# Leptin



## B-GJOE (May 7, 2009)

I posted this on another thread.



> Here is my quick version of Leptin.
> 
> Leptin is manufactured in most cells in the body, but primarily in the fat cells. It's primary function is one of survival. Remember, being a bit fat was beneficial early on in our evolution, as the fat survived the famines. Therefore being fat is better for survival than being lean. The fatter you are the more leptin there is.
> 
> ...


Would like to open up this subject as a separate thread, and hopefully learn a lot more than I already do about this relatively newly discovered hormone. Without copy and pasting please input what you know about this.


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## Lois_Lane (Jul 21, 2009)

Good one Joe trust you to start and interesting thread.

I will be the first to throw up the comment that the massive cheat meals or cheat days that people have in order to "Restart" their metabolism is simply their excuse to eat crap.


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## B-GJOE (May 7, 2009)

Lois_Lane said:


> Good one Joe trust you to start and interesting thread.
> 
> I will be the first to throw up the comment that the massive cheat meals or cheat days that people have in order to "Restart" their metabolism is simply their excuse to eat crap.


The problem is that a lot of people will see 'Leptin' as thread title, and not bother clicking because they probably haven't heard of it.


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## Lois_Lane (Jul 21, 2009)

B|GJOE said:


> The problem is that a lot of people will see 'Leptin' as thread title, and not bother clicking because they probably haven't heard of it.


But every one has heard that Saturday is ice cream and pizza night:whistling:


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## B-GJOE (May 7, 2009)

Lois_Lane said:


> But every one has heard that Saturday is ice cream and pizza night:whistling:


Unfortunately they don't know that it is this hormone that is doing the work. They just know that pizza and ice cream nights 'kick metabolism back into touch'

This is a fascinating subject, because it is newly discovered so science haven't sussed it out yet.

The book bromocriptine is very good. I didn't finish it, as the first few chapters covered leptin, and then I worked out that the rest of the book would be about the drug binding to receptors in the brain.


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## kaos_nw (Jul 9, 2008)

are leptin levels replenished due to the influx of calories or more specifically carbs?


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## B-GJOE (May 7, 2009)

kaos_nw said:


> are leptin levels replenished due to the influx of calories or more specifically carbs?


Good question. Anyone????


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## Lois_Lane (Jul 21, 2009)

I am going to say that a very high carb intake will do the job just as well with lower potential for overall water retention compared to a dirty fat/carb refeed. Obviously it will not as enjoyable.


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## Bri (Jul 15, 2009)

Lois_Lane said:


> Good one Joe trust you to start and interesting thread.
> 
> I will be the first to throw up the comment that the massive cheat meals or cheat days that people have in order to "Restart" their metabolism is simply their excuse to eat crap.


Do you not believe in cheat meals then Con?


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## Lois_Lane (Jul 21, 2009)

Bri said:


> Do you not believe in cheat meals then Con?


At the right times yes.

For my body every week is too often i have found once every ten days to be better for me.

I don't belief in them until you are pretty lean and fat loss slows....


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## Bri (Jul 15, 2009)

Lois_Lane said:


> At the right times yes.
> 
> For my body every week is too often i have found once every ten days to be better for me.
> 
> I don't belief in them until you are pretty lean and fat loss slows....


Cool ok thanks buddy. :thumb:


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## B-GJOE (May 7, 2009)

This weekend will be my 3rd very low fat, carb up.

I haven't had a junk binge for about 4 weeks now. Getting about 700-1000g of carbs in without the fat gives me plenty of fuel for my workouts, and the reduced calories from lack of fat avoids overspill.


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## Lois_Lane (Jul 21, 2009)

B|GJOE said:


> This weekend will be my 3rd very low fat, carb up.
> 
> I haven't had a junk binge for about 4 weeks now. Getting about 700-1000g of carbs in without the fat gives me plenty of fuel for my workouts, and the reduced calories from lack of fat avoids overspill.


And this is why you will look awesome with out a doubt:thumbup1:


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## B-GJOE (May 7, 2009)

Anyway, can we get back on topic. Don't want this to be another, what do you cheat with. I did that thread here:

http://www.uk-muscle.co.uk/losing-weight/91718-cheat-meals-sweet-savoury-both.html


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## nothing2fear (Jul 7, 2007)

Learnt something new this evening, thankyou kindly sir


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## UKWolverine (Apr 25, 2009)

I read an interesting blog post on leangains.com about Leptin and Intermittent Fasting.

Apparently Low leptin equals impaired output of epinephrine and norepinephrine however when fasting those hormones increase regardless of low leptin.

Therefore allowing fat mobilisation to carry on even with low leptin during fasting.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17201801


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## Cra16 (Jan 23, 2010)

I believe its not just the levels of leptin that are important but how sensitive the person is to it.

It seems that this is another benifit to fish oils as they change leptin levels positively.


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## B-GJOE (May 7, 2009)

Cra16 said:


> I believe its not just the levels of leptin that are important but how sensitive the person is to it.
> 
> It seems that this is another benifit to fish oils as they change leptin levels positively.


That's good news, cos I'm having 2 portions of salmon a day, and not silly caps.


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## hilly (Jan 19, 2008)

i think they are definatly needed just not as regularly as people think/have them.

for instance last year i had a refeed or cheat once a week. This year i have had 1 medium day and 1 cheat period of 4 hours in 10 weeks. My body has never changed so well.

I had the medium day aftet about 6/7 weeks in and felt my body needed it as i was very run down and tired. barely gained 2lb from the extra 300g carbs and i lost over 3lb that week.

the refeed was mid point in the diet and i went ott for 4 hours on the night. i gained 5lb, lost all that and another 2.5 the week after.

i much preferd the medium carb uo day as the cheat just made me feel terrible.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

kaos_nw said:


> are leptin levels replenished due to the influx of calories or more specifically carbs?


As Con said, Leptin level are related to glucose levels in the blood. Therefore, carbs are the driver.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

hilly said:


> i think they are definatly needed just not as regularly as people think/have them.
> 
> for instance last year i had a refeed or cheat once a week. This year i have had 1 medium day and 1 cheat period of 4 hours in 10 weeks. My body has never changed so well.
> 
> ...


Hilly, how much were you losing on average on the weeks when you didn't cheat? If you lost less then the 2.5 and 3lbs you did on the cheat weeks, then maybe, you could afford a few more to be optimal?

I suppose you just have to tweak it until fat loss is optimized. (Sorry for Hijack)

Also, as Leptin levels are proportional to body fat levels AND the amount being eaten, refeeds to release leptin should become more effective when the levels are very low (approaching comps, etc)


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## hilly (Jan 19, 2008)

spaynter said:


> Hilly, how much were you losing on average on the weeks when you didn't cheat? If you lost less then the 2.5 and 3lbs you did on the cheat weeks, then maybe, you could afford a few more to be optimal?
> 
> I suppose you just have to tweak it until fat loss is optimized. (Sorry for Hijack)
> 
> Also, as Leptin levels are proportional to body fat levels AND the amount being eaten, refeeds to release leptin should become more effective when the levels are very low (approaching comps, etc)


i lost about the same mate


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

So you could throw in more cheats until fat loss suffered?


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## hilly (Jan 19, 2008)

could - i suppose but why if you dont ned them. i can handle it mentally altho its a struggle so why risk effecting things.


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## kitt81 (Sep 4, 2009)

very interesting thread as ive been doing some reading on bromo too. cheers.


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## spaynter (Jul 6, 2009)

hilly said:


> could - i suppose but why if you dont ned them. i can handle it mentally altho its a struggle so why risk effecting things.


I suppose it's all about risk vs rewards for you. Theoretically, the leptin boost at v low body fat levels should be proportionately greater and more beneficial, but you don't want to be the guinea pig coming up to comp........ Completely understandable.


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

Leptin is fascinating. It's pretty complex, and by no means simply about calories in or bodyfat levels. In truth I don't fully understand it completely but have some notes and tried to summarise the patterns found in various studies below...

Circulating leptin is generally linked to obesity and bodyfat percentage, but bodyfat percentage is not the only determinant. The following all effect leptin:

*Body Fat Percentage - direct relationship (higher bodyfat equals higher leptin)*

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Adipocyte Size - direct relationship (larger adipocytes equal more leptin production in an individual compared to someone with equal bodyfat levels but smaller average adipocyte size)*

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*

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Fasting Blood Glucose - inverse relationship (higher blood glucose equals lower leptin)*

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Plasma Triglycerides - direct relationship (higher triglycerides equals higher leptin)*

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*

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Plasma Insulin - direct relationship (higher insulin equals higher leptin)*

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*

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Gender - females have significantly more leptin than men, independent of all other factors*

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Age - direct relationship (leptin increases with age independent of all other factors)*

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*

Perhaps more important than leptin levels though is leptin sensitivity. Certain nutrients, particularly different fats, can affect both leptin sensitivity and leptin levels. It varies between specific fats within each group so is hard to generalise accurately but in most cases and studies the following nutrients show the following patterns:

*PUFAs improve sensitivity or cause it to remain the same and increase leptin levels. *

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*

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Saturated Fats reduce sensitivity or cause it to remian the same and reduce leptin levels.*

*
*

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MUFAs improve sensitivity or cause it to remian the same and increase leptin levels.*

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*

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Fructose (in very high intakes) reduces leptin sensitivity but has little effect on leptin levels.*

*
*

The effects do vary betwenn individual saturated fats and PUFAs etc so caution has to be used with that. In the case of fructose, diets rich in fruit and veg don't show a problem, it's only very high fructose foods such as those high in HFCS or table sugar.

While high levels of leptin are good immediately after a high calorie feeding to reduce appetite and get the body moving, continually elevated levels as found in the obese and those who excessively eat leptin increasing foods are a prime de-sensitiser to leptin, much in the same way as excessive carbs de-sensitises insulin action.

Also, worse still, high chronic leptin levels increase resistin output from the CNS, which in turn is a pro-inflammatory and is linked in some studies to significant inhibition of insulin sensitivity. The Leptin-Resistin-Insulin cycle once de-sensitised then works in a kind of positive feedback loop to increase fat gain potential and obesity and reduce activity levels.


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## B-GJOE (May 7, 2009)

Can't rep you DV, but another great post there mate. Thanks


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## Mickytree (Aug 3, 2008)

I seem to have massive problems with my metabolism, as in it is that slow I feel it may have stopped. I have always been very stocky and get likened to a powerlifter all the time but I am doing sooo much cardio at the moment along with my weights sessions but all that is happening is that I am putting on a little size from my weights, I have cut the carbs and I do cheat once a week.. Should I maybe look at stopping the cheat day, and risk falling off the wagon?


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## dixie normus (May 11, 2008)

Thought I'd chuck this study in as it demonstrates that physical activity levels probably also plays a part in leptin control



> J Sci Med Sport. 2010 Jan 22. [Epub ahead of print]
> 
> Hypoleptinaemia in extreme body mass models: The case of international rugby players.
> 
> ...


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