Is inflammation blocking my ability to lose weight and fat? What about cortisol?
The opposite is true for both:
Inflammation: weight/fat gain cause inflammation.
Meaning we have decades of careful research to show it is the excess body fat that cause high levels of baseline inflammation, and not the other way around.
Furthermore, folks with type-2 diabetes have the highest levels of inflammation. When they are put into a calorie deficit they lose weight at the same rate as anyone else does and their levels of chronic inflammation come down proportionate to the amount of weight lost. Additionally, at about 30 pounds of weight loss most people with type-2 diabetes can reverse their diagnosis.
Inflammation is the consequence of having too much fat for your body, and losing that fat reduces inflammation. Excess inflammation should be a motivator to lose excess fat. In biological terms, inflammation does NOT block fat loss.
Cortisol: cortisol is essential in the process of fat burning – you can’t burn body-fat without cortisol.
The technical term for breaking down stored body fat is lipolysis. (Lipolysis is breaking down the stored form of body fat – triglycerides – into the burnable form of fat – free fatty acids.) Cortisol increases lipolysis. Lipolysis is the essential first step in burning body-fat. Body-fat must be broken down in order to be burned.
You need to do more than just break it down to burn it, but you won’t burn it without breaking it down. To burn the free fatty acids you need to be in a calorie deficit, and reducing your fat intake and increasing your exercise levels and step count will all help speed up the process.
Much of the misinformation online about cortisol is based on the symptoms of Cushing’s syndrome. Cushing’s syndrome is the result of having tumors on your pituitary gland or your adrenal gland, or taking large doses of synthetic cortisol (prednisone, etc) for long periods of time.
In Cushing’s your body will have 1,000% more cortisol than is normal. At these levels, bad things happen, and one of those symptoms is abdominal fat gain. However, it is very important to remember that this happens at cortisol levels that are 1,000%+ normal levels, and those levels require specific tumors or heavy drug use for long periods of time. They will not happen as the result of overwhelming stress, poor sleep, sleep deprivation, etc. Sleep deprivation isn’t good for you, but it does not cause Cushing’s.
People looking to suppress their cortisol levels should be happy that the “solutions” peddled online don’t work because suppressing your body’s ability to make cortisol is deadly. The opposite of Cushing’s is Addison’s disease, which is where the body fails to make cortisol. Addison’s disease is usually autoimmune, and sometimes the result of infections (HIV, TB, etc) or adrenal cancer.
Bottom Line
Weight loss is difficult. Our modern environment of easy access to high calorie, cheap and convenient food (it will show up at your door if you simply talk to your phone) + endless passive entertainment are the worst possible combination for weight loss or even weight maintenance. Wasting time, money and calories on “cortisol cocktails” will only make managing your weight more difficult. Avoiding exercise or avoiding time without food to avoid cortisol or inflammation will do more of the same. Instead of spending more motionless time on cortisol doom-scrolling focus on doing the things you can do today to move the needle in the right direction
Coach Josef Brandenburg — ACE | NASM | Precision Nutrition | Training Peri and Menopausal Women | Pain-Free Performance Specialist Certification | Functional Kettlebell Training | 28 years coaching | Specializes in strength training for women over 40.
Josef Brandenburg, best selling author, is the co-owner and a coach at True 180 Personal Training, Charlotte’s most effective personal training studio for women since 2016. With decades of experience and multiple certifications, he shares his research with you!