The confusion stems from the fact that, as a society, we have oversimplified weight loss. This has led to a lot of shaming when it comes to people who are overweight. The stigmatizing and prejudicial fat-shaming is most often based off of a lack of understanding on how weight gain/loss works and as it turns out, weight loss is way more complicated than most people realize.
One of the pieces to this complicated story is HORMONES. One of the more commonly understood hormonal reasons for difficult weight loss is hypothyroidism. Most simply put, this is when our bodies, for a number of reasons, do not produce enough of our ‘metabolism determining’ thyroid hormone. Other hormonal-related reasons for stubborn weight loss are menopausal, or sex hormone related imbalances. This article, however, is discussing a different hormone, the hormone called cortisol.
Cortisol is best known as our ‘stress hormone’. It is released from the adrenal gland in response to stress. Recently, the medical community has started realize cortisol has more to do with weight than we previously thought. This relationship between fat accumulation and cortisol started to gain recognition when very high, excess cortisol was discovered to be the reason for a condition called Cushing disease. This disease leads to fat accumulation in the midsection and muscle wasting in your legs and arms. Cushing disease is the extreme version of cortisol excess, but cortisol dysregulation, sometimes called adrenal fatigue/burnout, is a much more common, and much less talked about, cause of weight gain .
Cortisol dysregulation is typically a result of chronically elevated cortisol levels, which then lead to HPA axis dysregulation (this is the pathway where your adrenal glands communicate with the control centres in your brain). The HPA axis is modified by:
-
- mentally perceived or actually perceived stress (work, family, finances, ect.)
- changes in your environment
- poor sleep
- obesity
- temperature changes
- noise
- alcohol
- smoking
- drugs
- certain foods
Whether or not these ‘stressors’ are a real threat, or not, they can cause the same stress reaction and overtime this is extremely taxing on the body.
When it comes to weight loss, there are habits that tax your adrenals, and HPA axis even further. For example, high-carb/high-sugar diets can tax your adrenals and, thereby contribute to cortisol dysregulation. The reason high-sugar diets can be hard on your adrenals is because a lot of insulin is released in response to high sugar intake and after the surge of sugar into your blood stream, you get the classic ‘sugar crash’. The adrenals respond to this ‘crash’ by releasing adrenaline to compensate. This constant pressure on the adrenals, in combination with other stressors, can push you further into adrenal fatigue. This will then, in some cases, make it even harder for you to lose weight when you do finally decide to start on your weight loss journey.
Eventually, this long term tax on your adrenal glands can cause a person to go into ‘adrenal burn out’ aka where you stop producing enough to cortisol, or your body has stopped responding to it properly.
Interestingly enough, both high and low cortisol levels are related to increases in obesity rates. In regards to weight, the pattern of your cortisol release and how your body reacts to these cortisol spikes, is more important than the levels themselves. For example, it is normal for your cortisol to spike in the morning (this helps wake you up) but there should be a gradual drop in cortisol as the day progresses. Research is showing that people with higher BMI’s tend to have a slower drop throughout the day and they also have more exaggerated spikes in cortisol in response to stress. What this means, in general, is that cortisol is not being regulated properly in these people and this dysregulation is having an overall effect that promotes weight gain.
Fortunately, there are accurate ways to measure these cortisol patterns. These test are not usually ran in your routine lab-work, but if you think that stress may be holding you back from obtaining your weight loss goals then ask your naturopathic doctor about salivary or urine cortisol testing. Understanding why you’re gaining weight is not only crucial for your sanity, but it is important for your overall health.
Take charge, book in now and get started on the road to an optimal weight! For booking please either call 604-685-1181 or head to my contact page and click ‘Book Now’.
Disclaimer
Information can be empowering, but we all have unique health profiles and needs. The health-related information contained in this article is intended to be general in nature and should not be used as a substitute for a visit with a licensed naturopathic doctor. The advice in this article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
References
- Björntorp, P., & Rosmond, R. (2000). Obesity and cortisol. Nutrition, 16(10), 924-936.
- Douyon, L., & Schteingart, D. E. (2002). Effect of obesity and starvation on thyroid hormone, growth hormone, and cortisol secretion. Endocrinology and metabolism clinics of North America, 31(1), 173-189.
- Rodriguez, A. C. I., Epel, E. S., White, M. L., Standen, E. C., Seckl, J. R., & Tomiyama, A. J. (2015). Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation and cortisol activity in obesity: a systematic review. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 62, 301-318.