Cortisol Can Make You Overweight

Cortisol is a hormone released by the adrenal glands in response to a number of stimuli including fear, exercise, stressors and food.

This release is stimulated by the pituitary when exposed to a trigger.

The effect of cortisol on the body under normal conditions is fleeting, and no lasting impact is experienced, however, under prolonged states of cortisol release into the body, the damage can be detrimental.

The release of cortisol interacts with a number of systemic events that affect your overall health, and physical appearance under abnormal circumstances.

Particularly, once cortisol is released, testosterone is suppressed.

Cortisol Suppresses Testosterone 

This indirectly proportional relationship is important to consider when training and developing a time-frame within which to complete it to avoid the inevitable consequence of allowing cortisol to overstay its welcome.

Understandably, the suppression of testosterone has a counterproductive effect on your weight training goals and is similar to the physiological effect men with congenitally low testosterone production experience; hair loss, muscle atrophy, weight gain, and the feared impairment of sexual function.

Quite a doozy of a list of consequences, and a list of many men’s top five feared physical changes that occur with aging.

The testosterone suppression is also coupled with an inhibition of growth hormone levels in the body that allow you to synthesize muscle and utilize the protein you’re pounding, despite your gastrointestinal protests.

This occurs again through the culprit, cortisol causing the release of a growth hormone antagonist, meaning it works against it. This growth inhibitor, called a somatostatin effectively makes a meal out of your muscles and reduces the insulin like growth factor ( IGF-1) production that your liver creates from your own growth hormone, rendering your veritable anabolic arsenal stored in your pituitary, a useless, ineffective hormone.

That’s a sad story.

Not surprisingly, many illegal, but still popular, anabolic steroids are developed with this relationship in mind, and incorporate an anti-cortisol agent to counteract the chemical that crashes your pec pumping party. However, this is not the only method to beat this bicep building bully; the first step is to NOT over-train.

Now put your pride away—it’s gotten bigger than you and your workout buddy’s bulk—it’s not who works out the longest, it’s who works on it the hardest. There’s a reason they say less is more, and you would benefit by benching the meathead mentality of train more gain more.

All you’re doing by overdoing it is letting cortisol bum rush the building blocks of lean tissue mass, and turn your testosterone down to a trickle.

There are also over the counter supplements that you can take to suppress your own cortisol production by boosting your natural testosterone defense.

Natural hormone boosters are also called pro-hormones, and there are many from which to pick your poison.

Androstenetriol is a steroid metabolite and has exhibited anticortisol effects in studies.

Androstenedione is a pro hormone that boosts your own testosterone to effectively smash any spike your training session may set off. Because of the natural cyclic release of cortisol, it is best to take this first thing in the morning and before you train; cortisol naturally tapers off in the evening.

So, know it’s important to get the most out of your workout, in the least amount of time, and that the anti cortisol agents are available to mitigate the side softening, muscle manipulating, sex draining, hair thinning thief of the very things you are attempting to attain.

Shop now and find the supplements you need to prevent the damage of prolonged cortisol production.

There’s a ton more information on this site about the effects of various hormones in your body, so you can brush up on your bodybuilding skills and get your brain as buff as your bod on the potential damage you could be doing to yourself, and the resources you need to combat it.