Effects of Stress Hormone Cortisol on Fat Burning
When you think of stress hormones, cortisol should come to mind. It is thought to be able to cause obesity and produce a host of health problems. However, while it is true that cortisol can potentially affect the rate at which we lose weight, it is not as simple as saying that when cortisol is elevated, weight loss slows down, or that suppressing cortisol will help you lose weight.
The mechanisms of cortisol in the body are still quite complex. Today we’ll talk to you about the relationship between cortisol and weight loss.
What is Cortisol?
Cortisol is a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands. One of its main functions is to increase the transport of glucose, protein, and fat out of the tissues and into circulation.
Cortisol levels rise sharply when you wake up in the morning, peak after about 30 minutes, and then gradually decline over the day. It is equally capable of being secreted in response to physical or emotional stress.
What is the Effect of It on Body Composition?
In terms of hormones, cortisol is considered a “bad” hormone. But in reality, cortisol has some benefits for anyone who wants to build muscle and lose fat.
I has an anti-inflammatory effect. It does not cause inflammation, but it is elevated by inflammation, which makes it important in repairing muscle damage after exercise. Another benefit of cortisol is that it has a fat-busting effect, which means it accelerates the rate at which fat cells release stored fat.
However, when cortisol levels are chronically elevated, the situation is different. This is usually the result of ongoing physical or psychological stress. The large caloric deficit caused by excessive exercise and strict diet falls into the “physiological stress” category.
One of the problems associated with sustained high levels of cortisol is water retention. This extra water retention can affect your judgment of results and make you think that your weight loss seems to have stopped. But what happens is that the water replaces some of the fat burning, so the number on your scale doesn’t change.
When you train a lot, your body produces a lot of cortisol, so you become puffy because of water retention. Once cortisol levels are elevated, only rest and food can help lower cortisol, especially carbohydrates. Just imagine what a lot of intense training and restricting carbohydrate intake will do to your body.
This is why, when many people eat “cheat meals”, they suddenly start to lose weight again after not having changed for a long time. At this point, cortisol levels drop, stagnant water is lost, and they lose weight.
Chronically elevated cortisol is also not a good thing for muscle gain, as it inhibits protein synthesis, promotes protein breakdown, and counteracts the effects of other anabolic hormones such as testosterone.
It does have the potential to make weight gain, but this is mainly through its effect on appetite. It can make the brain less sensitive to leptin, thus blocking signals of satisfaction, which can make you feel hungrier than usual. So, cortisol itself doesn’t make you fat, it’s just the appetite it stimulates that makes you eat more food and the resulting caloric surplus that makes you fat.
Those who are stressed, usually tend to eat more to cope with the stress. If left to their own devices, they usually choose foods rich in sugar and fat because they slow down the body’s response to chronic stress.
In addition, there is a relationship between cortisol secretion from stress and abdominal fat. In scientific terms, visceral fat cells are more “metabolically active” than subcutaneous fat cells. Not only are they more sensitive to the effects of blood cortisol than fat cells in other parts of your body, but they also have more receptors that respond to cortisol by activating enzymes that store fat.
So if you’re a high cortisol producer, when your stress levels start to spike, you’re likely to crave “comfort foods” high in sugar or fat. Not only that but many of the extra calories you consume during stress-induced indulgences will be stored in your abdomen.
Do All People React the Same Way to It?
Not everyone reacts the same way to cortisol. Expose a group of people to the same source of stress and not everyone will secrete the same level of cortisol. This is partly due to variations in psychology. One person may find one thing stressful, while others will respond in a completely different way. Their cortisol levels also return to normal at different rates when the source of stress is removed, largely because of physiological differences in the rate at which the body breaks down cortisol.
Also, some people can lose weight in a stressful state because they seem to lose their appetite and thus eat less. About 6 out of 10 people will eat more in response to stress, and the rest will eat less.
Does Elevated It Make You Fat?
A good example is a study of U.S. Army Rangers who participated in an 8-week training course, which showed that your body can be very resilient even under “multiple stress” conditions. Not only did these soldiers consume an extremely low-calorie diet (in some cases, one meal per day), but they were also exposed to extremely hot and cold weather. Every day, men patrolled hostile areas with backpacks of over 70 pounds and typically slept less than four hours a night.
Eventually, these soldiers lost fat and muscle. Those who completed the training lost 22 pounds, 13 pounds from fat, and nine pounds from lean body mass.
According to the researchers, cortisol levels were significantly higher than the initial values at week 4 in the first group and week 6 in the second group. When the same low body fat levels were reached, cortisol levels were elevated. The highest cortisol level (950 μmol/l) was measured in those with the greatest weight loss (23% of initial body weight).
The study showed that cortisol did not prevent fat loss and it did not cause fat gain in the presence of a caloric deficit. Of course, combining a lot of exercise with an extremely restrictive diet in an attempt to lose as much fat as possible in as short a time as possible is not a good thing. But avoiding exercise for fear of cortisol secretion is certainly just not advisable.
How Can Cortisol Levels Be Regulated to Help Us Lose Fat?
Factors that can affect chronically elevated cortisol levels include extreme diet, excessive exercise, excessive stress, etc. Then we just need to take the appropriate measures to avoid this situation can happen.
1, Don’t Have Too Big a Calorie Gap
Extreme restriction of calorie intake will greatly elevate the level of cortisol, allowing our body to store water and mask the progress of weight loss. For weight loss, you only need to eat less than 500-800 calories a day on the line, except for the course of obese people. Nutrient-wise, ensure protein intake. Each meal intake of sufficient high-quality protein (20-40g), such as chicken, beef, eggs, and whey protein, etc… Carbohydrate intake should also not be low, because leptin levels are sensitive to carbohydrate intake. Low leptin levels likewise tend to raise the secretion of cortisol.
In addition, do not be under a calorie gap for a long time. We can regularly raise the calorie intake during the maintenance period, which will help to avoid the chronic elevation of cortisol.
2, Control the Amount of Exercise
Some studies have shown that low-intensity exercise can lower cortisol levels. This generally refers to 20-30 minutes of low-intensity aerobic exercise, which is recommended to be done just 2-4 times a week. There is also no need to do too much in terms of strength training. The recovery ability of the fat loss period itself is limited, so the training volume should be slightly less than that of the muscle-building period. Weak parts can do a little more, stronger parts will be slightly less training. Excessive training will raise cortisol, so we must control the amount of training.
3, Ensure Adequate Sleep
For adults, the recommendation is to ensure 7-9 hours of sleep every day. If it is difficult to sleep so long at night, you can take a nap at noon or so, which is also very helpful.
4, Reduce Stress
It is called the stress hormone because it can respond to stress. Long-term high levels of stress are naturally accompanied by high levels of cortisol. Taking time to do more of what you like, listening to music, and meditating regularly can help you reduce stress.
In Conclusion
Although it can greatly affect our body composition, it is not an all-pervasive hormone. It is usually because high levels of cortisol increase our appetite, making us eat more and crave foods high in sugar and fat that make us fat.
Overall, eating right, exercising, getting enough sleep, and managing stress can keep our cortisol levels within normal limits.