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"If You Only Have 5-10 Vanity Pounds to Loose??"

By Jason Goggans

If you have watched even a minute of television lately, you have heard of Cortisol. You may or may not know what it is but you have definitely heard of it. While I will NEVER endorse those supplements they advertise on TV, I do agree that Cortisol does contribute to fat gain and needs to be controlled. Supplementation is not the answer, however. We will discuss that a little later.

Cortisol is a hormone produced naturally in the body. It serves many purposes. Cortisol is primarily the stress hormone. The human body produces Cortisol in response to stress. Its original purpose was to protect us from starvation in times of intense trauma. For example, let?s say that you are in a horrible accident and you are unable to feed yourself. Your body?s natural response, along with many others, would be to produce extra Cortisol. Cortisol is produced and secreted in the adrenal glands. Cortisol causes you to store fat, as well as break down fat. The breaking down of fat is the body?s way of creating fuel. In essence, your body is eating itself. This enables you to live extended periods of time without food. This is Cortisol?s main job.

Fast forward to modern day. We are all faced with a special kind of trauma called STRESS. Your body sees stress as a trauma and reacts accordingly. It does not know the difference between the trauma I discussed above and the trauma of stress. Stress causes the adrenal glands to secret Cortisol which leads to fat accumulation (especially around the abdominal area). I don?t believe I have ever come across an individual who does not suffer form stress in anyway. We all deal with it and we are all storing extra fat because of it.

This information leads you to two possible conclusions. Eliminate the stress or eliminate the Cortisol. The truth is that you do not want to eliminate either one. Remember, Cortisol is produced for a reason. We need it. Also, there is good stress and bad stress. Good stress includes the stress you place on your body through exercise, or stress caused by excitement. You do not want to eliminate stress. So what is the answer? The answer is to control or manage stress and Cortisol. Since the two are interrelated, controlling stress in turn controls Cortisol.

Managing stress is a difficult thing to do. We are faced with so many stressors every day. The reality is, however, that if you want to achieve optimal fat loss, you MUST manage stress and Cortisol. It is not an option. I am not saying that Cortisol is THE reason that we are overweight but it is a player in the game; a very important player at that.

We have all heard of the ways to reduce stress. I bet many of you have tried them with mixed success. Just like anything else in life you must truly dedicate yourself to doing them. You must give it your all. If you are reading this article chances are you have extra fat you wish to loose. Cortisol management is a huge step in doing that. Take the following stress reducing techniques to heart. You only have fat to loose!

The leading researchers all agree on the number one way to manage stress. SLEEP!!! This is something that none of us get enough of. It is, however, the number one way to lower stress and reduce Cortisol levels. We need good quality sleep. Six hours of sound REM sleep is better than ten hours of tossing and turning. Be sure to get quality sleep as many nights as possible. You will notice the difference in your belly.

The second most important thing to do is exercise. When I exercise regularly, I feel more relaxed, less irritable, less cranky, and ultimately less stress. Periods in my life when I have neglected exercise, the opposite is true. Give yourself 3-5 hours of exercise a week. That's all it takes.

The third way to reduce stress is recovery. By recovery I mean recovery from exercise. It is possible to exercise too much. Be sure to give your body ample rest time between workouts. Also, be sure not to overdo yourself during your workout. 35-40 minutes a day is plenty if it is done correctly.

Lastly, take some time throughout the day to just relax. Take 10-15 minutes to lay back, close your eyes, maybe turn off the lights or listen to some comforting music. This may sound hokey but it works. All research shows that this simple technique reduces stress by considerable amounts. If it is applied with all of the above techniques, you will notice reduced Cortisol levels by the reduction of the fat on your tummy.

You may be wondering, ?Why can?t I just take one of those pills I see on TV?? Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Cortisol is a part of the Endocrine system. The Endocrine system controls all of the hormones in the human body. This means that they are all interrelated. The supplements you see on TV attack Cortisol and Cortisol alone. Eliminating Cortisol chemically will cause other hormones to be out of whack. This is because those hormones have an inverse relationship. By chemically altering Cortisol, you could be putting yourself in serious danger by causing other hormone levels to spin out of control. This could have a major impact on your health.

While managing Cortisol naturally is not the fat loss magic bullet we would all love to have, it does play a significant role and cannot be ignored. By controlling stress and thereby controlling Cortisol, you greatly increase your chances to have that lean, fit body you dream of. Remember to incorporate the stress reducing techniques above into an effective weight training, cardiovascular, and eating program.

About the Author:

Jason Goggans is a certified personal trainer located in Alpharetta, GA. He ownes a Fitness Together personal training studio in Alpharetta, GA. His website is http://www.FTalpharetta.com