Stress and Weight Gain- Is There a Connection?
Cortisol and Weight Gain
I struggled with weight gain for years, prior to my weight loss journey.
I was working full time as a nurse, 40+ hours a week, taking care of a child and pets, going to school and trying to balance everything in between… I was STRESSED.
I was working out everyday, sometimes waking up at 4am to workout not knowing that this was actually making me even more overweight.
I could not figure out what was happening.
Maybe you can relate to this, you're working out everyday sometimes for an hour, working full time, taking care of your family, cooking dinner and you feel so overwhelmed and your weight loss is not budging.
Little did I know that the continual stress and pushing my body was causing my cortisol to skyrocket and causing for more fat storage. Continue reading to learn more about estrogen dominance and how this affects our weight loss goals.
What is cortisol and how does it affect your body?
Cortisol is one of the many hormones produced in your body which serve as chemical messengers.
While commonly referred to as the stress hormone due to its role in your body’s stress response, it has a number of other important functions.
Cortisol stimulates your fat and carbohydrate metabolism, creating a surge of energy in your body. While this process is essential for survival situations, it also increases your appetite. Additionally, elevated cortisol levels can cause cravings for sweet, fatty and salty foods.
Cortisol is an important steroid hormone that belongs to a class of hormones called glucocorticoids.
It’s produced in the adrenal glands found just above your kidneys.
In addition to aiding in your body’s stress response, its other roles include:
increasing blood sugar
reducing inflammation
suppressing the immune system
aiding in nutrient metabolism
Cortisol is generally released in close relation with your body’s circadian rhythm with 50–60% of it being released with 30–40 minutes of waking, and levels then falling throughout the day.
Its production and release is regulated by your pituitary gland and the hypothalamus located in your brain.
During times of increased stress, cortisol and adrenaline are released from your adrenal glands.
This triggers an increase in heart rate and energy levels, preparing your body for a potentially harmful situation.
While this response is normal, continued elevations in cortisol can lead to negative side effects.
Do cortisol levels affect weight gain?
Among the numerous factors influencing your body weight, hormone regulation is an important one.
While hormones such as cortisol are usually kept within a tight range by your body’s endocrine system, there are certain situations in which they can become low or elevated.
High levels may promote overeating.
Small rises in cortisol levels in response to stress are normal and not likely to cause negative side effects.
Yet, in certain instances, cortisol levels may remain chronically elevated.
This is usually due to stress or a condition like Cushing’s syndrome, which causes blood levels of cortisol to remain high.
When cortisol levels remain elevated, the following side effects may occur:
weight gain
high blood pressure
fatigue
changes in mood
irritability
flushed face
thinning skin
difficulty concentrating
insulin resistance
When under chronic stress, it may be difficult to maintain healthful eating habits.
One study in 59 healthy women found an association between elevated cortisol levels and an increase in appetite, which could potentially promote weight gain.
In addition, another study found an association between a higher cortisol response and a higher amount of belly fat in a group of 172 men and women, suggesting that higher cortisol may lead to overeating.
That said, levels of stress and cortisol aren’t always directly related, thus more data is needed to establish a direct relationship.
What causes high cortisol levels in females?
Circulating estrogen can increase cortisol levels in your blood. This can be caused by estrogen therapy and pregnancy. A high circulating concentration of estrogen is the most common cause of high cortisol levels in women.
High cortisol lowers estrogen levels, which can result in the deposition of fat, often in the middle section of the body. When estrogen is lowered from continuous stress and cortisol production, all the female hormone imbalance symptoms such as night sweats, sleep problems, and mood swings can get worse.
Low levels may cause weight loss
Just as high cortisol levels may cause weight gain, low levels may cause weight loss in some instances.
The most extreme example is in Addison’s disease, a condition in which your body doesn’t produce enough cortisol.
The most notable symptoms of low cortisol include:
decreased appetite and weight loss
fatigue
low blood sugar
salt cravings
dizziness
nausea, vomiting, or abdominal pain
muscle or bone pain
While high cortisol levels may seem more common, it’s important to be aware of the effects of low cortisol as well.
How to prevent and combat weight gain due to high cortisol levels
While there may be many stressors in your life potentially contributing to elevated cortisol, there are several effective methods for managing your levels and preventing or combating weight gain.
Stay active
One of the main ways to combat weight gain is to engage in regular physical activity.
Regular exercise has been associated with a reduction in stress levels and allows you to be more resilient when stressors present themselves.
One study in 3,425 participants who reported emotional eating found an association between their level of physical activity and BMI (body mass index).
What’s more, exercising stimulates the release of endorphins, which are feel-good chemicals that promote happiness and can help manage stress.
Regular physical activity can also promote weight loss or weight management due to the calories burned while exercising.
Practice mindful eating
Another powerful tool for managing weight gain due to stress is practicing mindful, or intuitive, eating.
Mindfulness comes from a Buddhist concept meaning to be fully present and aware of what you’re doing at a given moment.
Mindful eating applies this concept to food, encouraging you to be fully aware of your eating experience, including specific cues, such as hunger, fullness, taste, and texture.
One large cross-sectional study found an association between the practice of intuitive eating and a lower body weight.
A simple way to start practicing mindful eating is to do away with distractions at meals, allowing you to be fully aware of hunger and fullness cues.
Get more sleep
Sleep is a commonly overlooked variable that has a significant effect on cortisol levels and potential weight gain.
Disruptions to your sleep pattern — whether chronic or acute — can promote an unhealthy increase in cortisol levels.
Over time, this can have a negative effect on your metabolism and cause an increase in certain hormones related to hunger and appetite, potentially leading to weight gain.
Therefore, ensuring that you’re getting adequate sleep each night can go a long way toward maintaining healthy cortisol levels.
The general recommendation for sleep is 7–9 hours per night, though this varies by age and other factors.
Practice meditation
Yet another potential tool for managing cortisol levels is meditation.
The purpose of meditation is to train your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts.
While several types of meditation exist, the most commonly practiced ones are mindful, spiritual, focused, movement, mantra, and transcendental.
Regardless of which you choose, practicing meditation has been associated with a reduction in cortisol levels in various populations.
In addition, meditation may even help improve the quality of your sleep.
Cortisol is an important adrenal hormone that serves many essential functions in your body, including controlling your blood sugar, reducing inflammation, and regulating your metabolism.
Slight elevations in cortisol in response to stress are normal, though when levels remain chronically elevated, side effects may occur — one being weight gain.
That said, there are several effective methods to preventing or combating weight gain, such as exercising, meditating, or seeking guidance from a dietitian.
Chronically elevated cortisol levels may promote overeating and weight gain, whereas low cortisol levels may lead to weight loss in some instances. Still, more research is needed.
There are numerous ways to help reduce cortisol levels and combat potential weight gain. The most effective methods include exercising, practicing mindful eating, ensuring sufficient sleep, and practicing meditation.
Get Relief from High Cortisol!
High cortisol and chronic stress can make us sick and can cause an array of symptoms that often we are told to just “try to relax” or “maybe you need a vacation” from our family members and medical providers. However this is far easier said than done! Cortisol levels can be brought down so you can start feeling better and finally lose that weight!
If you believe you may suffer from high cortisol, help is on the way!
Contact Synergy Health and Wellness today to begin a hormone balancing program that includes evaluating your health and lifestyle issues, check your hormones with a simple blood test, and write prescriptions for exactly the hormones that YOUR body needs.
Schedule a FREE discovery phone call below to begin your journey to achieving health and wellness!