Cortisol...what do you know about it? How much is your body producing?

[joboo]

Perhaps I live a blessed existence, but I've managed to break out to the gym every single day for the past three weeks, 35 mins of heavy lifting 5-8 reps, 40 mins of cardio, and another 40 mins in the steam sauna. Starting to look like an MMA fighter...ha.

Something I never realized is work out when you're sore, you will make incredible strength gains....not brutally sore to the point you can't move, but if you can move it, hit it again.

Just a daily service reminder to get your level of physical conditioning in order, or you'll be paying the price for complacency much sooner than you think.

Get too caught up in everything, get all stressed out, get sick, and they win.

Will you let them?

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Cortisol
Along with adrenalin, the hormone cortisol alters the way your body functions during a fight-or-flight situation. Adrenaline speeds up your heart rate and increases your energy, while cortisol promotes the release of glucose into your blood, providing a source of fuel. Cortisol also suppresses your digestive and immune systems. Continual exposure to high levels of cortisol can increase your risk of developing depression, obesity, insomnia, heart disease and digestive problems. A failure to reduce your level of cortisol may also lead to obesity and an worsening of skin disorders.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/533372-what-kind-of-exercise-reduces-cortisol-levels/

[lapis]

I've been doing a lot of reading lately on cortisol, adrenal insufficiency and thyroid problems. We're supposed to have high cortisol levels in the morning and low ones at night. You can tell if your cortisol levels are optimal if you have energy in the morning (no need for coffee) with a big appetite (waking up hungry) and little appetite at night.

Most people's cortisol is flipped or, even more worrisome, flat throughout the day. No energy ever, then at night feel "tired yet wired," with frequent cravings for sugar and caffeine. If you are in this state, only mild exercise is good for you. Lifting weights or running will just tap you out even more.

Another simple test of your cortisol and thyroid hormones can be done by monitoring your body temperature. Take it first thing in the morning (it should be 97.8) then every three hours afterwards apart from eating, drinking or exercising.

It should rise to 98.6 by the afternoon then gradually go back down at night.

One of the signs of metabolic derangement is a low body temperature that stays low throughout the day. This is probably due to low thyroid levels.

A temperature that fluctuates up and down may mean that adrenals are struggling.

There's a lot of information about this technique at:

Track Your Temperature: A Quick and Easy Way to Determine Metabolic Health (http://www.drrind.com/therapies/metabolic-temperature-graph)

The New York Times ran an article (http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/whats-your-temperature-rethinking-986/) about how it's time to re-consider 98.6 since so many people now have low body temperature that it's "normal" (check out the comments). But NEVER confuse normal with optimal!

[joboo]

Thanks, nice info.

I think it has a lot to do with so much high glycemic eating in the western diet.

Everyone is hyper sensitive from eating crap processed high GI food all the time, so they are taxing out the pancreas as it tries to keep the blood sugar stable.

Everything else seems to get screwed up rotating around that, (and stress obviously).

Cortisol keeps the belly fat, which is why I started into it as I'm making a push to get into the 10% body fat and under club. Sofa king close.

Start with mild exercise, but for a lot of men they absolutely need to physically exert themselves from stress response which is why you see so many guys with huge fat bellies. Cortisol overload from not getting rid of the fight reaction build up in stress situations.

Small persistent changes, steer the boat, arrive at the destination.

[ShortJohnSilver]

Let me recommend kettlebells. Find an RKC certified instructor to teach you how to do it right, or, hang out on e.g. http://www.reddit.com/r/kettlebell and ask questions and watch youtube videos.

It will a) kick your tushy b) make you functionally strong for the kind of exertion you need to do c) give you muscle and reduce fat.

[lapis]

I think it has a lot to do with so much high glycemic eating in the western diet.

Everyone is hyper sensitive from eating crap processed high GI food all the time, so they are taxing out the pancreas as it tries to keep the blood sugar stable.

Everything else seems to get screwed up rotating around that, (and stress obviously).

Yes the foods some people eat nowadays can be absolutely appalling.

But they are so busy living in the rat race I can see why good food is the last thing on their minds. It takes time to shop and prepare nutrient-dense foods.




Start with mild exercise, but for a lot of men they absolutely need to physically exert themselves from stress response which is why you see so many guys with huge fat bellies. Cortisol overload from not getting rid of the fight reaction build up in stress situations.

My dh has a belly, but he is already working a physically intensive job in construction. The last couple months he's worked many 10-hour days and some Saturdays.

In his case I think stress reduction is vital. His idea of stress reduction is pounding down some vitamin B(eer), so I try to have dinner ready as soon as he gets home so that he at least has some food in him before drinking it.