As of late, the benefits of Fish Oil and Omega-3 fatty acids have been highly praised within the medical and fitness fields. Their ability to reduce pain and inflammation caused by diet, stress, injury and exercise has earned them a respectable reputation! Taking ultra purified and highly potent levels of fish oil can lead to better cardiovascular and brain health, lowered chance of stroke, depression and childhood health disorders, reduction of various types of cancers, as well as more efficient fat loss!
Are you an athlete who works out diligently but never seems to get much stronger, faster, feel better, or look any different...? It's likely because you're not feeding yourself properly!!!
Research has shown that a 2-hour window exists after strenuous exercise when your body is in desperate need of nutrients more than any other time of the day! Your internal environment is ready to act like a sponge and soak up these nutrients very efficiently in an effort to begin the post-breakdown REPAIR PROCESS. The sooner you feed yourself, the more efficient this repair process will be.
The article below by nutrition expert, Robb Wolf, will give insight to what and how much you should be eating after a tough bout of exercise to increase strength, stamina and achieve peak performance!
Stress can be physical, mental, emotional, etc., and not dealing with it properly can wreak havoc on your weight/fat loss efforts and quality of life.
The following stressors/micro-stressors all add up to promote
chronic over-production of cortisol and will lead to adrenal gland
fatigue:
Inadequate sleep (Less than 8-9 hours per night) or Low quality sleep (sleeping with tv on, watching tv immediately before going to bed, waking up to alarm, sleeping with light source)
Constant worry (even worrying about little, seemingly insignificant things)
Chronically engaging in intense and/or prolonged cardiovascular exercise (these people usually wonder why they aren't losing fat...)
Not making time for yourself
Not having time you consider fun or "play"
Over-working
Under-eating (especially protein and nutritious vegetables and fruit)
Frequent alcohol consumption <or> Alcohol over-consumption on one or more given occasion per week
Frequent consumption of processed sugars, dairy and grains (especially those with gluten)
The combination of any/all of the above
What is Cortisol?
Cortisol is a naturally occurring stress hormone produced by the adrenal gland which is essential in helping the body to decide what energy source it should use--protein, fat, or carbohydrate.
Under normal, low-stress conditions, cortisol is produced at optimal levels which allows the body to mobilize fat stores and utilize them for energy.
Under times of extreme, acute stress (short intense exercise, a fight, a bug crawling on your arm, an altercation with your neighbor's fierce 3lb chihuahua, etc.) the body enters fight or flight mode and Norepinephrine (AKA Adrenalin) and Cortisol are quickly secreted by the adrenal gland so that fat can be preserved and carbohydrate (our quickest burning energy source) can be promptly utilized. This is a very normal, very healthy survival response that occurs in most animals, but especially those that must frequently run or fight for their lives.
Now, the big problems begin to occur when daily stressors/micro-stressors trick your adrenal glands into chronically producing a little cortisol here, and a little more there. Even the most trivial situations the human mind/body perceives as stressful produce a minute cortisol response. These cumulative minute responses eventually result in chronic high-level cortisol within the body.
Chronic high-level cortisol 1. blocks fat from being utilized, 2. uses up any and all muscle and liver glycogen (the body's form of stored carbohydrate), and 3. breaks down protein (muscle and organ tissue) to be used as blood sugar. Later, when unused, the blood-sugar is restored as fat (especially in the midsection, butt and thighs) for survival purposes. Because of this, you will feel tired, sore, and immune function will be suppressed. To add insult to injury, your body will also feel a physiological need to consume great amounts of simple carbohydrate and stimulants to make it feel normal again--hence keeping this unhealthy cycle rolling. This prolonged high-level cortisol and chronic adrenal stress cycle leads to a complete malfunction of the adrenal glands, resulting in adrenal fatigue and loss of proper thyroid function. (See articles below on how to herbally treat and reverse adrenal fatigue)
How can you combat stress and overproduction of cortisol?
1. Get better sleep! Seriously important, yet so often we neglect our body of the essential recuperative 8-9 hours of sleep it needs on a daily basis. This is the time when your body makes necessary repairs and gets all hormones back in check. Take naps when you feel you need to--don't fight them.
Note: Caffeine, sugar and artificial sweeteners can put a big damper on sleep, especially when consumed late in the day!
2. Stop worrying about little things. Easier said than done, but studies show that most things we worry about will never, ever affect us in any significant way.
3. Stop doing prolonged, intense cardio (Unless of course you're staying within your 55-75% heart rate range...)! If you want to be intense, keep it short! If you want to lose fat the healthy, sustainable way, stop training like you're trying to become the next contestant on the Biggest Loser. Prolonged training this way is hormonally unhealthy and simply not sustainable--just look at the many contestants who went on to gain their weight back, plus some.
4. Take at least 30 minutes (more if you can) every single day to do something for yourself. Do something that makes you feel good, happy, relaxed, sexy, boosts your confidence--something that you truly enjoy.
5. Take breaks, breathe, relax. If work is stressful, take a quick break, practice some positive and motivating self-talk. Self-talk is that little voice inside your head when you're thinking/talking to yourself. If it's negative, you're on a path to disaster...
(Example of Negative Self-talk: Say I couldn't get my 4th rep on a set of 3lb Dumbbell Bicep Curls and thought to myself, "Come on, Travus, stop being such a damn sissy-failure!")
Keep it positive and encouraging, and you will seriously decrease stress!
(Example of Positive Self-talk: "You can do it, Travus! You're the king of 3lb Dumbbell Bicep Curls!" Then, if I still didn't get that 4th rep, I'd say, "Oh well...I did my best...I'll get you next week, you ornery 3lb dumbbells!")
6. Play! This includes anything you consider fun--as long as it doesn't have anything to do with harming others or their personal property as that will in turn raise their cortisol levels.
7. Stop working so damn much--unless you consider it fun, or it means you won't be able to pay your trainer...
8. Eat. Eat when you're hungry--healthy protein, healthy carbs, healthy fats, 80% of the time. If you think you can't handle grains (or specifically, Gluten), please do not eat them and/or get checked by a doctor who's competent about the necessary testing procedures for this problem.
9. Drink alcohol in moderation. This can be enjoyable unless it becomes a nightly pukefest! If your primary sleeping quarters boasts 4.8L per flush, you should probably cut back...heavily!
Another note about artificial sweeteners: Artificial sweeteners trick your body into thinking you are actually ingesting something sweet, and therefore induce an insulin and cortisol response! While your diet soda, tea, coffee, alcoholic beverage or baked good may be no/low calorie, these artificial treats will certainly keep you gaining/storing fat...
10. Follow the 80% rule. If you eat healthy (e.g., Eating lots of Meat, Vegetables, Fruit, Nuts/Seeds, Water/Tea, and eating little/no Grains (esp. Processed), Dairy, Legumes, Processed Sugar, Trans Fat, High Omega-6 Foods) 80% of the time, you will do great and feel great! You get 20% leeway so that you don't get further stressed over being perfect!
I hope this information and advice has been helpful! Check out the following links for more on stress reduction, cortisol and adrenal fatigue.
http://www.ehow.com/how_4843163_decrease-cortisol-levels.html