You might think you're hungry, but that's just the hormones talking.  

When it comes to your desire for food, you're largely at the mercy of

the hormones leptin and ghrelin. A rising ghrelin level prompts your brain

to register the sensation of hunger. As you eat and fulfil your body's

need for nourishment, leptin rises, ghrelin drops, and hunger fades.  

Simple. But when you're trying to lose weight - not so simple.  

Rise and fall  

Anyone who sets out to lose weight with a programme of exercise and 

restricted calorie intake will have to face down ghrelin - a formidable

adversary.  

A 2002 New England Journal of Medicine study followed subjects' ghrelin

levels over the course of a six-month weight reduction effort. After

the first three months, each of the overweight subjects had lost an average of

nearly 40 pounds. By the end of the study they had managed to maintain that

level of weight loss.  

But here's the bad news (and possibly the key reason dieters typically

regain lost weight): As body weight dropped, ghrelin output increased. At the

end of the study, the subjects' LOWEST ghrelin levels were almost as high

as their pre-meal ghrelin peaks before their weight-loss programme began.

That's daunting. Here you are, working hard, week after week,

exercising and depriving yourself of calories, while ghrelin lays the groundwork

for backsliding the moment you let your guard down.  

Walk this way  

Now for the good news: There are three steps you can take to tame the 

ghrelin gremlin.  

1) Get enough sleep  

Research shows that ghrelin levels are generally higher and leptin

levels are lower in people who regularly get inadequate sleep. As a result, hunger  is more pronounced during the day. And worse: Sleep deprived people tend  to desire calorie-dense, high-carbohydrate foods.  

But for most people, a full eight hours of sleep each night may not be 

necessary to moderate ghrelin/leptin levels. A 2006 sleep study shows

that many overweight people may experience benefits by adding just 20

minutes of additional sleep each night.  

2) Avoid fructose  

Fructose makes ghrelin rise. And fructose is in a wide range of

processed foods.  

In a study in which subjects of normal weight drank a fructose drink or

a glucose drink after each meal for 24 hours. Results: High fructose intake

was linked to higher ghrelin levels, and lower leptin and insulin levels.  

3) Don't attempt a crash diet  

A weight-loss diet that starts right in with a steep drop in calories

is a shock to the system - a shock that's more likely to prompt ghrelin increase.

Your body gets a chance to adjust incrementally if you ease into a new

regimen of less calorie intake. And of course, avoiding simple, refined carbs is a

must. 

Consumption of inferior carbs just makes you hungry for more carbs.