Getting Physical Decreases Hunger and Improves Food Choices!

It’s not a big secret that when you have a sound fitness program, including cardiovascular exercise and resistance training, it helps you control your blood sugar and relieves stress.  As a result, you are far less likely to choose foods that impact you negatively.  Remember, motion equals emotion.  To be more accurate, I should say it equals positive emotion.  The interesting thing is, those who exercise generally choose better foods.

Taking a deeper look at this, there are hormones that have an impact on our hunger state.  In particular, there are hormones (and peptides) that contribute to our hunger state.  They are leptin, ghrelin, peptide YY, cortisol, and insulin. 

Easily, I can spend a lot of time discussing the role of these hormones for hours.  To keep it simple though, let’s briefly look at the role of each hormone and the effect of exercise for each one.

Leptin-  This hormone has been gaining a lot of attention, as it has neurological impacts on the hypothalamus of the brain which controls a lot of your behaviors and metabolism.  In addition, it plays a role in fat metabolism (being called the “fat hormone”).  When you are low in this hormone, you will hold on to fat even when you lose weight, plus you don’t feel full satisfied.  Take note:  studies show that those who go on “diets” without exercise have dips in leptin.  You also develop a leptin resistance.  However, both resistance and aerobic training have been shown to maintain or increase levels of leptin.  Admittedly though, some studies demonstrate that a combination treatment and exercise to be most beneficial. 

Ghrelin- Think of ghrelin as the antithesis of leptin.  Similarly to leptin, ghrelin impacts your hunger, however, more ghrelin makes you feel hungry.  It’s located at the source of your hunger, the stomach.  Usually, when you are low in leptin, you have higher concentrations of ghrelin.  The higher concentrations of ghrelin leads to increased hunger and it decreases adipose tissue metabolism (the fat you’re trying to lose).  Just like leptin, many studies demonstrate the positive effects of exercise on ghrelin release.

Peptide YY- Just like ghrelin, this peptide chain is also found in the stomach.  However, its role is to suppress appetite.  Once again, exercise demonstrates a positive impact, as it increases peptide YY release.

Cortisol-  This hormone is also known as the “fight or flight hormone.”  Under acute stress, this hormone is beneficial as it can heighten awareness and physical abilities by breaking down proteins for quick energy (glucocorticoid) and it coagulates blood (a heart disease issue).  Conversely, if you fall under constant stress, it can contribute to fat gain.  Here’s the irony, acute physical activity increases cortisol release. However, the long term benefits of both resistance training and cardiovascular exercise decreases cortisol long-term.  People who exercise simply handle stress better!

Insulin- You are most familiar with this hormone as it relates to Type II diabetes.  It’s role is to uptake glucose (i.e. blood sugar) into the muscle.  Along with diet (diet plays a huge role), exercise can affect your insulin sensitivity.  Without getting into too much detail, when your insulin is out of balance, you can become irritable and feel hungry.   This usually causes you to reach for some high-glycemic, processed carbohydrates.  Once again, an exercise program helps you control blood sugar.

Endorphins- You’re familiar with this hormone to create what is known as the “runner’s high.”  A consistent exercise program increases the release of these hormones that have a positive impact on neuroreceptors in the brain.  The “runner’s high” is such that you have feelings of euphoria.

Any way you look at it, in a post-industrial society, you must be involved in a sustained, long-term fitness and wellness program. To be quite honest, I’m not even doing great justice to the benefits of exercise on the emotional state at the hormonal and neurological level.  Hundreds of studies have been done on the subject.  They always come to the same conclusion…

  If you want to feel good- Get Physical!

written by

Kelly Huggins, A-CPT

Exercise Science, B.S.

NPTI Instructor

Fitness/Nutrition Coach

In our special six-week Nutrition Together program, we provide you with healthy recommendations just like this.  To learn more go to - Nutrition Together.