Elevated cortisol levels can negatively impact various aspects of health, accelerate the aging process, and disrupt your metabolism. But does cortisol cause weight gain?
Yes, high cortisol levels, often linked to a stressful lifestyle, impact various hormones that can lead to cravings, stubborn belly fat, and difficulty losing weight.
Discover the link between cortisol and weight gain and learn about the everyday habits that can help restore balance and support an effective metabolism.
What is cortisol?
Physical, mental, or emotional stress triggers the adrenal glands to release adrenaline and the steroid hormone cortisol, which initiates and maintains the body’s fight-or-flight response. This hormonal response helps you to stay alert, energized, and ready to respond to perceived threats.
While cortisol increases energy availability, adrenaline increases blood pressure and heart rate to prepare the body to fight or flee.
Cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone, raises blood sugar levels to provide readily available energy to the brain and muscles, sustaining the body’s energy needs during periods of acute or chronic stress.
While this survival mechanism is beneficial, prolonged adrenal activation can lead to imbalanced cortisol levels. This can disrupt sleep, weaken the immune system, and contribute to weight gain and other health issues.
Watch the video below to learn how to naturally lower cortisol levels.
Does cortisol cause weight gain?
Cortisol plays a vital role in regulating metabolic processes, immune functions, and alertness. When balanced, cortisol helps regulate energy by influencing how the body uses carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
However, when cortisol levels remain elevated, it can contribute to weight gain by increasing appetite and sugar cravings, slowing metabolic functions, and promoting fat storage.
Because cortisol raises blood sugar levels to provide quick energy during times of stress, it also stimulates the release of insulin, a key metabolic hormone that regulates glucose levels.
While insulin is vital for blood sugar regulation, it also directly blocks fat-burning. This explains why individuals who experience chronic stress often find it difficult to lose weight.
Additionally, high insulin levels can contribute to insulin resistance, a serious metabolic imbalance that stimulates the conversion of blood sugar into fat, directly contributing to weight gain and abdominal fat.
A study published in Current Obesity Reports found that “Long-term cortisol levels are elevated in obese individuals, and seem in particular related to increased abdominal fat mass.”1
Signs your cortisol may be too high
In addition to promoting abdominal weight gain, elevated cortisol levels can cause shifts in energy and mood, as well as other changes in body composition.
Common symptoms of high levels of cortisol include:
- Sugar cravings
- Puffy, round face
- Chronic fatigue
- Difficulty concentrating
- Anxiety or irritability
- Digestive issues
- Skin rashes or acne
- Poor sleep quality
- Muscle weakness, especially in the arms and thighs
- Excessive hair growth in women
- Abdominal stretch marks
- Fat accumulations between the shoulder blades
- Osteoporosis or weakened bones
Abnormal cortisol can also increase the risk of high blood pressure, cholesterol imbalances, and poor blood glucose control, potentially increasing the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
A study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism confirms this, reporting that elevated cortisol levels were positively associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, arterial disease, and diabetes.2
Everyday habits that help balance cortisol
Simple dietary and lifestyle changes can help balance cortisol levels by reducing stress, calming the nervous system, and enhancing your mood and well-being over time.
Here are seven everyday habits to support healthy cortisol levels.
1. Manage stress
Stress management techniques, such as deep breathing, spending time in nature, journaling, or engaging in a hobby, can help regulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.
This system, which includes the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the adrenal glands, detects and responds to stress by releasing hormones that help regulate the body’s response to everyday stressors.
Effectively managing stress levels helps calm HPA axis activity and lower cortisol levels, thereby supporting hormonal and emotional balance and reducing the risk of stress-related weight gain.
2. Prioritize sleep
During sleep, cortisol levels naturally decline, allowing the body to recover, repair, and regulate hormones, including those that control metabolic pathways and appetite.
Poor quality sleep and sleep deprivation cause cortisol levels to remain elevated, disrupting the balance of insulin, ghrelin, and leptin. These hormones regulate blood sugar, satiety, and hunger cues.
An imbalance in these key hormones can lead to unstable energy levels and cravings for energy-dense foods rich in carbohydrates and sugars, which can quickly contribute to weight gain.
It’s recommended to aim for seven to eight hours of sleep and practice good sleep hygiene, such as minimizing screen time before bed, taking a warm bath, or reading a book to promote relaxation.
3. Get regular exercise
Exercise can help lower cortisol levels by triggering the release of endorphins, a group of “feel-good” chemicals that reduce stress, improve mental health, and promote relaxation.
Although cortisol typically rises temporarily during intense exercise, regular physical activity supports increased stress tolerance and recovery over time.
This helps regulate cortisol levels, improves insulin sensitivity, and boosts metabolic energy-making processes, promoting fat burning and reducing the risk of stress-related weight gain.
4. Eliminate sugar and refined carbs
Refined sugars and carbohydrates, such as cakes, cookies, sugary drinks, white bread, pasta, and cereal, cause frequent fluctuations in blood glucose, triggering the body’s stress response as it works to restore balance.
Eliminating these foods helps stabilize blood sugar and cortisol levels, which can improve mood, reduce cravings, and support overall better weight management.
Furthermore, sugars and refined carbs can contribute to chronic, systemic inflammation, which triggers additional cortisol release and places ongoing strain on the adrenal glands.
Over time, this can lead to hormonal imbalances, increased fatigue, further weight gain, and difficulty managing stress.
5. Incorporate cortisol-lowering foods
Egg yolks, organ meats, and wild-caught salmon are nutritional powerhouses offering a wide range of nutrients that promote adrenal health and may help support the body’s stress response.
“Animal products are excellent sources of vitamins B1 and B12, choline, zinc, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids,” explains Dr. Berg. “These nutrients are vital for adrenal functions, neurotransmitter production, and cortisol regulation.”
Additionally, deep leafy green vegetables, such as kale, Swiss chard, and arugula, are rich in potassium and magnesium, which help calm the nervous system and support a healthy body weight.
6. Support gut health
The gut plays a key role in regulating the immune system, mood control, hormonal balance, and the body’s overall stress response.
When the gut microbiome is imbalanced, which is known as gut dysbiosis, it can trigger systemic inflammation and overstimulate the HPA axis, contributing to poor stress tolerance and increased cortisol levels.
However, a balanced gut microbiome helps regulate the HPA axis and supports the production of calming neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, which in turn helps lower cortisol levels.
Regularly consuming fermented foods, such as pickles, sauerkraut, and kefir, helps boost a diverse microbiome, which may enhance stress resilience, lower cortisol levels, and contribute to improved weight management.
7. Practice intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting induces mild cellular stress, which enhances the body’s resilience to physical and emotional stressors, ultimately leading to a reduction in cortisol output. IF can also increase the production of endorphins that help elevate mood and lower stress levels.
A study published in Nutrients found that intermittent fasting not only improved markers of anxiety, depression, and stress but also reduced body mass index (BMI) compared to a non-fasting control group.3
By naturally reducing eating frequency, intermittent fasting can help prevent overeating, stabilize blood sugar and insulin levels, and support healthy weight management.
Key takeaways
Does cortisol cause weight gain? Yes, chronically elevated cortisol levels can contribute to weight gain by triggering cravings, slowing metabolic processes, and promoting fat storage.
Common signs of high cortisol levels include a round, puffy face, mood swings, fatigue, digestive issues, difficulties concentrating, and poor sleep.
Fortunately, simple lifestyle changes, such as following a low-carb diet, managing stress, exercising regularly, and getting sufficient sleep, can help naturally lower cortisol levels and reduce stress-related weight gain.
FAQ
1. Does cortisol cause weight gain?
Yes, high cortisol levels can contribute to weight gain by increasing cravings, slowing down metabolic functions, and promoting the accumulation of belly fat. Cortisol also triggers fluctuations in blood sugar and insulin levels, which directly inhibit fat burning and promote fat storage.
2. How do I stop weight gain from cortisol?
Reducing stress is one of the most effective ways to lower cortisol levels and help manage weight. However, other lifestyle changes, such as getting enough sleep, following a low-carb diet, and engaging in regular physical activity, can help support cortisol balance and make losing weight easier.
3. How do I know if my cortisol is high?
Signs you may have elevated cortisol levels include stubborn weight gain, particularly around the abdomen, increased sugar cravings, sleep problems, a puffy face, chronic fatigue, gut issues, and skin rashes or acne.
4. Does exercise lower cortisol?
Yes, regular exercise can help lower cortisol by releasing endorphins, which are a group of “feel-good” chemicals that help reduce stress, improve mood, and promote relaxation.
5. What foods decrease cortisol?
Egg yolks, organ meats, and wild-caught salmon provide vitamins B1 and B12, choline, zinc, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids that help support adrenal health and regulate cortisol levels.
Additionally, leafy green vegetables can help calm the nervous system, while fermented foods such as pickles, sauerkraut, and kefir support gut health and emotional well-being, linked to more balanced cortisol levels.
