Exercise is of course an important part of any natural weight loss plan, but it is now becoming clear that for some people, the wrong kind of exercise may actually interfere with their ability to lose weight. This is primarily true for those people who carry their excess weight mostly in the lower abdomen - the saggy stomach "pooch". This type of weight deposition is characteristic of adrenal fatigue from chronic stress, and too much or the wrong kind of exercise can make this problem worse.
The adrenal glands are positioned on top of each kidney. They are small but extremely important glands that produce many hormones for many functions in the body. The most well-known of the adrenal hormones is adrenaline, which is produced in stressful or exciting situations and causes effects such as increased heart rate and respiration, increased blood pressure, and increased circulation to the muscles to make the body ready for bursts of activity. Adrenaline also burns fat to use for energy, and promotes weight loss when it is present in the blood stream.
The other adrenal hormone involved in weight gain / loss is cortisol. Cortisol promotes the deposition of fat in the lower abdominal area. While adrenaline can only be produced for short periods of time, cortisol can be produced steadily ver long perids of time. This means that when one is under chronic stress, adrenaline will be used up long before cortisol and any fat-burning caused by adrenaline will be more than overwhelmed in the long run by the fat-depositing caused by cortisol.
From a survival standpoint, cortisol serves the purpose of providing emergency storage of fat for energy when the body is under stress for a long period of time. For human cultures in which the primary source of stress is physical stress, this fat storage can help keep people alive during extended periods of living under harsh conditions. Unfortuately, emotional stress stimulates cortisol production as well, and for many people who live stressful lives, their ongoing cortisol production will tend to cause weight gain in the lower abdomen.
Now we come to exercise. In a person who is under a lot of emotional stress and who has chronically overworked adrenal glands, cortisol levels will be high and adrenaline will have long since been used up. Under these circumstances, if you add heavy physical exercise as an additional stressor to the body, the result will be even more cortisol release from the adrenals. The high levels of cortisone result in more and more fat storage in the lower belly.
Many people in this situation who are determined to lose weight will see their inability to lose weight as an indication that they need to exercise harder and more often. These people may be able to continue to lose weight in general, because if you are burning more calories than you take in, you will lose weight, but they never are able to eliminate that lower belly fat. So they work out even harder, but the belly fat remains - and they become more and more fatigued and actually begin to lose strength in the muscles of the arms and legs.
The reason why weight loss occurs and why there may be a loss of strenght and/or muscle mass in the arms and legs is because cortisol will stimulate the breakdown of muscle and other tissue as a means of getting energy without burning fat. So, people who exercise heavily in the presenc of high cortisol will likely lose weight, but the loss is in the form of muscle and not fat, which ultimately slows the metabolism and makes weight loss even harder.
This causes a gradually-increasing problem of muscle loss, chronic fatigue, and perhaps arthritis as the joint tissues get broken down by cortisol. Even with all of these changes, the lower abdominal fat remains.
You may be wondering what you can do to get rid of your belly fat if you do have this problem of high cortisol. First, it is a good idea to be certain that your main issue is in fact adrenal-related, because if it is not, intense exercise is one of the best things you can do to lose weight.
High cortisol and adrenal fatigue will produce certain indicative symptoms. The excess weight is primarily centered in the lower belly area, just below the waist. Muscle wasting or weakness in the arms and legs may develop. Other symptoms might include a need for caffeine to stay awake enough to function during the day, a desire for salt and salty foods, getting lightheaded when standing up too fast, chronic fatigue, and waking up for no reason in the middle of the night on a frequent basis.
In cases of adrenal fatigue, exercise is still necessary, but it is important to do activities that do not overstress the body. The best approach is to do about 30 to 60 minutes of low-intensity aerobic exercise about 3 days per week. Low-intensity aerobic exercise includes just about any form of exercise you can do that does not leave you gasping for breath and does not leave you fatigued and sore. Among the best options are walking (particularly outside if there is not a lot of pollution and there are no temperature extremes), swimming, bicycling, and low-intensity aerobics.
In addition to going to a lower-intensity type of exercise, it is important to make sure to eat enough protein to maintain muscle mass. This is easily accomplished by most people, but if you've been drastically cutting calories to lose weight, you are probably actually working against yourself. Just 3 to 4 ounces of meat, fish, eggs, or dairy three times per day is sufficient to spare your muscle. If you are a vegan, just make sure to eat plenty of beans, nuts, seeds, and other high-protein foods.
Now that you understand how stress and cortisol can prevent you from losing that roll of fat around the middle, you are armed with the information on how to stop killing yourself with exercise and finally lose that "pooch". Good luck!
The adrenal glands are positioned on top of each kidney. They are small but extremely important glands that produce many hormones for many functions in the body. The most well-known of the adrenal hormones is adrenaline, which is produced in stressful or exciting situations and causes effects such as increased heart rate and respiration, increased blood pressure, and increased circulation to the muscles to make the body ready for bursts of activity. Adrenaline also burns fat to use for energy, and promotes weight loss when it is present in the blood stream.
The other adrenal hormone involved in weight gain / loss is cortisol. Cortisol promotes the deposition of fat in the lower abdominal area. While adrenaline can only be produced for short periods of time, cortisol can be produced steadily ver long perids of time. This means that when one is under chronic stress, adrenaline will be used up long before cortisol and any fat-burning caused by adrenaline will be more than overwhelmed in the long run by the fat-depositing caused by cortisol.
From a survival standpoint, cortisol serves the purpose of providing emergency storage of fat for energy when the body is under stress for a long period of time. For human cultures in which the primary source of stress is physical stress, this fat storage can help keep people alive during extended periods of living under harsh conditions. Unfortuately, emotional stress stimulates cortisol production as well, and for many people who live stressful lives, their ongoing cortisol production will tend to cause weight gain in the lower abdomen.
Now we come to exercise. In a person who is under a lot of emotional stress and who has chronically overworked adrenal glands, cortisol levels will be high and adrenaline will have long since been used up. Under these circumstances, if you add heavy physical exercise as an additional stressor to the body, the result will be even more cortisol release from the adrenals. The high levels of cortisone result in more and more fat storage in the lower belly.
Many people in this situation who are determined to lose weight will see their inability to lose weight as an indication that they need to exercise harder and more often. These people may be able to continue to lose weight in general, because if you are burning more calories than you take in, you will lose weight, but they never are able to eliminate that lower belly fat. So they work out even harder, but the belly fat remains - and they become more and more fatigued and actually begin to lose strength in the muscles of the arms and legs.
The reason why weight loss occurs and why there may be a loss of strenght and/or muscle mass in the arms and legs is because cortisol will stimulate the breakdown of muscle and other tissue as a means of getting energy without burning fat. So, people who exercise heavily in the presenc of high cortisol will likely lose weight, but the loss is in the form of muscle and not fat, which ultimately slows the metabolism and makes weight loss even harder.
This causes a gradually-increasing problem of muscle loss, chronic fatigue, and perhaps arthritis as the joint tissues get broken down by cortisol. Even with all of these changes, the lower abdominal fat remains.
You may be wondering what you can do to get rid of your belly fat if you do have this problem of high cortisol. First, it is a good idea to be certain that your main issue is in fact adrenal-related, because if it is not, intense exercise is one of the best things you can do to lose weight.
High cortisol and adrenal fatigue will produce certain indicative symptoms. The excess weight is primarily centered in the lower belly area, just below the waist. Muscle wasting or weakness in the arms and legs may develop. Other symptoms might include a need for caffeine to stay awake enough to function during the day, a desire for salt and salty foods, getting lightheaded when standing up too fast, chronic fatigue, and waking up for no reason in the middle of the night on a frequent basis.
In cases of adrenal fatigue, exercise is still necessary, but it is important to do activities that do not overstress the body. The best approach is to do about 30 to 60 minutes of low-intensity aerobic exercise about 3 days per week. Low-intensity aerobic exercise includes just about any form of exercise you can do that does not leave you gasping for breath and does not leave you fatigued and sore. Among the best options are walking (particularly outside if there is not a lot of pollution and there are no temperature extremes), swimming, bicycling, and low-intensity aerobics.
In addition to going to a lower-intensity type of exercise, it is important to make sure to eat enough protein to maintain muscle mass. This is easily accomplished by most people, but if you've been drastically cutting calories to lose weight, you are probably actually working against yourself. Just 3 to 4 ounces of meat, fish, eggs, or dairy three times per day is sufficient to spare your muscle. If you are a vegan, just make sure to eat plenty of beans, nuts, seeds, and other high-protein foods.
Now that you understand how stress and cortisol can prevent you from losing that roll of fat around the middle, you are armed with the information on how to stop killing yourself with exercise and finally lose that "pooch". Good luck!
About the Author:
For more information, please visit our site on natural weight loss. Dr. George Best has been in private practice as a holistic healthcare provider in San Antonio, Texas since 1992.
