Hgh injections for weight loss are a relatively new option for people who are trying to lose weight. While there is little debate about the effect that HGH can have on bodybuilders, there is much less information about its use by non-bodybuilders. That said, there is ample evidence to indicate that hgh injections for weight loss can help your overall health, not to mention your body appearance.
THE ROLE OF HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE
Human growth hormone is produced by your pituitary gland. In kids, human growth hormone supports growth and development. Over the course of your lifetime, human growth hormone continues to do some important things, such as support your brain’s function, the development of lean muscles and your metabolism.
In general, your body’s production of human growth hormone is at its highest level when you’re a teenager. As you get older, your pituitary gland produces lower levels of this growth hormone. Because research shows that obese adults have less HGH than individuals who maintain a normal weight, many people suspect that the hormone can facilitate weight loss.
FUEL TO SUPPORT THE CONNECTION BETWEEN HGH AND WEIGHT LOSS
The belief that HGH could facilitate weight loss gained traction after a study was published in the “New England Journal of Medicine” way back in 1990. That study showed that the use of synthetic HGH injections yielded an 8.8 percent increase in muscle mass and a 14 percent loss in body fat without the addition of exercise or any dietary changes.
The results of subsequent studies have not been as promising, however. While that’s the case, grown-ups who lack HGH because of a pituitary disease can experience increased bone and muscle mass and decreased fat when they’re given HGH replacement therapy. Even people with normal HGH levels can experience improvements in their body composition with HGH, but the changes are more pronounced in people who have an HGH deficiency.
How HGH Works
HGH is produced by the pituitary gland to fuel growth and development in children. It also maintains some bodily functions, like tissue repair, muscle growth, brain function, energy, and metabolism, throughout life.
HGH production peaks during the teenage years and slowly declines with age. Studies have shown that obese adults have lower levels than normal-weight adults. And these lower levels of HGH have some people wondering whether a boost of HGH could enhance weight loss, especially in the obese.
HGH has also gained a reputation as a muscle builder, and its use is banned in the Olympics and other sports. However, there is little solid evidence that it can boost athletic performance
AN ALTERNATIVE TO HGH FOR WEIGHT LOSS
While some people question whether using HGH for weight loss is a wise move given the sometimes minor results it produces in people with normal levels of the hormone, all hope isn’t lost. At Dr. Weight Loss of Atlanta, we use sermorelin to facilitate weight loss.
Sermorelin is a growth hormone releasing hormone that tells your body to produce another kind of hormone. More accurately, sermorelin is a secretagogue that tells your pituitary gland to produce growth hormones.
Used to fight the effects of aging since the 1970s, sermorelin can also help users lose weight. Sermorelin assists with the development of lean muscles, breaks down fat, and boosts the level of HGH in your body, among other things. In addition to helping you lose weight, sermorelin can strengthen your immune system, improve your endurance and help your body regulate other hormones better.
To see if sermorelin injections are right for you, contact Dr. Weight Loss of Atlanta to make an appointment for a complimentary consultation at one of our four Atlanta-area facilities today.
Early Study Sparks Interest in HGH
Interest in using HGH for weight loss stems from a 1990 New England Journal of Medicine study that showed injections of synthetic HGH resulted in 8.8% gain in muscle mass and 14% loss in body fat without any change in diet or exercise. Although this study appeared to be promising, many later studies have shown no such benefit.
In March 2003, the New England Journal of Medicine took the unusual step of denouncing misuse of the 1990 study, pointing out that subsequent reports provide no reason to be optimistic.
WILL HGH INJECTIONS HELP WITH WEIGHT LOSS?
HGH, or Humane Growth Hormone, is a naturally occurring hormone in the body produced by the pituitary gland. It plays a significant role in growth and development, particularly in our younger and adolescent years. As we age, HGH levels begin to drop and so do many positive side effects of this hormone. Once we enter our thirties and forties most people experience difficulties in losing weight, maintaining muscle mass, and low energy levels. This can be in part due to the decline of HGH in our bodies.
Why Do Adults Gain Weight When HGH Levels Decline?
Weight gain, hair loss, decreased bone density, low libido, sagging skin, and brain fog all have something in common – AGHD. You see, growth hormone impacts the body in many ways, one of which is metabolic functions. The connection between HGH and weight loss is simple – improve how the body metabolizes food, and you will get rid of fat.
While numerous hormones play a role in metabolism, HGH is right up front, impacting lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates. To understand the role of HGH for weight loss, before and after regulating hormone levels, look at how this essential chemical helps process the food you eat:
- Lipid (fat) Metabolism: HGH stimulates lipolysis and ketogenesis, breaking down triglycerides and enhancing adipocyte oxidation. Perhaps most critically for patients attempting to shed unwanted body fat, HGH stimulates the breakdown of fats (lipolysis) to be used for energy. Therefore, for patients with an HGH deficiency, optimizing their HGH levels with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can significantly boost weight loss results.
- Protein Metabolism: human growth hormone increases leucine protein synthesis and leucine oxidation. The direct effect of HGH on protein metabolism (anabolism) involves increasing amino acid uptake in tissues while decreasing protein oxidation. Indirectly, HGH causes insulin growth factor 1 release which strengthens muscles to increase the protein demands of the body. Growth hormone enhances the body’s absorption and utilization of amino acids, the essential building blocks of muscle tissue. The process of turning dietary protein into muscle tissue is called “protein synthesis.”
- Carbohydrate Metabolism: growth hormone plays a crucial role in maintaining blood glucose levels in the normal range. HGH suppresses the ability of insulin to stimulate glucose uptake in the peripheral tissues. Not only does HGH stimulate the liver to produce IGF-1, but it also enhances the organ’s ability to synthesize glucose. In the typical Western diet, carbohydrates most often take the form of dietary sugar and carb-loaded grains and vegetables. HGH interacts in complex ways with insulin, the peptide hormone responsible for mediating glucose (sugar) uptake into the blood. In effect, HGH regulates the insulin response.
HGH benefits for enhanced weight loss occur by enabling the metabolism to function as it should. The result is the breaking down of food into usable energy and not fat.
How Does HGH Target Fat Cells for Weight Loss?
The benefit of HGH for weight loss begins with the fat cells, or, more importantly, the growth hormone receptors on the fat cells. We explained how HGH stimulates the metabolism so that your body no longer converts food into stored fat. What about the fat you currently have? This is where the HGH benefits for enhanced weight loss get exciting. The growth hormone receptors on the fat cells require HGH to set off a series of enzyme reactions that break down fat. When you do not have enough growth hormone, the receptor cells do not receive their signals. Instead, they keep accumulating more fat.
When HGH binds with the growth hormone fat cell receptors, the result is improved lipolysis. The fat stored in these cells breaks down, enters the bloodstream, and is flushed from the body. The best time to take HGH for weight loss is before bed so that your body can engage in this process of lipolysis while you sleep.
How Long Does HGH Weight Loss Take?
Your HGH for weight loss results will not happen overnight. Unlike quick weight loss programs and diets that allow for the rapid burning of fat, that is not how growth hormone works. In fact, you will not find doctors advertising HGH therapy as a diet prog
ram. Human growth hormone therapy is a treatment that restores proper HGH balance and functions. Metabolism is only one aspect of why adults require adequate HGH supplies. You will probably not notice a change in your weight until two or three months into your HGH therapy. Of course, if you change how you eat and increase exercise, you will likely see faster results.
The HGH benefits for enhanced weight loss are easily seen a few months into your treatment. By the end of six months, you will notice significant improvements in the amount of abdominal fat you have.
How Much Weight Can I Lose with HGH?
When people ask how much weight they will lose, we point out the difference between pounds and inches. Most adults lose more inches than they do pounds because while fat loss increases, so does lean muscle mass. There is a significant connection between the results of HGH for fat burn and muscle gain. Even if you did not exercise at all, your body would still develop better lean muscle tone.
If you remember back to your science classes, muscle and fat weight the same, but muscle is denser and takes up less space than fat. The more body fat you have, the larger you will look. That is why two people of the same height and weight will look significantly different if one has more muscle and the other more fat.
Another reason why you see HGH benefits for enhanced weight loss is calorie metabolism. A pound of fat burns between 2 and 3 calories a day. One pound of muscle tissue increases that number to 7 to 10 calories a day. The more fat you have, the fewer calories you will burn. So, while you may not see the numbers on the scale go down as fast as you wish, your clothing size will drop.
For more information about getting the best HGH for weight loss, please contact our hormone clinic. We offer free telephone consultations with our medical advisors, so call us today.
How Does Human Growth Hormone Work in the Adult Body?
The pituitary gland produces human growth hormone (HGH), which performs a number of functions that include:
- Fostering lean muscle mass development.
- Strengthening bones.
- Tissue repair.
- Promoting healthy metabolism (including lipid metabolism – i.e, fat burning)
WordThe pituitary gland, and the HGH it produces, is part of a trifecta of glands and tissues that make up the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) – a critical component of the endocrine (hormone) system that functions as a key driver of numerous biological functions. HGH, once it is dispersed in the blood, travels throughout the body to the liver, where it triggers the release of insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1), another important anabolic hormone.
As a pair, HGH and IGF-1 then work closely together to build healthy tissue and perform various activities, including regulating metabolism. Hypopituitarism is a serious medical condition in which the pituitary gland does not produce an adequate supply of HGH. An experienced endocrinologist can help patients correct this hormonal imbalance through therapy.
Does HGH Affect Men and Women Differently?
Contrary to popular belief, women actually produce more endogenous HGH than men. Some studies suggest, then, that in cases of patients with HGH deficiencies, women need more of the exogenous recombinant human growth hormone (somatropin) than men to achieve the same weight-loss results – in fact, up to twice as much of the medication is needed for women than for men.