Have you gained some extra pounds and are struggling to shed them off? Despite your efforts to eat mindfully and follow different diets, along with regular exercise routines, losing those surplus pounds seems challenging.
Have you embarked on a promising new regime, initially witnessing weight loss, only to reach a standstill after a while? You might even observe a sudden increase in weight at some point! You are not alone. Consider these alarming statistics:
- Approximately 73.6% (187 million) of the total 255 million American adults are currently overweight.
- 42% fall into the obese category (107 million), with 9.0% struggling with severe obesity, and another 31.1% facing significant overweight issues.
- There are around 112 million American individuals following diets.
- Regrettably, among these individuals following diets, around 90% regain the lost weight and often gain more within three years. Sustaining weight loss in the long run becomes a challenge.
It feels like an unbeatable challenge. But what if there exists an alternative path to achieving optimal health?
An Unrevealed Ace for Managing Weight
Here’s a lesser-known fact: Irrespective of the diet regimen you adhere to, continuous weight loss becomes unattainable when cortisol levels are imbalanced from a physiological perspective. According to Shawn Talbott, a Ph.D. holder in Nutritional Biochemistry and the author of The Cortisol Connection: Why Stress Makes You Fat and Ruins Your Health – And What You Can Do About It, losing weight isn’t solely about caloric intake and expenditure. Recent scientific developments reveal that it’s primarily a matter of hormone and neurotransmitter signaling.
Delving Into Cortisol, the Central Hormone
How can you manage your weight effectively without comprehending the factors influencing it? Among these factors lies a rarely discussed aspect that could be causing your struggles, known as cortisol.
Cortisol stands as a vital hormone, dictating our body’s response during challenging situations. It greatly impacts numerous biological processes within your system. When stress levels increase – a common occurrence in today’s world – cortisol levels surge in the bloodstream, resulting in unfavorable outcomes. Elevated cortisol levels lead to bone and muscle breakdown, heightened visceral fat accumulation, and more adverse effects.
The positive aspect is that through monitoring your cortisol levels, you can regain control over your overall health. Although monitoring cortisol sounds like a miraculous solution on the surface, it might be the missing piece preventing you from maintaining your desired weight in reality.
Even a marginal increase of 10% to 20% in cortisol levels over the course of the day significantly impacts your well-being and weight, leading to:
- Cravings for sugary and carbohydrate-rich foods
- Elevated blood sugar levels
- Impaired digestion
- Incessant hunger
- Reduced metabolic rate
- Enhanced fat storage in the abdominal region and around vital organs
- Development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, triggering metabolic syndrome with amplified blood pressure, blood sugar levels, intra-abdominal fat deposits, serum triglycerides, and heightened risks of heart attacks and strokes.
Transitioning from Stressful and Overweight to Lean and Flourishing
To reach your weight loss objectives, you must initially address the level of stress you are enduring and explore effective strategies to alleviate it. Understand the correlation between food consumption, physical activity, and their impact on cortisol levels. Here are some tips to lower cortisol:
- Identify the root cause of stress and seek assistance in managing it
- Engage in stress-alleviating practices such as meditation, mindfulness exercises, deep breathing methods, and moderate physical activity
- Embrace intermittent fasting to allow your body to transition to metabolically flexible states, shifting from sugar burning to fat burning
- Incorporate fresh, whole foods like fish, poultry, whole grains, vegetables, and healthy fats (especially omega 3 fatty acids present in fish, avocados, flaxseed, nuts, and seeds, which aid in reducing inflammation and, consequently, cortisol levels)
- Monitor your caffeine intake (including coffee, black tea, certain sodas, energy drinks), particularly in the morning when cortisol levels are naturally elevated
- Consume alcohol in moderation; excessive alcohol consumption escalates cortisol production, and in heavy drinkers, the natural decline in cortisol levels throughout the day may be compromised
- Stay hydrated by drinking ample water; even a half-liter dehydration can elevate cortisol levels
- Commit to 20 to 30 minutes of moderate exercise at least thrice a week
Weight Management and Enhanced Health Status
By regulating cortisol levels to achieve lasting weight loss, you are also enhancing your mood, cognitive abilities, immune responses, digestive health, allergy alleviation, cardiovascular well-being, sports performance, fertility, libido, and slowing down the aging process.
If you wish to explore an efficient method to monitor cortisol levels, a new approach involves utilizing a home test through a mobile app that furnishes lab-grade readings. By observing your daily cortisol patterns, you can garner an in-depth, real-time insight into the impact of cortisol on your body and mind, ultimately empowering you to seize control over your weight and health. Discover more at paradigm.com.
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The Fountainhead
Wibe Wagemans dedicated two years to scrutinizing all scientific documents on cortisol and other hormones. He also engaged with top scientists/PhDs globally, specializing in various medical fields (endocrinology, gynecology, psychology, gastroenterology, physiology). Possessing an extensive understanding of cortisol’s role, Wagemans is a compelling orator who effectively communicates scientific concepts to non-experts. As a CEO and serial entrepreneur pioneering mobile and AI technologies, he crafted the world’s first AI bot and online mobile game. In 2021, his recent venture, Huuuge Games Inc., achieved a $1.2 billion IPO. Since 2006, he has been managing and advising startups in Silicon Valley, contributing to renowned brands like Angry Birds and Big Fish. He is the founder of Paradigm, Inc., the pioneer in offering swift saliva tests for cortisol measurement within minutes.
Ioana A. Bina, M.D., Ph.D., holds fellow status at the American College of Gastroenterology and is affiliated with the Institute for Functional Medicine. With an M.D. and Ph.D. in endocrinology from Carol Davila University in Bucharest, Romania, she completed her extensive training in internal medicine, gastroenterology, and nutrition at Yale University. Further studying endocrinology, metabolism, and nutrition at Rouen University, France, she now serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of Paradigm, Inc.
Wagemans and Bina jointly author Cortisol: The Master Hormone. For further information, visit Paradigm.com.
