Cortisol is one of the body's stress hormones. When we get stressed, cortisol levels increase. It is the only hormone that naturally ages as we do so it is thought of as the 'aging hormone'.  You see, prolonged overproduction of cortisol brought on by excessive stress can cause many problems: some brain dysfunction, aging of the skin, impaired immunity, recovery and healing, excess fluid retention, depression, and poor sleep. All of these things accelerate the aging process.

Cortisol also increases your appetite, prompting you to eat large quantities of food, usually sweets and simple carbohydrates. And we all know these make you fat. These foods also make insulin levels raise then fall which gives you that hungry feeling like you haven't even eaten. 

OK, so here's the loop: stress increases cortisol; cortisol increases appetite (of usually bad foods like simple carbs); greedy eating of bad foods makes you fat.

And here's the real kicker: Not only does cortisol make you fat (indirectly), the fat that you gain is usually abdominal fat. So it isn't bad enough to get fat all over, now it's been concentrated in your gut.

So how do we combat cortisol? Well, don't stress out so much. I know, easier said than done. Make sure you reduce stress by exercising. It's very important to exercise the right way. Thai Boxing is great for relieving stress and burning fat. Also do exercises that use your whole body, such as Kettlebell exercises, Olympic lifts, Sprinting and again Thai Boxing. Training in this way will maximise the production of the 'youth hormone' i.e. Human Growth Hormone (HGH). HGH builds muscle, burns fat and makes you young again.

To book a fat burning, stress relieving, tailor made personal training session with Raj call 07952806996 or email bookings@glasgowfitness.com today!

Train Hard, Train Smart!

Raj Singh, Glasgow Fitness.