Insulin / tendency to insulin resistance. Or perhaps your body is just very reluctant to give up fat. In Atkins’ book he describes some extreme cases of such people one chap could not lose fat on 800 calories a day of pure fat in his diet.
I would also consider the effect of high cortisol levels on metabolism. Apart from Cushing’s {disease,syndrome} it would appear that high cortisol levels are associated with various forms of childhood trouble (illness, neglect, abuse, hunger) - perhaps an epigenetic effect. And high cortisol produces a strong tendency to insatiable appetite, tendency to store fat and difficulty in mobilizing fat.
Endocrinologists seem to assume that you either have Cushing’s or there is no problem. Maybe you have high cortisol due to alcoholism (pseudo-Cushings). How much do you drink?
If you have a tendency to excessive appetite, abdominal obesity, and perhaps high levels of anxiety and conscientiousnes (there are many cortisol receptors in the brain) have a look into your cortisol levels.
At this point your troubles start. Apart from the idea that you have Cushing’s or you are fine as mentioned above, there is a problem with testing cortisol levels. Doctors will assume that a blood test is best. But for measuring the cortisol burden it is not. The reason is that cortisol levels fluctuate wildly on an hourly basis and across the day, lowest after midnight. So a blood test is like measuring traffic by taking a single photograph across a road. A 24 hour urine test is best for assessing the overall cortisol burden.
A lot of people with high 24 hour numbers have normal serum numbers during the day. The problem is that the serum levels don’t go down overnight in some people (eg me).
Also worth noting that the normal levels of cortisol cover a very wide range and that levels in the upper half are associated with bad outcomes in life (heart disease, blood pressure, strokes, diabetes, eye damage etc). So get the numbers not just the “normal/not normal” result.
Low Testosterone can also be a factor with people who have trouble losing weight. The normal range is 320-1100 but some people seem to have troubles below 450ng/dl., especially those with highish cortisol.
Insulin / tendency to insulin resistance. Or perhaps your body is just very reluctant to give up fat. In Atkins’ book he describes some extreme cases of such people one chap could not lose fat on 800 calories a day of pure fat in his diet.
I would also consider the effect of high cortisol levels on metabolism. Apart from Cushing’s {disease,syndrome} it would appear that high cortisol levels are associated with various forms of childhood trouble (illness, neglect, abuse, hunger) - perhaps an epigenetic effect. And high cortisol produces a strong tendency to insatiable appetite, tendency to store fat and difficulty in mobilizing fat.
Endocrinologists seem to assume that you either have Cushing’s or there is no problem. Maybe you have high cortisol due to alcoholism (pseudo-Cushings). How much do you drink?
If you have a tendency to excessive appetite, abdominal obesity, and perhaps high levels of anxiety and conscientiousnes (there are many cortisol receptors in the brain) have a look into your cortisol levels.
At this point your troubles start. Apart from the idea that you have Cushing’s or you are fine as mentioned above, there is a problem with testing cortisol levels. Doctors will assume that a blood test is best. But for measuring the cortisol burden it is not. The reason is that cortisol levels fluctuate wildly on an hourly basis and across the day, lowest after midnight. So a blood test is like measuring traffic by taking a single photograph across a road. A 24 hour urine test is best for assessing the overall cortisol burden.
A lot of people with high 24 hour numbers have normal serum numbers during the day. The problem is that the serum levels don’t go down overnight in some people (eg me).
Also worth noting that the normal levels of cortisol cover a very wide range and that levels in the upper half are associated with bad outcomes in life (heart disease, blood pressure, strokes, diabetes, eye damage etc). So get the numbers not just the “normal/not normal” result.
Low Testosterone can also be a factor with people who have trouble losing weight. The normal range is 320-1100 but some people seem to have troubles below 450ng/dl., especially those with highish cortisol.