Not everyone is willing to make fitness a part of their lifestyle. The fact that you show up day in and day out proves the level of dedication you’re willing to put into your goals. Which is why things like weight gain, increased belly fat, and water retention crush our confidence. After all, you’re doing the right things. You’re working out intensely, you’re eating the right foods, and following every rule down to the letter. And yet you’re starting to turn into a balloon. What gives? Your first thought is to try harder. Train longer, diet stronger. Still, nothing’s working. In fact, you’re getting worse. But before you give up, you may want to consider your hormones. Specifically, cortisol. Stick around, because I’ll be giving you the 101 on cortisol and why it’s ruining your workouts.

Cortisol 101

Although I’ve already covered cortisol before, here’s the 101 to bring you up to speed. While cortisol is often referred to as the “stress hormone,” it’s more of a survival hormone. It helps our body to respond to stress, which, for our early ancestors, came in the form of hunting, escaping, fighting, and defending. In a perfect world, cortisol helps our body to efficiently handle and respond to danger. However, for most of us, the only threat we have to worry about is avoiding rush-hour traffic. We aren’t being chased around by a wild animal or fighting for the last piece of food to feed our tribe.

But that doesn’t mean we have zero use for cortisol. For instance, working out is a beneficial stressor, one that encourages weight loss, muscle gain, and better health. With cortisol, our senses are heightened to help us train more effectively. [1] We even get a little energy boost. The problem with cortisol is that it becomes a double-edged sword. 

The Darkside of Cortisol

Cortisol isn’t without its side effects. When it stays high, or it’s always being triggered, several things can happen. Poor digestion and gut health, hormone imbalances (PMS, acne, poor thyroid health, infertility), overeating, blood sugar imbalances, anxiety, high blood pressure, and poor sleep are just some of the side effects of high cortisol. But for today’s post, let’s highlight the external effects of elevated cortisol levels.

Belly Fat 

Cortisol is often the pesky nuisance behind bloating bellies, thick waists, and weight gain. Research from Yale University even shows that non-overweight women who are prone to stress are more likely to develop extra belly fat due to cortisol. [2] Another study published in Psychosomatic Medicine found women with wider waists and extra belly fat all had increased cortisol levels during stress. [3]

Muscle Loss 

Aside from being playing a pivotal role in survival and stress (both good and bad), cortisol is also catabolic. Meaning it makes it harder to build and maintain muscle by reducing protein synthesis and the development of new muscle tissue. The process of catabolism isn’t an evil one; it’s meant for our survival. During catabolism, the amino acids from protein are pulled away and sent into the bloodstream where the liver takes them to create glucose (sugar) for energy (aka, gluconeogenesis). So, while our body uses the new glucose for energy, we miss out on building new muscle. [4] [5]

As a side note, with increased glucose production comes higher blood sugar levels. This leads to insulin resistance and belly fat, which contributes to even more insulin resistance (trapping you in an endless loop of chronic stress, blood sugar imbalances, and more belly fat). [6]

“Skinny Fat”

Even though you’re working out and losing weight, it doesn’t mean that’s a good thing. Where is the weight loss coming from? Is it muscle or fat? What we don’t want to lose is muscle, which is highly metabolic and essential for healthy bones, posture, and tone. Overtraining causes elevated cortisol levels in the body, which, as we just covered, potentially eats away at muscles. The result? Muscle loss. The scale will say you’ve lost weight but at a cost. What you’re left with- aside from potential health risks- is extra fat that’s gone unburned. You’ll essentially start developing the “skinny fat” body that looks great in clothes but not so good in a bikini.

Solutions

While there’s no escape from cortisol- it’s highest during, and after training-, we can learn to work with it and not against it. Today, the extra cortisol helps to power us through our workouts just as it helped our ancestors to run, leap, and think light on their feet. But other than our workouts, we need to manage it in our normal lives. Here are some ways to keep cortisol in check so that it doesn’t interfere with your goals:

Keep your workouts short and sweet. Rather than logging miles on the treadmill or hitting the pavement for a jog, you can push the intensity to the max in a fraction of the time. Trade those hour-long runs for 15-20 minutes of HIIT (high-intensity interval training). While the science over it being better than longer duration cardio is still up for debate, it’s still just as effective, with the added benefit of preserving lean muscle mass. Which we know from before is depleted during catabolism thanks to high cortisol. [7] (Learn more why you should do shorter workouts here.)

•  Balance intense training with equally as intense recovery. Another reason why working out for hours on end is because of overtraining and under-recovery. The best athletes know that without proper recovery, their bodies are going to deteriorate quickly. They’ll get sicker, more injured, exhausted, and mentally drained. So, whether you’re training at home with me in the ZGYM or looking to advance your fitness, you’ve got to prioritize your recovery as much as your training. Otherwise, get ready for more inflammation, illness, injuries, and belly fat. (Here are 5 things you can do for recovery today.) 
•  Get your sleep! Speaking of recovery, the ultimate tool towards balancing your hormones, burning fat, building muscle, and recovering is sleep. The best part is that it doesn’t cost any money. Anyone can (and should) sleep. (If you’re struggling to catch those z’s, learn to master sleep hygiene.)

•  Try taking adaptogens post-workout. Adaptogens help your body to adapt to stress. Because cortisol tends to linger on post-workout, the best time to take them would be after your training. It not only sets you up for recovery, but it also lowers cortisol. (The best adaptogens include brain-boosting nootropics and medicinal mushrooms.)

•  Don’t skip the cooldown. I know you want to rush to cleaning up and eating after working out, but you’ve got to do the cooldown. It reduces cortisol and calms your nervous system, which is critical for recovery. Not to mention that it’s very relaxing, especially after intense exercise. (You can learn more in this post.)

•  Manage stress. Notice that these tips were related to your training. Outside of your workouts, cortisol can still be a concern if it’s not left unmanaged. Remember, it’s a survival hormone. We shouldn’t be trying to survive or deal with stress 24/7. That’s a disaster waiting to happen. Stress will never completely go away, but we can learn how to handle it better and keep our cortisol levels from getting too high.

And there you have it, everyone! All about cortisol and why it could be ruining your workouts. Did any of these tips help? Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Sources:

[1] https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/understanding_cortisol_the_stress_hormone
[2] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/11/001120072314.htm
[3] https://journals.lww.com/psychosomaticmedicine/Abstract/2000/09000/Stress_and_Body_Shape__Stress_Induced_Cortisol.5.aspx
[4] https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/92/9/3553/2597859
[5] https://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/111609p38.shtml
[6] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317382.php
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28647284