Questions/Concerns Around/Before Leptin Reset page

[jenh]

I am seriously considering a Leptin reset - but I am hoping my MDA friends can give some guidance before...

-I am rarely hungry anymore and I can get side-tracked if/when I am...then after awhile my stomach is no longer growling. I can eat only 1-2 times a day and be satisfied. Did I screw up my metabolism even more? Maybe I'm not even eating enough so my body thinks it's being starved and is holding onto the fat?
-Eating 30 min after waking would be a HUGE challenge for me. Could I be successful if I did it within an hour? Reason I ask is it takes me at least 30 min to get dressed and take the dog out for her morning walk. And since I live in a townhouse it's not a viable option to just "let the dog out" until I finish eating, etc.
-Do I need to make sure I'm counting the carbs? Or can I just make sure I'm not doing any potatoes, rice and cheese, grains, etc? (I really hate counting things like calories, nutrients, etc) I am thinking I would rule out most or all fruit too on a Leptin Reset.
-For fat choices - can I use bacon fat? It's "free" after I cook the bacon afterall...
-Heavy cream - I can't seem to find "heavy cream" but find "heavy whipping cream" - I don't think these are the same-thoughts?
-Light/dark - it gets dark here around 5pm and I don't get off work until 6pm and I still have to go home and cook... If I keep the house dark w/ the exception of a small light and the kitchen lighting to do the cooking... What are your thoughts?
-What about the eating before sleeping - sometimes dinner is not ready until 7:30 (due to my commute time etc) and ideally I should be heading to bed by 10 for the sleep that I should be trying to get under paleo/primal.
-Maybe due to all of these situations it'd be easier to wait for spring/summer? But I don't want to really wait to get my body back on track...

Thoughts are appreciated from those who are familiar with Leptin/metabolism :-)

[otzi]

I think the idea of a "Leptin Reset' is fundamentally flawed from the start.

First, how do you know if you are 'leptin resistant'? Secondly, how will you know when you are 'cured'?

The supposed gold standard for knowing if you are leptin resistant is the 'mirror test'...look in the mirror, if there's a fat person there you are leptin resistant. The cure? Eat a big ass breakfast of 50g protein within 30 minutes of waking while exposing your eyes to morning sun.

How do you know when you have achieved 'leptin sensitivity'? Presumably, the fat person in the mirror will now be thin and attractive...you may also 'notice changes' in your sweating patterns (that's it, no further explanation), and for you, calories will no longer matter! Congrats! You are now LS and healthy!

All the questions you've asked have been asked a million times before and never really answered well. If you do everything you think you are supposed to, and you are still overweight, you either did it wrong, or need an advanced protocol like ice baths, blueblocker glasses, ketogenic seafood diet, or even a prescription for hardcore drugs like metformin or thyroid.

Still fat? There's more! Maybe you just need some more electrons...you can get them by swimming in the sea, moving far away from cell towers and sleeping on a grounded sheet.

Still fat? See where I'm going with this?

Here's my advice: Eat a large protein breakfast if you like. Follow the Primal Blueprint to the 'T'. Still fat? examine your exercise, eating, and sleeping patterns. Maybe play with macros a little until you find a set you can live with and not gain weight. The first step to losing weight is figuring out what it takes to not gain weight, then tweak a bit at a time until you are slowly losing weight.

No one knows much about leptin. If you tell your doc you think you may be Leptin Resistant, he will laugh you out of his office. Leptin is a real thing, but you can probably do as much about it as you can your eye-blinking habits--it's just there. If you had a true leptin problem, you'd probably weigh 700lbs and need serious medical intervention.

Eat, sleep, and exercise according to Primal Blueprint and your leptin will be just fine.

[Black Timber]

I have to go along with Otzi on this one. Leptin is a very interesting topic. I have spent a few hours investigating Leptin recently. Leptin is a multifaceted hormone and as a result, very complicated. the more overweight you are the more leptin you will have, the more likely you are to be leptin resistant. Lose the weight - that's the re-set.