A Game of Hormones

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Back when I was a teenager, I was really fat. My highest weight was 104 kg. 

I wanted to lose fat and build a nice body. I joined a gym in hopes of getting the body of my dreams, I trusted my coach in guiding me throughout the way. 

My Coach told me I should focus on my Calories in vs. Calories out. So I did and I lost a marvelous 20 Kg in a couple of months.

But then, my fat loss rate started to slow down. I sought help on the internet and found out that I should, in fact, focus on the Carbohydrate/fat/protein ratio. This new approach helped me drop down my fat percentage to 8% and build a whopping 22 kg of muscles. A body I have always dreamed of, Nice muscle definitions and visible abs.

But, once you taste the pleasure of building a great body, you are never satisfied, you always want more. 

I tried to build more muscle while maintaining my fat percentage, but it was ridiculously difficult. It was like I’m just going round in circles, I lose some fat along with muscle, try to build the muscle back and in turn gain the fat I lost back on. 

It was frustrating, I had to find what I was doing wrong. I started asking around, going to competing bodybuilders to review their workout and diet plan. I then discovered that I should be focusing on my Hormones more than anything else! 

It was really confusing! 

On what should you focus when trying to build the body of your dreams? 

Calories In vs. Calories out. OR Fat/Pro/Carb. Ratios. OR  Hormone levels? 

 

The Answer Is…

It Is Always A Game Of Hormones.

Hormones are all what really matters in the world of bodybuilding!

Such a big claim? Give me a chance to explain.

I am going to list the most important hormones first and then conclude my claim out of it.

Hormone, from the greek word meaning to arouse activity, is a chemical substance produced in the body, it controls and regulates the activity of certain cells and organs. There are 50 different hormones circulating in your body, they are secreted and manufactured by endocrine glands. Hormones are essential for every activity of life, including the processes of digestion, metabolism, growth, reproduction, and mood control.

 

All of the 50 hormones are important for your health, but for today’s article, I will focus on the top 5 most important Hormones involved in fat loss and muscle growth.

Before Going on to the list of most important hormones, check this out on PHAT Workout.

These Hormones Are:

1- Human Growth Hormone.

2-Testosterone.

3-Insulin.

4-Leptin.

5-Cortisol.

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1- Human Growth Hormone (HGH):

HGH is produced from the Pituitary Gland, it stimulates growth and cell development and works with another hormone called Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). The natural production of HGH peaks through puberty and gradually drops after that.

Why Do I Need It?

HGH is scientifically proven to increase muscle mass and shed fat. In the bodybuilding community, HGH is taught to be the god of hormones. Injecting synthetic HGH can be dangerous while increasing your levels naturally is considered safe.

How To Increase It?

1- Fasting for 24 hours increases HGH by 2000% (Study)

2- Sleeping, HGH is secreted into your body while you are in deep sleep. 

3- Exercise, Intense exercise raise HGH significantly.

4- Eat less sugar, If your body is producing Insulin, it will stop producing HGH

5- Amino Acids, especially L-Arginine and L-lysine, Before bed showed to increase HGH by 700%. (Study) (amazon affiliate links)

 

2-Testosterone:

Bodybuilders Favourite, It is the hormone that define us as males. Testosterone is a steroid hormone that stimulates development of male secondary sexual characteristics, produced mainly in the testes, but also in the ovaries and adrenal cortex. Testosterone peaks through puberty and starts to drop in your late 20’s.

Any bodybuilder or bodybuilder-wanna-be at least has heard about testosterone. Sadly, most people associate Testosterone with “steroid’s*” and doping, along with all the exaggerated side effects of using it. People seem to be oblivious to the fact that we as men produce testosterone in somewhat large quantities AND IT IS CRUCIAL TO OUR HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT. I’m not promoting testosterone juicing and I myself has never done it, but my point is, Chill out people, it is not as bad as you think.

Still, Do not use anabolic steroid because 99% chance you will end up ABUSING them and it will completely fuck you up. –

John, is it good or bad to use anabolic steroids? – That is a topic for another article – 

Why Do I Need It?

Testosterone is the father of muscle growth, it is shown by 100’s of studies that extra free testosterone increase muscle mass  significantly. Also, it promotes fat loss, increase red blood cells, help fight depression, increase competitiveness and risk-taking and improve mental health.

After observing much of high testosterone effects, you will come to a conclusion… We do not have feelings, we have hormones. But that is a topic for another day.

How To Increase It?

1- Onion, It triples your testosterone levels. The only one that really worked for me.

2- Pomegranates.(Study)

3- Sleep, sleeping more than 7 hours increases testosterone.

4- Stop masturbating, this one is controversial, I will write an upcoming post on the subject.(Study)

5- Fish Oil is proven to increase testosterone and it is generally good for your health. (amazon affiliate link)

6- ZMA, Zinc/Magnesium Aspartate, also proven to increase testosterone. (amazon affiliate link)

7- Vitamin D3, Proven to increase testosterone by 25%, Vitamin D is not actually a vitamin but actually a steroid hormone. (amazon affiliate link)

 

3-Insulin:

It is the enemy of the fat, the friend of the gainer. Insulin is a hormone that regulates the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats by promoting the absorption of glucose to muscle and fat tissues.

In short, it is what allows glucose to enter tissues in your body.

Why Do I Need It?

Without it your cells can not function, cells can not absorb the needed energy from the blood stream.

But it is not always good for your goal. If you are bulking, you need it for your body to absorb all the micro nutrition needed. If you are fat, you need to control it so it won’t get your body storing energy all the time. *very simple way to explain it, more on that later. 

This hormone affects HGH and testosterone production, if your blood stream is full with insulin, you can say goodbye to the other two.

How To Control It?

When you eat carbohydrates, your body will produce insulin in order to control the glucose in your body. therefore, controlling it depends mainly on controlling the carbohydrates you eat, when you eat them and their GI index.

The proper way to control Insulin depends on your goal, Bulking means you will spike up the insulin when taking supplements. Cutting means you won’t spike it at all.

I will write an advanced guide on manipulating Insulin for your own advantage in the near future.

 

4-Leptin:

The new suspect in the obesity epidemic, Leptin is a protein hormone involved in the regulation of energy intake and expenditure by the body. Leptin plays a key role in the regulation of appetite, food intake and metabolism. The majority of the leptin hormone is produced in white fat deposits in the body. Levels of leptin are directly associated with total amounts of fat in the body.

 

Why Do I Need It? 

Leptin is supposed to tell the brain that we have enough fat stored, that we don’t need to eat, and that we can burn calories at a normal rate.

It also has many other functions related to fertility, immunity, brain function and others (source).

However, leptin’s main role is long-term regulation of energy balance, the amount of calories we eat and expend, and how much fat we store in our bodies (Source).

The leptin system evolved to keep us from starving or overeating, both of which would have made us less likely to survive in the natural environment.

How To Control It?

The problem is not the amount of Leptin in your bloodstream, but rather that your brain does not respond to Leptin probably. “Leptin Resistance” happens when your body can no longer read the level of Leptin in your body correctly, and thus your body won’t know that your energy reserves are more than enough for your survival.

To fix that you have to do a lot of lifestyle adjustments. Like, stop being fat, avoid processed food, avoid sugar, exercise and sleep properly.

–Zinc might help reversing Leptin resistance. (amazon affiliate link)

 

5-Cortisol:

Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal gland. cortisol, also known as “Stress Hormone” helps regulate blood pressure and the immune system during a sudden crisis, whether a physical attack or an emotional setback. This helps you to tap into your energy reserves and increases your ability to fight off infection.

 

Why Do I Need It? 

Cortisol  functions are to increase blood sugar through gluconeogenesis, to suppress the immune system, and to aid the metabolism of fat, protein, and carbohydrate. It also decreases bone formation.[Wikipedia]

 

How To Control It?

1-Eat a balanced, nutritious diet that contains plenty of fruits and vegetables.

2-Exercise on a daily basis.

3-Take Vitamin C. (amazon affiliate link)

4-Drink Black Tea. 

5-Get social, Sleep more and laugh as much as you can. 

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That was a short summary on some of the most important hormones for bodybuilding and how to manipulate them for your own good. I did not explain in depth how these hormones work or even all the ways to manipulate them because that is not the aim of this post.

My point from this post is…

How weight loss/building muscle is all about the hormones:

I guess most of what I explained is common knowledge these days, most of you already knew about this. But…

You should’ve noticed that hormones are mostly dependent on your food, exercise and sleep schedule, and thus.. Aiming for an optimal hormonal level will enforce a diet by itself.

When choosing a diet plan depending on the calories-in calories-out method, you might notice that it is making you extra tired, it is putting you in a bad mood and you might not lose that much weight even though you are 100% committed to it!

This is happening because you missed up your hormonal levels!

If your testosterone levels are low, you won’t bulk up regardless of how hard you train or how much  supplements you take.

If you are Leptin resistance you won’t be able to control your eating habits and stick to a diet for a long time. 

If you have high Cortisol, you would be too stressed to function.

If you build your own diet based on knowledge about hormones you would be much more successful in achieving your goals. Dieting would be much easier and much more fun than before. 

Outside the world of actual science and deep into the bro science zones, you will find many examples of people eating a lot yet they are ripped and other examples of people barely training yet they are bulky AF.

The reason for all of these phenomenons is HORMONES.

Do not look for basic diet plans, instead do a search on how to increase every hormone in muscle building and weight loss, and plan accordingly! 

MySupremacy.com will host a chain of articles explaining in depth everything you need to know about each hormone, Stay Tuned. 

Share The Knowledge Gentlemen,