Who knew that our fat cells harbor the secret to controlling our appetite? Produced in fat cells, the hormone leptin helps control our appetites and metabolism. Author of The Leptin Diet, Byron J. Richards believes that mastering this fat hormone means preventing weight gain and obesity. His eating plan is not a diet, but rather a lifestyle based on "eating in harmony with leptin."
Think of leptin as a gas gauge. To know how much fuel you have left in your car, you check the gauge. Leptin serves the same purpose to your brain, telling it when you're low on energy and in need of fuel, aka food. Certain foods and eating habits can block leptin's message to your brain, so Richards developed five rules that allow leptin to do its job helping you maintain a healthy weight.
To learn the five rules of this leptin lifestyle, just read more.
Let me point out that these rules come straight from Byron himself:
- Never eat after dinner. Allow 11 to 12 hours between dinner and breakfast, and finish eating dinner at least three hours before bed.
- Eat three meals a day. Allow five to six hours between meals and do not snack. Snacking causes leptin to malfunction.
- Do not eat large meals. Eat slowly and stop eating a meal when you are slightly less than full. Consistently eating large meals is the easiest way there is to poison your body with food.
- Eat a breakfast containing protein. Your metabolism can increase by 30 percent after a high-protein meal. A high carb meal such as cereal or a bagel will increase your metabolism only by four percent.
- Reduce the amount of carbohydrates eaten. Definitely eat some carbs, but don't overdo it. In each meal, half should be a protein source, and half should be a healthy carb.
To hear more, you can pick up his book called The Leptin Diet: How Fit Is Your Fat? ($15)
I could never wait that many hours between eating and am a firm believer in snacks. After reading all these rules, tell me, what's your opinion of The Leptin Diet?
Matthew Williamson
Now where's the link to the article from last week where women should eat every 3-4 hours...
1Lol TidalWave... right?? I'm a 5-small meals kind of girl, myself. I don't really read diet books anyway, since everything is based on basically the same idea (healthier foods, less foods). That said, I sure am craving an apple now.
2this diet is definitely not for me. i get shaky and faint after a few hours without food, so i need to snack to get through the day. i would be hungry all the time and therefore not happy or productive...so i'll be passing on this one.
3Yeah, the rest of the suggestions are the ones you hear all the time but the one about not snacking is totally contradictory to a bunch of other "studies". I never know which advice to trust but I know I feel better if I eat 5 or 6 times a day (small meals/snacks) rather than 3 main ones...although I'm sure the author would say that's because my Leptin is screwed up.
4The most valuable bit of info in this article is point #4, where protein increases metabolism up to 30%... that is motivating! But the rest, either is in the "nothing new" category or the "unrealistic to most" category. If you don't snack and you are told to eat small meals... that sounds like a DIET and not something people are going to subscribe to for an extended period, unless they are already prone to watching what they eat.
5I started following the Leptin Diet a couple of months ago. For the first few days it was hard not to snack. But, after about three days I stopped thinking about food so much and it became easy not to snack! It's especially important to have a high protein breakfast -- that helped to reduce my snack cravings. I used to always be thinking about food... what should I eat next? Now, following the five rules and not snacking has now become super easy to do. Plus, I have better energy and have finally been losing weight. I know a lot of people say that these rules are unrealistic -- I was one of them. But all I have to say is: try it for a month. Stick to it for a month and see how you do. I've gotten some of my friends to do it and they now love it too. And I agree with what the author says about it not just being a diet, but being a lifestyle. I'm not restricting myself too much from the foods I love.
6Basically, points 2 &3 are saying to eat less and not as often. That sounds like a pretty restrictive diet right there and not at all what anyone else proposes for healthy eating.
7Letting 11-12 hours pass between dinner and breakfast definitely works for me, but I tend to like having a bigger breakfasst and lunch and lighter dinner in general. I know some people are opposite though, and can't stomach a big breakfast. I don't subscibe to this "diet" by any means, but I do notice that when I start to eat more food more often, I feel hungrier more often as well even when I definitely don't need to eat. I'd rather just concentrate on eating healthy, balanced meals of whole foods rather than breaking things down too far.
8Eat less.
9Move more.
take in less then you burn.
no thank you.
10runningesq, you should write a book!
11uhmmm retarded! runningesq I agree with you
12TidalWave - Exactly what I was thinking! You should eat every four hours to prevent late-night snacking.
13Actually, I happen to eat this way (I never read this book). I eat three, solid meals a day, and I don't snack. I'm busy. I only have time to eat three times a day. I have other matter to tend to.
14Wow, I'm surprised how close-minded everyone is. I've done this, lost weight, and feel great.
15Do not eat large meals, but only eat three times a day. Sorry, that isn't healthy. You way lose weight this way, but it doesn't make for a healthy lifestyle.
16i honestly live off of small meals, so this is one of the many diets that just doesn't sound like my cup of tea. I hate feeling full which tends to happen if i sit down to a big meal--having a just-enough-size snack to carry me over & satisfy my appetite is my current eating pattern....so far so good
17Eating less guarantees you'll lose weight. This is a no-brainer, but the Richards family is making millions of dollars by repackaging simple ideas and hawking designer vitamins. I think some of these points will work for some people, some of the time, which is a problem with most weight loss advice -- other than runnersq, of course!
I'm a little biased against this book, though, because I used to work for Mr. (not Dr.) Richards' company. They make the Bluths look like nice, sane people.
18No snacking and you can't eat big meals? ...In order to make sure I didn't get hungry I'd have to either snack or have a big meal before, preferably the former
19This is sort of the French way of eating... here it's strongly discouraged to snack between meals (all food advertisements have a little warning on the bottom: "for your health, avoid snacking"), and dinner tends to be a small meal with only fruit or a yogurt as dessert. My husband, who's a doctor, thinks this is a great idea and that the five small meals a day just encourages people to eat all the time.
20I definitely don't like this. Your body needs fuel throughout the day. 5-6 small meals is the way to go. Just eat when you feel your body needing fuel - and don't snack if you don't need it.
21I'm not one of those eat 5 meals a day people, I eat a small breakfast and a normal sized lunch and dinner and no snacks and it works for me. To be honest the only people I know that do the 5 small meals a day thing are on the heavier side.
22This "non-diet" sounds ridiculous. In this man's opinion people are not supposed to eat until they're full and then wait 5-6 hours between meals?? Your stomach completely empties itself in 2-3 hours. I would be starving all the time eating like this! And no snacking!? It's scientifically proven that snacking is actually great for your metabolism... Sorry to be so negative but I will not be trying this diet EVER!
23Anyone writing a diet book based on a hormone (leptin) should probably have PhD or MD training. I don't think that nutritionists study metabolic biochem. enough to warrant forming a diet theory about it. Sounds like BS to me.....
24Sounds good.
25This book has been a miracle for me. It is hard to understand how good you feel when you follow these rules until you try it.
I used to eat 5+ small meals and snacks a day and gradually gained 35+ pounds (over 15 years). I could never lose the weight even by lowering my calories to 1500 (or less). When I did restrict my calories I would always be hungry and constantly crave food.
I started the Leptin Diet in March and felt very hungry for the first two days. After that, it was like the light switched on and I stopped getting constant cravings and feeling hungry all the time.
I now eat 3 meals (600-800 cal.) per meal and have consistently lost 1-2 pounds per week. The best thing is I feel better than I ever have. I am down over 30 pounds and I am keeping it off without even trying. I have more energy then when I was 20.
It is an amazing book and you should give it a shot before you say it won't work. I have recommended this diet to all of my friends and they were skeptical, but they saw my results. Now, they are all seeing results and feeling better themselves.
26When did eating three meals a day become an unhealthy lifestyle? Seriously, people.
27I am not saying one way or the other... I am starting this diet today... One thing I like about one of the proponents... They mention the 'A' word (age). I am an old guy. I will let you know in a few months.
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