The Number 1 Way to Lose Weight in Singapore: Control Ghrelin

Discover how mastering your hunger hormone, ghrelin, can fast-track your weight loss journey in Singapore.

What’s ghrelin? It’s the hunger hormone. When it’s high – you’re hungry. When it’s low, you’re not!

If you want to lose weight, controlling ghrelin is the most effective strategy. In this post, we’ll dive into the four main drivers of ghrelin and how to manage them to optimise weight loss - without struggling to control your appetite.

1. Total calories consumed
2. Amount of food in the stomach (stomach distension)
3. Micronutrient satiety (vitamins, minerals, amino acids)
4. Macronutrient composition (protein, fat, carbs)

If you’re (1) not eating enough, (2) drinking your food or eating calorifically dense processed foods, (3) eating a nutrient-poor diet, or (4) skipping entire food macronutrients, ghrelin will remain high - and weight gain will follow.

Without controlling ghrelin, you’ll find yourself overeating and struggling with hunger, even if you cut calories.

Many people, especially women, say, “I’m only eating 1000 calories a day, but I’m not losing weight!” If you’ve been doing this for a while, your body enters starvation mode, raising ghrelin levels and slowing down your metabolism, as covered in Why Everyone Fails to Lose Weight. You’ll feel tired, unmotivated to exercise and constantly hungry.

Juices, smoothies, sweets, and crisps are highly calorically dense but do little to fill your stomach. Consider drinking an orange juice made from four oranges versus eating the whole oranges (with skin and pith). The juice does nothing to control ghrelin, while the whole oranges will keep you full longer. For more on managing sugar intake, see Top 8 Tips to Kick Sugar Cravings.

Here are two facts:

1. Animal protein has the highest density of micronutrients per calorie, as explained in The Worst Food in the War on Fat - no, it’s not kale or spinach!
2. Animal protein is the most satiating nutrient.

When you don’t get enough micronutrients, ghrelin rises, making you seek out food. This is especially true for pregnant women, who crave nutrients for their growing baby.

For example, you’d need to eat five times more spinach than liver to get the same amount of nutrients. Even then, you’d still miss essential vitamins and amino acids. It’s nearly impossible to meet your micronutrient needs on a vegan diet.

A balanced diet with the right mix of fats, carbs, and protein is essential for controlling ghrelin, which we also explore in our Dummies Guide to Fasting. If you go too low-carb or keto for breakfast and lunch, you may find yourself craving sweets after dinner. Why? Because your total carb load for the day is too low, and ghrelin will stay elevated until your body gets what it needs.

Sleep quality, stress, meal timing, gut health, hydration, exercise, and hormonal changes also affect ghrelin. But the four factors above are where most people mess up.

Let’s start by avoiding foods that have limited impact on ghrelin:

* crisps, sweets, cakes, cookies, biscuits, donuts, pastries, etc.

It’s pretty obvious when you think about it. If every meal consists of some animal protein (protein + fat), some carbs (rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes), and some green veggies (to top up your micros), you’ve got the foundation of a super healthy, non-fattening diet.

After all, this is how humans ate for about 2.4 million years - right up until about 100 years ago. Before then, there was no obesity, no cancer, no heart disease. And if people could avoid war, famine, diseases from bad sanitation, bacterial infections, or a spear through the neck from the neighbouring tribe, they actually lived as long as we do now - without the diseases of modernity that we have today.

For every 30 minutes of sleep lost, you’re likely to overeat by 50 - 100 extra calories the next day. Find out how to improve sleep in Top 10 Tips to Help You Sleep Like a Baby. Over a year, that could result in 18,000 - 36,000 extra calories, which translates to up to 5kg of weight gain. Prioritising sleep is essential for regulating ghrelin and preventing weight gain.

The biggest hurdles to controlling ghrelin for weight loss are:

1. Belief – Believing nonsense from food marketing, media, governments, doctors, or nutritionists. These groups cannot always be trusted! We help clients find their personalised diets so they can trust their instincts instead of professionals who do not know them.
2. Time – You need to prioritise feeding yourself healthy, nutritious food.
3. Addictions – Stress and food addictions make it harder to lose weight. Deal with these underlying issues first.
4. Sleep – Sleep deprivation causes ghrelin levels to rise and leads to overeating. Focus on getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night

Want help with your nutrition and lifestyle to overcome stress, sleep deprivation, and weight gain? Contact Levitise for a consultation and start your journey to health and longevity today.

To your health, happiness and longevity,

The Levitise Team

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• Can an infrared sauna help with weight loss? – Discover how infrared saunas may contribute to your weight loss journey.