Here's the SKINNY on Oxytocin, Love, and Weight Loss.

Remember way back in high school when you just started pairing up with a new guy or gal â€“ kinda made you feel sick to your stomach to be around them but at the same timeÂ felt â€œSO GREATâ€?!!

Yup, those were the days…and, well…that was hormones.

Oxytocin, or better known as the “Love Hormone”, is responsible for those crazy, wonderful, care free feelings associated with young love. Oxytocin is released when people snuggle, kiss and make love!

According to Nature.com,Â Oxytocin has been of keen interest to neuroscientists since the 1970s, when studies started to show that it could drive maternal behavior and social attachment in various species. Its involvement in a range of social behaviors, including monogamy in voles, motherâ€“infant bonding in sheep, and even trust between humans, has earned it a reputation as the “hug hormone”. â€œPeople just concluded it was a bonding molecule, a cuddling hormone, and that’s the pervasive view in the popular press,â€ says Larry Young, a neuroscientist at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, who has been studying the molecule since the 1990s.

Well, what has all that got to do with weight loss?

It is believed that Oxytocin can help regulate weight by reducing cravings and binge urges, lowering appetite, and speeding up metabolism.

Remember young love? Â Were you really ever thinking about food then?

So, your next question might be, how and where can I buy a bottle of that stuff?

Well, although there are real â€œloveâ€ potions in the form of oxytocin nose sprays on the market, the easiest way to raise your oxytocin levels is though simple human contact or even cuddling with a pet.

Who knew?

So, for this upcoming Valentine’sÂ Day, go get a massage, pet your favorite furry friend or simply cuddle up with the one you love!