 3 (no snacking).
Byron and Mary Richards recommend a
ratio of 50/50. That is, a palm sized portion of protein, and the same
amount of starch. In other words, meat, fish, egg or vegetable protein
the size of your palm, could be matched with an equal amount of rice,
bread, potato, fruit or dessert. Along with this, eat as many vegetables
as you like, but go easy with the peas, corn and cooked carrots.
You can easily check whether you're
eating too many carbohydrates. Weigh yourself first thing in the morning,
and again at bedtime. If, at bedtime, you weigh more than 2 pounds over
your morning weight, and you followed Rules 1-4 during the day, then
you've eaten too many carbohydrates that day.
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Related Articles:
Newsletter:
Breakthrough in Understanding Weight Gain
Hunger Hormone
Linked to Memory
Leptin: Frequently
Asked Questions
Waist to Hip Ratio
Information
Body Mass
Index Information and Chart
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