Ghrelin is a hormone secreted by the stomach that increases appetite. As a competitive bodybuilder, you will experience the powerful effects of this hormone first hand if you diet for a physique contest.
Ghrelin is secreted in response to food/calorie restriction in an attempt to increase hunger (and food intake) to regain lost weight. In the weeks leading up to the contest, most competitors become obsessed with thinking about food. For weeks after the contest is over, many competitors just can’t stop eating. Some of the reason for this is physiological depravation. However, another reason is that ghrelin is stimulated at a higher rate during prolonged periods of calorie restriction.
Ghrelin “switches-on” the hunger center in the brain. Once the physique competition is over, the high concentrations of ghrelin may cause even the most disciplined bodybuilder to go “berserk” with their food intake for weeks or months on end!
When pre-contest body weight and fat levels are restored, ghrelin secretion reduces and often, so does the ravenous appetite for calorie-dense food. If bodybuilders are aware of the physiological responses of dieting, i.e. the impact on ghrelin secretion, it may help them to control their weight and fat gain after a competition. But then again, have you ever tried to convince a competitor not to eat too much after a contest? I think it’s easier to thread a whale through a needle’s eye!
