health Lifestyle Run lose weight

health Lifestyle body lose weight health life

Transcript

00:00Here's what losing weight does to your body and brain.

00:07During the first week, you may find it easy to lose weight by simply switching to a healthier

00:11diet.

00:12But as your metabolism adjusts, you won't burn as many calories as you used to, so losing

00:17additional weight will become harder.

00:20Making matters worse, as the fat melts away, you'll start to experience an increase in

00:25appetite.

00:27After a meal, fat cells release a hormone called leptin into the bloodstream.

00:32This surge in leptin levels signals to your brain you're full and should stop eating.

00:37But with less overall fat, people who lose weight show a measurable dip in leptin.

00:43Brain scans of obese patients who had lost 10% of their body weight revealed less leptin

00:49leads to increased activity in regions of the brain that control our desire to eat.

00:55The end result isn't just an increased appetite, but an even stronger urge to eat

00:59fatty, high-calorie foods, because your brain is trying to restore the body's leptin levels

01:05to normal.

01:06However, fighting that early impulse to gorge on pizza and donuts is worth it in the long

01:11run.

01:12Besides the decreased risk of heart disease, hypertension, high cholesterol, and type 2

01:18diabetes, scientists studying overweight people discovered that losing just one pound of body

01:23weight reduces four pounds of pressure on knee joints.

01:27Losing excess weight also reduces strain on the blood vessels, increases blood flow to

01:32the brain, and boosts overall brain function.

01:36Several studies have shown that people who underwent weight loss surgery saw an improvement

01:41in memory, concentration, and problem-solving skills in as soon as three months.

01:47Plus, brain scans indicate that people who lost weight and kept it off for nine months

01:52reacted differently when shown images of high-calorie foods than before they lost the weight.

01:57The brain regions that process reward, motivation, and taste didn't react as strongly, whereas

02:03the areas that promote overall self-control had a boost in activity.

02:08So fighting those cravings early on might make them easier to control later.

02:13Turns out, like anything else, losing weight can get easier with practice.