Cortisol and Cravings

Women are at greater risk for anxiety and stress. Seems fair right? Absolutely not, but there are several things that we can do to decrease our cortisol levels, which decreases stress, which in turn also decreases food cravings.

Think about it for a minute, when do you REALLY crave those highly processed, sugar filled, not -so-great-for-you snacks and treats? Is it when you’ve just gone for a walk or completed a workout and you’re feeling energized? Is it when you’re having a great day and things are going well? Is it when your kids are on their best behavior? My guess is NO. 

It’s more than likely in those stressful moments of the day. It’s in those moments that you feel overwhelmed and want a quick fix. It’s in those no-so-great moments when the day feels hard and you feel like you deserve that giant chocolate bar. It’s when you have a million things to do but just want a little something to make you feel better and distract yourself from your to-do list. It’s when your cortisol is elevated. And I don’t know about you but when I give in during those moments of stress, 9 times out of 10 I eat something that probably causes a huge blood sugar spike and then a blood sugar crash and then the process of craving another not ideal option starts over again. This is because the blood sugar is now low and the body is telling itself to get its sugar back up. By the end of the day I’ve made several not so great food decisions and feel terrible. The good news is that we can prevent this spiral of events from happening and tomorrow is always a new day to make better decisions. 

Women’s cortisol usually spikes between 6-8 a.m. telling you it’s time to wake up. So much research has come out indicating that women should be eating something within 30 minutes of waking up. Why? Well, when your cortisol is increased in those morning hours and you fuel your body with food,  it tells your body that you are safe. It tells your adrenal glands that you are no longer in a fasted or stressed state. This allows your body to stop releasing cortisol for energy and blood sugar regulation. This gives your body a chance to breathe and make healthy decisions regarding food. 

On the other end of this, if you wake up and 

-get kids ready for school 

-go to the gym

-start on your to-do list for the day

-lay in bed for 2 hours

-go climb a mountain

Or  whatever it is that you get up and do everyday that passes time without eating, it  keeps your body in that flight-or-fight fasted state. A stressed state. This tells your body it is not safe, that it needs to release glucose into the bloodstream, that it needs to hold onto fat, that more cortisol needs to be released. This turns into a vicious cycle throughout the day that repeats itself leading to cravings. If our body stays in that stressed state all day we go through phases of increased cortisol, feeling stressed, and maybe making unhealthy food choices. Then we finally eat and our body feels safe but maybe only for a short period of time because we spiked our sugar quickly. Now we have a sugar crash and our body is saying wait a minute, glucose is low, I need to fix this now. 

Believe me I have fought this for so long. I don’t like eating first thing in the morning but what I have learned is that it doesn’t have to be a 4 course meal. You could eat half a banana and some nut butter, hard boiled eggs, protein coffee, half your overnight oats. It doesn’t have to be extravagant or even your full blown breakfast (you can eat that later), just something to tell your body it is safe and that it doesn’t need to keep pumping out cortisol. Insulin resistance and increased cortisol are heavily correlated so this is super important for my PCOS ladies. 

Bottom line, just try it. Try eating a little something about 30 minutes after you wake up. I like to call this fake breakfast. Fake breakfast lets your body know that you are ok. It decreases cortisol which in turn decreases those cravings. It balances blood sugar and starts your day strong. 

Throughout the day if you find yourself in a stressful moment wanting a donut, take a moment to think:

-Do I REALLY want a donut or do I need a distraction?

-Is this the best fuel for my body right now?

-Why am I feeling so stressed?

-Is that donut really going to make me feel better?

Then take a few moments and take 5 deep breaths. Remind yourself that you have control over your health. You have control over the food that goes into your body. You CAN make a healthy decision in the moment. Maybe you realize that you aren’t even hungry, you’re stressed. Maybe you are truly hungry but reach for the almonds instead. Take the time to dig a little deeper and determine what is driving your craving for that donut. If it’s stress driven, eat a balanced snack, go for a walk, listen to calming music, meditate, put on some music and dance. All of these things will decrease cortisol and help that craving pass.