Chapter 2:
Cortisol Control
If you could change one aspect of your life that would give you the greatest chance of becoming thin and living to a hundred, what do you think it would be? Fat intake? No. Exercise level? No. Vitamin supplements? No.
The correct answer is to reduce your stress level. If we look at the predominant lifestyle factors among people who have cracked the century mark, we see that they are at their ideal body weight and that they share what psychiatrists call a "lack of neuroticism." This ability to handle stress well and avoid obsessing about their troubles helps these centenarians balance their cortisol levels, maintain their immune-system function, and keep their metabolic rate humming so they feel great.
There is no doubt that we live in stressful times, whether our stress comes from traffic jams, office deadlines, kids, spouses, in-laws, bills, or any of the other stressors that come with a modern lifestyle. These are all forms of chronic stressors that many of us are faced with on a daily basis. Another one, believe it or not, is the mental stress that accompanies dieting and worrying about your weight.
As a culture, we're finally catching on to the notion that managing stress and cortisol levels can extend our lives, help us lose weight, and generally make us feel better in many ways. Since 1998, the number of Americans practicing yoga has jumped by more than 300 percent; that means over fifteen million of us are humming, stretching, and breathing our way to healthier cortisol levels. According to a study by business consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers, stress relief is turning into a big business-with the number of spa visits up 71 percent from 1999 to 2001 (at an average of seventy dollars per visit).
Why stress Makes Us Fat
Clinical studies from Yale University, the University of Miami, the University of California at San Francisco, the University of Connecticut, the University of Chicago, and many others around the world have shown that bringing stress levels down and cortisol levels back to normal can reduce body-fat levels, control blood pressure, improve insulin sensitivity, balance blood sugar levels, and control appetite. The best news is that numerous studies have shown that yoga, massage, exercise, eating right, and using certain dietary supplements can all deliver this anti-stress and cortisol-controlling benefit in a variety of stressful circumstances (so you have lots of choices for getting your stress and cortisol under control).
Stress leads to weight gain primarily because of cortisol, the body's main stress hormone. When we're under chronic stress , the amount of cortisol circulating in our body stays elevated. Cortisol acts as a potent signal to the brain to increase appetite and cravings for certain foods, especially carbohydrates and fats (because of their high calorie levels). Cortisol also acts as a signal to our fat cells to hold on to as much fat as they can and release as little fat as possible, even in the face of our attempts to reduce calorie intake for weight loss. If that weren't already bad enough for our weight-loss efforts, cortisol also slows the body's metabolic rate by blocking the effects of many of our most important metabolic hormones, including insulin (so blood sugar levels suffer and carb cravings follow); serotonin (so we feel fatigued and depressed); growth hormone (so we lose muscle and gain fat); and the sex hormones, testosterone and estrogen (so our sex drive falls and we rarely feel "in the mood" when we're stressed out and awash in cortisol).
All of these metabolic factors combine when we're under stress to create a situation in which we eat more food, burn fewer calories, and store more fat. Not good! In terms of weight gain, the link between cortisol and deranged metabolism is seen in many ways. Some of these are listed in the box below.
Metabolic Effects of Elevated Cortisol (Related to Weight Gain)
Loss of Muscle Mass
- Breakdown of muscles, tendons, and ligaments (to provide amino acids for conversion into glucose)
- Decreased synthesis of protein (to conserve amino acids for conversion into glucose)
- Reduced levels of DHEA, growth hormone, IGF-1, and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)
- Drop in basal metabolic rate (i.e., a reduced number of calories is burned throughout the day/night)
Increase in Blood-Sugar Levels
- Reduced transport of glucose into cells
- Decreased insulin sensitivity
- Increase in appetite and carbohydrate cravings
Increase in Body Fat
- Increase in the overall amount of body fat (due to increased appetite, overeating, and reduced metabolic rate)
- Redistribution and accumulation of body fat in the abdominal region
Bottom line: Cortisol blocks your weight-loss efforts.
All in all, the above scenario makes for a very discouraging situation: stress makes us fat. Even worse, however, may be the findings from researchers who have determined that the "stress" of dieting can also keep us fat by making it harder for us to lose weight and easier for us to regain any weight that we do lose. Why is this especially bad news? Because at any given moment in our Western society, as much as 50-60 percent of the population is actively dieting-and many millions more are at least concerned about what they eat. This makes dieting one of the most common stress triggers in our modern society, for both men and women.
During periods of chronic stress , such as dieting, rising cortisol levels send a potent signal to fat cells, telling them to store as much fat as possible. Cortisol also signals fat cells to hold on to their fat stores; therefore, stress can actually reduce the ability of the body to release fat to burn for energy. Does this mean that people with higher levels of stress are less able to lose weight? Yes-for a variety of reasons.
In one study, volunteers took part in a fifteen-week weight-loss program. They were put on a diet of 700 calories per day. As expected, the subjects experienced a significant increase in overall hunger, desire to eat, and total food consumption (when they were finally allowed to eat as much as they wanted). The most consistent predictor of these changes in desire to eat, fullness, and food intake was the change (increase) in cortisol levels. The researchers hypothesized that the low-calorie diet induced a form of stress that raised the subjects' cortisol levels and caused them to eat more. Another study exposed a group of women to both a "stress session" and a "nonstress" (control) session on different days. The women who reacted to the stress by secreting higher levels of cortisol were the very same women who consumed more calories on the stress day compared to the low-stress day. Also of note was the fact that the women producing the most cortisol were not only hungrier, but they also showed an increase in negative moods in response to the stressors (which were significantly related to food consumption). These results suggest that stress -induced elevations in cortisol levels can strongly influence eating behavior, emotional outlook, and body weight.
In study after study, we see that elevated cortisol levels lead to increases in body fat-whether the stress comes from a lack of sleep (as in studies from the University of Chicago), mental pressure (as in studies from Yale, Stanford, and the University of California at San Francisco), or socioeconomic status (as in studies from Goteberg University in Sweden). One of the most compelling findings about the relationship between stress , cortisol, and weight gain, however, comes from two studies of young women by researchers at Yale University and the University of British Columbia. In these studies, the women with high levels of "cognitive dietary restraint" (meaning that they put a lot of mental energy into restricting themselves from eating certain foods) had significantly higher cortisol levels, bigger appetites, increased consumption of sweets, more negative moods, and higher body-fat levels-despite also getting more exercise (which would tend to reverse these findings). In animal studies from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), stressed-out rats had cortisol levels that were 48 percent higher than nonstressed rats, and they ate 27 percent more and became 26 percent fatter. Researchers at the University of Colorado have shown that athletes performing too much exercise (overtrained cross-country skiers) experience the very same adverse effects of elevated cortisol levels, such as mood disturbances, immune-system suppression, and increased levels of body fat. Of particular interest in this study was the finding that the athletes who were working out the most-those putting in the highest mileage and the longest training times-were also the ones with the highest cortisol levels, the highest body fat levels, and the poorest scores on measures of emotional outlook (more depression). Basically, they were exercising their brains out to get in better shape, but their elevated cortisol levels were hampering, and indeed outright preventing, their progress.
Sandy
I might be the "perfect" candidate for Dr. Talbott's Cortisol Connection Diet because I am the stereotypical stress -eater. I started Dr. Talbott's program during a VERY stressful time for me - and I expected to gain weight as usual because of the stress . My husband is out of town for work on at least 3-4 days each week - so I basically have no break between work, kids, and everyday stresses. But Dr. Talbott's program was so easy to follow that it actually made things easier to handle (instead of harder to follow with many other diets I have tried) and I lost weight rather than gained as I had expected I would. I have always been a "tough case" when it comes to weight loss - as soon as I gain it, the weight just stays there on my hips and waist - but with Dr. Talbott's program the weight and inches just started to come off without any real attention from me. The program has taught me so much about nutrition and metabolism and how important it is to do several small things at one time to control weight. The most noticeable effect for me was the eat small meals and snacks during the day to help control blood sugar levels - it worked so well that I NEVER had cravings and I am thankful that I was finally able to find my waist that "middle-age-spread" had erased. It's great to wear jeans again and not have bulges over the top and out the front. No baggy tops for me anymore. I will forever be a believer in Dr. Talbott's program and I will tell all my friends about it!
by Shawn M Talbott, PhD