Cortisol Control

Diet and Nutrition
1

Hi

i wasnt sure which section to post this on(maybe the mods can put it in the right section), but what i was looking for are tips on the best ways to keep cortisol low. I would like to gather as many as possible and put them into practise.

I’m not the leanest i have been at currently but i have always suffered in getting my umbilical down and i have been told its due to high levels of cortisol. At best my tricep was about 2.8 but my umbilical was 12.5 and i had very very little carbs at the time.

My job is stressful, live with my parents and go to bed late cause of work, mot night between 1.30am - 2am.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. My post workout shake has no carbs , should there be carbs there??

Thanks

2

My post workout shake has no carbs , should there be carbs there??

Dunno how it goes as far as cortisol control, but yes there should be, definitely =). The best bet remains to organize most of your carbs peri-workout(e.g. post w/o shake and post w/o meal).

3

I’ve read a lot on cortisol control, and here’s some information I found on the Precision Nutrition forums (I’ll summarize it):

To lower cortisol:

-Sleep more
-Take fish oils
-Supplement with bacopa, 5-HTP, Phosphatidylserine, and/or Yohimbine, among others.
-Keep workouts short (less than an hour)

I wouldn’t just go out and buy the supplements I listed, though. You should do some research on them to find out if they’re right for you. I’m taking a daily dose of bacopa, but am not feeling any calming affects from it. I do feel rhodiola, however, and would recommend that.

4

One of the best supps for lowering cortisol in my experience is Glycine 5-10mg with each of the last 3-4 meals of the day.

Also, there is a TON of info on this (among others of course) in CT’s Q&A in the Author’s Locker Room section of the forums.

5

I think I read somewhere that just plain vitamin c at bedtime will help, I think emergen c was recommended.

I cut carbs out of my pwo shakes for awhile, and have been using thib’s low carb post workout carbless shake w/ glutamine and glycine for a week. Its in his refined physique transformation article.

Normally, I’ll be down about 2-3 lbs after a week of low carbs, that comes back on w/ my carb ups. Mostly water weight from the glycogen. I haven’t noticed it this week. I don’t know what effect it has on cortisol, but it is an interesting observation.

I’m going to play with the dosage a little bit and see if the effect continues, and may even cut my carb ups to every 2 weeks if it does.