This is an outline from Coach Michelle’s weekly Facebook Live. View the full video here.
What is Cortisol?
Steroid hormone produced by adrenal glands
- Helps body respond to stress & danger (needed for flight or fight) – Increases metabolism of glucose & fat
- Catabolic effect on PRO
- Controls blood pressure
- Controls sleep/wake cycles
- Reduces inflammation
Too Much? Too Little?
Too much
- Weight gain particularly around abdomen & face – Acne
- Thin, fragile skin that is slow to heal
- For women – facial hair & irregular periods
Too little
- Continual tiredness – Nausea & vomiting – Weight loss
- Muscle weakness
- Abdominal pain
How Cortisol Works
Stress elevates levels which contribute to…
Weight Gain
- Catabolic hormone that breaks down PRO to provide body w/ glucose
- It decreases insulin levels in order to keep body from storing extra glucose
- Continued high blood glucose levels & insulin depression lead to cells starved of energy
- Hunger is increased to try to regulate
- Cravings for high-cal foods also increased
- Extra glucose in bloodstream eventually stored as fat
Immune System Suppression
- Continued inflammation reduction over time can negatively affect immune system
- Can lead to more illness, food allergies, GI problems, fertility problems
Cortisol and Exercise
- Exercise is a “stress” on the body
- Stimulates release of cortisol
- Longer exercise sessions (60+ min) increase levels
- Glycogen stores are used up…kicks in stress response
- High intensity interval sessions can increase levels if not enough rest is taken
- Levels increase if exercising in fasted state
To fix…
- Get enough rest between intervals
- Do hard sessions later in day (cortisol highest in AM)
- Eat enough, fuel up, eat enough CHO/PRO after exercise to replenish
What Leads to Chronically Elevated Levels
- Age
- Menopause
- Improper Diet
- CHO depletion
- Too many simple CHO
- Chronic low cal’s
- Irregular eating patterns (fasting) o Not eating post-workout
- Lots of endurance training w/o high intensity training (which stimulates testosterone) Overtraining (not enough recovery)
- Lack of sleep
- Chronic stress